Get connected to gain POS expertise

Take a minute to think about how you and your employees gain product knowledge. Maybe you attend seminars once in a while, or even use a formal training program. Both provide an important foundation for learning, but there is no substitute for experience. Most of what you learn, both inside and outside of your store, comes in bits and pieces from your own experiences combined with the others’ experiences. Your hardware product knowledge grows each day as you solve problems with customers, and talk with vendors.

When it comes to your POS system, the situation is different. You might have a user manual, and hopefully you’ve attended some user group meetings at the Markets. At times you may contact your vendor’s support line if you have a specific problem. However, despite the fact that your POS system is the information backbone of your store, your knowledge doesn’t grow very quickly if you’re not connecting with other users.

The opportunity to connect is just one click away! There are numerous blogs and online forums that can connect you to others who may have the same questions you do, or who can offer their expertise in solving problems. On the other hand, you may hold the answer to someone else’s problem. Most importantly, it doesn’t take a lot of time. You can usually sign up to receive emails when there are new posts, so you don’t have to visit a web site regularly. You can read when you have time, and delete or ignore when you don’t.

Blogs and forums administered by vendors (like this one) are usually monitored by the vendor, and often times they will answer questions and participate in the conversation. Independent forums, such as the Hardlines Digest, deal with POS questions relating to many different systems along with other topics. You may have to be a customer to use some of the vendor-specific forums. Here’s a short list to get you started:

AgVantage Forum: Private vendor forum for AgVantage users

ARS Blog: Public Blog sponsored by ARS, mostly related to ARS system features

DBMS User Forum: Private vendor forum for DBMS users

Pacsoft User Forum: Private vendor forum for Pacsoft users

Hardlines Digest: Public forum, requires registration. Content covers all aspects of hardware retailing including POS systems. Recent posts relating to Activant and RockSolid POS systems.

Do you know of other online resources for retailers with POS systems? Click the comment link to share them!

Is your POS system protected from severe weather?

Spring is here! Hopefully your registers are getting a workout. As the days grow warmer, the likelihood of severe weather increases too. As you probably know, power surges from severe weather are a natural enemy to your Point-of-Sale system. This threat isn’t limited to items plugged in to electrical outlets – electrical spikes running through telephone and cable connections can also have damaging effects. Can you imagine the nightmare of losing your POS server to a lightning strike on a Saturday morning in June? Too often there is a tendency to add or replace equipment with the idea that “we’ll add some surge protection later when we get time.” Don’t wait for lightning to strike… NOW is the time to check your equipment and be sure it’s really protected.

The 15 amp breaker in a standard power strip will protect the wiring in your store from being overloaded if you’re drawing too much power, but it won’t protect any of the equipment that is plugged into it from power surges. All components of your POS system should be powered through a surge protector, or better yet through an uninterruptable power supply (UPS). This includes the computers, monitors, network switches, routers, modems, charging cradles, cash drawers, and printers that make up your POS system. You should also check your fax machine, stand-alone credit card terminals, paint computer, color-match equipment, and mobile phone chargers to be sure they are protected as well.

UPS units provide surge protection, but they also provide your equipment with a few minutes of power in the case of a power outage. You won’t be able to run your POS system all day on a UPS, but if the power flickers or shuts off for just a few minutes your system will continue to run on the UPS’s battery power. In the case of a longer power outage, you will have at least enough time to finish some customer transactions and shut down your system properly. A basic UPS unit costs around $90.00, and will provide you with 5-15 minutes of battery life depending on the power that is being drawn from the unit. If you only buy one, use it for your POS Server. If your equipment is protected by a UPS already, make sure the battery is still good. Replacement batteries are available for most units. Most retailers that carry computer equipment will have UPS units available, and you can also find them online.

At bare minimum, you need surge protection. Prime Wire & Cable makes a surge protector that will accommodate phone, data and cable (RG6) lines along with eight three-prong electrical devices (Hank and TW SKU 070-151). Running your phone and/or cable line through this unit along with the electrical connections will provide the best protection. Here’s an added bonus: when you’re done checking and updating the surge protection for your own equipment, talk to your commercial customers about it. Chances are they have similar equipment that needs to be protected, and you can point them to the surge protectors you carry in the store.

Do you have additional tips or comments? Have you lost equipment or data due to power surges? Comment below.