If you use NCR Counterpoint every day, you probably have your routine down. Ring up sales, receive inventory, check reports, manage customers, and move on to the next thing.
But Counterpoint can do a lot more than the basics.
Over the years, we’ve found that some of the most useful features are the ones retailers either forget about or don’t realize are available. And sometimes, a small change in how you use your system can save time, give you better information, or make day-to-day operations a little easier.
Here are five Counterpoint features worth another look.
1. Customer History Is More Useful Than You Think
Customer history isn’t just a record of what someone purchased.
With the right information in Counterpoint, your team can quickly see previous purchases, buying patterns and other customer details that can help provide better service.
Someone can’t remember the exact item they bought last time? Need to reference a previous purchase? Want to better understand what your customers are buying?
That information may already be right there in Counterpoint.
And when customer data is paired with tools like email marketing integrations, it becomes even more valuable, helping retailers turn transaction history into smarter, more targeted communication.
2. Use Inventory Data to Find What’s Not Selling
Everyone wants to know what’s selling.
But knowing what isn’t selling can be just as valuable.
Counterpoint’s inventory and reporting tools can help identify slow-moving merchandise, aging inventory and items that may be taking up valuable shelf space and tying up cash.
Instead of relying on a quick walk around the store or gut instinct, use your data to help answer questions like:
- What hasn’t sold recently?
- Which items are sitting longer than expected?
- Where do we have too much inventory?
- What products should we reconsider before placing another order?
Sometimes the best purchasing decision is knowing what not to buy again.
3. Purchasing Doesn’t Have to Be a Guessing Game
Speaking of purchasing…
Counterpoint gives retailers access to sales and inventory information that can make reordering much more strategic.
Rather than simply replacing what sold yesterday, you can use historical sales, current quantities and inventory movement to make better purchasing decisions.
This becomes especially valuable during seasonal changes, busy periods and times when cash flow matters.
Your POS already has the data. The goal is to actually use it.
4. Security Can Be More Specific Than “They Have Access” or “They Don’t”
Not every employee needs access to every part of your retail system.
Counterpoint allows businesses to control access based on the employee’s role and responsibilities. That can help protect sensitive information while still giving employees the tools they need to do their jobs.
Depending on how your system is configured, that may mean limiting access to areas such as reporting, costs, discounts, voids, customer information or management functions.
It’s worth reviewing employee permissions periodically, especially as employees change positions or responsibilities.
The person who needed certain access two years ago may not need it today.
5. Your Counterpoint System Doesn’t Have to Work Alone
This one is easy to overlook.
Counterpoint can be the center of a much larger retail technology setup.
Depending on your business, integrations can connect Counterpoint with tools for ecommerce, shipping, email marketing, accounting, electronic shelf labels and other retail functions.
That can mean less duplicate entry, fewer disconnected systems and better use of the information you’re already collecting.
The important part isn’t adding technology just for the sake of adding technology. It’s finding places where an integration can eliminate a manual process or solve a real problem for your business.
Are You Getting Everything You Can From Counterpoint?
If you’ve used Counterpoint for years, it’s easy to keep doing things the way they’ve always been done.
But your business changes. Your employees change. Your customers change. And the way you’re using your POS should evolve too.
Sometimes you don’t need a completely new system. You just need to get more out of the one you already have.
At Mainspring, we work with retailers to help them do exactly that, from Counterpoint configuration and training to integrations, reporting, ecommerce and the everyday questions that come up when you’re running a business.
If there’s something you wish Counterpoint did, or a process that feels more complicated than it should, ask us. There may already be a way to do it.
