In our Payment Channel Blog Series, we introduce SNAPnTAP’s three core payment channels, which are part of our collaborative point-of-sale system. This post dives into handheld payments, which is SNAPnTAP’s mobile extension of our collaborative point-of-sale platform.
What is a handheld? For SNAPnTAP, handhelds are any mobile device used by staff to process orders or payments. Within the SNAPnTAP ecosystem, handhelds are the perfect payment channel for merchants and collaborative operations whose staff need to process orders and payment where the customer is, like at a seat or a table. Typically in these operations, customers expect a more service-driven experience, underlining the importance of factors like time and convenience. Our collaborative handhelds align with customers’ expectations to facilitate a top-notch customer experience without compromising on the handheld’s speed and intuitive design expected by staff.
Taking handheld payments can also be operationally and experientially agnostic and used as the go-to upselling tool for staff or management floating between and engaging with customers. SNAPnTAP’s handheld payment channel is fundamentally collaborative – just like our terminals and QR codes – so that customers can order from multiple merchants whenever approached by staff.
Furthermore, our handhelds can connect to existing tabs initiated by our other payment channels. Staff can add to a customer’s tab across multiple merchants without asking for payment again. It is the easiest, fastest, and the most service-oriented way to make a sale.
Let’s explore other aspects of the handheld as a mobile point-of-sale channel.
A primary function of our handhelds is to take orders and process payments across multiple merchants. Staff uses their handhelds to relay orders communicated by the customer or to complete payment on a tab or transaction. Our handhelds are powered by the same software used for our collaborative terminals, meaning staff has a complete collaborative point-of-sale system they can run from the palm of their hands.
To take a new transaction, staff have a few options. Some of the most popular are below:
Core to SNAPnTAP’s collaborative ecosystem is “cloud” tabs: open tabs that communicate and update in real-time across payment channels. This means a customer can start a tab at a counter via a terminal, and that tab would show up on a staff’s handheld when approaching the same customer at their seat or table.
With handhelds, staff can identify a customer’s existing tab by name or a different identifier (i.e., table number). When staff approaches the customer, they can add to the customer’s tab, even if they started their tab through a different payment channel.
Of course, staff’s handhelds have access to the product catalogs of all collaborating merchants so that staff can add different items from various merchants on an existing tab.
How customers engage with handhelds is simple: they don’t. Regarding handhelds, communication should occur between the customer and the staff. Staff uses the handhelds to fulfill the customer’s needs while servicing them. For example, when taking an order, the staff rings up the item on their handheld. For taking payment, the staff would receive a customer’s card and swipe it through the handheld’s connected chip reader (we integrate with existing chip readers, like this one and this one).
Bottom line: the customer experience is effortless, quick, and human, as staff uses their handhelds to complete transactions on the customer’s behalf.
Because SNAPnTAP handhelds are powered by the same software as SNAPnTAP terminals, our handhelds can do much more than take orders and payments across multiple merchants. Staff can also manage shared product catalogs and active tabs.
Aggregate and merchant-based reports are accessible through our handhelds, too, with metrics like total sales, cash sales, total tips, cash tips, and more available for viewing and analysis in real-time. Receive hourly breakdowns on any given day, or see reports over an extended period.
Unlike other point-of-sale systems like Toast that require merchants to purchase their expensive handhelds, our collaborative handhelds are software-based so merchants can plug them into any existing smartphone. Furthermore, our software integrates with merchants’ existing printers, so items purchased through a handheld can instantly generate a printed ticket for fulfillment and/or receipt for customers.
When transactions are completed on a collaborative handheld, SNAPnTAP’s back-end software ensures each merchant is still responsible for their own items.
SNAPnTAP’s collaborative handhelds are a game-changer for taking mobile payments and facilitating effective touch points in a collaborative, service-oriented operation. They ensure merchants who work together can process payments and provide excellent service together to benefit customers, staff, and merchants’ bottom lines.
Our handhelds continue to get smarter, with weekly expansions to their feature list. We encourage our partners to reach out to us if there’s a feature request they have in mind.
For now, we invite you to try out our handheld software on your existing smartphones! Reach out to us here to schedule a chat or demo.
