Retail Management System and POS

The Dynamics retail store management line is changing. Microsoft currently offers two Dynamics products specifically for managing retail stores, Retail Management System (RMS), and Point of Sale (POS). RMS targets multistore retailers and includes both a store operations module and a headquarters module, while Microsoft POS is a PC-based cash register replacement aimed at retailers with a single store. RMS integrates with several Dynamics ERP products and some non-Microsoft accounting packages (such as QuickBooks and Peachtree), while POS integrates with the Office Accounting small business accounting product. POS and RMS are sold in English-speaking countries and had over 40,000 customers as of Mar. 2009; the most recent (2.0) versions shipped in 2007.

The next release, Dynamics POS 2009, will be a completely new product for single store operations with many new capabilities including some from the RMS store operations product. It will support migration of data from RMS 2.0 and POS 2.0, but will not necessarily include all of the features of those products; for example, it will not provide built-in integration with Dynamics GP or Office Accounting. Dynamics POS 2009 is planned for release in 2009.