InstantCash Ltd based in Grimsby, North East Lincolnshire contacted us as they required a custom retail system for their second-hand goods store. They approached a handful of development companies and after our initial kick-off meeting decided WeMakeWeb was a perfect fit for their requirements and budget.
InstantCash Custom Retail System Requirements
In our initial kick-off meeting, we asked InstantCash what their requirements were for their Custom POS system. InstantCash had several requirements for their bespoke system, which could not be found in an on-the-shelf solution. Their requirements for their retail system were:
- Receipts and Labels: The ability to print receipts and print labels to a receipt printer. For this, we decided to use two receipt printers one with receipt paper and one with sticky-backed labels.
- Contracts: The ability to print contracts to a normal HP printer.
Designing a Custom POS System
Whilst designing InstantCash’s system we maintained a three-click mentality throughout. This means that every feature on the system should be accessible in three clicks or less. This greatly improves productivity within a company and accessibility for users. We also kept in touch with the client and provided them with various wireframes and mockup images to ensure they were happy with the design before we developed their custom retail system.
Creation of InstantCash Custom Retail System
Once our client was happy with their various wireframes and mockups we proceeded with development. Scalability was at the core of everything we did throughout development to ensure that the client’s system was future-proof. For their project, we decided to develop their system as a website application. This enabled the client to be able to use the system on a wide variety of devices seamlessly. More specifically, we used PHP, HTML, CSS, Javascript and Jquery. As Bill Gates, former Managing Director of Microsoft once said:
Remember, every project will have obstacles, but overcoming them is what makes it worthwhile.
So what were some of the challenges we faced and how did we overcome them? One of the biggest challenges our team encountered during the development was integrating their EPSON TM-T20II receipt printer into the system. Documation was very sparse on the internet on how to print receipts using PHP. After countless hours of searching our team came across Escpos-php an open source framework developed by Mike42. This framework satisfied our requirements which were:
- The ability to integrate the receipt printer with the system
- Open source
- A stable codebase
- Active community
- The ability to connect numerous receipt printers
We made a few tweaks to the code and implemented it into InstantCash’s system.
Throughout the development process every Saturday we sent the client a Saturday Catchup video. Which was a screen recording showcasing our progress on the system for the current week as well as what our team’s goals were for the week ahead. We believe in keeping our clients in the loop throughout the process and being transparent.
Rollout
Once we had developed their system it was time to roll it out. We met our client to run them through our rollout plan and answer any questions they may have. Once we met with our client we booked a date to go ahead with the installation and training. Installation included setup of their local server, setting static IP addresses for various devices and setting up receipt printers and printers. The training lasted 4 hours and covered how to operate and use the system, who to contact if they were to have an issue and how future updates/upgrades would work as per our website support and maintenance program.
Our time with InstantCash
It took us 4 months from start to finish to create their bespoke piece of software. InstantCash now relies on our custom retail system to run their business. Their owner Martin (Our Client) stated the following:
WeMakeWeb made it easy… Without them I wouldn’t be able to run my business…
InstantCash also keep in touch regularly to request upgrades to their system. One of the most recent upgrades we performed for them was creating a kiosk system, which integrates directly with their retail system to allow customers in-store to view in-stock items and keep on top of their contracts, via a tablet.
