Happy New Year in 2013

The cash register guys wish you a Happy New Year in 2013 We hope your business grows and you will need to buy a lot of cash registers from us!

If you do need a register in 2013 we carry the best in the world which are the SAM4s cash registers  Whether you need a simple machine or a cash register with a credit card reader we have you covered.

Happy New Year

Should you interface a pin pad with your cash register?

Many cash registers process credit cards directly rather than the old school method of having a standalone credit card terminal next to the register. Processing credit card directly on your cash register makes a lot of sense and can help you make more money for many reasons. The question I'm addressing however in this post is do you also want to take pin based debit cards through your cash register or even if you should take them at all?

What we have seen over the course of installing hundreds of merchants cash registers and credit card machines is it is all about the average ticket size in regards to whether you should take pin based debit or not.

Let's first clear up what "Pin based debit" is. Most debit cards carry the Visa or MasterCard logo and as far as the POS equipment knows they are a Visa or MasterCard however these same cards have the ability to work as a debit card when the user enters their pin at POS on a pin pad and the register treat them differently as does your merchant services.

It is the Fee's associated with a Pin Based Debit cards that are the problem for you the merchant. Almost all cash registers that take credit card can in fact have a pin pad added enabling you to accept Pin Based Debit transactions as well, and there are times when you will want to. Most merchant services will tell you there is a $0.10 to $0.25 fee per debit card transaction however they fail to mention there are also debit network fees with each one as well that can be another $0.20 to $0.60 each making a grand total of $0.30 to $0.85 per transaction. Does not sound like a lot of  money does it? However lets look at a $10.00 transaction and compare the cost between a credit card and a debit card

$10.00 sale fees for a credit card (average) $0.21 transaction fee plus discount fee of 1.8% which is $0.18 for a total of $0.39 leaving you with $9.61 of the original $10.00 sale. Now lets look at the same $10.00 sale using pin based debit with average Debit card fees $0.20 for the merchant services fee plus $0.40 for the debit network fee leaving you with $9.40 from the original $10.00 sale and it could be worse it might cost you $0.80 to $0.85 for that transaction!

If your average ticket is $25.00 or less than stay away from pin based debit as you can see over time that small difference adds up. If you save $0.20 on 4000 transactions over the year than you have saved $800.00 and if you are really busy maybe you would save double or triple that amount.

Now on the other hand if your average transaction is $25.00 and up it may make much more sense to take pin based debit. If you have a $100.00 transaction it is much cheaper to take a pin based debit than a standard Visa/MasterCard!

The average cost to add a pin pad to your SAM4s cash register is about $200.00 maybe more if looking for a fancy one that is also a swipe and pin pad

Did the New Year bring new sales taxes for you cash register

The New Year is often accompanied by new sales taxes in many states or counties so make sure you are prepared to program your cash register if that is the case. We are also seeing an increase in many areas where there are now multiple tax rates for example a general retail sales tax and maybe another separate higher one for food and beverage? If your area is moving to multiple sales taxes make sure you know how to program your cash register for one. Almost all newer Sharp cash registers and all of the current SAM4s cash registers can handle up to four tax rates.

When programming your cash register for a second rate don't forget you not only need to set the rate but also make the items or departments taxable by the new rate. None of the tax programming will affect your cash register and credit card interface if you have one.

Make sure you know how to do all this before the day you need to start. Don't forget cash register companies do charge for support for this service even if over the phone. If you require help programming your cash register call us at 1-800-863-2274

SPS-500 series cash registers from SAM4s

The SAM4s SPS-500 series cash register is the most advanced register on the market today and is made up of several models

The entire series is made up of 4 different models and they break down as follows

1. SAM4s SPS-520FT (dual printer, flat keyboard)
2. SAM4s SPS-520RT (dual printer raised keyboard)
3. SAM4s SPS-530FT (single printer flat keyboard)
4. SAM4s SPS-530RT (single printer raised keyboard)

Any of the four models has optional credit card interface, kitchen printer, computer, coin changer, DVR and many other options. These machines feature an SD card port for back up, program transfer and ROM upgrade. The CF slot allows for very cost effective memory upgrades and the keyboard port makes this machin easy to program and don't forget the crown jewel the 7" color touch screen!

Very affordable and scalable. Don't buy a register until you have looked at this series.

SAM4s SPS-520F Cash Register

What will 2013 bring in the world of cash registers?

In 2013 I don't see much of a change from the state of things today in the cash register business. I project SAM4s will still be the best selling commercial cash register on the market beating out Sharp cash registers.

Both make great commercial grade cash registers but it seem clear that SAM4s is leading the way in the industry today as they have for the last few years. SAM4s has come out with a slew of new machines with features that really are game changers. For example SAM4s makes several entry level cash registers with SD card ports and make the same models with one printer and two so you can make the best choice for your needs. The newer models that include some of these great features are:

• SAM4s ER-920
• SAM4s ER-925
• SAM4s ER-940
• SAM4s ER-945
• SAM4s SPS-320
• SAM4s SPS-340
• SAM4s SPS-345

All of the above cash registers have SD card ports for reporting, programming and upgrading. They all can interface to credit card payments with the Datacap Twin Tran, interface to computers and come with free software and have models with receipt and journal or receipt only.

So let's not forget about Sharp completely as I'm not writing them off. They have made some great moves this year too. They came out with two new models that are great machines with some leading edge features. The machines are:

• Sharp ER-A247
• Sharp ER-A347

Both of these machines have features that SAM4s cash registers do not have. First both of these machine interface to a standard credit card terminal from Hypercom which is very unique (not as complete a system as the Datacap Interface). They both also have a programming Software that interfaces to the cash register with an SD card instead of a direct connection to the PC, however the big feature that has to long in coming for any register company is that these two machines have a Quick Books Transfer tool that allows you to take the sales from the register and import into your Quick Books accounting software.

I can't wait to see the new models if any that will be released from SAM4s or Sharp in 2013 and beyond. If you have any questions about which cash register you should buy call us at 1-800-863-2274

Happy Holidays from the cash register blog!

Wishing you and you family happy holidays. If you find yourself needing a new cash register in 2013 let us know if we can help. Whether you need a simple machine or a cash register with credit card reader we can help you.

Let's all hope that in 2013 business is so good we all need to double our cash registers and staff!

SAM4s cash register supplies

There are a couple good places to find supplies for SAM4s cash registers where you can find keyboard covers, receipt paper and ink ribbons, cash tills and even replacement keys. If you need support they can also help with that. Here is a list of three of the best

1. Cash Register Guys
2. National Business Systems, Inc
3. POS and Cash Registers

SAM4s cash register support

There are three great places to get support for your SAM4s cash register. These places can help via phone or worst case you can ship your register to them for repair if needed. They can help with very simple tax changes or advanced features like cash registers with credit card.

Please keep in mind service is not free! If it was free they would not be around to help!

1. Cash Register Guys
2. POS and Cash Registers
3. National Business Systems, Inc.

Get your cash register ready for the new year

So as the new year approaches plan ahead if you have to do any programming changes to your cash registers. Is your sales tax going up the first of the year? Maybe a new tax rate being applied so you will now have two rates? Does the date on your cash register roll over to the new year or do you have to program it?

The new year should not affect anything to do with cash registers interfaced with credit card or gift cards so should be good there. The new year may be bring new PCI concerns so check with your processor.

Make sure you can locate your programming manual and programming keys in case you do need to make some changes. Most cash register companies do charge a support fee when you call up to make tax programming changes or related items so don't be surprised.

Our company can support all SAM4s cash registers , all the commercial grade Sharp registers and you can call us at 1-800-863-2274 and if you bought your register from us we may be able to help you for free (for very simple quick changes sometimes) if not we will help but we do charge for support.

Cash Register with credit card reader

Several SAM4s and Sharp have quite a few models of cash registers with credit card reader. However please keep in mind with a cash register with a credit card reader won't process credit cards all by itself. The card reader simply reads a card but does process it. The card reader needs to hand off the information to a device that processes the data. What most cash registers need is a Datacap Twin Tran device to complete the system. With a Datacap you can process credit cards and many brands of gift cards directly on your SAM4s or Sharp cash register.

Need some help sorting out what to buy you can call us at 1-800-863-2274 if you already own a cash register and datacap and need to have it re-programmed we can help with that too just keep in mind that is a service we charge for.

Connecting a bar code scanner to a cash register

We receive many questions from our blog and live support chat about setting up a bar code scanner with a cash register. Perfect example happened today where the end-user bought the cheapest scanner he could find, did not pay attention to the interface or the cable.

Does not matter if it is a Sharp Cash Register or one of the SAM4s Cash Register models you can't just buy the cheapest scanner you see online and plug it in.

1. Most cash registers require specific makes and models of scanners. Don't just buy something because it is cheap and looks cool
2. ALL cash registers require a specific interface. Cash registers are not cutting edge like computers and are a few years behind the curve in most cases, maybe even a decade!
3. Almost every cash register must be programmed to accept a scanner, no such thing as plug n play with a cash register
4. Some registers require very specific special order cables to connect scanners.

What should you do to make sure you get a scanner that works? Call cash register people like us at 1-800-863-2274 we know what works with Sharp (except XE models) and SAM4s cash registers, we know how to program the scanners and the cash registers! Don't call us after you have bought from a scanner company that knows nothing about cash registers!