Your data
1. Can I export everything, in a format I can open without you?
Your customers, stock, bills and ledger are the business's memory. If they can only be read through one supplier's program, that supplier holds your history.
A good answer: "Yes, all of it, whenever you like, as spreadsheets or an open database file, at no charge."
A warning sign: exports that cost extra, arrive as PDF reports only, or leave out the history.
2. Where do my records physically live, and who else can reach them?
On your own computer, on a server you rent, or on the supplier's account. Each can be fine. You should know which, and who holds the keys.
A good answer: a plain description of the location, who can access it, and how you would get your data out if you parted ways.
A warning sign: "it's in the cloud" and nothing more.
3. How are backups made, and when did you last restore one?
A backup that has never been restored is a hope, not a backup. Disks fail, computers get stolen, and the question is how much of the day you lose when it happens.
A good answer: automatic, kept off the same disk, checked by reading it back, and a restore that has actually been tested.
A warning sign: "you can copy the folder to a pen drive".
Your money
4. How does the system store an amount of money?
This sounds technical, but the answer decides whether your totals, balances and day reports agree with each other for years. We explain why in why your POS total is off by 0.01.
A good answer: "as whole cents", with a single rounding rule for tax and discounts.
A warning sign: hesitation, or "decimals are fine, nobody has complained".
5. Can a finished bill be edited?
If a posted bill can be quietly changed, nobody can trust yesterday's figures, and mistakes and dishonesty look exactly the same.
A good answer: corrections are made by a reversal that stays visible, recording who did it, when, and what the figure was before.
A warning sign: "just open it and change the amount".
6. What stops a sale below cost, and who can see cost prices?
Discounts negotiated at the counter are normal. Selling under cost by accident, or showing cost prices on a screen the customer can read, is not.
A good answer: a price floor that needs someone with authority to override it, with the override recorded, and cost kept off customer-facing screens.
A warning sign: any cashier can type any price with no record.
Getting started
7. How will my old records come across, and how will you prove the totals match?
Copying data is the easy half. The half that matters is showing that the opening stock, the balances owed and the ledger in the new system are the same as in the old one.
A good answer: old totals and new totals placed side by side and agreed line by line before anyone is asked to rely on the new system.
A warning sign: "we'll import your Excel file" with no mention of checking.
8. Can I try it with a real transaction from my own business before I pay in full?
The best test of software is your own awkward case: the customer who pays half now, the delivery that arrives short, the discount your manager gives on the spot.
A good answer: screens you can try early, a price in stages, and a willingness to run your real examples.
A warning sign: full payment before you have used it on anything but the supplier's own example data.
9. What happens if the internet or the printer fails in the middle of a sale?
It will happen, usually on the busiest day. The software should protect the sale and the books first, and the paper second. There is more on this in desktop or cloud software.
A good answer: the sale completes and is recorded, and the receipt can be reprinted when the printer is back.
A warning sign: the counter stops until the connection returns.
After go-live
10. What does support look like, and how fast is it?
Staff change, prices change and new reports become necessary. How easy it is to reach a person who can actually fix things matters more than any feature on the list.
A good answer: a named person, a quick channel such as WhatsApp, remote access to the machine, and a visit when hands are needed.
A warning sign: a ticket form and no idea who reads it.
11. Are there per-user, per-branch or yearly fees to keep it running?
Many systems are cheap to start and expensive to keep. Neither model is wrong, but you should see the full cost over several years before you sign.
A good answer: every recurring cost listed in writing, including what happens to the software and the data if you stop paying.
A warning sign: a renewal that appears only on the first invoice after go-live.
12. If you stopped trading tomorrow, would my business keep running?
It is an awkward question to ask, and the most revealing one. Suppliers change direction, close or get bought.
A good answer: the system runs on your own machines, the data is in an open documented format, and the source code can be made available to you.
A warning sign: "that won't happen".
Ask us the same questions
Every one of these applies to us too. Our answers are written down on how we work, and you can test several of them yourself in the live demos, with no signup. If a supplier you are talking to cannot answer a question on this list, send it to us and we will tell you what a good answer looks like for your business.