Cash Register Help: Sharp ER-2386S Tax Programming

Cash Register Help: Sharp ER-2386S Tax Programming

Should you go with a Cash Register or POS System

So congratulations, you are about to open a new business and are facing hundreds if not thousands of decisions that need to be made quickly.

So let me help on this one. Should you use a cash register or POS system? Well lets get a few things out of the way first. Rather POS or Cash Register the first job of either of these is still security, second is efficiency.

Another big factor in this decision is whether your business will be owner operator or will you rely on managers and other employees? If owner operator a cash register will often make more sense then an expensive POS system. You are there all the time, you are running the cash register so why not use a simple register!

However owner operator or not, if you plan on keeping a real inventory, tracking in and out and what should be on the shelf, do not try and use a cash register. If someone tells you a cash register can do this, well technically they are correct, realistically they are DEAD WRONG! If they are telling you that, it is not real world, it is theory! How do I know, well it has been our family business for 30+ years! We have seen everything tried! And tried a few ourselves until we got tired of hitting our heads against the same brick wall. So to summarize YES a cash register and software combo is capable of inventory control, but would you choose a hot air balloon to travel across the country or a commercial Jumbo Jet? Both will get there, but only one is efficient!

Be real with yourself about keeping inventory or not. Yes it is possible, yes it is a good practice, yes it takes 10+ hours a week if not more for most small stores! We have had thousands of small stores as customers of the years and we have seen it all. Most of these thousands did not keep a live inventory, and a handful did! We have had successful customers from both schools of thought! Bottom line here is be real with yourself. PC based or Register Based inventory takes time each and every day or week, a computer does not equal magic!

Myself I would do an inventory system if possible but again IF POSSIBLE! If you decide on an inventory control system first buy a computer/software based POS/Inventory control system like Keystroke, or RMS for retail, or Digital Dining if a restaurant. Next step you will need to set aside 20 to 40 hours of your time to plan your work and work your plan. YOU WILL NOT INSTITUTE AN INVENTORY CONTROL PROGRAM DURING THE COURSE OF BUSINESS!
Do yourself and your loved one a favor and carve out the time to do it before you are in the trenches of the retail or restaurant battle!

OK inventory is not for you, you just want to ring up sales by category and have the register compute tax and change and a daily report of what you sold right. Should this be the case with you opt for a commercial grade cash register like those from Sharp or SAM4s. Using a cash register does not mean you can't have security or good record keeping because you can. Should you decide on going home or heaven forbid go on vacation make sure you are following some basic security principles found in all decent commercial grade cash registers. Please look for some of my other post on how to stay secure using a simple cash register.

So I hope this was of some help to you! Follow this link If you are looking for a Cash Register

Hybrid Cash Registers?

Hybrid Cash Registers are now on the market, no not the Gas Electric kind of Hybrid! More a Hybrid of traditional and modern technology combined to make the best and fasted cash registers on the market today. Sharp Electronics make a model called the UP-800 series and SAM4s makes one called the SPS-500 series. Both are great machines with traditional keyboards combined with those new fangled touch screens you see being used everywhere these days.

So if you are in the market for a cash register don't overlook these hybrid cash registers. The cash Register Guys have the best prices on these cash registers

Sharp Cash Register Supplies

Looking for Sharp Cash Register Supplies? There are two great sources and they carry most every ribbon and paper for Sharp Cash Registers

In Washington State try Sharp Cash Register Supplies in Seattle and Tacoma

For the rest of the Country look at Sharp Cash Register Supplies

And don't forget, never ever try and re-ink your cash register ribbon or roller. By do so you will just ruin your cash register!

Sharp Cash Drawer Inserts

I have a good source for Sharp Cash Register Cash Drawer Inserts. They offer all the cash drawer inserts or tills as some people call them for the commercial grade line up of Sharp Cash Registers as well as a few XE models. They can be found at Sharp Cash Register Cash Drawer Inserts and you might try Sharp USA as well.

Sharp Cash Registers Manuals

There is a site that has many of the Sharp manuals posted for free online. They don't have them all but quite a few are available here Sharp Cash Register Manuals and I have found a few more available on Sharp's own website including some in Spanish

Gift Cards and Cash Registers

Yes Cash Registers can integrate with your own private label Gift Cards. Now that does not mean every Gift Card company out there, but it can be done.

Don't however confuse that with the idea that every Cash Register can accept integrated Gift Cards. First of all it must be a commercial grade cash register with a serial port that can interface to a Datacap Credit Card Modem (designed just for cash registers and POS) So if you are thinking you can do this with a cheap cash register from a big box store you will be disappointed, however that does not mean you need to spend a fortune either. Cash Registers capable of Integrated Gift Card and Credit Card start at about $299.00 and up but are going to come from a commercial grade cash register dealer, not the office supply store or discount warehouse!

One Credit Card and Gift Card company specializes in Cash Register Interfaces. That company is Mercury Payment Systems and they offer a FREE Gift Card program when you use them for Credit Card. You still pay for the plastic cards but no discount or transaction fee!

Plastic Gift Cards systems are so much more secure then the standard old paper gift certificate. Even if someone stole your entire stock of cards they are useless until activated through your cash register and of course after they are activated you would have a paper trail. There are many other reasons to use a Plastic Gift Card system.

Don't be left in the past, start your own private label gift card system today. Safe and secure through a Cash Register or POS system.