Cash drawer ms

ECRs can be info gathering tools with s'ware - electronic cash registers

Retailers are turning to hightech electronic cash registers to sharpen their competitive edge in an increasingly challenging marketplace.

No longer glorified calculators on a cashbox, today's registers are vital information gathering tools.

Thanks to the marriage of the cash register and personal computer via specialized software, retailers can now track -- and respond to -- timely business management data.

Fast access to accurate information about sales, inventory and demographics can give business owners a real advantage over their competitors. In the current retail wars, that data may make the difference between a business staying afloat or sinking without a trace.

For shop owners, products which provide this can be a real boon. A cash register destined for a new store in Halifax, for example, could be programmed at head office in Toronto, shipped and installed on-site. Information could then be downloaded via modem.

One advantage of such a system would be a market reduction in labor. Before a company-wide sale, for instance, ideally a retailer could program the computer to download new pricing to all regional operations before store opening.

Using traditional methods, changing prices on hundreds of items in stores across the country was tedious and time-consuming, with plenty of margin for error. But with such software, the job could be done automatically, in about 30 minutes, and with greater accuracy.

Another plus would be easy data retrieval. Sales figures could be pulled back and stored in daily, weekly, monthly and year-to-date categories.

Information could ideally be exported to several different formats, such as AccPac General Ledger or Inventory Control, Lotus 1-2-3, dBase or any other ASCII-type software program.

For retailers, the cash register, as an input tool, offers a number of advantages. Owners of a restaurant chain, for example, could track liquor inventory levels on a daily basis. Each night, staffers would enter closing inventory levels directly into the register, the computer would take the information, along with sales data, and generate an actual ounce variance report ready for head office in the morning.

That kind of timely information is invaluable. Previously, a retailer had to compile numbers manually and forward them to his accountant, about 10 days after month-end he'd finally receive a statement. But when the process is automated, sales and purchase data, etc., can be monitored daily, and the retailer advised immediately about any problems.

By purchasing such a product, accountants themselves can, in effect, become service bureaus for clients unwilling or unable to purchase a personal computer. With such software, they could pull back data from several retailers at night and have reports ready the every next day.

Industry experts are also tracking a move to user-defined keys, which prompt cashiers through such transactions as accepting cheques, lay-aways and voiding sales.

One keystroke leads an operator through a sequence of events, eliminating any possibility of error. No special training is necessary, the cashier simply follows the display and inputs the information that's requested.

Industry experts anticipate a move away from "computer on a cash drawer" setups, popular in the 1980s, to the new electronic registers, which can capture the data retailers demand, as well as perform typical sales functions.

Today's registers, which offer a vastly reduced training period and simplified operation, are fast winning converts among business owners plagued by poorly skilled staff and high turnover.

Manufacturer with an eye to the future are also ensuring that their "smart" registers have the external ports and internal flexibility to adapt to peripherals, e.g. debit-card scanning, as they become popular.

Electronic cash registers, with their inherent time-saving advantages and the complementary role of ECR software will be a key part of the retail environment in the future for companies who strive for greater efficiency and a healthier bottom line.

Ron Kosciolek is national sales manager, ECR/POS System Products at Sharp Electronics of Canada Ltd. in Mississauga, Ont. Available through Sharp is a Canadian-designed software product called CashLink which interface electronic cash registers with MS-DOS PCs.