POS for bookstores
A bookshop's catalogue is long, mostly one or two copies of each title, and every book already carries a barcode. SeroPOS reads that barcode, loads your list from a spreadsheet and tells you where each title sits.
Bookstores in SeroPOS
Scan the book's barcode
Set the barcode type to EAN-13 and scan the code printed on the back cover straight into the till.
Catalogue import
Import thousands of titles from a spreadsheet with author or publisher as the brand and your sections as categories.
Shelf locations
Record a rack, row and position for each title per location, so staff can walk to it.
Stock by category
The Stock Report shows stock and value by category, sub-category, brand and location.
Used books, typed price
Ring up a second-hand book as an open-price item, or add it as a product with its own SKU.
Special orders
Take a deposit on an invoice for a book you're ordering in, and collect the rest when it arrives.
Scanning the back cover
Almost every new book carries an EAN-13 barcode, which is the ISBN in barcode form. Set the product's barcode type to EAN-13 and enter the code as the SKU, then scan it at the till with a USB scanner or the camera. An exact match adds the book to the sale. Scanning the same code again adds a second copy.
For titles without a barcode, such as local self-published work or second-hand stock, let SeroPOS generate a SKU with your prefix and print a small label from the back office. Turn on Retail Mode on the till so it uses shop wording and hides restaurant screens. Receipts can carry a barcode, your shop details and a footer line about your returns policy or next reading event.
Loading the catalogue
Nobody keys in five thousand titles by hand. Fill in the product import template with the title, SKU or ISBN, category, sub-category, brand, price and tax, and import it. Use categories for your sections (Fiction, Children's, Travel) and sub-categories for the shelves inside them. Brand works well for the publisher, or for the author if that is how your customers search.
Opening stock imports separately with quantities per location. After that, Bulk Edit changes prices, categories or tax across many titles at once, and products you no longer stock can be deactivated rather than deleted, so their sales history stays in the reports. Mass deactivate clears out a whole publisher's backlist in one step when you stop carrying it.
- Import titles from a spreadsheet
- Sections as categories and sub-categories
- Publisher or author as brand
- Opening stock import per location
Finding the book on the shelf
Turn on racks, rows and positions in Business Settings, and each product can carry a location in each store, such as Rack F, Row 3. When a customer asks for a title, search it on the till or in the back office and the shelf is right there. The Stock Report filters by category, sub-category, brand and location with stock value at cost and at selling price.
Low-stock alerts suit the titles you always want on the shelf: set an alert quantity and the back office dashboard lists them when they drop. The Trending Products report shows your top sellers by category and date, which helps when you plan the front table. The Product Sell Report gives units sold per title for any date range, including a time range for event days.
Special orders, used books and events
When a customer orders a book you don't have, create an invoice with a partial payment as a deposit. The balance stays on their account, and Receive Payment collects it when the book arrives. Customer profiles keep their contact details, so you can call or email when it is in. Quotations work for a school or book club ordering a class set.
Used books can be added as products with their own SKU or rung up as open-price items. For author events and fairs, the till runs on a phone or a Global Payments T650P handheld, and sales are saved on the device if the venue's Wi-Fi drops, then sent when it reconnects.
Frequently asked questions
Can SeroPOS scan ISBN barcodes?
Yes. The barcode printed on books is an EAN-13 code. Set the product's barcode type to EAN-13, enter the code, and scan it at the till with a USB scanner or the camera. SeroPOS does not look up book details from an ISBN database, so titles are added or imported by you.
How do I import my bookstore inventory?
Fill in the product import spreadsheet with each title's name, ISBN as SKU, category, brand, price and tax, then upload it. Opening stock is imported separately with quantities per location. Bulk Edit handles later price or category changes across many titles.
Can I sell used books?
Yes. Add each used book as a product with a generated SKU and a label, or ring it up at the till as an open-price item with a typed price and description. Both show in your sales reports, and products keep stock while open-price items do not.
How do I handle special orders?
Create an invoice for the book with the customer attached and record a deposit as a partial payment. The balance stays open on their account, and you collect it with Receive Payment when the book arrives. The dashboard lists invoices with payments due.
Does SeroPOS work for a used bookstore with no barcodes?
Yes. Generate SKUs with your own prefix and print labels from the back office, or use open-price items for one-off books. Categories and shelf locations still work, so you can report on sales by section even when no book has a publisher barcode.