Scales at the counter: selling by weight with your POS

Can your POS sell by weight? If you sell produce, deli meats, candy by the pound, or bulk nuts, it probably needs to. A POS scale weighs items at the register and sends the weight to your point of sale system, which multiplies it by the price per pound and adds the total to the sale. It's faster than weighing and typing, and it cuts down on mistakes.

Selling by weight also comes with rules. Here's what matters at the counter.

How does a POS scale work?

There are two common setups.

A scale connected to the POS. The cashier places the item on the scale and selects the item in the POS. The POS reads the weight directly and calculates the price. Some registers have a scanner-scale combination built into the counter.

A label-printing scale. Often used at deli and produce counters. The item is weighed, the scale prints a label with the weight, price, and a barcode, and the cashier scans the label at the register.

Both work. The connected scale is common at the front register. The label scale is common at service counters where items are weighed before they reach the register.

Check that any scale works with your POS before buying. Not all scales connect to all systems. If you use NRS POS, the NRS POS team can tell you which scales are supported.

What does "legal for trade" mean?

When you sell by weight, the scale's reading decides what the customer pays. That's why weights and measures rules apply.

A legal-for-trade scale is one approved for use in commercial transactions. It's built and certified to meet accuracy standards.

In the US, the NIST Office of Weights and Measures publishes national standards, and states and localities enforce them. Many states inspect commercial scales and may require registration or a seal.

Rules vary by state, so check your state and local requirements before using a scale for sales. A kitchen or shipping scale that isn't approved for trade usually shouldn't be used to price items for customers.

How does tare work?

Tare is the weight of the container or packaging. Customers pay for the product, not the tub or bag.

Say a customer buys olives in a plastic container. The container weighs a small amount. If you don't subtract it, the customer pays for the container at the olive price.

Most POS systems and scales let you set a tare weight for each item or container type. The scale subtracts it automatically.

Set tare weights for your common containers. Weigh an empty container, record the weight, and enter it in your system. Review them when you change container suppliers.

Here's a hypothetical. You sell mixed nuts at $9.99 a pound in containers that weigh 0.03 pounds. A customer's container weighs 1.03 pounds on the scale. With tare set, they pay for 1.00 pound, $9.99. Without it, they pay for 1.03 pounds. It's small per sale, and it's the right thing.

How do you keep a scale accurate?

A few habits help.

Keep it level. Most scales have a bubble level and adjustable feet. Check it weekly.

Keep it clean. Food and grime on the platter add weight. Wipe it often.

Don't overload it. Every scale has a maximum. Heavy items can damage the load cell.

Zero it before weighing. The scale should read zero with nothing on it.

Keep it away from drafts, vents, and vibration, which can affect readings.

Test it with a known weight now and then, if you have one.

Label rolls matter too, if you use a label scale. Browse the paper rolls category for the roll types available, and check sizes against your scale. For cables and connection parts, the POS parts category lists what's available.