TSYS Tablet Review

The TSYS Tablet POS system not only helps you accept multiple payment types, it also makes running your business easy thanks to features such as a product catalog, inventory tracking, and dashboard reporting. Offered by TSYS Merchant Solutions and designed for businesses looking for more features than a basic countertop credit card machine, the Tablet lets you take credit cards, signature debit cards, and new EMV chip cards. With several choices for tablet POS systems already available and more coming every day, how do you decide which one is right for your business? In this TSYS Tablet POS review and profile, we’ll give you all the details you need about the system’s features, pricing, and more.

What You’ll Need

To use the TSYS Tablet as your point of sale system, you’ll need a merchant account with a TSYS-compatible processor, an Android tablet, and the TSYS tablet POS software. You can optionally add accessories like card readers and printers, depending on your needs. Note that the TSYS Tablet doesn’t support external barcode scanners, but it can scan barcodes using the tablet’s camera.

TSYS offers a Tablet bundle that includes everything you need to get started. The bundle includes a tablet pre-loaded with the payment app, a card reader, rotating tablet stand, and a cash drawer.

TSYS Tablet Features

The TSYS Tablet POS includes features that businesses in many different industries will find helpful, including inventory tracking, signature capture, receipt emailing, gratuity options and tax calculations, and reporting. The quick entry register also makes taking payments simple.

Payment Acceptance

When you sign in to the TSYS Tablet POS system, the register option for ringing up sales is the default screen. As you can see from this screenshot, you can make taking payments as detailed or basic as you’d like. You can choose the quick entry method and type in the price to process the order, or you can choose from products in your inventory. The option to scan barcodes to ring in the items is also available from this screen. You can apply discounts, select if taxes should be calculated, and choose to process or save the order.

Inventory Tracking
One benefit to a full POS system instead of a cash register is the ability to use inventory control systems. With the Tablet, you can keep track of your products and stock levels so you always know what’s available for sale and when you need to reorder items. Additionally, order entry at the time of sale is streamlined by adding items from your inventory to the sale.

Signature Capture
The TSYS Tablet allows you to accept signature debit cards (debit cards where customers don’t enter their PIN). To make the process easier, you can capture the customer’s signature right on the tablet screen instead of carrying around a printer to get a signature on a paper receipt.

Receipts
Speaking of receipts, you’ll have the option to email them to customers instead of printing. It’s particularly helpful if you’re in an industry where customers generally don’t want to take a paper receipt for a low-cost order.

Gratuity and Tax
If you’re in a business where customers tend to tip employees, you can enable options for adding gratuities at the time of sale. If you need to collect tax on purchases, functions to automatically calculate tax are also available.

Reporting
The TSYS Tablet includes an in-app dashboard or an online portal to access detailed reports for your business. You can view information such as top selling products by day or by month, top customers, and more. A quick glance at the dashboard also shows how many transactions you processed, the totals, and offers a graph of peak selling times. Need details on specific transactions? The transaction history option lets you look for transactions by date range, tells you the status of the transaction, ID, customer, amount, invoice, and more.

Security

TSYS takes security seriously, which is why the Tablet uses point-to-point encryption to protect cardholder data at every part of the transaction. Additionally, you can take advantage of anti-fraud tools like Address Verification System (AVS) to limit your own exposure to fraudulent transactions and the associated costs.

The Hardware

As mentioned above, the TSYS Tablet hardware bundle includes a Samsung Galaxy tablet, a rotating tablet stand, card reader, and cash drawer. It’s not necessary to buy the bundle to use the Tablet POS, as you can download the app from the Google Play store and use it on compatible Android devices. If you choose not to buy the bundle, be sure to get the facts on choosing a POS tablet.

The TSYS card reader comes with a detachable lanyard and a plastic carrying case so you can leave it plugged in to a tablet in-store, or take it with you on the go. The reader connects via standard 3.5mm headphone jack. In our testing of the Tablet, we found that the reader stays securely attached for steady swiping. A lip along one edge helps keep the reader flush against the tablet, preventing the wobbly feeling that some card readers give.

The TSYS Tablet stand is a lockable, rotating enclosure for your tablet. The stand itself is made of metal, giving it a sturdy, durable feel. While the bundle available from TSYS includes a 9.7" tablet, the stand features an adjustable rubber-coated corner that slides to accommodate different sized tablets. Whether you use the included Galaxy or choose your own Android tablet, you’ll likely be able to secure it in the TSYS metal stand. Once you secure the tablet with the adjustable corner slider, you can lock that piece in place, preventing removal of the tablet.

The stand also rotates in multiple directions, allowing you to choose a portrait or landscape orientation and to flip the tablet to face customers for signatures or adding tips.

TSYS Tablet POS Cost

The costs for the POS system itself will vary depending on where you buy it, and if you need to add accessories.

Likewise, the costs for credit card processing using the Tablet will vary depending on your processor. You can either go directly to TSYS Merchant Solutions for credit card processing, or work with a TSYS-compatible processing company. TSYS is a processor that places certified quotes through CardFellow, so if you’d like to see exactly what you’d pay for processing using the TSYS Tablet, you can use our free, no-obligation quote request tool. All quotes are fully disclosed, so you won’t get hit with hidden fees later on, and we don’t share your contact info. (No sales calls!) Click to get a quote.

Media and Helpful Links

For more information on the TSYS Tablet POS system, check out this video from TSYS.

**Special thanks to TSYS Merchant Solutions for the Tablet used in this review.