Vendors sell features; you buy daily workflow.
Write down
Products/SKU, barcode needs, offline sales, return rules, and who can void a sale.
Next step
Make vendors prove the counter workflow
Use the following worksheet to turn this article into an operating decision. It is a practical plan for a Bangladesh small business, not a claim about a particular client or an industry benchmark. Adapt it to your current workflow and constraints.
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Use your sample products, tax configuration, return cases and receipt needs in the demo. A vendor’s prepared catalogue hides data quality problems.
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Check who can void sales, adjust stock and change prices. Test the proposed hardware and outage behaviour with the actual workflow.
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Request a sample export and a documented support path. Choose the system that passes daily scenarios rather than the longest feature list.
Write this before requesting proposals
Describe the current process, the failing step, the intended users and what a correct outcome looks like. Prepare representative test data so suppliers can demonstrate the same task. Ask separately about recurring costs, third-party dependencies and work excluded from support.
When to change the plan
Resolve missing access, failed acceptance checks or unclear team ownership before paying for the next stage. Use evidence from a small pilot. If scope grows, agree revised time and costs rather than relying on unsupported guarantees.