Choosing POS software for a shop in Cambodia

Your shop runs on a notebook or an Excel file, customers keep coming, and you start searching for "POS software". You get dozens of names, and every ad promises "easy to use, all the features you need". But most POS systems are built for markets with a single currency — the first time a customer pays 20 USD for a 12.75 USD order and wants the change in Riel, your cashier is back on a pocket calculator.

This article won't tell you which product is "the best". Instead, it gives you the questions to check during a free trial, the criteria that matter specifically for shops in Cambodia, and a scorecard you can use to compare a few options in one afternoon.

When is a notebook or Excel no longer enough?

A notebook isn't wrong — plenty of shops run on one for years. It's time to look at POS software when two or more of these are true:

• Two or more people take cash, and when the drawer is short at the end of the day, nobody knows which shift it was.
• You can't answer "how much profit did we make today?", only "how much did we take in?".
• Stock in the notebook is far from what's on the shelf, and you have to count everything before you dare reorder.
• You're about to open a second branch, or you want to check on the shop when you're not there.
• You make more than 50 sales a day: at 30 seconds of writing per sale, 80 sales is 40 minutes of handwriting — plus half an hour of adding up at closing.

If you're the only one at the counter with 15–20 sales a day, a carefully kept notebook still works. Software solves the problem of more people, more sales, more locations.

5 criteria specific to shops in Cambodia

1. USD and Riel in the same order, with automatic change

This is the most important test. During the trial, ring up a 12.75 USD order, the customer hands over a 20 USD note, exchange rate 4,000:

• The change is 7.25 USD.
• Mixed change: 7 USD and 0.25 × 4,000 = 1,000 Riel.
• Or all in Riel: 7.25 × 4,000 = 29,000 Riel.

The right software lets customers pay in USD, Riel or both in a single order, calculates the change and lets the cashier choose which currency to give it in. The exchange rate must be set in one place for every till — not worked out in each cashier's head. More on keeping the books straight with two currencies: Selling in USD and Riel without end-of-day cash gaps.

2. KHQR recorded separately from cash

More and more customers scan KHQR, but that money lands in your bank account, not the drawer. If the software lumps everything into "paid", at the end of the shift you can't tell how much should be in the drawer and how much should show in your banking app. Check that one order can be split into a cash part and a KHQR part, and that the shift report shows a separate KHQR total. See also Accepting KHQR payments at the counter.

3. Shift close counts USD and Riel separately

The drawer always holds two currencies. At shift close, the software should calculate the expected amount for each currency, so the cashier enters what they counted and sees the difference straight away. A system with a single "cash at close" box that converts everything to USD hides the problem: 40,000 Riel short and 10 USD over looks like "balanced". How to close a shift without losses: Stop cash loss at the counter.

4. A Khmer interface for your staff

You may read English, but what about your cashiers? Staff pressing the wrong button because they don't understand the label is a major source of mistakes. Ideally each person picks their own language in the same system: the owner reads reports in English, the cashier sells in Khmer. Printed receipts should show the total in both USD and Riel.

5. Keeps selling when the internet drops

In many markets the connection drops for a few minutes several times a day. Ask the vendor directly: what happens if the internet goes down mid-shift? A good answer is: the sales screen keeps recording orders on the device and syncs them automatically when the connection is back, with no lost orders. During the trial, turn off the wifi, make 2 sales, turn it back on and check that both sales show up in the reports.

General criteria every shop needs

• Multiple branches with separate stock per location — even if you only have one shop today. Switching software once you have 2 branches is much more work than choosing the right one from the start.
• Staff permissions: one account per person; cashiers can sell but can't change prices or delete orders.
• Gross profit reports, not just revenue. The software has to know each item's cost to answer "how much profit today" — see 5 numbers every shop owner should check daily.
• Data in the cloud: if the counter computer breaks or gets stolen, your data is still there, and you can check reports from your phone.
• Support on a channel you already use (Telegram, phone), in a language you speak — with replies the same day.

Work out the cost over 2 years, not the first month

A monthly subscription and a one-time licence are hard to compare on the starting price alone. Add up 2 years. For example:

A computer, receipt printer and barcode scanner cost the same either way — but ask whether the vendor requires you to buy their own hardware. Browser-based software usually works with the computer and printer you already have.

A scorecard for your free trial

Try each system with real data: enter your 20 best-selling products, open a shift and sell as on a normal day. Score each line: 2 = easy, 1 = possible but awkward, 0 = can't do it.

The maximum is 24 points. Lines marked ★ are must-haves for a shop that takes two currencies: any system scoring 0 on a ★ line is out, however high its total.

Three common mistakes when choosing

1. Picking the cheapest or the one with the most features. A system with 200 features that your cashiers can't use ends with everyone back on the notebook. Choose with the scorecard.
2. Only the owner tries it, not the staff. The person at the counter 8 hours a day is the real user. Let a cashier run one trial shift before you decide.
3. Switching during peak season. Don't change how you sell right before Khmer New Year or Pchum Ben. Pick a quiet month, prepare your product list (name, code, cost, price, stock) and do one full stock count before entering opening stock.

How does LeangPos fit this list?

LeangPos is built for shops in Cambodia: customers pay in USD, Riel or both, one order can be split into cash, KHQR or card, and change is calculated automatically in USD or Riel (Selling at the counter). The exchange rate is set once for every till (USD - Riel exchange rate), and shift close counts USD and Riel separately (Closing a shift). The interface is available in Khmer, English and Vietnamese; if the internet drops mid-shift, the open sales screen keeps saving orders on the device and syncs them when the connection is back. It runs in the browser, with nothing to install.

The best way to know if it fits your shop is to score it yourself: try LeangPos for free — the Starter plan comes with a 3-month free trial — and go through each line of the scorecard.