Pos cash drawer

Managing your store's point-of-sale functions is probably the last thing you want to do. So why not let these programs do it for you?

As the retail market evolves, successful entrepreneurs must be acutely aware of their consumers' needs. Whether your storefront is big or small, your success hinges on properly predicting and managing consumer demands, as well as keeping accurate records of revenue coming in and inventory going out.

If you haven't computerized your point-of-sale (POS) process, now's the time. POS software enables you to capture all the data you need to maintain proper inventory, manage customer in- formation and track sales trends. Here, we take a detailed look at Cougar Mountain's (www.cougarmtn.com) Point of Sale For Windows 4.5 and Calgary Software Factory's WinSell Express (www. winsellpos.com), which is also Windows-based. These programs can help owners of any type of retail store manage their front offices. With POS software, you can run detailed sales reports organized by item, transaction amount, register, salesperson and so on. You can also track each salesperson's productivity. Overall, these types of programs can help change the way your POS process works - for the better.

MAKE YOUR POINT

Cougar Mountain's Point of Sale software is a full-fledged accounting program that can be used simply for its POS functions or in conjunction with inventory, accounts receivable and general ledger modules. Although by nature, POS can be quite confusing to the nonaccountant, Cougar Mountain does a good job of simplifying the setup process of Point of Sale.

The setup wizard will ask about which modules of the program you wish to use, the age of the account balances, local sales tax, inventory codes and your POS needs. It will also help you establish your employee list, define your sales tax, and set up cash-register and input-inventory codes. If you have existing spreadsheet or database information you want to import, Point of Sale's Data Exchange module enables you to do so. The program will support Access, Betrieve, dbase, Excel, FoxPro, Lotus 1-2-3, Paradox and text files. This function is key if you already use an inventory management program or have preexisting customer files you want to convert to Point of Sale. Without the import/export function, you would be faced with a lot of time-consuming data entry.

Point of Sale can be networked throughout your entire store; once the program is installed on all your terminals, your data, including inventory and customer information, will be stored in Point of Sale. Data is posted in batches from each terminal at set times (the end of each shift, for example) and then stored on the storage device you designate, such as a PC or server. In addition, because the retail environment is by nature harried, Cougar made sure this program is userfriendly. Essentially, users move the mouse around the screen, double-clicking to easily find customer information and inventory items. (Quick keyboard commands are also available.) Keying in quantities and purchase prices is done via your computer's keyboard.

Once all your data is stored in Point of Sale, you can access it in numerous ways. For example, pre-designed reports let you track customer information, such as which customers purchase which products most frequently. From this, you can devise special mailings to customers who order products consistently. You can also use Point of Sale to create ZIP code reports for target marketing or mailing lists.

Another nifty report enables you to monitor your product-ordering, allowing you to see which products are most in demand so you can order seasonal products when appropriate. You can even increase your sales at the register - Point of Sale can be programmed to prompt salespeople to encourage a customer who is purchasing shampoo, for example, to buy conditioner.

To keep your operation running smoothly, Cougar Mountain incorporates plenty of security functions, like assigning each salesperson a different level of data and cash-drawer access. For example, a manager may be able to issue refunds, void transactions, and do special orders and overrides, while a clerk may only have access to the refund function. In addition, the program records financial data on each customer, and access to that data can be limited as well.

One thing that makes Point of Sale slightly confusing is the way each module is treated separately. If you're running a few modules, it can appear as though you're running different programs. However, all the programs are fully integrated in terms of data and information. In addition to the POS, inventory and accounting functions, Cougar offers add-on modules for such functions as payroll, online credit-card authorization and purchase orders. The recommended program requirements include 32MB RAM and 60MB harddrive space. Point of Sale for Windows costs $900 for a single user and $4,200 for unlimited users. If your POS needs are more extensive, Cougar also offers the Point of Sale Power Station 6000 ($3,495 for a single user), a dedicated POS machine with a cash drawer, a printer, an optional bar-code and credit-card reader, and more. While the software can be used with standard machines, Power Station 6000 is a dedicated hardware system.

BARE-BONES POS

At the opposite end of the spectrum is WinSell Express. A sister product to WinSell (a robust POS program that includes inventory control, customer- and vendor-tracking, and management-reporting functions), WinSell Express maintains these core functions with slight limitations and costs just $249 per single user and $99 for each additional user.

Although the setup process with WinSell Express isn't nearly as easy as it is with Point of Sale, that might not be a problem for small retailers who have less data to enter and not a lot of inventory or customer information to import. Within minutes of installing WinSell Express, a quick tutorial can have you up and running, inputting inventory codes and prices, and printing out invoices. The program's interface is simple, with an invoice-view feature that outlines basic information on products and prices; a payment-view feature for processing sales with cash, check or credit card; and a customer-view feature for managing customer information. When you want to do more, the pull-down menus give you access to inventory management (including purchase orders), payment media information, tax codes and more. A report function lets you print out sales reports to track your salespeople and clients.

WinSell Express also ties in to Microsoft Office, so you can use Excel to analyze data and build custom reports. In addition, Word can be used to create mailings, price lists, labels and the like. This program also relies on Office for importing functions and will only import data from an Excel spreadsheet. If you're a QuickBooks user, you'll appreciate its ability to import sales data from WinSell Express into QuickBooks.

A free trial version of WinSell Express can be downloaded from the Web site. To run WinSell, your computer needs 32MB RAM and 100MB harddrive space.

HOT DISKS

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