Because of the trend in complex local and State sales tax rates cash registers over the last decade and a half started coming out with two tax rates however in the last 5 years or so most are coming out with four as the taxing rules have become even more complex.
I have only helped on customer set all 4 tax rates but it seems like a trend that will will not be able to avoid so when you buy a new cash register make sure it will handle the taxation requirements or your city, State and county.
The most common situation we run into is that the local sales tax will be one rate for hard goods, and another rate for restaurant and bar sales, and another for hotel/motel tax. In these areas many restaurants were surprised to find out that if they sold tee shirts, hats, souvenir glasses etc those items would be taxed at a different sales tax than the food and beverage.
Also in many places things may be taxed unless the consumer is paying with EBT which may reverse the tax status of an item.
So as you can see checking on your local sales tax regulations before you buy your cash register can be worth ding the home work. Find these things out before you buy or program your cash register for sales tax. I recommend contacting your department of revenue and giving them your address so they can tell you the rate(s) you must charge.
I think all the new SAM4s cash registers have the ability for four tax rates and so are the Sharp cash registers.
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
What is the RA button on my cash register
The "RA" button on your cash register is a feature that allows you to receive and account for payments without increasing your sales. RA stands for "Received on Account" and is used when customers are making a payment against their account or balance with the store NOT for a purchase.
Let's say you allow customers to charge purchases to a house account. They come in to make a $50.00 payment on their account not buy $50.00 worth of goods. You would use the "RA" feature which will account for the $50.00 in the cash register and whatever media was used to pay (CASH, Check, Charge) but will not increase your sales.
Your sales were increased the first time when they actually bought the items they charged. If you going to operate this way you will need a payment key for house charge. When your customers buy something to be charged you pay it off to a house account/charge payment key. Your sales will be increased on that day but not your cash, check or credit card payments.
Some RA FAQ's
Almost every cash register including entry level registers have the RA function. All SAM4s cash registers I'm familiar with have one as well as all the Sharp cash registers I've worked with.
Hope that helps
Let's say you allow customers to charge purchases to a house account. They come in to make a $50.00 payment on their account not buy $50.00 worth of goods. You would use the "RA" feature which will account for the $50.00 in the cash register and whatever media was used to pay (CASH, Check, Charge) but will not increase your sales.
Your sales were increased the first time when they actually bought the items they charged. If you going to operate this way you will need a payment key for house charge. When your customers buy something to be charged you pay it off to a house account/charge payment key. Your sales will be increased on that day but not your cash, check or credit card payments.
Some RA FAQ's
- Do not register sales with the RA button, it won't work, it won't tax, it won't report to a department.
- Most cash registers can use any media you accept using the RA function
- You can't use the RA function during a sale.
- Your cash register may or may not be able to be put under manager control.
- The RA function DOES not keep customer balances.
Almost every cash register including entry level registers have the RA function. All SAM4s cash registers I'm familiar with have one as well as all the Sharp cash registers I've worked with.
Hope that helps
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
How do I use the PO function on my csh register
The button on your cash register labeled "PO" is for a function called Paid Out. It is a function on your cash register that will allow you to pay a vendor for example for a delivery right from the cash register. This function will allow you to remove cash from the drawer so it will balance however it does not lower your sales, just the cash amount.
So if you had $200.00 in sales and collected those sales in payments of $100.00 cash, $50.00 credit card, $50.00 check and you had a "Paid Out" of $50.00 your cash register report would be something like this.
Dept. 1 Sales $25.00
Dept. 2 Sales $50.00
Dept. 3 Sales $25.00
Dept. 4 Sales $75.00
Dept. 5 Sales $25.00
Total Sales $200.00
Cash = $100.00
Credit = $50.00
Check = $50.00
Total = $200.00
PO = $50.00
Cash in Drawer = $150.00
So as you can see the sales totals were correct, the media totals were correct and than the register adjusted the "Cash in Drawer" to account for the $50.00 paid out.
Few more PO Function FAQ's
1. No you can't perform a PO without it recording
2. You can't do a PO in the middle of a sale
3. Most cash registers will only perform a PO to cash and not other media types
4. Some registers can put the PO function under manager control. (most simple ones can't)
5. On some registers you can disable PO on some to disable you would have to remove button if possible.
Almost every cash register make and model include a PO feature. It is probably on every SAM4s cash register and Sharp cash register on the market. Seldom used feature but a great one if you need it!
So if you had $200.00 in sales and collected those sales in payments of $100.00 cash, $50.00 credit card, $50.00 check and you had a "Paid Out" of $50.00 your cash register report would be something like this.
Dept. 1 Sales $25.00
Dept. 2 Sales $50.00
Dept. 3 Sales $25.00
Dept. 4 Sales $75.00
Dept. 5 Sales $25.00
Total Sales $200.00
Cash = $100.00
Credit = $50.00
Check = $50.00
Total = $200.00
PO = $50.00
Cash in Drawer = $150.00
So as you can see the sales totals were correct, the media totals were correct and than the register adjusted the "Cash in Drawer" to account for the $50.00 paid out.
Few more PO Function FAQ's
1. No you can't perform a PO without it recording
2. You can't do a PO in the middle of a sale
3. Most cash registers will only perform a PO to cash and not other media types
4. Some registers can put the PO function under manager control. (most simple ones can't)
5. On some registers you can disable PO on some to disable you would have to remove button if possible.
Almost every cash register make and model include a PO feature. It is probably on every SAM4s cash register and Sharp cash register on the market. Seldom used feature but a great one if you need it!
Monday, January 28, 2013
Datacap TwinTran for Sharp Cash Registers
If you are looking for a Datacap to interface credit card payments directly on your cash register this is the only site I'm aware of that is currently offering all three models of Datacap Tran products so you can use the credit card providor of your choice.
They sell all three models which consist of:
If you don't want to shell out the dough for your own Datacap you can always get one through Mercury Payments starting as low as $12.50 per month and they take care of it for you. When you stop processing with them you send it back, easy as that!
All three major Cash Register makes in the country use Datacap for credit card interface. There are two Sharp cash registers that use something else, a few Casio models can also use the PAX unit but all the SAM4s that can do integrated credit card all use the Datacap products.
Connecting a credit card terminal to a cash register is not for a begginer and in almost every case you should not attempt it!
They sell all three models which consist of:
If you don't want to shell out the dough for your own Datacap you can always get one through Mercury Payments starting as low as $12.50 per month and they take care of it for you. When you stop processing with them you send it back, easy as that!
All three major Cash Register makes in the country use Datacap for credit card interface. There are two Sharp cash registers that use something else, a few Casio models can also use the PAX unit but all the SAM4s that can do integrated credit card all use the Datacap products.
Connecting a credit card terminal to a cash register is not for a begginer and in almost every case you should not attempt it!
Friday, January 25, 2013
Where to buy a Datacap TwinTran
Ordering a Datacap can be a bit confusing because you have several different models, different applications, and whether you need an MSR or not.
Datacap Models:
- Datacap Dial Tran = This model of Datacap connect with dial up only. Requires phone line and has a slower transaction time compared to the other Datacap models.
- Datacap IP Tran = This model of Datacap connects to your merchant services via an Internet connection only, it has no other connection. You must have inter-net access to connect the IP Tran to.
- Datacap TwinTran = This model of Datacap has an IP connection as a default and a dial connection as a back up. You must have an Internet connection and a phone line. This is the most popular model of Datacap.
- MSR= Magnetic Stripe Reader. Do you need to add a MSR to the Datacap device or will you be using the MSR on your cash register.
Datacap Applications:
- Standard Single Lane = One cash register only will be connected to the Datacap device.
- Single Lane with Gift = One cash register only will be connected to the enhanced version of Datacap device that support gift card transactions.
- Standard Multi Lane = Two or more cash registers connected to one Datacap Device. Check your cash register specifications for capability.
- Multi Lane with Gift = Two or more cash registers connected to one enhanced version of Datacap device that support gift card transactions. Check your cash register specifications for capability.
Support Required
- Your Datacap device will be shipped to you with your merchant parameters installed. Price does not include ANY support time at all. Connecting and operating your Datacap device and your cash register is not covered in the price of the device, is not covered by warranty. Two hours support is our recommended amount of support required for the typical installation. Every install is different and this is the amount we recommend however you may require more.
More Information
- If you have any questions regarding support please contact us before you purchases a Datacap device at 1-800-863-2274
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Should I buy a cash register with the IRC feature
Inter-register communications (IRC) in cash registers is a very important feature. What is it you might ask? We in simple terms it is a cash register network which you could compare to a computer network or LAN (local area network)
Why is this important? well if you only need one cash register it means nothing at all. If you need two or more cash registers then IRC can save you a lot of time and add features.
How does it save time to have IRC? Well first it allows you to program all of your cash registers by programming just one and downloading to the other cash registers in the network. The other benefit is reports, you can go to one register and take reports from all the registers and have them consolidated all from one cash register.
Some machines have a simple IRC and some have fully capable IRC. The differences may or may not affect your choice. The simple IRC allows programming download and IRC reporting but will not allows floating guest checks and cashiers or allow a shared device like a Datacap TwinTran or kitchen printer.
Most mid level SAM4s cash registers come standard with IRC however only the highest couple models of Sharp Cash Registers offer IRC.
Keep in mind if you have three cash registers and it takes you three hours to program one of them without IRC it will take you 9 hours total to program your cash registers as with IRC you would have been done in 3.5 hours total!
Why is this important? well if you only need one cash register it means nothing at all. If you need two or more cash registers then IRC can save you a lot of time and add features.
How does it save time to have IRC? Well first it allows you to program all of your cash registers by programming just one and downloading to the other cash registers in the network. The other benefit is reports, you can go to one register and take reports from all the registers and have them consolidated all from one cash register.
Some machines have a simple IRC and some have fully capable IRC. The differences may or may not affect your choice. The simple IRC allows programming download and IRC reporting but will not allows floating guest checks and cashiers or allow a shared device like a Datacap TwinTran or kitchen printer.
Most mid level SAM4s cash registers come standard with IRC however only the highest couple models of Sharp Cash Registers offer IRC.
Keep in mind if you have three cash registers and it takes you three hours to program one of them without IRC it will take you 9 hours total to program your cash registers as with IRC you would have been done in 3.5 hours total!
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Cash register keyboard templates for Sharp and SAM4s cash registers
A great feature of flat keyboard restaurant style cash registers is your abilty to create new keyboards as well as update existing one. We simply use word templates and they allow you to change the color of each button, the text and a picture if you wanted. A good cash register company will provide you with the template so you can print your own on demand or make changes as needed.
Here are a few links to some pre-made keyboard templates and keep in mind many cash registers use the same template. Also little word of advice please print a blank, cut it to size and make sure it fits before you spend a few hours building a custom template only to have it not fit.
Again if your model number is close to any of those above download it, print it blank and try it. If it is close you can also adjust it in word. Some keyboard will print on 8.5 x 11 paper some will require leagal size so make sure you printer supports that. Also this are without warranty, use at your own risk. We make them available for free so please don't expect support for them as well but i can tell you we have created thousands of keyboards with these templates.
Here are a few links to some pre-made keyboard templates and keep in mind many cash registers use the same template. Also little word of advice please print a blank, cut it to size and make sure it fits before you spend a few hours building a custom template only to have it not fit.
Again if your model number is close to any of those above download it, print it blank and try it. If it is close you can also adjust it in word. Some keyboard will print on 8.5 x 11 paper some will require leagal size so make sure you printer supports that. Also this are without warranty, use at your own risk. We make them available for free so please don't expect support for them as well but i can tell you we have created thousands of keyboards with these templates.
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