Well if you own a smaller business or have less than 4 employees the answer is probably a cash register system. The new models of Sharp cash register have high and low end users in mind. The ER-A247 is affordable and very highly rated. It comes with computer software a USB cable and links to the US and Canadian version of Quickbooks Pro. Also the cash register has a 2 1/4 inch wide thermal receipt and report printer with electronic journal. The electronic journal can be programmed and sent to a SD mini card you plug into the side slot on the cash register. Normally the SD card holds about a year of electronic journals. It has 2400 PLU`s Price Look Ups but no scanner port. With only 16 dept buttons or 32 using the shift the register is ideal in smaller retail stores.
Larger retail stores generally want a POS system that will track inventory using a scanner for quicker front end sales. These systems most commonly will be: cash register to cash register or cash register to back office computer or POS to back office computer. The advantage of POS to back office is generally that you only have 1 program to learn but generally the cost is higher on these high end programs and when buying one make sure the company has been in business for awhile with good support. Nothing is worst than not getting the software support when you need it. DO YOUR RESEARCH PRIOR TO BUYING ANY POS SYSTEM OR CASH REGISTER. Some cash registers can hold up to 25,000 PLU or items in memory and work good as stand alone or with IRC Interconnected Register Communication or with back office computer. This system is more secure in that the cash register operator cannot access the back office computer but does require more work setting up but generally is lower priced than a POS system.
Restaurants generally have different needs and require flat keyboard or touch screen cash register systems or POS systems as their sales involve multiple items and modified items ( onions/no onions). Cash register and POS systems need a lot of foresight put into the setup of these systems programmers generally need to see the complete menu and talk to the head cook to setup the system correctly. The server order entry terminal location is also very important for quick service to customers and terminal foot print size also should be a consideration. Most importantly and often over looked is the environment the terminal is going in ( Can liquids spill or drip on it or is it near a heat source like heat lamp) The Kitchen printer also needs to be placed in a good location in the kitchen with the same considerations.
Hand held terminals are most commonly used by restaurants for faster server order entry. With less server mistakes and less server training time required these units do pay off in the long run and are generally a good investment. Make sure the POS software you get for your restaurant supports them and check that the graphics on the hand held are easy to see and use.
Hand held terminals are also used by retail POS for monthly and or yearly inventory these units make doing inventory much easier and again check that the POS software or cash register can port in and out to the unit. This means the codes or UPC info goes to the unit and then you scan the UPC or put in the items code then enter the # of those items you counted. Then when all are counted port info to POS or cash register if not real time wireless system.