Point-of-Sale for Retail

IN THIS ISSUE: Inventory Control Inventory levels The POS Cloud EMV Kiosks Inventory Management Asset Tracking Mobile Ordering SSL Contributors include: Cegid, Lightspeed POS, Celerant, Sterling Payment, Elo Touch, BTM Global, Revel Systems, Harbortouch and more

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ISSUE 3 | 2017 | $8

How Barcodes Can Help

INVENTORY TRACKING

by Remo Di Giambattista, Lightspeed POS Inventory management and tracking is often a dreaded and laborious part of retail, with excel sheets and manual entries taking up time and exhausting even the most inspired employees. If only there was a method or technological tool that could facilitate inventory management and take away the bore of manually entering data. Enter Barcodes - a tool that can greatly help businesses track inventory, improve your day-today operations and boost your bottom line in the long run by tracking parts across multiple location, facilitating your order management, integrating with your accounting system or giving you a much stronger control of your inventory.

Easy & Cost Effective Many business owners have the common misconception that barcode labeling and technology is complicated and expensive while the opposite is true.

Manually entering in SKU numbers in an Excel spreadsheet over and over again for each individual product is difficult and time consuming. Barcodes take that away, as each product has a unique barcode label. Furthermore, you can easily add information to certain inventory items and access that data by simply scanning its code. It give business owners, and employees, the opportunity to view inventory on demand, in real time.

But isn’t it expensive to implement? The easy answer here is No. Though barcode technology initially requires a scanner and a label printer, it drastically lowers overhead and future labor costs. Depending on your PointofSale.com | Summer ‘17 | 2

inventory turnover, you may dedicate a large amount of time manually entering, modifying and updating stock. With barcodes, you no longer have to sacrifice hours to do those things, potentially allowing you to focus on more complex tasks. The accuracy with which you can track your inventory also directly impacts taxes and costs of capital, as you can avoid any errors when calculating inventory costs.

Eliminate Error Human error, no matter how meticulous you are, is a common occurrence. A study including 6 expert typists found that they committed one typing error for every 100 keystrokes. This risk, when associated to inventory control, can cause damaging effects to your business associated to overspending to mistakenly order more inventory or shipment delays if stock is incorrectly entered. Barcode technology eliminates a large majority of the risk related to inventory control with only one error made for every 10 thousand scans.

Furthermore, if a customer purchases a product, one simple scan will take the product out of inventory, rather than employees punching in codes and manually removing stock. Barcodes are traceable and auditable, allowing you to run your business with peace of mind.

The Time is Now Time is of the essence when running a business, and a good owner will save time efficiently wherever they possibly can without damaging their processes. Barcodes fall directly under that mentality. They save time; plain and simple. Yes, they save labour costs, but they also eliminate the time it would take for your employees - or yourself - to write down inventory or physically search for items.

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Unfortunately, many owners take too much time to decide whether or not to implement barcode technology.

It is crucial that your business adopts barcode technology early on, or as soon as possible as it can save time and money. More often than not, owners will wait until they personally encounter an inventory management error before fully taking control of their stock through the implementation of barcodes. Ultimately, the damage is already done by that point.

Like all technology, barcodes are constantly evolving, thus it is critical to stay up to date on the latest software that could help your business gain better control over inventory. You, your employees and your business as a whole can and will benefit from the addition of barcode technology, whether it is to eliminate human error, reduce labour costs, gain traceability and manage time better. With the speed and accuracy that barcode software offers your business, you - and your employees - can make informed and timely decisions about your inventory --

Your Restaurant Technology Resource Center - POS Advice for Restaurants Connect with the Restaurant Technology Solutions You Need to be Competitive in Today’s Market www.pos-advice.com

About the Author Remo Di Giambattista is an avid langophile, spending his days writing for Lightspeed and his nights writing for his personal blog. www.lightspeedhq.com

CLICK HERE for a list of LOCAL POS CONSULTANTS in your state!

SPORTS OUTFITTER USES DATA MINING To Cut $1.4 Million In Slow Moving Inventory

by Celerant Technology

mining capabilities were perfect for the job.

Whether they plan on staying for a half day or camping out for over a week, visitors to Glacier National Park know to stop at Crown Enterprises also known as Sportsman & Ski Haus on the way in. The outdoor store carries everything necessary to enjoy the park safely, from maps and hiking shoes to bear spray and survival gear. Sportsman & Ski Haus and its sister chain Tri-State Outfitters are a combination of large and small destination stores that specialize in apparel, equipment and accessories for a wide variety of sports including fishing, hunting, paddling, snow sports, golf and everything in between.

“The data mining functionality in Celerant Command Retail made it easy to generate a report based on last sold dates and received dates so that we could easily identify SKUs that sat on shelves too long without moving,” explains Babcock, Director of Operations and IT. “After running the numbers, we discovered that our stores were holding $1.4 million worth of inventory that we considered too stagnant to keep in stock.”

Since the stores carry such a wide variety of inventory, merchandise that fails to sell through and turnover regularly is a real albatross to revenue. Crown Enterprises owns and operates both retail chains and realized that a percentage of its inventory had become stagnant. Not only did continuing to stock inventory that was not moving take up valuable shelf space that could be used for other products, it also tied up capital that Crown could have used to invest in the latest merchandise.

Mining the data to find poor sellers

The team at Crown Enterprises, knew that they had to find and eliminate this stagnant merchandise. So they turned to their retail management platform for help. Crown Enterprises conducted daily business operations on a successful implementation of Celerant Command Retail, which managed all POS sales, inventory management, and reporting. Its powerful data PointofSale.com | Summer ‘17 | 4

Babcock and the team at Crown planned an enormous company-wide progressive markdown sale to eliminate the SKUs that were not turning over and generating adequate revenue. It also hit the reset button on how Crown Enterprises would manage its inventory moving forward.

-Founded in 1999, Celerant Technology is a leading provider of enterprise retail management software for optimizing operations in store, online and mobile. Their 350+ clients use Celerant’s omnichannel solution that combines POS, E-Commerce, CRM, inventory management, fulfillment processing, marketing automation, analytics to enhance the shopping experience and accelerate business growth and efficiency. Celerant is recognized as a top retial software provider on the RIS Software LeaderBoard and TopCommerce Provider by Multichannel Merchant. For more information, visit www.celerant.com

DISRUPTIVE TECHNOLOGY and Its Influence on the Receipt

by Brianna Moriarty, Star Micronics It wasn’t that long ago that shopping was a single-channel experience. If a customer needed something, they purchased the item at the store, checked out at the register and took their receipt at the end of the transaction.

However, disruptive technology like mobile commerce has opened new channels that have transformed the entire retail experience.

Mobility and the Modern Shopper Mobile commerce is expected to hit an all-time high in 2017, according to the retail analysts at eMarketer. com. The website estimates that this year, more than 95 million Americans will make at least one purchase on a smartphone and an even higher number – 165 million people – will use their smartphones to research and compare products. Retailers have been working to adapt to shopper’s new preferences by optimizing their websites for mobile, introducing new store apps, and offering cross-channel purchasing options.

number of purchases made using smartphones will soar.

These innovations have transformed the way we shop and pay for purchases, but it’s also had an enormous impact on another staple of a payment transaction: the receipt.

Many retailers require receipts for returns and exchanges, but disruptive technology has changed the way we think about receipts – how they are printed and issues and what information they include. A customer who opts for the mobile checkout to avoid waiting in line still expects to be given a receipt, and Star Micronics’ printing and receipt apps along with wireless printers make this possible.

The SM-T300i, for example, is a popular wireless printer with an ultra-rugged design, perfect for busy restaurants or retailers and other harsh work environments. Printing is possible via practically every mobile device using Star’s newest app PassPRNT, which enables printing from an iPad®, iPhone®, iPod touch®, or Android™ device.

Star’s cloudPRNT, is an innovative technology enabling users to print to Star printers directly through a cloud service.

Although it’s easy to lose track of paper receipts – whether they are crumpled on the floor of the car or shoved into a pocket, electronic receipts are easy to organize and access later. Star Micronics’ AllReceipts™ is a free, cloudbased digital receipt application that allows users to store and manage receipts on their mobile device. Customers just have to scan the QR code at the bottom of the receipt using the app.

Although the competition from online-only retailers is fierce, big data has helped brick-and-mortar retailers learn more about their customers’ habits and preferences. Online shopping is highly personalized, so physical retail stores are working to provide a similar experience by gathering information about their customers via social media, traffic counts, and loyalty engagement, but big data has helped them to better predict trends, develop targeted marketing campaigns, engage customers across channels and generate a higher level of customer loyalty.

Mobile Commerce’s Impact on the Receipt Disruptive technology like mobile payment platforms will continue to emerge and gain popularity and the

Disruptive technology like mobile payments and big data have changed the way people shop as brick-and-mortar retailers work to compete with the highly-customized experience that online-only retailers can provide. Receipts are still expected with every purchase, so this technology has been forced to evolve as shoppers prefer mobile checkout and paying with their smartphones. Star Micronics offers an arsenal of options for retailers seeking wireless solutions for receipt printing, so customers can receive their receipts and organize them the way they are most comfortable.

--Star Micronics, a leading POS provider, has designated a portfolio of printing, secure cash management, and customer engagement solutions for any retail or hospitality establishment. Star offers a full line of POS and mPOS receipt printers: thermal, impact, multi-function, and kiosk printers that service an array of different vertical applications.

PointofSale.com | Summer ‘17 | 5

Benefits of Taking your Retail Business

TO CLOUD-BASED POS

by Djamel Toubrinet, Director of Marketing, Americas @ Cegid

There’s no doubt that the shape of the retail world has dramatically changed over the last decade. From how, when and where consumers spend their money to how businesses approach their day to day operations, much of the shopping experience has evolved as a direct result of advancing technology and the growing customer demands that drive it.

Cloud computing is just one of the developments that has disrupted traditional shopping habits, but in a good way, providing substantial benefits for both consumers and retailers alike. Successfully strategized and used to its fullest capabilities, cloud computing has been shown to completely revolutionize the way in which any retail business can function. However, there aren’t currently very many providers that can offer mature cloud-based retail solutions that meet the vital reliability, flexibility, speed, and performance requirements of retailers.

Cloud Benefits for Consumers The incorporation of digital technology into the retail environment has been rapidly gaining momentum as retailers recognize the opportunities it presents. One of the biggest benefits of cloud computing is that it has created new avenues with which to provide enhanced and valuable service to consumers. In fact, cloud computing is proving to be essential for meeting the primary requirement of shoppers today – a truly omnichannel retail experience.

Focusing on the customer Great merchandise, quality customer service and competitive pricing are no longer enough to drive consumer engagement and loyalty. The possibilities offered by technology mean they want more at a higher standard.

The ability to compare products and prices at the touch PointofSale.com | Summer ‘17 | 6

of a button, delivery to their preferred location on a day and time of their choosing and personalized promotions or offers are just some of the increasing demands that can make or break a consumer’s decision to purchase.

Personalization is the norm Cloud computing can make all this – and more – not only possible, but straightforward. Using quality Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software, comprehensive customer profiles can be updated in real time. Once enriched with insights from analytics, retailers can use these profiles to create highly personalized and customer-specific offers that are based on previous buying habits and have far greater conversion rates. Stored in the cloud, this information can be made readily available to in-store staff, ensuring that all promotions and discounts available can be applied during the transaction without the need for coupons or vouchers. Access to customer data can also provide sales teams with plenty of other information, including preferred stores or delivery options, loyalty rewards and more, all of which can be utilized to make the consumer feel valued and important.

The unifying power of the cloud It’s not just consumer information that can be stored in the cloud either. Detailed product, inventory and shipping data can also be saved, so that it’s accessible to staff at the touch of a button, allowing them to provide completely accurate information to shoppers regarding the product, stock levels and, if applicable, delivery options, again creating a highly personalized shopping experience.

Cloud Benefits for Retailers Cloud computing is also good news for retailers in terms of their day to day activities. It allows for more streamlined business operations, which facilitates the direction of resources to other priorities such as innovation and growth.

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Leveraging inventory regardless of where it resides One of the best examples of this is inventory management. A serious drain on resources and finances for retailers, keeping fluid movement of stock and ensuring you have enough to fulfill customer demand is crucial, yet complicated using traditional systems. Non-cloud based retail systems must set aside considerable man-power for stock-takes and inventory control, which are at significant risk from human error. This is particularly the case when needing to consider stock levels across multiple locations and arrange even and adequate distribution.

However, cloud computing facilitates centralized real time inventory control, minimizing the need for time-consuming and error-riddled stock takes. It also streamlines flagging up low quantities, checking other locations for products and providing retailers with speed and agility when it comes to fulfilling customer orders. Stores can also double as distribution centers, using the inventory to ensure that products are sent out with speed and efficiency. This offers customers a far better and more valuable shopping experience. Cloud-based computing can also provide inventory management, analysis and planning capabilities to support the supply chain, ordering on schedule and decreasing overhead costs, wasted space and long-sitting inventory.

“Cloud-first strategies are the foundation for staying relevant in a fast-paced world,” Ed Anderson, Research Vice President at Gartner.

Freeing the POS from physical constraints Retailers are also considering how to make the most of their physical store space to maximize product lines and create a free flow of traffic that ensures customers are directed to key areas within the store. Cloud-based point of sale systems are an ideal solution, removing the need for extensive counter tops and check-outs, and instead allowing the sales associate to complete transactions anywhere in the store. Approaching customers near their chosen product on the shop floor increases the possibility of closing the sale and eliminates the need for lineups, which is also beneficial for the shopper.

A POS platform that grows with you The future is definitely cloud-based and another key benefit of this technology is scalability. A cloud-based POS will grow with your business, accommodating new stores, new employees and new product lines, with literally zero limitations. This also makes these POS solutions extremely cost-effective, as you can relax knowing that you won’t need to implement an expensive new system every time your business grows. In fact, you will only need to add

your new information to the cloud POS and watch as it filters down into your business. Combined with powerful insights and analysis, it’s easy to see that an affordable investment in a cloud-based POS today is a big investment in future-proofing your enterprise.

Predictable subscription model In the cloud computing model, also known as Softwareas-a-Service, you don’t incur any direct infrastructure and on-going management costs for the software because they’re included in your monthly subscription fees. As a result, you’re able to concentrate on your core activity, free up cash flow, and reduce the time to payback.

The Key to The Future There is little doubt that cloud computing will continue to develop and evolve as we head into the latter part of this decade, and an increasing number of retailers will need to embrace this technology in order to remain competitive, and provide their customers with that highly desirable connected retail experience.

Many of those that have already adopted cloud computing have done so through public clouds provided by third parties, and while this will continue to be the most viable option for mid-size businesses, large retailers may move towards private company-specific clouds, packed with their information and highly secured. There will also be an increasing number of third party providers offering complementary products and services that will further enhance both the capabilities of the store and the experience received by the consumer (see story).

Cloud computing will also continue to supply much of the manpower previously needed behind the scenes in the retail industry – customer files, reward systems, analytics, inventory management and more will all be taken out of manual hands. This will free up resources for the innovation that will certainly be required to deliver coherent, personalized shopping experiences in an unified commerce environment.

Be sure to visit these websites for useful POS information and free resources: • POS-Advice.com - 100% focus on restaurant point of sale • POSforum.net - a POS support forum where users share information and answer tech questions for various products including Oracle/Micros and Aloha - free.

• Restaurantsoftwarelist.com - A list of technology solutions for restaurants and hospitality. Find developers, manufacturers, resellers and processors.

NFC, iOS 11, & EMV...

What’s going on with all this “contactless” stuff?

by Cole Goebel For years in the plastic card business, and we keep hearing “plastic cards are a thing of the past.” And “It’s a matter of time before all banking’s done from your phone.” But the more I see in the news, the more I realize that plastic cards aren’t going the way of the dodo. They’re evolving to fit in with the times. In the UK alone, there have been 88 million contactless cards issued, and they make up over 10% of transactions.

First, let’s clarify. What’s EMV? What’s Contactless?

And what’s the difference? In the old days, cards were verified by swiping the card and collecting a signature.

But there’s no way at the point of purchase, to verify a signature. And it’s hard to authenticate a signature anyway. So banks needed something more secure.

What is EMV? EMV cards cut down on fraud by requiring a PIN. You enter the PIN to verify that you’re the cardholder. This works great in retail, but restaurants have been slow to adopt the technology. EMV, while providing you better security, is slower. It takes longer to read and verify the card. And it takes time to enter the PIN. What is Contactless?

Contactless technology has been around for a long time, but it all started with Speedpass. Mobil gas stations allowed people to use a “Speedpass” card to buy gas, and it was all contactless. In Europe, McDonald’s, Subway, KFC, Burger King, Stagecoach Group, Tesco, Asda, and Lidl use contactless cards for payment and some even for loyalty.

Contactless payments work with a chip and antenna.

The antenna broadcasts an NFC, RFID, or MTS signal.

This signal is only broadcast a short way. Once your card is in proximity to the reader, it enters your payment info. The cool part - no signature, no PIN, no fuss for smaller transactions. Large transactions need a PIN. Either way, it’s less of a hassle than EMV cards.

In Australia and Canada, they have a dual technology card that has EMV and NFC chips inside. This dual technology card, is the answer to our payment technology woes. But why aren’t we adopting it now? We have the technology.

There are 2 major reasons we’re not moving to contactless yet.

One is simple, banks aren’t required to yet. Since October 2015, banks had to start using EMV technology.

Nobody has required banks to go contactless, so they don’t.

The other reason is EVEN SIMPLER! It costs an extra $0.35 or so per card to buy cards with both the EMV and NFC tech. So if you imagine banks issue 165 million new debit cards a year. That means it would cost an extra $57,750,000 to add this feature to debit cards. That doesn’t even count credit cards.

But why should we switch to contactless?

Contactless payments are much faster than EMV payments. You tap it to the payment pad, and you go. And the terminals are already in many retail locations. Anyone who accepts Apple Pay or Android Pay already accepts contactless payments. It’s about issuing cards with the technology instead of making it happen with your phone.

A recent article by the Telegraph is about mobile payments (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/). About how the UK has been slow to adopt mobile payments, because their contactless cards do the same job! Apple and Android Pay make up a pretty small percentage of transactions right now. And it’s because consumers ask “Why do we need mobile payments, when our cards do the same thing?” It’s not about slow adoption, or concerns about security. It’s about not fixing what isn’t broken.

Here in the US, we were very slow to adopt EMV payment technology. EMV technology was actually pioneered in the 90’s. And many countries adopted it in the late 2000’s. So, only 5 years behind the rest of Europe, we adopted it in 2015.

How long before we’ll adopt contactless technology for credit and debit cards? Banks are rolling out strategies right now to roll out contactless. But that doesn’t tell exactly when you should expect your first contactless card in the mail. My guess is that 2018 will be the beginning of that roll out.

The other cool thing about contactless, is that nowhere

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CONTACTLESS

does it say contactless needs to be a card. We could have contactless wristbands, watch-straps, stickers, or even contactless stitched into your wallet. Contactless technology can fit on something the size of a quarter.

So the possibilities are endless. Maybe someday it’ll be implanted directly into your hand like some new sci-fi movie!

But that’s not the only way technology is heading!

But the future of payment technology is always in flux. Another article on ZD Net (www.zdnet.com) talks about fingerprint scanning technology. Mastercard has built this tech right into the card! Talk about a fraud-prevention technique!

To Wrap Up Hands down, the biggest risk to the average person today is credit card fraud. So it makes sense that bank card companies would do their best to protect your interests, and theirs. Will contactless payments show a massive drop in fraud? Only time can tell. But I think the overall experience for the merchant will be much better.

To learn more about card payment tech, or gift and loyalty cards, follow me on Linkedin!

About the author: Cole Goebel is a POS Industry insider. He’s an expert in encoding and barcode data, and has a great knowledge of POS integrations. In 2017, Cole started POSRumor as a resource for people who wanted news and information about POS systems, and who wanted to hear from industry insiders. https://www.linkedin.com/in/cole-goebel/

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PointofSale.com | Summer ‘17 | 9

7 REASONS MERCHANTS WANT TO CHANGE Their POS System

By Nicole Bryan, Sterling Payment Technologies Over the past few years, many merchants - regardless of what kind of businesses they operate or how big their companies are - have come to reconsider their previous ways of handling purchases. Many decided to buy point-of-sale devices for the first time, while others were led to think about the ways modern payment technologies may be able to help their businesses take a big leap forward when it comes to security and customer engagement.

To that end, it’s worth thinking about the most common reasons businesses - and smaller ones in particular - may want to adopt or change their POS options these days, as a means of keeping up with changing preferences and security standards. The better they can keep up with industry-recommended best practices for point of sale security and adoption, the better off they’re likely to be going forward.

1) Staying on Top of the Latest Trends While many managers have at least thought about making the switch to a point-of-sale device that can handle EMV or mobile purchases, some may still be on the fence, according to Digital Transactions. But the fact is, these new purchase types are the way the whole payments ecosystem is now heading, and merchants may need to consider such a move for themselves.

The vast majority of businesses nationwide now accept EMV, and most consumers also have at least one EMV PointofSale.com | Summer ‘17 | 10

card in their wallets these days. As a consequence, simply having the ability to accept such transactions can be a boon for any business, in addition to providing themselves and their customers with greater security.

2) Navigating Affordability Many businesses may shy away from payment card processing of all kinds simply because of the cost involved, according to Shopify. For this reason, it may be wise for companies to look at their options for finding POS resellers who can meet their needs both in terms of technology and ongoing costs. This is especially true for first-timers who may not have as much operational knowledge when it comes to dealing with these issues.

In general, when resellers can explain what they do for merchants - and why it costs what it does - in plain language, that can provide a big boost for those getting on board with modern payment processing.

3) They Want to Branch Out For many smaller businesses that want to find a new revenue stream, the ease of modern e-commerce provides a crucial option, according to Business News Daily. The good news is that modern POS can meet both e-commerce and brick-and-mortar needs for just about any business, and all it may take is working with a reseller to determine the best path forward. Having the ability to handle both real-world and online transactions through the same POS can go a long way for any small business.

4) Getting Better Data

Another key benefit of modern POS is that it comes with more tertiary features than ever before, which give merchants the power to collect and harness more information than ever from a single source, Business News Daily added. Now, POS platforms collect all kinds of data on every transaction to help merchants identify areas where they can potentially improve their operations, from managing the supply chain to better catering to evolving consumer preferences in real time.

That kind of knowledge can really empower better decision-making for years to come.

5) Saving Time and Impressing Customers Simultaneously Another big innovation in point-of-sale technology in the past few years has come for restaurants specifically, according to PointofSale.com. Tableside POS devices are all the rage among chain restaurants, which favor the devices for their ease of use and help in increasing the efficiency of any operation. Now, smaller restaurants are taking the same step because of both that ease of efficiency and people are coming to expect this kind of ease in ordering.

6) Keeping Up with Consumer Expectations Indeed, the idea that larger merchants are taking steps to innovate on POS - often because they have the budget to do so somewhat freely - is something that should give reluctant small business owners pause, according to Payments Source. As consumers become more accustomed to ubiquitous next-generation POS technology at the big stores where they shop frequently, it’s vital for smaller competitors to do what they can to keep up. After all, if consumers already expect to be able to pay with EMV - which is a technology that’s still relatively new to them - just about anywhere, the need to keep up with those trends quickly becomes self-evident.

7) Being Ready for What Comes Next Upgrading to modern POS isn’t just a good idea for the present, but also for the future, according to Silicon NYC. Having the ability to upgrade now allows merchants to familiarize themselves with the latest and greatest options in payment processing before the next generation of options arrives. “Skipping” a generation isn’t likely to be a wise move, because merchants could find themselves in the dark about where they should turn, and how best to take that next step.

Focusing on smaller steps to meet ever-evolving needs will be crucial for any merchant as they try to navigate the POS environment today. After all, if the goal is to simultaneously make owners’ lives easier and provide more options for their customers, the wide variety of

options now available is just waiting to meet those needs.

Nicole Bryan is the digital content writer for Sterling Payment Technologies, a payment processing company based in Tampa, Florida. Sterling is a payment processor that offers solutions that help grow their customers’ businesses more profitably and efficiently.

NEED POS? CLICK HERE for a free POS QUOTE PointofSale.com | Summer ‘17 | 11

FROM THE COUNTER TO CONSUMER: POS is on the move

by Luke Wilwerding, Director of Retail Solutions at Elo Different forms of technology are being incorporated into stores and are shaping a completely new retail experience for customers. Today, shoppers require easy accessibility, efficiency, and an “experience.” One way traditional brick-and-mortar retailers are achieving this is through the incorporation of different digital touchscreen point-of-sale (POS) solutions. New technology has enabled the checkout to move from behind the counter to the aisles of stores and into the hands of shoppers.

Checkout and pay, anywhere Freeing POS from the checkout counter creates a more immersive shopping experience by not only offering more control to retailers, but allowing consumers to take control as well. Recently, retailers have been adopting self-service digital touchscreen kiosks that create an “endless aisle” experience, enabling in-store e-commerce and buy online, pick up in store (BOPIS), in addition to standard POS capabilities. By adding payment capability to a touchscreen, retailers are able to merge the best of online and in store, creating a cohesive experience for customers regardless of the channel.

Not only can POS touchscreens be used anywhere, they also improve efficiency and speed up the purchasing process. Interactive screens can be placed throughout a store to connect shoppers to an endless aisle of inventory where they can explore different sizes and PointofSale.com | Summer ‘17 | 12

colors, check inventory availability, and reserve items.

Gone are the days when a store loses a sale due to an out-of-stock item.

Customize to fit the needs of your store You don’t have to be a major retail chain to create these experiences or integrate these types of solutions.

However, the type of technology you choose depends on the store, the products, and the needs of the target consumer. For example, self-service kiosks allow shoppers to browse online and enable retailers to ship to home or office. While these are great solutions for some, not all require a bulky kiosk installment.

Traditional kiosks can come at a significant investment, so smaller boutiques may opt for sleek digital signage with POS capabilities instead. These signs can range from the size of a tablet to 70+ inches and can share interactive images, pricing, or promotions. Additionally, retailers can use these signs as a place for shoppers to search their website in real time, leveraging an existing marketing asset and blending the easy searchability of online e-commerce with physical locations. Additionally, both solutions allow shoppers to check out at the point of product, which creates more upselling opportunities.

Choices, choices: Making the right selection Clearly, there are many options for retailers seeking to improve their customers’ experience and the efficiency of their business. So, what should decision-makers con-

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sider when browsing for their next POS deployment?

To make a smart investment, retailers should consider the following: • The space available for displaying inventory and their product offerings • Whether it would benefit their customers to make online purchases in store • If their website is responsive and whether they would want to showcase it on a screen to enhance the in-store experience • Where they can put different POS solutions in their physical location • How it would help their employees learn about their inventory, make sales, and improve customer experience By considering these factors, a retailer should be able to determine whether a self-service kiosk or in-store digital signage is the right POS deployment for them and their customer base. When making a decision, it’s important to think strategically about how to differentiate a business in the marketplace. Now is the time to assess the competition, especially as more and more retailers incorporate technology.

What’s next for POS? While today’s retailers are tasked with creating a seamless omnichannel experience, they may soon also face the challenge of changing how they charge customers for their products and/or services. Society is going cashless, and a complete move to contactless payment is on the horizon for stores looking to keep pace with a digitally immersive retail experience. Over the next few years, we should expect this model to become more widespread, especially as contactless payment enables customers to pay anywhere, just as currency does today.

How You Can Benefit From Using a POS Consultant So, you’ve decided to make point of sale technology an integral part of your business—what do you do now? ​ e recommend that you talk to at least three W local specialists in Point of sale. These specialists are also known as VARs, or Value-Added-Resellers.

VARs often provide services including equipment installation and setup, software and menu configuration, connecting your POS system to a payment processor, and transferring data from your old system to the new one. Then they can train your staff so that the pain associated with switching to a new system is minimized.

Why use a VAR? Because your staff is already working at 100% of capacity. Setting up a new system takes dozens of hours for a single store, and much more than that for a multi-store operation. A VAR w ​ ill also often provide o ​ ngoing​ maintenance and technical support.​ ​ ​ onsulting an expert in POS technology can save C you time and money!

POS present and future: What retailers should do now?

Incorporating touchscreen POS solutions into your store provides numerous, immediate benefits. Tech-savvy consumers are beginning to expect a certain hightouch experience when they go shopping, so catering to their needs will be imperative to keep traditional stores in business. Before diving head first into creating an immersive shopping experience through technology, retailers should consider the pros and cons of each kind of deployment. Whether it’s a self-service kiosk or a tablet, strategically thinking about the needs of consumers, their preferences, and desired outcomes will be the key to rolling out a new POS device successfully.

PointofSale.com | Summer ‘17 | 13

Inventory Management Essentials for Small Retailers

by Karen Wong, ACE POS Solutions Ltd. For retailers, inventory planning matters. Inventory is your largest asset and has the greatest impact on your business cashflow. If you plan your inventory well, you can reduce your overhead costs and increase cashflow. There are many different inventory management methods (e.g. just-in-time, etc.) but ultimately, it comes down to one thing, “do you have stock when you need to sell it”.

Cashflow sitting in your inventory is money that could be better used elsewhere. Lean retailers that don’t carry a lot of excess stock have more flexibility to introduce new products more quickly. This is particularly true in industries such as fashion where trend-driven products = shorter product life cycles. While you can get better costing with higher volumes, maintaining high stock levels means an increased chance of getting stuck with products that require deep discounting to free up your cashflow.

It is important to remember, keeping your inventory lean doesn’t mean maintaining low stock levels. If stock levels are not properly aligned to your sales demand and kept too low, you will constantly have outof-stock products. You want to avoid stockouts as they are costly to retailers not only because of lost sales, but because of wasted marketing efforts and lost customer goodwill.

In the end, customer acquisition is not the end-game.

To be profitable, retailers need loyal, repeat customers that don’t require expensive marketing campaigns to attract. When you think of it this way, inventory is an important part of your overall customer service.

Customer service is the new marketing as every touch point impacts how your customers view your business.

Less stockouts means higher sales in-store and faster fulfillment for online orders, all of which means better customer satisfaction.

What can I do as a small business to better manage my inventory?

PointofSale.com | Summer ‘17 | 14

If all of this sounds scary, don’t worry. While small retailers don’t have the resources of the big brands, there are a few things you can do to better plan your inventory.

1) Use minimum stock levels (also known as safety stock levels). In many retail point-of-sale systems, you can assign a minimum stock level to every product in your store. A good POS system will even have built-in tools to trigger alerts when stock level falls below your preset minimum. You should also be able to easily make mass updates when you review your minimum stock levels every 3-6 months.

2) Track inventory turnover. This is essentially how many times a product is sold and replaced over a certain period of time. This can be tracked at a very high level (e.g. including the entire store inventory) or at the product/category level. There are different ways to calculate turnover but whatever approach you use, consider using Cost of Goods Sold instead of Sales as you will get a more accurate measure as your result will not include markup. For example:

From Jan-Mar, this company had inventory turnover of 13.33. This is calculated by taking the Sales$ for this period and dividing it by Average Stock Value$. Now you can convert this to “inventory days” by taking 365 / 13.33. So from Jan-Mar, inventory turns 13.33 times a year and is on hand for approximately 27.38 days. If you run the same calculations for Apr-Jun, inventory turns 18.33 times a year and is on hand for approximately 19.91 days.

From these two examples, the higher your turnover rate, the more efficient you are, since it means that

15

INVENTORY

your inventory is being sold faster and you have more cashflow in your business. A lot of people forget that the cost of inventory is not just the original purchase cost of an item. It includes the ongoing cost TO SELL that inventory. The longer it takes to sell something, the greater your real inventory cost as your money is sitting in that dead stock instead of products that are in high demand.

3) Determine your ideal Reorder Days. It is always a good idea to estimate the leadtime required to reorder products in time for suppliers to produce OR deliver them before you are out-of-stock. For example, if you know it takes two weeks to receive orders from a particular vendor, make sure to factor that leadtime into your reorder timing. In the beginning, you don’t want to cut it too close as unexpected delays can happen (e.g. snowstorms in the winter). This is especially true if you are ordering for a busy time of year such as Christmas. For some retailers, losing a week during the holidays might mean the difference between Christmas and Boxing Day pricing.

A lot of small retailers or businesses often think that they are not big enough to use inventory management tools and try to use spreadsheets to keep track of their goods. While this can work in the beginning, as your inventory items grow in both size and attributes, you will either overstock (to prevent stockouts) or have constant back orders. You will also lose out on freight savings and volume discounts you might have received if you had consolidated your vendor orders more efficiently.

Start managing your inventory by following the key essentials we’ve listed above. Then when you’re ready, consider using a system to automate these functions.

With the proper inventory management tool, you will be able to spend less time managing your inventory and more time selling it.

About the Author Karen Wong is a retail marketing and innovation consultant, strategist and writer. She has extensive experience growing businesses in Canada and East Asia. She’s currently based in Toronto and is the founder of ACE POS Solutions Ltd which offers full-feature retail pointof-sale solutions used by established retailers worldwide. LinkedIn

PointofSale.com | Summer ‘17 | 15

ASSET TRACKING FOR SCHOOLS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR

by Wasp Barcode Technologies As the school year starts, the last thing you want to think about is the end of year audits and asset tracking, but the truth is, you know it is coming, and there is no better time to think about it than early in the year. If you start tracking right now, the end of the year will be a cause for celebration not concern.

No year ends or starts without stories of missing assets, usually computers and tablets, but sometimes even bigger items, like pianos or expensive equipment. While some losses and theft are inevitable often these missing assets aren’t gone, just unfound. Using an asset tracking system makes it much easier to know where computers, tablets, and other equipment are at any point during the year and are easily found and accounted for as needed for end of year audits and financial reports.

Here are some tips for how to manage your assets throughout the school year without worry: Find an asset management system that uses current best practices and technology Not all asset management systems are equal and not all are ideal for schools. Before commiting to an asset tracking system you need to think about what will be best for your school and staff. For starters, if you are using a manual system like an Excel-based spreadsheet, you need to find a new system. Manual systems are messy, error-prone, and impossible to update in real time. Using a manual you simply don’t know where your assets are.

When Brenda Lehman, Director of Technology at Gananda Central School District was using an Excel system and an annual manual audit she, “never really felt like PointofSale.com | Summer ‘17 | 16

they had it right.” When auditors arrived and all she had was her spreadsheet, anxiety overtook and she could only think, “I hope it’s there.”

There are many options for automated asset management, so here are some questions to ask when evaluating a system: • • • • • • • • •

What kind of information do you need to track?

How often do you need to check on your assets and verify location?

What kind of assets are you missing and what kind of tracking tags do you need?

What will the transition involve? Can it integrate with an existing system?

How easy will it be to train employees?

Does the system update in realtime?

Is it a central database?

Can it create reports that you need?

Is the system in your budget?

Implement the system as early and widely as possible Once you have found a system that works for your school, you need to put it into practice. This has the potential to be the most time intensive part of the process. You need to label assets and get them in the system.

Sometimes this requires printing unique labels for your school, but for many items if you are using a barcode based system you can use the barcode labels already on them. This can help reduce initial setup time and with a barcode system you can use existing barcodes where you have them and print new barcodes where you need them, but use the same system and database for all.

When Jason Garrison, IT Coordinator, Miami Public Schools, implemented a barcode based asset management

17 solution he wanted to get it into every classroom. He explains, “My goal is to get every teacher in every classroom using the system. Each school will have its own printer and mobile device – connected to one central database managed district-wide.”

Train teachers and staff to use the new system The system will only work if your teachers and staff are using it. Make sure to train all relevant staff on how to use the system and barcode scanners. Scanners make it easy for anyone to quickly enter information that updates a central database. Considering how much quicker it will make their job, teachers will probably be excited at the prospect. To get staff into the program, make training sessions fun and offer incentives to teachers and staff who are doing a good job. You can even use a new system to send teachers reports and updates on how they are doing with asset tracking.

TRACKING

barcode based asset management system, the audit process just takes three part-time employees per location.

“MobileAsset is ideal for our environment,” Brooks pointed out. “The software is easy to use and maintain, which is vital since many of our employees are students and turnover is common. Wasp provides free, online training, minimizing the learning curve and training preparation.”

-Wasp provides asset, inventory, and time & attendance systems that are fairly priced, easily implemented, and ready-to-use after installation. Wasp listens to the needs of small business customers because of its passion to help each of those customers succeed. www.waspbarcode.com

Check your system regularly & perform spot inspections Since the system you’re now using updates in real-time (right?), take advantage of it. Perform spot checks on random items throughout the year to make sure they are in the right places. If you find things missing, use it as a chance to identify problems in the system or remind staff to use the system.

After Erskine Vanderbilt, Campus Network Specialist, West Briar Middle School, implemented a mobile, barcode asset management system, it was much easier to regularly monitor assets. “I love the idea of using the mobile device,” said Vanderbilt. “It provides an ongoing and automated way for me to update the equipment each and every day.

It’s been a big time saver as I am constantly verifying our inventory.”

Since audits will be easier, you can even use the system to perform quarterly audits. If doing a school-wide audit each quarter or semester is to taxing, try doing a few departments at a time.

Rest easy when the school year ends and all you need to do is print a report for the audit With the new system in place, tested, and in use you won’t have to worry about time and money consuming audits during the summer. You can rest easy with the students and teachers when that last school bell of year rings and enjoy your summer. Lone Star College System (LSCS), the community college has over 70,000 students and employees and 30,000 IT assets over 5 campuses and 7 satellite centers. Using a manual system to track assets meant that when audit time came the system administrator Nishae Brooks had to hire a team of 100 technicians and students employees for up to 3 months to find and document the location of equipment. After setting up a MobileAsset

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Still Putting off an EMV Implementation?

Where to start?

There’s so much complexity around EMV that many retailers don’t even know where to begin. A technology partner or system integrator can help guide you, but here are some key questions to know that will help you get a better understanding of the project.

What’s the scope?

Do you really understand what EMV will require of your organization? Are your objectives prioritized and are the decision-makers clearly identified? Most retailers will also have to address changes or needs of other systems during an EMV project, so there may be many precursor components.

by Kimberly Berneck, BTM Global Senior Vice President, Delivery Management Although slow to start, EMV adoption rates in the U.S. are gradually creeping upward, though still with some hurdles. In its 2016 State of Retail Payments Study, the National Retail Federation and Forrester Research found that 57 percent of merchants have installed EMV equipment but can’t enable it because they are waiting for system verification – and most have been waiting more than six months. There are also many third parties that need to be involved in an EMV project: The point-of-sale software provider, signature capture provider, authorizer and others all come from different organizations and require coordination throughout the project.

There are still many retailers who haven’t made the switch to EMV, and they typically cite common stumbling blocks for their lack of adoption. Let’s look at some of the most common and what the solutions may be.

PointofSale.com | Summer ‘17 | 18

How can you support EMV? How much knowledge do you have in-house or who do you need to hire? This is a huge part of your operations, so the role shouldn’t be outsourced for the long term. Find an owner for it – or better yet, dedicate a team to it. That’s a big commitment, to be sure, but EMV will have a big impact on your business. The more people you dedicate, the fewer surprises and the more successes you’ll have. Without a dedicated team or champion, you risk confusion and inefficiencies that could lead to missed deadlines and added costs.

Understanding the ROI The cost – in terms of dollars, time and resources – for an EMV implementation can be significant, and this can cause many smaller retailers to procrastinate even longer. But weighing your potential ROI is not a bad thing; you shouldn’t necessarily rush into an EMV implementation until you understand what does and doesn’t make sense for your unique business.

What’s the risk of inaction?

Everyone knew EMV was coming, but almost everyone waited for someone else to implement it first. Because of the slow progress, banks have started enforcing chargebacks to retailers that don’t have EMV in place.

Perhaps you don’t care about the charges and want to take EMV slowly, or maybe you want to get rid of the extra fees as fast as possible. As an organization, knowing these risks and their repercussions on your organization will help determine how quickly you need to move, which will then inform the best path forward.

Chargebacks If you don’t experience a lot of fraud or chargebacks, a full EMV implementation doesn’t make ROI sense. Instead, consider a semi-integrated solution. Some banks and processors provide payment terminals that connect and go directly to the processor; they aren’t connected to the point of sale. A semi-integrated approach is less costly and takes less time to implement. Although it’s not a fully integrated solution, it still provides much better security measures against fraud.

Dealing with uncertainty You’re in the retail business, so uncertainty and volatility are a way of life. But that doesn’t make an EMV project any less concerning or complicated. An experienced technology partner can collaborate closely with you and manage all of the players and pieces. They know the requirements and can advise you on whether you have the infrastructure to meet them; lead you on the most efficient and effective path through the transition; communicate an end-to-end view of your project; and guide the other players through it.

Do some of your own research as well; this will give you a better understanding of the hurdles to expect and questions to ask. There have been a lot of articles and coverage around EMV; avoid the ones that use scare-tactics and focus on case histories and reports from retailers and their technology partners who have been through the experience and can give you insight into how to navigate the transition.

-About the Author BTM Global provides retail system integration and development services for clients ranging from small regional chains to the world’s most recognized brands.

Ms. Berneck oversees all aspects of business analysis, functional and technical design, development, quality assurance and delivery for clients. She believes that transparency and consistent results build long-lasting professional relationships, and she emphasizes this to her team. She has nearly two decades of experience delivering large-scale software projects in the e-commerce, financial services, mortgage banking, retail and telecommunications industries.

EMV

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• Lunchtime Line-Busting For A Cause: Point-Of-Sale Inside The Box Cafe • Italian Restaurant Thrives With Mobile Point Of Sale • POS At The Table: Calming The Chaos With OrderPads • Case Study: Lou’s Brews And BBQ • Liquor Control Technology Proves A Popular Point Of Sale Solution • Chinese Restaurant Upgrades Its Point Of Sale System • View all on PointofSale.com>>

PointofSale.com | Summer ‘17 | 19

Customer Expectations For On-The-Go:

Mobile Ordering

By: Bobby Marhamat, COO of Revel Systems

Innovations in online ordering have only become more efficient over the years. In 2004 GrubHub was founded, allowing users to find and order food from restaurants in their vicinity via an app and a website.

The company has a customer service team operating 24/7, and there’s always someone watching every online order that goes through to make sure people get exactly what they ordered. By 2009, major pizza chains were doing 20% to 30% of their business online, and now you can even order pizza by tweeting the pizza emoji to @Dominos. Online and mobile platforms are an effective way for companies to utilize a cross-channel business model, which has come to be known as omnichannel retailing. Omnichannel retailing is a great way to improve the customer experience by allowing customers to interact with their favorite brands on multiple channels, in a cohesive and seamless fashion. The increased customer engagement and sales touch points ultimately drive sales and increases brand recognition.

Omnichannel retailing is becoming increasingly important, especially since mobile app usage is on the rise. According to Apigee Institue, “A survey of 1,000 U.S. smartphone users, found that 74% of respondents would be more likely to shop at a store that offers key functions and services via an app.” Businesses must leverage their web and mobile presence to drive awareness of offerings and promotions, lead customers to make better use of deals, and ultimately purchase more goods. And when TechCrunch reports that PointofSale.com | Summer ‘17 | 20

US users spend up to five hours a day on mobile devices, with time spent on apps increasing 69% year over year – mobile is more important than ever. With more people spending time on their mobile apps, more people making mobile purchases, and more merchants deploying mobile ordering apps, the mobile ordering industry is positioned to overtake orders over the phone for food delivery.

The Essentials: Mobile Ordering More than half of all eCommerce traffic now comes from mobile; and brick and mortars are taking a page from this trend. In fact, according to this survey, 87% of restaurateurs believe incorporating new technology to their restaurants would help attract more customers.

By seeing the positive impact it’s had on eCommerce, restaurateurs know they need to make ordering and picking up food easy and efficient for the customer.

As opposed to ordering over the phone or waiting in line, mobile ordering offers several crucial benefits that traditional methods can’t compete with.

There are few things more frustrating to customers than getting put on hold. Mobile ordering is a great way to avoid upsetting your customers. No longer do they need to wait in line, or wait ten minutes for someone to answer the phone. David Yeun, Branded Events Manager at Chobani, recalls, “Our busiest summer day, we’ll have around 600 to 700 people come through our doors. Average wait times tend to be about 2 to 3 minutes.” David attributes Revel mobile ordering on “pushing those numbers down and helping us move lines.” Mobile ordering allows anyone to order their

21 food by a touch of a button. By diversifying sales channels, the wait times for customers in-store will be shorter, and for those choosing to do take-out, they will be assured that they can get in, out, and on with their day.

Not only is mobile ordering appealing for customers on the go, it also helps businesses achieve their goals. Allowing people to order on mobile means restaurants can process more orders. In fact, an infographic by Revel Systems states that compared to phone the average online order is 18% higher. By giving customers access to the entire menu with just a touch of a button, business can drive interest to new products and leverage upselling opportunities. In fact, according to Business Insider and a study by GrubHub, restaurants grow profits by 30% with online ordering. Additionally, mobile ordering improves order accuracy and reduces miscommunication between customer, and the front of house and back of house. With mobile ordering everything is laid for the customer who can then pick and choose what they like.

Thinking Ahead: There is no doubt that the food/retail industry is becoming more automated. Advances in technology will only make that more prominent. For example, Starbuck’s recently announced a new feature called My Starbucks Barista, allowing customers to place an order using voice command. The great thing about voice is that it allows you to place an order in mere seconds.

According to this article from Payment Week, “Starbucks’ quarterly earnings report showed...mobile order and pay services better than doubling in the time between 2015 and 2016”.

IoT has seen major use cases in areas like manufacturing, transportation, warehousing and agriculture, to name a few, however retailers have been slow to adopt the technology. IoT sensors can be used to monitor a whole network of equipment, instantly alerting the store owner when something isn’t working right.

Whether a printer is running low on paper, a freezer isn’t at the required temperature, or a local network has gone down, IoT devices can send instant alerts so that the issue gets resolved quickly. From a retail perspective, heat mapping is an effective way to gather data on areas of the store that sees the most foot traffic. You can easily imagine the benefits of knowing exactly which products are attracting the most people, and where you need to strategically place items in order to get the most eyes on them.

MOBILE ORDERING

Surprise and Delight: Once you’ve met the industry standard in terms of of new technology, you can think beyond just meeting expectations by using customer analytics that reward your customers and your business. Loyalty reward points are easy to track directly through the app and lead to big savings if you order frequently. This positive feedback keeps customers happy and keeps them coming back.

In fact, according to this article from Chief Marketer, “87% of consumers say that, where a company has a good loyalty program, they have continued purchasing from that brand over the last few years”. LoyalTree, Spendgo, Como Sense are among a few loyalty rewards programs doing a great job. They are available at a number of SMB locations and can integrate within iPad and digital POS platforms.

Mobile apps are an integral part of the shopping experience. It’s essential to digitize the physical store and place your brand in the palm of your customers’ hands.

Business must utilize the latest technology to give customers the options to order online, pick it up in the store, or have it delivered via a cohesive, fully customized app. In the end you’ll expand revenue opportunities and empower your customers with the choice of when and where to buy.

-About the Author: Bobby Marhamat is the Chief Operating Officer of Revel Systems, where he specializes in developing and implementing accurate business models and achieving goals through solid leadership and communication. Bobby previously served as the Chief Revenue Officer and VP of Sales at Revel, where he was responsible for the revenue generation processes which includes overseeing business development, marketing, sales, support, operations and fulfillment teams. Bobby also served as the VP of Sales and Marketing at Verizon, as well as the VP of Sales at Limos and the Senior Director of Sales and Advertising Solutions at LookSmart. Bobby holds both a B.S. in Marketing and an M.B.A. in Business Administration from San Jose State University. Bobby also holds a Negotiation Series Certification from Stanford University.

PointofSale.com | Summer ‘17 | 21

POINT-OF-SALE CASE STUDIES Customer Expectations for On-the-Go: Mobile Ordering Winery Point of Sale - Martha Clara Vineyard Case Study 100 Assorted Point of Sale Case Studies How Niche Retailer BeachRC Used Square to Expand to An Online Store and Amazon Great Food Flies Faster At Rich’s Burgers-N-Grub Omnichannel Ordering Delivers at Taziki’s Café POS Advice From Three Hospitality VARs 25 Restaurant Point of Sale Success Stories Touchscreen POS Technology Gives Jewelry Shoppers More Options Amsterdam Coffee Roaster Brews Better With New POS System The Grocery POS Revolution Will Not Be Televised Guitar Sanctuary Experiences 100% Lift in Average Order Values by Offering Quick Financing Salsarita’s Fresh Mexican Grill Uses Cloud Point-of-sale to Simplify Daily Operations Lunchtime Line-Busting for a Cause:Point-of-sale Inside The Box Cafe Italian Restaurant Thrives With Mobile Point of Sale POS At The Table: Calming the Chaos with OrderPads Premiere Wilderness Outfitter Quadruples Conversions With Celerant SEO New POS system creates a stronger brew for coffee shop!

POS Software Helps Coffee Company Expand to Retail Locations Case Study: Mobility Revolutionizes the Warehouse: A First-Hand Experience Team Sports Retailer Schuylkill Valley Sports Enhances Omnichannel Capabilities Case Study: Delancey Street and Posiflex Position Residents for Success Case Study: Lou’s Brews and BBQ Case Study: Printing Cash Receipts From Cloud-Based Servers Retail Case Study: Cloud-Based Software for Labor Management Liquor Control Technology Proves A Popular Point of Sale Solution Case Study: Pharmacy POS Automates Customer Service, Compliance, and Reporting Specialty Leather Retailer Replaces Disparate Systems With One Vendor Case Study: Chinese Restaurant Upgrades Its Point of Sale System Case Study: Using Unique Customer Data to Target Customers and Drive Conversions Case Study: POS Integration At Scale Powers World Class Shooting Experience And Retail Point of Sale Terminal Spotlight - 9021PHO Vietnamese Restaurant New Point Of Sale System For Growing Fast Food Specialist Case Study: Integrating Online Team Sales Into An Existing E-Commerce Strategy Point of Sale Case Study: The Container Store Gets Insight Into the POS Journey POS Case Study: Affordables Apparel Improves Reliability with New System Case Study:Small Business Funding: The Killarney Third Generation Restaurateur Chooses Next Generation POS System Case Study on Use of Targeted Discounts To Military Families South American Retailer Uses Large Screen Video and Kiosks to Grow Business Case Study: Federal Credit Union Adopts New Tech For Fraud Prevention Simplifying A Point-of-Sale System Upgrade Smooth Transitions: Avoiding surprises when transferring enterprise software knowledge

PointofSale.com | Summer ‘17 | 22

RFID For Retail and Wholesale- Seventeen Real Life Applications Supermarkets Save Thousands Implementing Scan Avoidance Technology Case Study: Point-of-sale System For Rich’s Fresh Market National Fashion Brand’s Entry in Brick and Mortar Retailing The Woodard Mercantile: How a new POS system improved a small business Family Owned Chain Finds Loyalty Program Pays Off Study Shows ROI for Mobile Coupon Redemption Upscale Children’s Store Finds A Point of Sale System Pays Off In Many Ways Visual Retail Plus and Pioneer POS Have ‘America’s Kids’ Covered Premium POS Solution for the Fashion Capital Consignment Store Point of Sale:Case Study Ballpark Boosts Sales With Real-Time Payment Solution Celerant Technology Simplifies ATF Compliance for Barneys Police Supply Retailer Combines Physical Store and E-Commerce Site with one POS system Point of Sale for Aerial Adventures Case Study: Optical Retailer Switches Focus from Paper to Cloud Case Study: POS Software For A Brewery Celerant Point Of Sale System Wins Big In Vegas LOC Store Management Suite (SMS) Improves Service and Efficiency at Bruce’s Foodland Stores Barcodes & Mobile Computing: A Breath of Fresh Air for Family Respiratory Case Study: Candy Store Manages Growth With RMS Case Study: Custom Product Labels with Epson’s SecurColor Printer For GEMFormulas Natural Remedies Web-based POS Offers Online Backup for Homebrew Distributor Karate Studio Overcomes Payment Processing Headaches With Intuit PaymentNetwork LightSpeed iPad POS Carves For Success at Saturdays NYC Intermec CS40 Handheld Mobile Computers Selected for Passenger Assistance Food Traceability Solution for LoBue Citrus Zebra Portable Printers and Motorola Handhelds Streamline Gasoline Delivery for McMahon Cartage Drivers POS Prophet Systems Gets Sales Rolling For Ciggys4Less POS System Cards a Hole in One For Country Club & Golf Course A Good Point of Sale System is No Joke, Just Ask A Comedy Club Mobile Computing Helps Pasta Manufacturer Reduce Errors & Increase Productivity Mr. Bill’s Smokes Competition with POS Express 4 Must-Read POS Success Stories Successful Barcode Solution for Pizza Company “Lunch Only” Restaurant Serves Up Huge Sales with POS Compelling Point-of-Sale Displays From Schafer Solutions Fontana Sports Blends POS and E-Commerce with Updated Technology Shoe Gallery integrates Point of sale and Website sales Toy Store Expands into the E-Commerce Market with Celerant Technology Case Study: Using Barcodes to Track Radioactive Pharmaceuticals Microsoft Point-of-Sale Software is Swiss Farms’ Solution Choice

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RetailPoint’s next gen, point of sale and mobile point of sale (POS/mPOS) solutions help emerging and mid-market retailers deliver customized shopping experiences that drive brand loyalty.

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The Point of Sale NewsTM Lakewood Ranch, Florida, USA (941) 306-8577 www.PointofSale.com

7 POODLE SSL VULNERABILITY: is Your POS System PCI Compliant?

by Jason Feemster, Point of Sale USA SSL encryption is a standard encryption method that has been used for decades. A vulnerability named POODLE has been detected within SSL and is no longer PCI compliant. POODLE (Padding Oracle On Downgraded Legacy Encryption) is a vulnerability in SSL that could allow a hacker to extract data from secure online connections.

Why should you care? Well, there could be a loss of confidential data that allows an attacker to decrypt sensitive information on your systems.

According to the PCI Standards Council Blog, the Payment Card Industry Stands Council (PCI SSC) is extending the migration completion date to June 30, 2018, for transitioning from SSL AND TLS 1.0 to a secure version of TLS (currently v1.1 or higher).

The new date of June 2018 (with some deadlines as soon as this summer) offers additional time to migrate to more secure protocols, but waiting in not recommended.

ant, but most POS companies are just starting to become aware of this issue and it is likely that many of them will be severely impacted in the months to come.

First Data and other large processors were recently hit by a similar disruption over the holidays caused by the expiration of a security certificate called SHA-1. Harbortouch was unaffected since they were able to update all of the certificates to the new SHA-2 requirement through extensive conversion efforts. The POODLE SSL issue is going to be exponentially more severe than the SHA certificate since virtually all POS systems rely on SSL encryption.

About Harbortouch Since 1999, Harbor Touch (formerly United Bank Card, Inc.) has provided merchant services, payment processing, and point of sale systems to thousands of customers.

With many years of experience in the point of sale system business; their fresh and innovative approach to offering free touchscreen terminals, credit card machines, and cash registers have garnered accolades from customers and has received many awards from industry organizations.

The existence of the POODLE and Heartbleed exploits, among others, prove that anyone using SSL and before TLS risks being breached. To view the PCI Standard Council’s Q & A regarding compliance visit the PCI Standards Council Bulletin on migrating from SSL. So How Do You Keep Your POS System Secure?

Once the deadline is up, the credit card processing functionality of any non-compliant equipment will cease. This is an industry-wide requirement. Most legacy POS systems are vulnerable and will need to be upgraded before the deadline.

To remain PCI compliant, merchants, in some cases, will need to update software, operating systems, and/or hardware. Merchants who refuse to upgrade their system will not be able to process credit cards once the deadline is met.

Harbortouch has gotten out ahead of the potential POODLE SSL vulnerability disruption and is fully PCI compliPointofSale.com | Summer ‘17 | 27

​FREE POS SUPPORT FROM YOUR PEERS! • W​here can you go to get free POS support from knowledgeable people? ​ • Has your POS vendor dropped support for your product?

• Are you unable to afford a support contract with your POS vendor?

There’s a free website for POS support where see the answers to thousands of questions your peers have asked. www.POSforum.net Visit it, sign up, search for what you need. Can’t find an answer? Post a question in the appropriate place and let the universe of POS users respond.

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