Posts Tagged ‘restaurant point of sale’

Click here for a video that explains the risk of non-PCI compliance

PCI and Credit Card Security Background

Restaurants and their customers have long been enjoying the convenience they get on credit and debit cards for many years. However, given the sky high cost and frequency of credit fraud, major card brands such as Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover and JCB have taken steps to safeguard all stakeholders.

IBM was the one who invented the mag stripe on credit cards in 1968 and became the industry standard. Given that the track data on the mag stripe can easily be read and duplicated, the card brands, with the set of standards that the Payment Card Industry (PCI) Security Standards Council has built, it clearly stated the first directive: ‘Don’t store track data.’

The Standards of PCI

The PCI Security Standards Council has taken a three-pronged approach to protecting consumers, banks and merchants/restaurateurs:

• Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard or PCI DSS ? involves all entities that store, process, or transmit cardholder data (Merchants, restaurateurs, service providers, processors, etc.)

Compliance Deadline: January 2007 (deadlines are long passed)

What it Means – Restaurateurs, regardless of the size, must all complete and submit a PCI Self-Assessment Questionnaire to their Acquiring Bank every year.

• PA?DSS (Payment Application Data Security Standard) ? involves all applications used to store, process, or transmit cardholder data as part of authorization or settlement. (Point-of-Sales (POS) application developers)

Deadlines for Compliance:

Oct. 1, 2008 ? Only the software that is compliant with the new payment application security standards must be used by agents, merchants and payment processors.

Oct. 1, 2009 ? All merchants will be required to start terminating the use of any non-compliant payment applications that they might still have in their environments.

July 1, 2010 ? Mandatory use of only the payment applications that complies with the new standards.

Which Means – If, after the deadline, a merchant/restaurateur is not running a PA DSS-validated application, they will automatically fail their PCI assessment and could possibly lose their ability to accept credit cards.

• Pin Entry Devices (PED) Standard – includes all PEDs and it aims to ensure that the cardholder’s personal identification number or PIN, including any sensitive information are protected consistently at a PIN acceptance device, like your resident keys.

Deadline for Compliance:

Jan. 1, 2004 ? To all newly purchased Point of Sale (POS) PIN Entry Devices should pass testing by a Visa recognized laboratory and approved by Visa.

July 1, 2010 ? Mandates that every Point of Sale (POS) PEDs must pass and get approved by PCI SSC from one of its recognized laboratories.

Which Means ? All Merchants/restaurant owners will have two years to replace older, un-approved PEDs.

Payment Card Industry (PCI) Do’s

• Do routine vulnerability scans of your systems.

• You must do a security awareness training for your employees.

• Make system access audits.

• Monitor your system activity logs.

• Separated employees must have their access privileges removed.

• Install software patches for your system.

• Any threats should be taken seriously – have an incident response plan in place.

The Don’ts of Payment Card Industry (PCI)

• Refrain your self from storing or archiving whole credit card numbers.

• Transmitting credit card data unencrypted should not be practiced.

• PCI is not about making you compliant with these standards – it’s all about protecting your business and your customers.

What Restaurateurs Get From PCI

Given consumers’ expectation of omnipresent acceptance of using plastics, a restaurateur’s validation that they are protecting their customer’s personal information is good for business:

Business Reputation / Image

For a highly competitive business – a restaurateur does not want to be named in the media as the place were card data was stolen.

Protects Your Credit / Debit Card Payments Acceptance Ability – failure to comply and/or a breach can risk a merchants’/restaurateur’s ability to accept credit/debit payments. In many cases, credit/debit payments account for 80% to 90% of transactions. Losing your store’s ability to accept credit cards can reduce your customers.

The Effects of State Privacy Laws

A breach that discloses personal credit card information in one of the 40+ States with privacy laws may experience double impact on the side of the restaurateur. Being off-side with the Payment Card Industry will result in fines and lawsuit costs. Being off-side with State Privacy Laws is a crime with potentially more serious penalties.

Compliance / Security Strategy

• Ensure you are using a PA?DSS or PABP validated POS system

• Make sure you’re using an approved PED

• Arrange for regular security awareness training for your staff, especially your supervisors

• Conducting a background check on all employees with administrative access to your system is a must

• Have a ‘Confidentiality Agreement’ contract with your staff

• Carefully and accurately complete the PCI Self Assessment Questionnaire (SAQ) – if you are not sure – ask

• If you notice gaps in the PCI compliance, develop a realistic plan to correct them

• Maintain mature controls to sustain compliance

• Access controls

• Dual factor for system and device management

• Strong passwords and secure password storage

• Regularly monitor system activities for possible attacks as well as record evidences

• Control wireless access points

• Always maintain a secure configuration

• Segment networks

• Maintain an Incident Response Plan and Test It

• Test and audit the cardholder environment carefully

It may be a daunting task the first time but when everything else is in place, an ongoing PCI compliance is not an expensive work. It is good business practice to protect the sensitive information that your customers entrust with you.

Questions?

You can visit www.POS-For-Restaurants.com anytime for more information or advice about this topic, a Restaurant POS professional serving your area will address your concerns.

The author of this article writes for POS-For-Restaurants.com – a VP of Customer Relations with over 20 years experience in the restaurant point of sale industry.

What’s a POS System?

Point of Sale (POS)

This can mean as the commodities offered for sale, displays and sales transactions.

Here, we will discuss about the hardware and software that runs your business from the operations at the front counter to the back office.

For a small gift store, a basic POS system would consist only of a computer, cash drawer, barcode scanner, receipt printer and the appropriate POS software. A service organization, like a lawn care company, doesn’t need a cash drawer or a receipt printer.

But they might want to use a laser printer for their service invoices.

Again, you can easily customize a POS system for your specific needs.

Remember that the core of your retail POS system is the computer that runs your POS software.

Of course, we do understand the deep temptation of using older computers or even the cheap models you can purchase at “superstores”.

But always remember, the moment it runs, it will be depending on these easily worn out equipments, so a good quality computer is very important. 

If you want to have high quality use custom built POS systems, branded parts will work perfectly for years.

The same advice goes for all the other components.

You can get the job done using a basic cash drawer, but the heavy duty models really are built better and will last longer.

CCD barcode scanners are more reliable than the old pencil type wands, but both are still designed to work with flat, easy-to-read barcodes.

Let’s talk about laser scanners, not only have a greater range, but the laser can wrap around bottles, bags or follow irregular shapes which is way better than the CCD scanners.

While barcode technology is improving, so is the printer technology. This machine that performs dependably under heavy use of the industry is used to be a dot-matrix printer, and they’re still fairly popular, but thermal technology is faster, quieter and more affordable.

Uninterruptible power supplies (UPS’s), or battery back-ups, are easy to afford and can keep your business up and running during short outages and power glitches. Remember, your business will be depending on this equipment. If you’re going to be using it a lot, do not hesitate to use the extra bucks and get the heavy duty models and UPS units.

A retail POS system does not only give you control over your transactions, but it also puts a wealth of information at the palm of your hands.

Imagine being able to compare months and even years to date of sales with just a few keystrokes. yuo eill learn that a database of your customers’ information can be a powerful tool to boost your sales.

A POS system can also track your inventory, automatically creating order lists as needed, even adjusting quantities for seasonal demand.

To sum it all, a POS system helps you keep a constant eye on your bottom line.

If you want to know more on how to choose the right retail point of sale system provider visit Retail-POS-Solutions and you will receive information on a system designed for your specific business and retail business needs.

 

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The author of this article is a retail POS sytem professional who has been counseling businesses of all sizes from single locations to national chains for over 20 years.

 

 

Introducing A New Payment Method That Could Make Credit Cards Obsolete

A leading provider of advanced, open-standard contactless chip technologies, Contactless and a global leader in electronic commerce and payment processing services, First Data, have announced that they made a three-year agreement into developing contactless payment stickers that will be marketed by First Data as GO-Tag products. On the agreement, INSIDE is to supply the MicroPass payment sticker prelams only to First Data-qualified card manufacturers for production.

The agreement helps leverage the core technology from INSIDE Contactless and the issuing and transaction processing power of First Data. First Data will be marketing and distributing GO-Tag products to financial institutions, major U.S. merchants, and other distribution channels in a variety of form factors.

According to the general manager of Mobile Commerce and Point of Sale Solutions for First Data, the GO-Tag Solution represents an important measure in the evolution from today’s plastic cards and fobs, offering a bridge to the future of mobile payments. “Our partnership with INSIDE Contactless enables us to offer consumers an opportunity to turn just about any personal item, from a mobile phone to an employee ID badge, into a payment device.”

As the executive vice president of payments for INSIDE Contactless, Charles Walton says “This agreement highlights the versatility of our MicroPass platform to support a variety of contactless payment applications and form factors, including stickers” stickers, that highlights the agreement].

Consider updating your restaurant POS system to Contactless credit card acceptance in the near future as this technology becomes more common in the marketplace. And we all know that customer service is all about the speed and fast transaction to a restaurant point of sale terminal, the better the service is the better your customer experience will reflect on the value of your services.

 

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The author of this article is the VP of Customer Relations at POS-For-Restaurants.com with over 20 years experience helping restaurants nationwide increase their efficiency and bottom-line profits using restaurant POS systems.

To learn on how our national POS network of restaurant point of sale experts can help your business achieve greater success in these difficult economic times, visit POS-For-Restaurants.com.

 

Tightening up credit card security on restaurants

Tens of thousands of restaurants is being opposed by the credit card industry for not fully protecting their diner’s credit card info from the possibility of theft, with Visa, MasterCard and financial institutions that process electronic payment over recent months are sending warning letters and holding seminars. With these moves, it forces restaurants to take additional steps to guard credit card information.

On the side of companies that process card transactions, tens of thousands of eateries are not complying with credit card industry security rules.  So every restaurant that takes plastic is required to follow a set of security regulations instituted by Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Discover.

Data recorded by Visa indicates that since January 2005, restaurants made up around 40 percent of incidents in which criminals gained unauthorized access to credit card information — accounting for the largest percentage of incidents for a merchant category.

Separately, there are reports from a Chicago-based data security auditor, AmbironTrustWave, for merchants that 62% of the security violations it witnessed during the prior 18 months occurred in the restaurant industry.

These violations includes various security lapses such as the poor guarding of wireless networks — which easily gives access to thieves on sensitive information just outside of the parking lot using a laptop — and lax systems that make it possible for unethical employees to grab credit card information.

Consumers often are unaware when their credit card information is in danger. Not all security breaches produced successful fraud, and mostly, merchants do not recognize these incidents unless there is a significant likelihood that a major fraud will take place or has already been identified. Also, credit card issuers don’t usually close a customer’s account unless fraud has taken place.

Restaurateurs may have a difficult time with credit card security rules, since the regulations can be difficult for smaller merchants. Hearing from the restaurant owners who thought they complied with rules, the National Restaurant Association trade group found out their systems were not functioning properly and were penalized.

Fines for restaurants that violate credit card industry rules by storing credit card data have amounted to more than 0,000 in some cases. Merchants across all categories .6 million for security violations were fined by Visa in 2006, an increase from the .4 million in fines the previous year.

Visa, which declined to provide a breakdown of merchant types, said it recently held special security briefings with several hundred restaurants, a merchant group Visa believes needs additional attention.

During the same time, the companies that process credit cards have also turned the heat on restaurants. Credit card companiesthreatened those who do not follow security regulations that they will end their services.

Credit card companies are especially worried about specialized software restaurants use, which combine such features as tabulating bills, delivering orders to the kitchen and tracking reservations. Since credit card companies cannot require software makers to abide by their security rules, they instead apply pressure to restaurants. Visa maintains a list on its Web site of software programs that meet its requirements.

But software programmers that even with the best software, restaurants could still be in heaps of trouble if they lack ample password protection or firewalls. Software companies say it is not up to them to let restaurateurs know what they must do to be in compliance with credit card rules.

 

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The author of this article writes for POS-For-Restaurants.com, a VP of Customer Relations with over 20 years experience in restaurant point of sale system, helping restaurant owners nationwide increase their efficiency and bottom-line profits.

You may visit POS-For-Restaurants.com for more information on how our national network of restaurant point of sale experts can help your business achieve greater success in these difficult economic times.

 

POS systems vs. paper records?

Everybody knows that recording data by hand eats your time, now imagine recording business transactions by hand, you’ll probably think it’ll take you weeks or even months. And that doesn’t even include the time to copy all the data into a spreadsheet or database for further analysis! A POS system can keep track of all sales, returns, taxes, inventory, etc. so you’d be able to concentrate more on the other plans for your business’ success. While your POS system do all the crucial tasks, it saves time and increases productivity more than makes up for the expenditure.

I don’t know much about computers. Can I still use POS systems?

Yes. A vendor can help you in setting up the software to perform tasks as you want it to be. You’ll then be able to learn and navigate through a series of menus that’s easy to follow. When the vendor sets you up, they shall provide full training for you and your employees on how to use the system. And in case of problems, a POS customer service professional is just a phone call away!

What equipment do I need to get set up?

To begin, you’ll be needing a phone connection, internet connection and working electrical outlets. If you already have these, then your POS vendor will be able to set you up immediately! You don’t even need to own a computer since most vendors provide one as part of the entire system package.

Can POS help me prevent theft?

POS systems provide multiple tools to stop shrinkage before it eats into your profits. Various applications which allows you to track every item in your inventory so you can estimate exactly how much profit you should realize for every sale and pinpoint problems with your margins. If there are differences on the sales reports, it’ll raise a red flag so you be warned that there are problems that needs immediate attention.

Is POS good only for handling sales or to manage inventory?

Both! You can input all the data you want AND check out the inventory… and those aren’t just the tasks you can do, there are lots more you can do with POS. POS terminal and software also allows you to track sales performance, generate different reports, set up reminders for inventory that’s getting low, as well as plan for future sales campaigns. You can use the customer data you collect for targeting effective sales campaigns and stock your shelves with the items they purchase the most.

When do I need wireless?

Wireless is best used for business people on the go, so they don’t need to go back and fort to a POS terminal to process a transaction. Instead, they can easily process transactions using wireless technology.

Do I need a flat-screen monitor, or can I settle for a CTR monitor?

There are too many benefits to LCD displays over CRT that you shouldn’t ignore. First of all, they look great on any counter tables, they take up less space, less electricity and they last longer. CRT screens would be fine for low volume sales and if you’re not certain that POS will fit your business. But with the additional benefits when it comes to flat screens, there’s only a bit cost difference between the two.

What printer is best for my restaurant: a thermal printer or a dot matrix printer?

You’ll find that most businesses choose to use thermal printers over dot matrix printers since they have less moving parts so they last longer. For wireless, it’s the only option you’ve got. Even so, the dot-matric printers are a safer choice for hospitality kitchens because of heat from the ovens, grills, and fryers could warp thermal paper and ink.

What happens if my POS breaks down while conducting business?

This is one of the top reasons why it’s important to regularly back up your database. System failures can happen for a variety of reasons – power outages, system crashes, viruses, natural disasters, etc. By having a backup solution ready (preferably offsite so your important files is protected), you ensure the system is always up and running when you need it the most. More importantly, with backups, you can ensure that you can easily restore all customer information, as well as your sales figures and reports you’ve saved prior to the crash.

How about customer support?

Since customer service policies vary from vendor to vendor, there isn’t a simple answer for this question. While one might have round-the-clock telephone support and local repair technicians, others may only have phone support during normal business hours and can only schedule repair requests a full day in advance.

This is one of the reasons you should keep in contact with your POS vendor. Since customer support is likely one of your most pressing needs, look into the offerings of different vendors, take time evaluating each, and make a clear decision before buying.

What if I have multiple locations?

Generally, if you a few more of POS systems in various locations of your businesses, you can choose from two options. First, you can have each location operate independently with its own POS terminals and software. And have their reports sent over to the corporate offices at the end of the day or each week.

The second option involves connecting all terminals to one server allowing real time uploading and downloading of reports and sales figures. The benefit of the second option is that it’s available remotely. But, since several POS terminals will be working on the same server, expect backlogs when sending information all at once.

With both solutions, you have to think about having a robust back up solution since the central server connects all locations – and if it fails, all locations may stop operating.

POS software licensing?

You typically need an individual license for each terminal hosted on your network. There are POS vendors who’ll offer you discounts depending on the number of terminals that needs licenses.

Do I need a service contract?

It’s certainly worth the expense if you want to stay up and running at all times. Once you get set up with a POS system, you can now use it for your day-to-day operations and analysis for future plans. If your computer breaks or suffered a disaster, you probably don’t want to keep it any longer.

There are maintenance contracts offered by vendors, depends on the vendor, which can cost a couple hundred dollars a year who can provide you services each time a POS terminal of yours breaks, so you can go ahead and concentrate in making your profits grow.

Need additional information or perhaps an online resource?

You may visit POS-For-Restaurants.com if you want to receive multiple quotes for your Restaurant POS Systems.

The author of this article is the Customer Relations Vice-President at POS-For-Restaurants with over 20 years of experience serving restaurants of all types throughout the U.S.

The world as we see it today is now full of immense technological advances, a lot of things have been made easy and convenient. Cars and households can be controlled by a remote control, animals are being cloned, and humanoids are being developed. Your business needs to stay in pace with the times or the competition will quickly leave you behind. If you are in business, we have suggestion that will help you step-by-step.

With all the great technologies being developed today, a business cannot afford to spend more time on the basic operational and record-keeping needs. A Point of Sale (POS) System, computer software and hardware network, that can easily record sales as they are occurring.

 

Restaurant Point of Sale System: What it can do for you

This advanced system affords a business “real time” updates of their inventory and better leverage in making business decisions based on sales. Here’s why your business should adopt a POS system:

– It automatically record sales. How many times have you scratched your head wondering why there is a deviation from the books and inventory? This will not be a problem any longer. A business cannot put a price on impeccably accurate sales tracking.

– Most businesses implement sales and other promotions to attract customers. This can cause you a whole year of headache if items, prices and dates are not accurately logged. Any POS System can automate the process, to avoid confusion and frustration when tracking or calculating.

- To small to medium-sized business owners, who can’t be present all the time. This can create high anxiety for the owner and disarray for the business. A POS system basically run the inventory and sales tracking portion of your business for you at all times whether you are present or absent.

- If you have a small to medium-sized business with multiple locations, maintaining consistency can become a concern. You may vary the prices or not of all locations, but the number of customers and their demands will differ. A POS system enables a business owner to keep track of all the inventories of multiple stores and affords the possibility of accounting for meeting different demands and product.

- With the rise of new technologies so is the hassle of acquiring them all. Tools that come separately can be pricey and confusing; a progressive POS system will offer many business tools in one package.

– A good POS system will not only help track inventory and pricing, but will grant more time for employees and the owner to devote towards the business, the customers, and generating revenue. Finding the root of a miscalculation and in remedying the problem can cause a great amount of time; this will not be an issue with a business that institutes a POS system.

 

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Need more information or an online resource?

Go to POS-For-Restaurants.com

The author of this article is the Vice-President of Customer Relations at POS-For-Restaurants with over 20 years of experience serving the automation needs of restaurants of all types throughout the U.S.

 

Spring cleaning for your computer! Just think about it – Can’t rememeber the last time you cleaned your PC? Deleted old files from your pc? If you can’t when, then maybe it’s time to clean!

No worries, a lot of people don’t have the time set aside to clean their computer, but they do find that time when their system slows down. Regularly cleaning your PC and it’s parts, especially since most are in a restaurant environment, can keep your system running smoothly and help protect you from unwanted problems. This can also get your restaurant Point of Sale system up and running perfectly as expected.

Follow this few simple tips for your spring cleaning:

1. Start with your mouse. No one ever suspects the little guy, but your mouse could hold all sorts of harmful bacteria that may cause illness. Use a small amount of cleaning solution on a lint free cloth to clean the mouse every now and then. If other people, using your PC, are getting sick because of it, then you need to clean your PC more often.

2. Next is your keyboard. Keyboards collect a lot of tiny dirt from you – little crumbs of food, dust from papers or folders scattered across the desk, and most of the times even from your unwashed hands on the keyboard. Cleaning the keyboard is not hard as it seems, first shut down your computer, remove the plugs and take your keyboard to a trash can. Turn it upside down, to prevent it from falling to the ground, and lightly shake it or use compressed air to remove any dirt under the keys.

After getting rid of the debris from around the keys, use cotton {swabs|buds} with a little cleaning solution like isopropyl alcohol to clean in between the keys. Next use a lint free cloth with a little bit of cleaning solution to wipe the tops of all the keys. Finish up by wiping the entire keyboard with a dry cloth.

3. Cleaning your computer. The actual computer component that your monitor, keyboard and mouse plug in to , also called the CPU. These units can astonishingly collect vast amount of dirt, especially if they are placed on the floor. Have you baffled after seeing what’s under your PC tower? If so, it’s definitely time for a cleaning.

Again, with the same cloth and cleaning solution you used for your mouse and keyboard, wipe down the outside vents and around the connections. You have to make sure you get as much dust as you can out of the vents. your PC is going to overheat.}

4. Dump the trash. How long has it been since you visited the recycle bin and emptied its content? The recycle bin is where all deleted files are dumped before they are permanently removed from your PCs hard drive. To empty the recycle bin is easy, all you need to do is right click on the “trashcan” icon, choose “yes” and it will permanently remove all files giving more free space for your hard drive.

5. Clear the cache. Another disk space hog can be temporary internet files that have never been deleted for ages! To simply delete temporary internet files within Microsoft Internet Explorer, open your browser, click on Tools -> Internet Options. At the Browsing History section, there’s a button labeled “Delete”. Click Delete and you will have a number of choices – Temporary Inter Files, Cookies, History, Form data and Passwords.

Down here is a brief description each choices under the Browsing History section:

Temporary Internet Files – Deleting this will remove all copies of the websites/webpages you’ve visited, images and media that are saved on your computer for {faster|quick} viewing.

Cookies – Deleting the cookies will remove the files stored on your PC by websites to save preferences such as login information.

History – Deleting the history will delete the list of websites you have visited.

Form Data – This will delete any saved information that you have typed into forms.

Password – This will delete any passwords that are automatically filled in when you log on to a website you’ve previously visited.

There is also a Delete All button that will clear all of the above.

your PC regularly, especially if it is placed in an environment, like the restaurant kitchen, where dirts and spills are common.}

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The author of this article is the Vice President of Customer Relations at POS-For-Restaurants. With over 20 years of restaurant POS solutions experience, POS-For-Restaurants helps you use your technology to be more efficient, more productive and more profitable.

More information on our website: POS-For-Restaurants.com

 

• POS or Point of Sale.

This is a system built for the restaurant and retail industry. With a computerized system, it allows business owners to track sales, the flow of cash, food inventory and helps simplify your bookkeeping enormously. Why it’s perfect for a restaurant: The high volume of cash and credit cards that pass through a restaurant each day make a POS system a necessary. Not only does a POS system track your sales, many POS programs also act as credit card processors. This can make the swiping of credit cards faster and safer for your customers as well as your staff. Servers are accountable for all their sales, and it is impossible to alter checks in the computer unless you have an access. This eliminates employee theft.

• The many benefits of using a restaurant POS system

One benefit of a POS system is that it simplifies communications between the kitchen and the wait staff. Orders are taken then sent through the computer directly to the kitchen printer. Another benefit of a restaurant POS programs is that it tracks everything from food usage, to the most popular menu items. Because your POS system can act as a time clock, it can also help prepare payroll. This can save you a good amount of money in your bookkeeping department. Along with the daily operations of running a restaurant, a POS system can organize profit and loss statement and also your sales tax.

• Any reasons to devalue a restaurant POS system?

Your POS systems is still a computer, subject to all technological problems. If it happens to crash and you don’t have a back up, then you risk losing all your business documents, not just sales, but profit and loss statements and also your payroll statements. Some important information that the IRS may need to check up some day. So, it’s very important to have a back up.

• Thinking about extended warranties?

Remember all the money you saved using POS system for recording all your financial transactions? You could end up spending it on set ups, upgrades and troubleshooting of your POS computers. POS systems doesn’t have the same life span as good old fashioned cash register. You will need to replace parts, update software and eventually need to replace it entirely with a new model. Today, new POS systems has limited warranties and tech support, but just like every other POS equipment, the problems always seem to starts after the warranty has run out. For this problem, you will also need to buy extra tech support.

• Looking for some of the most popular popular software providers?

Below are some of the great POS software providers.

• Aldelo
• Digital Dining
• POSitouch
• Radiant Systems
• Squirrel Systems

If you are planning a very small operation, such as bagel or sandwich shop, you may not need a POS system at first, especially if you aren’t going to take credit cards (and there are plenty of places that still don’t accept credit cards). However, if you are planning of expanding your business, then you may want to consider planning everything first before buying POS systems.

Need more info on POS systems or an online resource?

Go to http://www.POS-For-Restaurants.com

The author of this article is the Vice-President of Customer Relations at POS-For-Restaurants with over 20 years of experience serving restaurants of all types throughout the U.S.

Studying the Types of Input Devices: Point of Sale(POS) Equipment 

Point of Sale (POS) Equipment: Keyboards and touch screens

One of the first choices you will have to make about your POS equipment is whether to go with a touch screen or a programmable keyboard. Most businesses choose touch screens. The only market where keyboards are more popular is grocery stores, because it can program individual keys for specific item codes and prices.

Touch screens are more intuitive to use than keyboards for many users. They also provide more flexibility in the user interface and programming. Most touch screens sold today are flat-screen LCDs unlike the traditional CRT monitors. While LCD touch screens are slightly more expensive (typically $600 – $1,000 instead of $400 – $500), they last longer, doesn’t use much electricity, and take up less space. They even look much better. With both CRT and LCD displays, avoid “overlay” touch screens that are added on to regular monitors – they are more prone to breakdowns and add an unnecessary complication to your system.

When it comes to keyboards, some has the standard 101-keys model similar to any computer. The flat-panel membrane keyboards are smaller and more POS-specific device which is you often see on fast food chains. Often, POS keyboards come with built-in magnetic stripe readers for processing debit cards. Programmable keyboards usually go for between $150 and $300.

No matter which you use, just make sure you consider the environment where it will be used. Both keyboards and touch screens are available with varying levels of spill and dust-proofing.

Bar code scanners
POS scanners reads bar codes and sends the information back to the computer. Typically, scanners connect to the system through Y-connectors called wedges that make them function as an extension of the keyboard. Bar code scanning has an improved accuracy and speed things up during checkout.

Low quality scanners are based on charge-coupled device (CCD) technology. They can be inexpensive, but usually have limitations – an item being scanned needs to be 1 to 3 inches from the scanner. In a typical retail setting, that should be fine.

Laser scanners uses a beam of light in order to read bar codes, they offer much better scanning ability since they are able to scan at long ranges. There are also “autosensing” laser scanners that turn themselves on automatically when an item is placed in front of them for scanning, and then turn off again. The omnidirectional scanners can send out 15 or 20 lasers simultaneously, making bar code scanning from any angle easy. The top of the line scanner is the embedded scanner, which are omnidirectional scanners that are positioned below a counter, as is common in supermarkets.

Choose a scanner based on your customer volume. If the counter line has only one or a couple of customers, the CCDs or entry-level laser scanners should. A fairly constant flow of customers might call for an autosensing model, and very high volume businesses should investigate omnidirectional or embedded scanners. Their prices may range from below 0 to 0 or more.

Handheld POS terminal
One of the latest and clever type of input device is the handheld, wireless terminal. For PDAs, which wirelessly transmits orders back to its base station. A great advantage this POS equipment can provide to a restaurant is that they increase the amount of time servers spend on the floor taking orders and interacting with customers, because it eliminates the need to go back to a terminal to enter orders.

Write-on handhelds: instead of trying to fit a touch-screen interface onto a tiny PDA screen, these devices allow servers to simply write the orders down. Handwriting recognition software parses the order then sends it on to the kitchen and bar as needed.

Handheld terminals are more expensive compared to traditional touch-screen order terminals. However, these devices can make up for their cost by allowing your servers to spend more time up-selling more desserts and drinks. If you are evaluating handheld terminals, make sure you ask about the “drop test” – these units are rated for toughness according to how much they can survive a fall. You can easily find out if your business is a candidate for handheld POS terminals by comparing POS equipment from multiple dealers to learn what products and services they offer.

 

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For more info and free POS quotes or perhaps an online resource?

Check out POS-For-Restaurants.com

The author of this article is the Vice-President of Customer Relations at POS-For-Restaurants with over 20 years of experience serving restaurants of all types throughout the U.S.

 

A Guide to Restaurant Point of Sale Management Software

A growing number of available restaurant POS software that will help you lower costs, save time and drops profit to your bottom line!

Many people think that the restaurant business isn’t that much worthy of time and effort. In spite of this, numerous restaurant Point of Sale software programs have been developed to help you with nearly every aspect of running your business. And there’s more good news: most of this software fists the budget for smaller retail businesses that operate only a few quick-service restaurants or even a single location. The various software products currently available can help you:

1. Greatly increase profits|Double your profits|Increase your profits
2. Lower food costs
3. Streamline staff scheduling
4. Improve table and customer management
5. Improve reservations system
6. Control inventory
7. Design menus

 

Cost out your recipes

Providing accurate recipe cost to your customers can get your business on the fast track to success. With the right figures, it will be easy for you to identify your most profitable menu items as well as items that aren’t performing well. POS software programs eliminate human error in this vital area.

Tables and reservation management

Reservation software can help you reduce no-shows, take reservations from your Web site, identify VIPs and regulars, track customer preferences, capture customer contact information, and more. It can also help you maximize table management and improve your guest management.

Managing inventory

In order to minimize waste and to avoid running out of necessary ingredients, a restaurant owner needs need to have full control of his inventory management and keeping track of goods.

Recommended:

The best contacts and resources to help you make the right choice for your restaurant Point of Sale software are available at POS-For-Restaurants.com

Ordering and purchasing

Look for software that streamlines the ordering and purchasing process, giving you more time to concentrate on revenue-generating activities.

Recommended:

The best contacts and resources to help you make the right choice for your restaurant point of sale system are available at POS-For-Restaurants.com

Menu design

Making menu designs can help boost your customer volume by creating designs that would attack more visitors. But designing your own menu is hard and time consuming, especially if you do not have the necessary skills it requires. You will end up hiring a graphic designer and pay each time you need a new design. By purchasing a POS software that lets you create menu designs, it eliminates the need of hiring a professional designer! You can make your own menu designs depending on your restaurant’s theme, holidays, highlighted menu, etc.

Proper staff scheduling

Every retail establishment owner knows that scheduling employees can be a real headache. When performed manually, the task is time-consuming and often results in mistakes, such as understaffing or overstaffing.

Recommended:

The best contacts and resources to help you make the right choice for your restaurant Point of Sale software are available at POS-For-Restaurants.com

A few helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• When operating on more than one restaurant, it’s alway a good idea to test-drive your POS software first on one before implementing it to all.
• With your restaurant software programs’ powerful reporting features, use them to analyze your sales, your customers and your menu. Make changes based on what you learn.