Tax Rates & SP-1

Tax Rates!

I know, not the most exciting topic!  However, we are asked on a regular basis about how tax rates can be calculated in SP-1.

We have multiple ways to accommodate the taxing of items in SP-1.  Every menu group can be assigned one of five different tax levels and this can also be determined by the order type!  Some examples:

• Charge 9.3% tax on pizza for delivery and 8.3% on pizza for dine in.
• Charge 9.3% tax on coffee for here and no tax when it is carry out.
• Charge 7.3% on beverages and 6.3% on food and 5.5% on retail.

Don't forget that if you deal with non-taxable customers (church or non-profit), then you can set that up as well by creating a customer profile for the situation. 

For those of you out of country, we support the VAT (Value Added Tax) as well as the Canadian GST, PST and HST.

For those of you in states that require the tax be based on the tax code the customer lives in, we have you covered as well.  Our Use Customer Delivery switch allows you to specify the location zone and tax rate that is appropriate.  This is great when you are charging a different tax based on the location.

Finally, for those of you in states that have instituted a "fee" or tax that is then taxable, we can even cover this. We have a few customers that are in cities / states that charge a unique tax.  For example, drinks incur an additional 2.5% tax and then the ticket is sub-totaled and tax is applied on the whole thing!  I know it seems weird but there are areas that are doing it!

Of course we report all the details here as well!

Contact us at:
SelbySoft
Mike Spence
800-454-4434
Sales@SelbySoft.com
WWW.SelbySoft.com
8326 Woodland Ave. E
Puyallup Wa 98371

Suggestive Selling?

Are you using the sales reminder window?

SP-1 has a suggestive selling screen built right in!  This is setup in System Setup and will appear at the end of every order.

A simple way to help increase sales!


Contact us at:
SelbySoft
Mike Spence
800-454-4434
Sales@SelbySoft.com
WWW.SelbySoft.com
8326 Woodland Ave. E
Puyallup Wa 98371

Happy Holidays & Merry Christmas!

We hope everyone has a great Holiday and Christmas!

Thanks once again for being great customers and helping to make 2010 another successful year!

Contact us at:
SelbySoft
Mike Spence
800-454-4434
Sales@SelbySoft.com
WWW.SelbySoft.com
8326 Woodland Ave. E
Puyallup Wa 98371

Where to put computers?

Where are your POS stations located? 

I suppose a better question would be where SHOULD your POS stations be located?   This blog came about as a comment from one of our Customer Service technicians.  They each talk to hundreds of different stores a year and have a different perspective on what goes on in a store.

They brought this up in our last meeting because they run into a lot of people that give no through as to placement.  I'm not talking ergonomics here - I'm talking safety and longevity!

Places to avoid putting the POS:

• Right next to the hand washing sink.
• Right next to the dish washing sink.
• Any sink! 
• Ovens - Please don't back the computer right up against your super hot conveyor oven!
• Under the counter, behind the stack of paper napkins with zero airflow.
• On the floor that is mopped once a day.
• Anyplace where the computer looks like it is balancing on edge.

These may seem a bit silly but we run into them!  The thing you want to look for is some kind of airflow around the machine - It does not need to be on a shelf by itself but don't cram it in there either!


So call us before you put the POS in place and we will help you understand what will make your life easier!


Contact us at:
SelbySoft
Mike Spence
800-454-4434
Sales@SelbySoft.com
WWW.SelbySoft.com
8326 Woodland Ave. E
Puyallup Wa 98371

Internet Troubles?

Problems with staff and the internet? 

You are not the only one!  We have many customers that would like to lock out internet usage on their POS terminals.  There are a number of reasons to want to lock out employess on the POS.

No matter what else you may want to do with your POS computers, remember that you purchased them to operate first and foremost as point of sale stations.

Employee access to the internet on POS systems can result in many issues in your store including some of the below: 

• PCI and Credit Card security can be comprimised.
• Potential for virus, spyware or malware is increased.
• Software corruption due to issues with above.
• Potenial illegal downloads of movies, music etc.

Ok, so we have some reasons why we don't want employees to have unfettered access to the internet.   How do we accomplish this?

Well, it's not completly something to be covered in a short blog but there are some suggestions that we can help you with. 

Start by looking at your Internet Explorer options.  Under the Tools, Internet Options, and then Content tab, you can set many different ways to control content access.

Another great way to stop unauthorized access is to secure your station with different user access through Windows.   

When we setup our SP-1 Touch Screen systems, we utilize the different user accounts under Windows to lock down the Internet Explorer access. 

So there you have it - a couple ways to help make sure you have things locked down and secured!

Contact us at:

SelbySoft

Mike Spence
800-454-4434
Sales@SelbySoft.com
WWW.SelbySoft.com
8326 Woodland Ave. E
Puyallup Wa 98371

Using a POS to cut costs!

How to cut costs?

In today's world we are seeing costs on items continue to rise. Our coffee and specialty beverage customers have been hit with costs of coffee increasing  to it's highest levels in 13 years. 

http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/food/2010-09-08-coffee-prices_N.htm?csp=obinsite

Our pizza and restaurant customers don't have it any better as we have seen cheese prices up as much as 25% over the last year (http://www.pizzamarketplace.com/article/177010/Commodities-Cheese-up-25-percent-this-year) 

So, what does this have to do with POS?  A LOT.  When costs skyrocket, mistakes and control become even more important.

Take the first step by implementing controls over mistakes of pricing and product.  A Zero Training POS system allows you to make sure your employees are doing their best to get correct prices out to your customers.  This eliminates the shortages that occur when employees are quoting wrong prices.  Even a few cents off can make the differences when costs are involved!  

Tracking your inventory?  If not, then you are probably not tracking your waste either.  Even just tracking waste on a couple of your key items will help you save money and help you cut your costs. 

 Implementing a full inventory control system takes it a step further by showing you your cost of goods sold (COGS) on the fly.  Portion control can be managed by having precise portions printed in the kitchen.  This allows your employees to stop the overages of food that cause a waste and inventory issue. 

So give it a shot - call us and ask how we can help you at least trim your costs and get better control over your location.

Contact us at:
SelbySoft
Mike Spence
800-454-4434
Sales@SelbySoft.com
WWW.SelbySoft.com
8326 Woodland Ave. E
Puyallup Wa 98371

Retail Options in SP-1

Do you have retail?

If so, we have options!  SP-1 has the ability to handle your retail, barcodes and weighing items if needed.  This goes beyond the simple candy bar sale.  We are talking full capabilities of selling retail items in your location.

It all starts with our SP-1 Inventory & Retail Management Solution.  With this, SP-1 allows you to enter retail items, bundle items together into build groups and really take control of how retail is handled in your location.

It starts with our Retail Master File!  We have the ability to track the category assigned, retail price, stock levels, and more. UPC codes can be assigned to the retail item for quick barcode capabilities. 

You can even print custom barcodes from here for you retail items that may not come with a UPC!

It's our experience that often you may need to bundle one or more retail items together.  Gift baskets are a common thing in retail locations.  With our Build Groups you will be able to quickly add all the items to the build group.  Now whenever the gift basket is sold, all the retail items within it are removed from inventory as well! 

Don't forget that in order to sell an item, you simply need to scan it in Order Entry.  If you have an item that is sold by weight, we can handle that with an integrated electronic scale.  Once you scan or enter the item, you will be able to have the amounts read automatically from the scale! 

Contact us at:
SelbySoft
Mike Spence
800-454-4434
Sales@SelbySoft.com
WWW.SelbySoft.com
8326 Woodland Ave. E
Puyallup Wa 98371

Miscellaneous Charges

Miscellaneous Charge

Do you ever run into into situations where you need to charge someone but don't have a menu item programmed?

SP-1 has a Miscellaneous Charge button that allows you to handle this!  In Order Entry, select the Miscellaneous Charge button and the above screen pops up.

You can change the description on the fly so it reflects what was added as a charge.  Enter the amount and you are done.

As usual, there are many other options involved with this:

•  In System Setup | Operations:3 you can default the description of the Miscellaneous Charge to something other than "Misc. Charge".  You can even setup if tax should be added to this based on the order type (Delivery, Dine In, Carry Out, Pick Up). 
• You can also decide if discounts will apply to Miscellaneous Charges.  This can be setup in Master Files | Discounts. 
• Of course we report on all of this as well!  Miscellaneous charges are reported in detail in Reports | Daily Sales | Business Summary.   If you want to get more specific, you can run the Reports | Ticket History | Misc. Charge report (shown below).  

Contact us at:
SelbySoft
Mike Spence
800-454-4434
Sales@SelbySoft.com
WWW.SelbySoft.com
8326 Woodland Ave. E
Puyallup Wa 98371

Do you have multiple locations?

If so, we understand the challenges involved with that.  Do you know that we have multiple options to assist with this? 

With our Corporate Reporting Packages we can help you with managing those locations.  This software is designed to specifically address the issues that multi store owners have with reporting and gathering of information. 

With our CRP system we can provide updated information from all the locations to a central office.  Better yet, this information can be pushed to multiple computers - this gives you the flexibility of being able to have multiple partners, your accountant etc all with access to the information!

So, stop driving from store to store and investigate automatic reporting through SelbySoft!

Contact us at:
SelbySoft
Mike Spence
800-454-4434
Sales@SelbySoft.com
WWW.SelbySoft.com
8326 Woodland Ave. E
Puyallup Wa 98371