Tips for programming a cash register

Some cash register take longer to program than others however they all have a few things in common. All have departments or groups (whether you use them or not). The departments or groups is a good place to start programming.

When preparing to program your register we urge people to plan your programming in writing. Start by making a list of departments or groups, give them a name and tax status. Following is a sample

#  Name                                    Tax Status

1 Taxable Grocery,                  T
2 Non-Taxable Grocery           NT
3.Beer/Wine                             T
4. Cigs                                      T
5. Dairy                                    NT

So you get the point. Make sure you know the layout of department or Groups on your cash register keyboard and that your department listings match up where you want them. Example many cash registers the bottom left hand department button is #1.

If your machine has alpha characters and not just numbers (most have alpha) we like to map our the characters we need to enter to program the text. Most cash register use a two or three digit code for each letter. So on our list above I would expand like so: (only listed one but do you entire list in advance.)

# Name Tax Status

1 Taxable Grocery, T
    084 065 088 065 066 076 069 032 071 082 079 067 069 089 (alpha code for Taxable Grocery)
2 Non-Taxable Grocery NT

3.Beer/Wine T

4. Cigs T

5. Dairy NT

You then will have to program the tax status of each department. Almost every register I have programmed always come standard as every department set as non taxable however a few new Sharp cash registers are coming out of the box with every department programmed taxable.

You will also have to set the tax rate. Most cash registers can have a tax rate or table. Unless your city, county or State requires a table for some strange reason always set the rate and don't mess with a table. oddly enough the rate setting is almost always the second choice in the manual so people try setting the table first and get very frustrated.

Our techs are available to help you program your SAM4s cash register for a fee. We find that once most people program a few things it becomes clear and they fly right through it. You can call for rates and availability at 1-800-863-2274