Car wash owners have seen a lot of breakthroughs over the past few years in washer controller tech and POS. Understanding the new technology is the first step toward picking out a new system that is a great fit.
The New Technology
The main advances in the ability of owners to manage systems have been in payment stations, entrance stations, automation wizards, ATMs, automated sentinels and the water magician. Although the level of interfacing, customization, and functionality can vary between make, form and apparatus producer, it is vital to correctly assess your options when making a buying decision. Like most things in the modern era, input stations rely more on computer software and code to function then they have in the past.
Out With the Old
Early entry stations looked like self-service meter boxes that gave people a single car wash option. It was only in the period after that when entry stations offered multi-level washing packages, proof of purchase acceptance and promotional document coupons scanned by an invoice acceptor. Over the years, manufacturers have continued to take advantage of available software and are relying on a growing demand for more advanced automatic customer solutions. Paying for service at the pump was the first major jump forward in POS. That advance led to a lot of others. This push is responsible for the growth of many major producers of washing equipment and increased availability.
Advances of Today
A major benefit for the owner-operator is that POS computers also give owners and operators the option of knowing at any time the number of people who have gone through the wash. High-end input stations are now equipped with reports and remote paging as standard functionality. The best news for wash owners who have old gear is that there are also renovation solutions that can give them remote capabilities without having to redeploy a whole new computer system. For example, modern car wash POS software offers remote reports on the fly to any manager or reach out to the owner and alert them when something goes wrong or even when the materials in the wash like the soap or shine product are depleted.
