Reviews of tailoring software often raise the same gap. One reviewer of a tailoring system wrote that "Point of sale modules aren't available and we need it urgently". Another said they missed "client scheduling and point of sale". A general retail POS has the opposite gap. It sells a shirt off a shelf well, and has no idea what to do with a suit that is half made.
A tailor shop needs both sides at one counter. Print this list, take it to a demo, and ask the vendor to show each item on screen. A spoken yes is worth little.
1. Deposits and balances
This is the first test, because it is where most tailors' money sits.
- Can you take a deposit on an order for a garment that does not exist yet?
- Can the customer pay any later amount, in several parts?
- Is the balance visible at the moment of handover?
- Can you see all balances still owed, in one list?
Example only: a dress is priced at 200. The customer pays a 50% deposit of 100, then 60 at the fitting. The balance at collection should show 40 on screen, with no sums on a calculator.
2. Finding the piece and checking stock
If you sell from a rack, the counter must answer a simple question quickly: do we have this in a 52, at this length?
- Search by style, then choose size. Add length if you sell by length.
- See rack and back room stock separately. The piece may be twenty steps away.
- See pieces still in the workshop or in transit, so you can promise a date.
- Confirm the sold piece leaves stock, and check it in the stock screen after a test sale.
Garments with a length grid catch out general retail systems, which often treat each size and length as a separate product. For a style in 6 sizes and 4 lengths, that is 24 lines to set up. Ask how the system handles it.
3. Tags and scanning
A tag saves typing and stops the wrong size being rung up. Check how it works in practice.
- What kind of code does the system use, QR or a standard barcode?
- Will your scanner read that kind? Test with the actual scanner, on a real tag.
- What happens after the scan? Does the item go straight into the sale, or do you have to press a button?
- Can you type the tag by hand when a tag is damaged?
- Can you print tags in bulk for a batch, or one at a time?
4. Alterations from the till
This separates a tailor's POS from a clothes shop's POS. A customer buys a dress and wants it 2 inches shorter. In a general system, somebody writes that on a slip and walks it to the workshop.
- Can the sale itself create the alteration job?
- Does the job carry the piece's tag and the requested length?
- Does it appear in the workshop's list with a due date?
- Can you charge for the alteration, or is it free by shop rule? Ask how each case is recorded.
5. Made-to-measure at the same counter
If you do both, the same screen should handle both. Check that a sale from the rack and a new order can sit under one customer. Check that a quote can become an order without retyping it. Check that customer-supplied fabric can be noted on the order. Ask whether a customer must be on file before you can sell, or whether a walk-in can buy without one, because counters differ on this.
6. Tax at your rate
Tax rules differ by country, so the software needs to take your rate and your tax name, whether VAT, GST or sales tax. Then check three things.
- Are prices inclusive or exclusive of tax? Does the system support the way you price?
- Does it show net and tax on each sale?
- Does the tax on a deposit follow your local rule? Ask your tax adviser when tax falls due on part payments.
Example only: a shop with a 5% tax rate and tax-inclusive prices sells a shirt at 105. The net is 100 and the tax is 5. Run a sale like this in the demo and check the figures against your calculator.
If you need formal invoices or receipts for your customers or the tax office, ask to see the document itself, printed. Our post on tailor billing software covers what to look for there.
7. Card and mobile payments
Many tailoring systems record how a customer paid but do not take the money themselves. You run the card on your bank's terminal, then note "card" in the POS. That works fine, as long as you know that is how it runs. Ask directly:
- Does the POS charge the card, or just record the method?
- Can I set the methods my customers use?
- Does the day-end report split totals by method, to match the terminal and the cash drawer?
8. Mistakes, returns and day-end
Every counter makes mistakes. Ask the vendor to show you each of these:
- How do you handle a return or a refund?
- Can you give a discount, and is it recorded?
- How does the day's cash get closed and checked?
- What is the fallback when the internet drops mid-sale?
9. More than one shop
- Is stock shown shop by shop?
- Can you see another shop's stock from the counter?
- Can stock move from the workshop to a shop, with a check that it arrived?
- Can you see sales for each shop separately?
Boutiques that sell mostly from the rack should also read our POS guide for clothing boutiques, which starts from that side.
How to run the test
Bring three real cases to any demo: a rack sale, a rack sale with a shortening, and a new order with a deposit. Then collect the balance on the third one. If the vendor can do those without switching to paper, you have learned more than a feature list can tell you.
The boutique setup in Tailoq was built around those cases. In the Tailoq POS you search by style, check size and length, scan or type the tag, take a deposit of nothing, 50% or the full amount, and record later payments. Prices are tax-inclusive with net and tax shown. Returns and refunds, discounts and payment gateways are not built yet, so a shop that needs those today should weigh that.
