You've spent countless hours setting up your new fabric store, and now you're ready to get down to business. But before you start cutting fabric and assembling kits, you need to make sure your point of sale (POS) system can handle it.
Here are a few questions to consider:
- Can your POS system track inventory levels for different types of fabric cuts, such as fat quarters and fat eighths?
- Can you easily create and disassemble kits, and automatically adjust your inventory accordingly?
- Does your POS system have built-in features for managing classes and workshops?
- Can you easily segment your customer base and automate marketing campaigns?
If you're not sure whether your POS system can handle all of these tasks, it's a good idea to reach out to your provider for more information. They can help you determine if your current system is up to the task, or if you need to upgrade to a more robust solution.
No matter which POS system you choose, make sure it has the features you need to manage your fabric store efficiently and effectively. Let’s look at a few of the POS features you’ll need.
The Best Fabric Store POS System Features
Are you confident that your POS system can handle the tasks unique to your industry? Fabric stores have specific needs that require a specialized POS system.
When searching for a point of sale system for your quilting and fabric store, prioritize finding one with built-in features tailored to the fabric industry. Your investment in a fabric store POS system streamlines your business management, saving you time, effort, and money in the long run.
But what specific features are necessary for a fabric store POS system? Let’s look at the essential features that a POS system should possess to cater to the unique demands of quilt and fabric businesses.
Cut Fractional Yards and Precuts
In a fabric store, the process of transforming source products into new precut items plays a crucial role in managing inventory and fulfilling customer requirements. This transformation involves converting bolts of fabric, which typically come in large rolls or pieces, into smaller, more manageable precut sizes. One key tool in facilitating this process is your POS system.
A fabric store POS system is a specialized software solution designed to streamline the creation of fractional cuts, fat quarters, fat eighths, and customized precuts.
A fabric store POS system simplifies the process of creating these precuts by providing intuitive tools and features. Users easily enter the desired dimensions or select preconfigured options for fractional cuts, fat quarters, and fat eighths.
The system then automatically calculates the required yardage and displays the cut information on the screen.
One of the primary benefits of using a fabric store POS system for precuts is efficient inventory management. By tracking the quantity and dimensions of each precut created, the system helps maintain accurate inventory records. This information is crucial for preventing overstocking or stockouts, ensuring that customers find the precuts they need.
Plus, the system generates reports on precut sales, allowing fabric stores to analyze customer preferences and adjust their inventory accordingly.
Integrate Vendor Products
Among the various industries that have embraced POS systems, fabric stores stand out as having unique requirements that often go overlooked by general-use providers.
One of the key challenges that fabric store owners face is the need to manage a vast and diverse inventory, which includes fabrics of various types, colors, patterns, and textures.
Traditional POS systems often fall short in providing the necessary functionality to efficiently manage such a complex inventory, leading to inaccuracies, lost sales, and operational inefficiencies.
The best POS systems for fabric stores are those that prioritize product catalog integrations, enabling seamless synchronization with fabric store suppliers. This integration allows for the automatic import of product information such as images, descriptions, and pricing, ensuring that the POS system is always up to date with the latest offerings.
By enabling integration with fabric store suppliers and providing access to important product information, these systems empower fabric store owners to streamline operations, enhance customer service, and stay competitive in the dynamic retail landscape.
Assemble KIts
Establishing an ongoing kit business is a strategic move to foster long-lasting customer relationships and drive consistent engagement for your store. By moving beyond the conventional monthly clubs, seasonal kits, and special occasion offerings, you can unlock the potential for stability and recurring revenue.
At the core of this kit marketing strategy lies the utilization of modern POS systems. These advanced systems streamline the assembly and disassembly of kits, ensuring automatic inventory adjustments. This not only enhances efficiency, but empowers you to cater to diverse customer preferences effortlessly.
From a financial perspective, an ongoing kit business offers the advantage of recurring revenue. By setting up subscription options or implementing a loyalty program, you can secure a steady stream of income that promotes stability and growth. This financial stability allows you to invest in new products, explore innovative marketing strategies, and scale your business operations.
Manage Classes
For quilt and fabric stores, regular classes have become an integral part of their marketing strategy. These classes serve a dual purpose: attracting new customers to the business and providing experienced quilters and sewers with opportunities to expand their skills and knowledge.
A comprehensive fabric store POS system simplifies the entire process, making it easier for stores to schedule classes, manage registrations, and communicate with participants.
A POS system with robust class management features makes it easy for stores to schedule and manage their classes. The system should allow you to create class listings, set prices, and manage registration and payment processing. Your POS system should also provide tools for sending out class confirmations and reminders to participants, as well as tracking attendance and recording class materials and supplies.
By streamlining the class management process, a POS system can save quilt and fabric stores time and effort, allowing you to focus on delivering high-quality classes and providing excellent customer service.
Plus, the data collected through the POS system tracks class attendance, identifies popular classes and instructors, and analyzes customer behavior, providing valuable insights for marketing and business planning.
Related Read: Manage Your Sewing Business Inventory: 7 Best Practices
Market to Customers
Communicating effectively with each customer is a time-consuming endeavor. A robust POS system empowers you to categorize your audience based on various data points such as purchase history, preferences, and demographics, allowing you to target and personalize your marketing.
Your POS system facilitates seamless communication through multiple channels to align with the unique marketing opportunities created for each category. For instance, customers who have expressed interest in specific fabrics or patterns receive tailored email newsletters highlighting new arrivals and exclusive offers. Send timely text messages to remind customers about upcoming workshops, classes, and events, fostering a stronger sense of community engagement.
The POS system also automates loyalty programs, offering incentives and rewards to encourage repeat business. Customers can easily track their progress towards rewards. By leveraging the capabilities of a feature-rich POS system, fabric stores streamline their customer outreach efforts, saving time and resources while enhancing the overall shopping experience.
Plus, the POS system should provide detailed analytics and reporting features to help store owners understand the effectiveness of their marketing campaigns. This data can be used to refine strategies, identify trends, and make informed decisions about future initiatives.
By leveraging the right technology, your fabric store builds stronger relationships with your customers, drives sales, and fosters a thriving community of enthusiasts.
Service and Repairs
If your fabric store offers services and repairs, your POS system also needs to efficiently handle the process in your shop. Here are some of the primary features your POS system needs:
Creating and Managing Labor-Based Services
- The POS system should allow you to define and set up various labor-based services offered by your shop. This might include services such as custom cutting, sewing, alterations, or fabric treatment.
- It should enable you to assign labor rates or prices to each service and track the costs for each project.
- The system should generate detailed invoices that clearly list the labor charges associated with each service, providing transparency to customers.
Charging for Serialized Parts
- The POS system should have the ability to track and manage serialized parts.
- When selling these items, the system should allow you to assign unique serial numbers to each piece and charge customers accordingly.
- This feature is crucial for inventory control and ensuring accurate pricing for serialized parts.
Streamlining Communication
- The fabric store POS system should facilitate seamless communication between staff members and customers.
- It should provide updates on project status, allowing customers to see the progress of their orders.
Coordinating Workflow
- The POS system should effectively coordinate the workflow associated with each project.
- It should allow you to assign tasks to specific employees, set deadlines, and monitor the progress of each task.
By leveraging these capabilities, a modern fabric store POS system enhances operational efficiency, improves customer satisfaction, and streamlines the overall fabric store management process.
Related Read: From Hobby Into A Business: How To Know If It’s the Right Move
3 Options for the Best Fabric Store POS System
Your POS system needs to have standard POS system features including inventory management, online sales synchronization, and robust reporting capabilities. It’s important to invest in a system that caters to all your business requirements and streamlines operations effectively.
Rain POS
Best for: Specialty retailers
Rain is designed for unique retail businesses, including independent craft stores, boutiques, consignment, and outdoor retailers, aiming to simplify the challenges of running a specialty retail business.
Made for specialty retailers, Rain offers features such as tracking related parts and serialized products in inventory, sending text message service reminders from the POS, and managing class registration and communication.
Pricing: Receive a custom quote with a demo.
POSIM
Best for: Needle arts and crafts
POSIM is an on-premise POS system designed for small to mid-sized retailers, including those in general retail, clothing, shoes, accessories, quilt and fabric, needle art, craft and hobby, toy, and outdoor stores. If you’re a retail business seeking more than just a basic POS system, POSIM might be the right choice for you.
Made for needle arts and crafts, POSIM is an on-premise POS system that offers features such as creating layaway orders and making incremental payments until final purchase, managing customer accounts and loyalty programs, and generating reports on sales, inventory, and customers.
Pricing: POSIM offers three plans requiring a custom quote.
Like Sew
Best for: Fabric stores
Like Sew is designed specifically for quilt and fabric stores. It focuses on creating features tailored for the quilting and sewing industry. Like Sew's fabric store POS works with quilt and fabric vendors to integrate fabric store services and data.
With Like Sew, you can quickly and easily integrate vendor product catalogs, sell fractional yards, synchronize inventory online and in store, and communicate with customers using completely integrated marketing tools.
Like Sew is an easy-to-use POS system designed for quilt and fabric stores.
Pricing: Get a custom quote for your fabric store.
The Best POS System To Run Your Fabric Store — Like Sew
Running a fabric store is both exciting and challenging, but you can make it more fun by choosing the POS system designed for fabric stores. Choose Like Sew, the all-in-one POS system specifically built for your fabric store.
Ready to see the best fabric store POS system to run your business? Request a demo today!
