1. What does your sales process actually look like?
This is the most important question — it decides everything after it. If your sales are fast walk-in retail (a customer comes in, grabs something, pays cash, leaves — like a supermarket or café), you need a real POS screen: barcode scanning, fast checkout, no registered customer required. If a system forces you to register a "customer" for every sale, it becomes a burden, not a solution. If your sales are invoices to fixed customers (a company selling to other companies, a distributor, or a factory selling to traders), you need a system strong in invoicing and financial follow-up — a POS isn't even necessary.
2. Does your inventory have expiry dates?
If you sell food, medicine, or anything with an expiration date, the system must support expiry and batch tracking. Not every system supports this — ask explicitly before buying, don't assume it's there.
3. How many branches and users will use the system?
One branch with one or two users is a completely different situation from 3 branches with 15 users. Ask: does the price scale with the number of users, and by how much? Does each branch see only its own data, or does everyone see everything?
4. Do you need approval workflows?
If more than one person spends money or approves expenses, you need an approval system — an expense above a set amount must go through a manager before it's executed. Very small businesses (one or two people) usually don't need this at all, and if the system forces it on you, it'll just feel like it's wasting your time.
5. Is the system compliant with Egyptian tax requirements?
This isn't a minor detail. Ask specifically: does it support e-invoicing directly, or does it need manual export? Does it calculate VAT correctly on every invoice? Can it produce a report ready for the monthly return (Form 10)? A system that isn't compliant here means paying an accounting office extra just to fix the tax side — you end up paying twice.
6. What's the real cost, not just the advertised price?
Ask about: setup/implementation fees (some systems charge a large amount just for the first setup), training cost (free or paid?), support cost (included in the subscription or extra?), and whether there's a monthly transaction/invoice cap after which you pay more.
7. If you leave the system tomorrow, can you take your data with you?
An uncomfortable but important question: ask "if I decide to leave, can I export all my data (invoices, customers, inventory) in a format I can actually use elsewhere?" If the answer is "no" or unclear, that's a red flag — it means you'll be locked into this system forever.
8. Does support respond quickly, and in Arabic?
Try sending a technical question before you buy, and see how fast and how good the response is. This is the most accurate indicator of your experience after you buy.
