When you work in retail, it’s easy to get caught up in promotions and inventory and miss the limitless possibilities that drew you into business in the first place. Sometimes in life, it’s smart to step back and take a look at the bigger picture, to see the forest instead of examining individual trees… When you use your mPOS, do you ever stop to think about the massive ecosystem that you’re a part of?

1. The mobile point of sale environment is expanding.
First it was a phone, then it was a tablet, and soon it will be a watch. Mobile devices surround us. So it only makes sense that mobile point-of-sale (mPOS) would follow suit. Not only have iPad POS systems decentralized checkout for retailers everywhere, but now consumers have the option of paying for a transaction before they ever arrive at the brick and mortar building. Just order your coffee or taco on your mobile device and pick it up in the drive thru. Some even refer to it as fast-laning.

2. The mPOS environment is uniquely diverse.
The types of businesses using mPOS systems range from food trucks to pet food stores, liquor stores to public transportation, restaurants to rental cars, exhibit marketers to cabana boys, and antique booths to retail boutiques.

3. The mPOS environment is where dreams come true.
The portability and versatility of an iPad POS or other mPOS device enables dreamers and entrepreneurs to do what previous generations only dreamed of doing. Veterinarians can make house calls and get paid with a credit card. Traveling baristas can bring the coffee experience to your party and ring up the sales right there on the spot. Social enterprises can hold trunk shows to sell the work of artisans from around the world in your mother in law’s living room. Entrepreneurial ventures are no longer tethered.

4. The mPOS environment is efficient.
Companies like Bindo who offer mPOS software for iPads provide features to make an entire business run more efficiently. Yes, the final transaction is faster and more convenient, but it also synchronizes inventory management, runs sales analytics, stores customer loyalty data, tracks employee time cards, and connects your brick-and-mortar store to your online store. It’s an all-in-one small business management tool.

5. The mPOS environment is green.
When everything is digital, reams of paper are saved. Mobile point of sale systems keep all the “paperwork” in one place: the cloud. You can even email receipts to your customers instead of printing them. Add to that the buy local mentality of Bindo Market, and you’ve got an environmentally friendly environment.

Business is more than numbers, and the mPOS environment is about more than transactions. Remember why you started the business in the first place and be inspired to dream some more. For tips on how to increase retail sales, download the free ebook, Proven Methods To Grow Your Retail Business in 2015.