Needing for Credit Card Processing for One’s Restaurant?

Author: bobyzufk

If you’re in the restaurant business, you must already recognize just why it is essential that one’s establishment honors credit cards plus bank cards. The majority of dining patrons will want to pay using plastic. A quantity of restaurant owners have even claimed that as many as 90% of all customers pay with plastic. So if you are not configured to receive credit cards, the eatery is not likely to have much success.

However you really need to understand that not each and every online credit card processing providers are adequately outfitted to facilitate the success of your restaurant. If perhaps you’re thinking about opening a online merchant account, following are helpful hints to make certain you make a wise decision that is in the business’ better interest.

Initially, be sure the credit card processor that you’ll go for has familiarity working in other eateries. The clear-cut reality is that restaurants have far unique bank card processing parameters as opposed to most other types of businesses. A POS system or digital terminal that works well for any other type of retail enterprise most likely will not be a good fit for one’s restaurant.

The greatest charge card processors provide credit card terminals designed only for dining establishments. Those POS systems not only allow it to become much easier for one’s enterprise to safely honor credit cards or debit cards, but they additionally help you run your business much more smoothly, lowering order mistakes, improvements in food delivery times, and more.

Needless to say, you’ll always want to ensure you are getting a fair price on the credit card processing services. No dining establishment can thrive if it is drowning in costs due to accepting bank cards.

A good payment processor will promise to have absolutely no buried fees in the provider’s service agreement. They’ll additionally offer definite low costs.

Prior to executing an agreement with a CC processing company, study it thoroughly. Make sure that you are not getting into a long standing commitment or also that you will not be faced by high termination fees or further unfair prices.

You really also need to ensure that the system you decide on gives you 24/7 customer support. Emergencies might transpire at just about any time, and if they’re not taken care of in a quick way, the damage can be grim.

A first-rate service provider will offer 24/7 customer support services making sure that one’s matters will be resolved immediately. And most notably, they will not charge you any supplementary expenses for their support service. Surprisingly, various credit card processing firms do have customer service costs and that is certainly ridiculous. Really great customer service ought to at all times be standard.

To conclude, be certain that your merchant provider company can provide the latest in protection and records encryption. Seriously, if any client’s bank card details is not protected, they will discontinue visiting your establishment, and you’ll incur considerable deficits. One’s credit card processing terminals should be secure as well as up to date to guard sensitive details.

Make use of all of the information in this article to discover the right credit card processing options for your dining establishment or bar.

Is Your POS System PCI Complient?

If you don't know know if your POS System is PCI Compliant, We need to talk! Email me


What is PCI Compliance?

Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Discover have joined forces to establish standards for handling and storing credit card data that are intended to prevent the theft of credit card data. They have identified twelve components to ensuring the security of credit card data and published them in a document known as the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard. PCI and DSS are acronyms used to describe this document.
POS Systems that handle and store credit card data in a manner consistent with these 12 standards are deemed to be “PCI Compliant”. A key element of PCI Compliance in a POS System relates to the handling of personal and account information stored on the magnetic stripe on the back of a credit card. Storage of “full track data” is strictly prohibited and whatever truncated data is stored must be protected in very complex and specific ways. Visa and MasterCard have a strict certification process for determining which POS Systems are PCI Compliant. Harbortouch meets the standard for certification as a PCI Compliant POS System.

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Who is liable for a card data security breach?

All merchants that accept Visa or MasterCard sign a credit card processing contract which holds them responsible for handling credit card data in a secure fashion and makes the merchant responsible for damages if credit card data is stolen. In other words, the credit card processing contract holds merchants responsible for any breaches in security. Fines are levied in proportion to the number of card numbers that are lost and whether or not the merchant was storing full track data. Fines in excess of $100,000 have already been levied even for the loss of a modest number of cards.

How can a data security breach be prevented?

First and foremost, merchants must upgrade to a PCI Compliant POS System. They must also delete previously recorded credit card data from existing electronic files and backups. And finally, they must enhance the overall security of their computers and network. Internet connected sites should have a firewall protecting them from unsolicited external connections. Remote access passwords should be complex and not shared amongst sites.

How much does it cost to upgrade to a PCI Compliant POS System?

The cost of PCI Compliant POS software is based on the number of POS stations on the network. However, installation of new software is only one step in establishing PCI Compliance. Identifying and deleting all existing files that contain credit card information can be a time consuming task, the scope of which must be determined by a professional survey. The cost of installing a firewall and further enhancing the overall security of a computer system is also dependent on the scope of the work and the security systems already in place

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Article Reference: http://www.rmpos.com/pdf/pci_faqs.pdf

Discover the Reasons for Using POS Systems

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One of the best ways to make your business stay ahead of the game is to apply the principles of innovation. However, a lot of people mistake it to mean simply development in principles and enterprise ideas. What you should know is that it also requires the use of modern technologies such as the POS systems.

Sure, you are going to spend a good amount of money for a POS system. In fact, it may take a year or two before you can fully realize substantial return of your investment. Yet the benefits are huge, practical, and, most of all, long-term. Just to get an idea why POS software is so much better than your cash register or, worse, your calculator, read the list below:

It is more accurate. It is highly important that you can reduce the errors of your business. Of course, these mistakes also translate to losses, which, unfortunately, you won’t be able to recover.

POS systems, however, can make things more accurate. For one, it allows you to use the barcode system for all your goods. When someone buys these items, all you need to do is to let them pass through the bar code scanner. The POS cash register will then generate the corresponding data entry that displays the name of the item and the correct price. With the POS hardware, there’s no need for you to manually input everything.

It helps control inventory. Any business involved in trading should be very concerned about inventory. This is because they represent the goods that have not been converted to cash yet. If they get lost or damaged because of lack of proper inventory, it also translates to loss for your business.

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POS systems can help you keep track of your inventory by generating current reports of items sold. If you can coordinate your POS systems with your existing inventory or even accounting software, you would realize that it’s easier for you to reconcile the differences between the items on hand and those that have already been sold or disposed.

It greatly reduces shrinkage. What do we mean by this? If your business has experienced “mysterious inventory losses,” such as you’ve lost 30 packs of Toblerone chocolates, then there’s a good chance that you’re suffering from shrinkage. It means that someone may have stolen the goods from your store. However, because of your error-prone inventory techniques, it’s harder for you to discover the anomaly. If you did, it would be too late, and you will still find it difficult tracking who should be responsible.

POS equipment saves you the hassle and provides you with peace of mind. When the employees are aware of the effectiveness of the POS, they would definitely think twice of committing the deliberate act. On the other hand, you can practically monitor your inventory every day with the use of the POS systems.

You can provide better customer service. Do you know that there are more people who shop in stores that use POS systems? First, it speeds up their purchase process. Moreover, buyers will be more assured that they are paying the right price for the merchandise.

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John is author of this article on Pos cash registers.

Don't Let Your Vintage POS System Bring Your Business Down

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Numerous profitable companies today have started out since the 1990s and even 1980s. If you are 1 of those profitable entrepreneurs with retail shops in various places, then you are most likely keeping and nevertheless utilizing POS systems that are yet useful from many years before. Give yourself an update. The technologies of the world today has long been providing remarkable developments in managing your company simpler. There are now numerous point of sale applications that weren't conceivable decades ago.


If an old dog can learn brand new tricks, then your business can certainly adopt new and advanced systems. Your company is already recognized and established, meaning you've a good reputation to uphold. Whether or not you offer the best items around or possess the greatest customer support, you may even enhance your services with a new POS system.


Purchasing a brand new system for the company is beneficial in numerous ways.


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What's the obsolete design of POS systems?


At the time when point of sale systems were being followed by entrepreneurs and businessmen, the systems were produced on a foundation which needed a database for each retail store. This indicates you've a database for each PC your shops have. All data, inventory, and transactions were being stored in a sole database. In order to share and move crucial or needed files as well as other store details, these databases need to carry out "polling" strategies. Even though this can permit you to move or share details to other PCs, staff personnel, or to other shops, there is a flaw in this program.


Common issues resulting from this technique would be the corruption of crucial information and also the 8% failure rate


of each attempt to share or send information.  Because it takes a long time for information to be received, new details just isn't possible. Also, in situations when you need to access a database, you must visit each store to obtain different information. Wireless access just isn't achievable.


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What does the brand new generation model has to offer?


Thanks to the net, every person and every thing are interconnected with breakneck speed. That quality of the net has also been used in improving your vintage POS system. With a new point of sale system, you can have all of your retail shops linked in a single and central database to operate all of them. Utilizing a cloud database will enable all shops to be linked, helping to make it less difficult to gather details and records from 1 origin. The details will likely be live and updated like your stocks or inventory from 1 retail store to another, logistics, reports, and coupons.


This requires no installation as you only need a low cost PC and browser, offering you considerable reduced operating expenses. Because the database is in a cloud system, you can simply access the database, anyplace and anytime you have to. No more driving from 1 retail store location to another due to the fact every thing you will need is in a single database.


Your company needs to be always on top of things. Having a brand new POS system for your retail shops can make transactions less difficult, communication faster, and details, a lot more accessible. There are lots of organizations on the internet who can offer you various point of sale software programs. Just bear in mind to try to find organizations offering the new generation model for much better company efficiency.


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What's New in Point of Sale Software - Your 2011 Shopping List

By Derek Meade


When it comes to sourcing out point of sale systems, there’s no question that restaurant and hospitality operators have become much more tech savvy in recent years. Not only are they more comfortable when choosing POS software, they’re also demanding a bigger bang for their buck when it comes to POS technology. Thinking of upgrading your POS system? Here’s what you should be looking for in 2011.

It doesn't seem so long ago that hospitality operators were excited to see Remanco POS Systems hit the marketplace. Does anyone out there still remember the original Remanco POS System? You had a sleek looking keypad, a little black plastic “key” and a bible of PLU codes to memorize. You punched in your food and beverage orders, and miraculously, your beverage orders printed out at the bar while your food orders printed simultaneously in the kitchen. It was exciting, sleek, and revolutionary. In many restaurants, the main Remanco terminal was proudly located next to the Pac-Man machine. Enough said.

The world of POS system technology has come a long way since those early days. Today’s restaurant and hospitality operators are much more tech savvy than they’ve ever been, and the point of sale industry is slowly responding to this fact. With this said, here’s the top features you, as a hospitality operator in 2011, should be looking for once you’ve decided to invest in a new POS system.

Data Reporting
The top two issues every hospitality-based business wants to get a handle on are food cost, and labor costs. Keep those things in check, and your chances of succeeding in such a competitive market are greatly increased. Modern POS systems will help you get a handle on these profit killers by allowing managers access to important, easy to understand data on demand, and in real time. A POS system with state of the art data reporting capabilities will allow you to forecast business volumes, which gives managers the information they need to fine tune scheduling and avoid unnecessary labor costs. Time and attendance can be precisely monitored. Real time and instant access to data also allows managers to spot problems quickly and make snap decisions to address discrepancies in cash flow and adjust inventory levels. The POS system will pay for itself many times over if it can help you get a handle on these two issues alone.

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Back Office Management & Database Integration
Having all your POS terminals linked together, combined with the ability to run reports, make menu and pricing changes on the fly, check inventory levels and consolidate payroll at one central location is crucial to running your business efficiently and profitably. Your POS system should allow you to do this quickly and easily, all from the back office. Database integration and back office management capability should be at the top of your shopping list.

Customer Relationship Management
Effective promotions can go a long way in boosting profits. Determining if your coupon or gift card program is working as it should, however, can be difficult. POS systems that can quickly help you evaluate which promotions are working and which ones aren’t, can save you time and money in spades. Having a POS system that can keep track of customer histories, their likes and dislikes, comments, etc. can give you valuable insight into what future promotions to put in effect, and which ones should bite the dust. Effective customer loyalty and points programs keep your customers coming back. When it comes to CRM, let your POS system do most of the thinking for you.

Wireless Mobile Computing & Handheld Devices
Wireless point of sale is imperative for businesses that operate outside of traditional, brick and mortar locations. Venues such as ski resorts, theme parks or even stadiums can greatly benefit from wireless POS systems (think concession stands or private suites for instance). In a more traditional environment, such as a restaurant, the benefits of having wireless, at the table ordering capabilities through handheld devices are many.

With wireless handheld units, serving staff save time by not having to line up to get access to the POS terminal, and therefore are much more productive. Managers can reduce staffing levels by scheduling just a few skilled staff, give them larger sections, and make their primary focus greeting customers, taking orders and up-selling. Non-serving staff can then be hired (at significant payroll savings) to dispatch food and clean sections. When serving staff are able to remain on the floor, the result is a superior customer service experience for your patrons and increased sales for you through up-selling and faster table turns. Also, waste is cut down considerably, since placing orders at the table greatly reduces errors.

Wireless handheld devices have been greatly refined in recent years, with increased battery life for handheld units and improved ease of use for staff. The time indeed has come to embrace wireless POS technology.

Payment Security & PCI Compliance
Payment security is crucial in today’s marketplace. With the incidence of fraud and identity theft reaching epidemic proportions, safeguarding the safety of your client’s credit card data is vital. The PCI Security Standards Council is an open global forum for the ongoing development, enhancement, storage, dissemination and implementation of security standards for account data protection. It's imperative that POS systems today follow this standard. Is your POS system secure and PCI compliant? If it’s not, it needs to be.

Self Service Technology
Self service technology has created quite a buzz in recent years. Having moved beyond kiosks, POS systems now offer self serve options that give restaurateurs’ the ability to delegate the food ordering process to customers themselves. Touch screen terminals are now intuitive and easy to use, and offer add on/up sell items items instantaneously, which boosts average check totals. The traditional “Server” is replaced by food runners, or counter staff, who can also do quality checks. Even the payment process can be taken care of by the customer, allowing for quicker table turns and increased cover counts. Self service technology may not be appealing for patrons looking for a fine dining experience, but it certainly is attractive for those who operate fast food or quick serve/casual dining establishments.

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Enterprise POS & Multi Location Capability
For those who operate large and multi-location operations, choosing the right POS system has never been easy. Due to logistics and a host of other obstacles, businesses with multiple locations were forced to be creative in how they coordinated the collection of cash and data. Businesses such as these require enterprise wide POS systems that offer features such as client recognition capabilities, hospitality and retail sales, gift card processing, quick and easy debit and credit options, and more. They also require a POS system that can get around cabling and network issues, and preserve precious data in case of a system or network failure. If your company fits in this category, a reliable and flexible enterprise POS solution is a must.

Cross Platform Compatibility
Is the system you're looking at cross platform compatible? Does it run on your choice of Windows, Linux or Unix? Linux POS solutions can be very cost effective in regards to licensing, installation, administrative and support costs. Make sure you're not closing the door on that option.

With the above points in mind, restaurant & hospitality operators should feel even more prepared when looking at new POS systems. If the POS software you're looking at doesn't offer the features mentioned above, move on. In today's economic times, you can barely afford not to. However, if worse comes to worse, I guess you could always sell that Pac-Man machine.

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Why Your Restaurant Needs a POS System

by Matt Krautstrunk

Long gone are the days of those 400lb cash registers with hundreds of confusing buttons. If you are a restaurant owner in the market for a restaurant POS system, look no further! POS systems, also known as “point of sale systems,” are computerized programs that help your food service business record transactions. You may be thinking, “well I already have a cash register to do that, so why would I need a POS system?” I’ll put it this way, people who worked on typewriters asked the same thing about computers 30 years ago. The answer is simple, POS systems can do everything. They record transactions, print checks, send command orders to your kitchen, process credit cards, and much more.

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Benefits

POS solutions give you the ability to monitor and control almost every function of your restaurant business, in-house or remotely. You are able to access better data on your business faster, and that may free up other areas of business like inventory control and marketing. For example, if you understand your inventory in real-time you will be able to push the sales of item nearing expiration.

For full service restaurants, POS systems touch screen displays that make managing your wait staff assignments as simple as a few touches. Managers are able to operate multiple restaurants directly or remotely with real time reporting. Giving you the ability to modify pricing, monitor inventory, keep track of employee time and attendance, and marketing initiatives from a web hosted software.

On top of this your staff will be more efficient, especially in full service restaurants because POS systems can be programmed to provide step by step order entry guidance to ensure everything is included and processed in a customer order.

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What to Look For:
Order and Go- Order and go restaurants, like deli’s, coffee shops, bakeries, or any other restaurant without a wait staff want a solution that speeds up transactions. If you own a quick service restaurant you may be able to improve customer experience by speeding transactions up to 44%, according to an IBM study. The main purpose of these systems is to reduce order errors and reduce wait times. Basic Features to look for are:

* Large buttons with instant checkout capabilities
* Inventory information
* Credit card processing and cash register capabilities

Sit Down Restaurants- require a more integrated solution. These systems typically must include features for :

* Specific chain and fire kitchen commands
* Customer data tracking
* Check splitting
* Time and attendance systems
* Managerial reporting data and information systems

A restaurant POS system is a big purchase decision, requiring extensive research and price quote assessments. If you want to read more on POS systems, consult our Restaurant POS System Buyer’s Guide.

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Liquor store POS systems and wine point of sale systems

Written by: Eisla Sebastian

Traditionally, liquor stores and wine shops have used a punch key cash register as their point of sale system (or POS). While registers once served their purpose, these machines are now outdated and hinder the efficiency of your sales staff. In response to the changes in technology and money exchange trends, modern POS systems for liquor stores need to have specific components to make them effective. When you buy liquor store POS systems for your business, you need to ensure that they have these basic components, as well as the other components that interest you.


Liquor store POS systems: common applications

Most liquor store POS systems are going to have the same basic features. This may include things like a touch screen monitor, credit card scanner, check reader, and inventory database module. Add-ons that you can request from your POS software manufacturer include quality control check systems, bar code readers, special reporting and tracking programs, and special pack quantity options.

Other features that liquor store POS systems and wine point of sale systems have that can be very beneficial to those businesses are tools for inventory management and tracking as well as communication. Inventory management tools that come with liquor store POS systems allow you to quickly identify what products are in inventory storage, what products are on your shelves, and what you need to reorder. You can even set up your POS system so that you can place new orders directly through your POS system.

Tracking tools can be used to determine which liquors are selling well and which are difficult to move. This can help you better manage your available stock so that you're moving the products you stock quickly. It can also help alert you when orders need to be placed or when you need to rotate your stock.

Finally, communication tools offered by POS systems allow you to network your liquor stores' POS systems. This allows you to monitor what is selling or not selling at each store if you have multiple locations, check the inventory at any store you own, and update the POS systems for all of your stores from your main server. The networking process is usually accomplished via a modem communication setup.

Wine point of sale systems and customer loyalty programs

Even a family-owned wine shop can have a competitive advantage over chain store wine retailers by using a liquor store POS system. Liquor and wine POS systems allow for customer loyalty programs such as House Accounts for loyal customers -- think about inviting your customers to be a part of a Wine Club for a new wine each month! You can also offer gift cards, track deposits for casks of wine, receive notifications when a special label is almost sold out, and provide credit accounts for frequent customers. There are even marketing features on some liquor store POS systems that allow you to store shopper information for a future email newsletter about wine tastings, wine sales, and special events for exclusive customers. These are features that are only available with liquor store POS systems, so make sure you request a liquor store POS system price quote if you'd like these features.

Finding the right liquor store POS system

When you're shopping for a liquor store POS system, it's very important that you understand what features your store needs. For example, if your store deals with a rotating inventory of seasonal items and liquors, then you'll want a POS system that is easy to update or comes with a large database of products.

Next, you'll want to look at how easy your POS system is to use. If you have a staff that is made up of both native and non-native English-speaking employees, then you may want to select liquor store POS systems that have graphics on the touch screen in addition to the written product description.

Regardless of what features you want your liquor store POS systems to have, it's critical that you request free price quotes from a number of vendors. This will ensure that you are not only getting what you want but that you are also getting the best deal on the POS system. Requesting free price quotes will also provide you with the information that you need to negotiate a better deal with the vendor that you decide to work with.

The POS System in Restaurants

The brain, or primary computer, that controls the point of sale system for a restaurant is generally designed to track sales, labor costs, and payrolls. Its records are used by accountants for bookkeeping and tax purposes. The information stored in these systems can be accessed remotely by store’s corporate headquarters and other authorized parties, such as system technicians. The wireless unit has become increasingly popular in restaurants particularly. The handheld POS is used by a waiter to input an order, and the order is then sent to the kitchen in real time. They are most common in restaurants that conduct large volumes of business.

However, most restaurants still used computer terminals on which to run their systems. These terminals are used by waiters to input orders, print guest checks, and to send orders to a kitchen or a bar. They are also used to process credit cards and other forms of payment. POS systems are not only used in restaurants, but also in the fast food industry. The terminals for a fast food business are usually located at the cash register and the drive through window. This allows the them to be used for multiple purposes at once. For example, one employee may be processing a payment at one terminal while another is inputting an order at the drive through window.

A particular feature of a fast food restaurant POS system is that a guest’s order may be recalled or deleted through the use of “bump bars”, which are essentially small components that have different buttons for different purposes. Additionally, most POS systems for this type of business have wireless headset features that allow an order to be communicated from a speaker to an employee who manually inputs the order. POS systems can be customized to fit a variety of different needs for a vendor. Large business clients can dictate their specific needs to a retailer, who then implements them.

For example, a hotel’s needs will differ from those of a fast food restaurant. The type of system used in a hotel must be able to allow the transfer of meal charges from a dining room to a guest’s room. Additionally, it may be necessary for them to be integrated with the property management’s software. Before ordering a POS system from a vendor, a business should ascertain the vendor’s reputation for technical abilities and customer satisfaction.

Hey there! A reliable POS system can totally change the way you do business, the fact that you are reading this tells me that you are considering the investment. Join me on my website today and allow me to guide you through the process as I share tips, tricks and things to avoid when choosing the best POS system.

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