POS Integrations 101

It takes a lot of know-how and engineering expertise for a point-of-sale (POS) platform to offer just the basic functionality that any self-respectable POS should, features such as inventory-management, order completion, deals, and customer profiles. Some POS systems venture beyond those core features. But even the best, most mature platforms out there can’t do it all. It’s difficult to be everything to everybody, particularly when you are a POS in the cannabis space.

Enter third-party integrations, so-called because there’s you, the cannabis shop owner, there’s your POS, and then a third company that integrates with the POS on your behalf. Third-party integrators can offer you services that your POS may not be able to provide by itself. Or sometimes, the integrator can offer you a service that is similar to one offered by your POS but more in tune with your business needs.

What does the word integration really mean here in this context? Basically, a third-party integrates with the POS by pulling or pushing data from an API that the POS provides. By the way, an API is a well-defined set of web URLs that the POS exposes for consumption by the third-party. This is a bit technical but important because as you, the delivery or dispensary owner, decide on a POS, a healthy API is a very valuable feature to look for.

What kind of solutions can a 3rd-party integrator bring you? For example, an integrator may offer an online ordering solution, one custom-tailored to the idiosyncrasies of your corner of the market. Another service an integrator can offer is a loyalty program, one that can reflect the existing loyalty system in your POS and help to enhance that program with software products that offer a more interactive, rewarding customer experience.

Of course, these kinds of things are only possible if your POS plays well with others. Your POS should offer an accessible, well-written, well-organized, modern and diverse API. Technical support from the POS is also important to help guide your integration partners as they build out the products you’ve envisioned.

All of this ensures that you and your 3rd-party integrator are really only limited by your own creativity. If your POS has a great API, it also tells you that you are doing business with a company that isn’t trying to be a jack of all spades, freeing you up to bring in other players and new energy to your unique solution.

Leafbuyer POS Integrations

Here are a couple of examples of how Leafbuyer integrates with a POS

• Online Ordering - Leafbuyer interfaces with a number of POS systems in order to pull menu data to display for online ordering. In addition to this menu integration, Leafbuyer can also push orders directly to the POS.

• Wallet - Through the POS API, Leafbuyer captures loyalty point balances for customers in real-time. This allows us to display those points for easy tracking by the customer.

• Automated Customer Sign-Ups - Leafbuyer is able to monitor new customer sign-ups in the POS system and in turn, store that customer data in our loyalty platform so that these new customers can receive deal text alerts.

To learn more about our solutions and see if Leafbuyer integrates with your POS, click here!