4 Reasons order confirmation monitors are cool!

They are not pole displays.  Sounds harsh doesn't it.  It's true though.  A pole display is typically old looking, unappealing and really does not cut it in todays world.  Think high resolution monitor with pictures of your product instead of that 3-4 line display with ugly green text. 


They cut theft.  That's right, they can actually cut employee theft.  Simply by making sure that the customer sees a total on the screen before the employee collects money.  With an OCM facing the customer, you are enlisting your customer in making sure the employee actually rings up the order. Add a simple sign stating your order is free if not displayed and you will cut theft down a significant degree. 


You can sell advertising.  I know it sounds weird but you can.  Since the OCM has the ability to display a slide show of pictures it's possible to load anything you want.  We currently have customers that sell one slide.  Think advertising for a Realtor.    Sell a popular roasters beans?  Offer to advertise on the OCM for them.


Customers confirm their order.  This is the reason that these were originally developed after all. Because the customer can see their order on the screen, you will will make less mistakes.  Actually, you will probably make the same amount of mistakes, you just catch them before completing the ticket. 

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

Are you secure?

Are you really secure?  Let's ask some questions:

Do you review the security levels in SP-1 from time to time?  

If not, you should.  It's vital to check over what access employees and managers have.  Remember that your store evolves over time.  Call us to make sure what your employees are currently allowed to do. 

Are you checking that your password is not being used by anyone else?

Check the audit reports we offer and compare them to the times you and your manager work.  If you see those employee codes used when you are not there, then you have a problem! 

Do you change your password on a regular basis?

I hope so!  In 7.60 and above, you are required (PCI / PA-DSS Standards) to change your password every 90 days.  If you are not doing that now, you should be.  It's one of the best ways to insure you employees don't have access to your system. 


Are you using "hard" passwords?

Is your password "1234" or your name?  That's not OK and we all know it.  Your passwords should be at least seven characters with a combination of letters and numbers. 


Do you allow Windows access?
This is a tough one.  In some cases you may have to.  If you don't have a specific need to, then make sure you set SP-1 up to be maximized at all times.  This helps eliminate the ability to access Windows.  If you do allow employee access, then check the Internet Explorer history on a  regular basis to see what your employees are doing online. 

What about checking your Audit Reports with Customer Service?
Call us on this.  Seriously - you need to ask about this.  Basically, we can show you any ticket that has been altered or reduced and help you stay on top of theft. 

Do your employees have a separate code to clock in?  What about employee cards or fingerprint ID?

Please don't use one employee code or card for everyone in your store!  If you have to use codes then make sure each employee has their own.  This will allow you to track who is doing what and when! 

Hopefully, you answered all of these correctly!  If you didn't then you might want to call us to review how we can make sure you are as safe from theft as possible. 






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

Using promotions to increase your business

Promotions can be a great way to look at increasing your business and your bottom line.  Let me correct myself there. . . Effective, trackable promotions can be a great way.

There are all kinds of ways to intice people to try your product.  WIth SP-1, we look at ways to track your promotions and help you decide if they are working.  

Facebook & Foursquare.   These social media tools make it very easy to promote product to your customers.  If you want to take it a step further, use the built in places and deals to allow for specials that take advantage of geolocation features in cell phones (I.E. check-in specials).

Gift Cards.   I know that people think we beat a dead horse with this topic but it is because it is such a great way to increase revenue and cash flow.  Gift cards can be sold at a slightly reduced price to encourage customers to pre-pay.  This is a simple and effective way to increase your cash flow.

Bundles.  If you are looking to discount items, try creating a bundle.   The concept is that you take a high profit item and pair it with a different item.   Pairing items together for a single price can help introduce low-selling items to a broader customer base.

Timed pricing.  A "happy hour" special can be a really great way to encourage customers to order outside of your busy times.  Creating promotional pricing on certain items and offering them only between 2 and 4pm can help direct some of your traffic to those hours when you are slow.

Tracking.  This is, in some ways, the most important part of what you are doing.  You have to track what is and is not working in order to know how effective these are.  If a promotion is not working, stop doing it!  SP-1 will allow you to really evaluate the number of times these promotions are used over a time frame. This will allow you to make better decisions about how you create better promotions in the future.

Contact us at:

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

Back office needs?

One of the challenges that smaller stores face is that they are typically only running a single POS station at a time.

SP-1 can certainly handle the volume and will help you increase your speed of service.   But what about being able to look at numbers when the front counter is busy?  What about employees clocking in?

That is where our back office license can come in.  With the back office license, you can load a special version of SP-1 on a second station.  This license allows you to do any of the functions of your front counter computer with the exception of taking an order.  

Call us today and see how we can add this to your store!



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

FREE Coffee Fest Seattle Passes!

Going to Coffee Fest in Seattle this September?  

So are we!   Before you register for passes, check with us!  


We often have free passes for this show and would love to help you get in free!


See you there September 23-25th in the Seattle Convention Center - Booth: 804/806




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

Don't clean your computer!

Like the title? It's a little tongue in cheek but hopefully makes you think about maintenance.

With summer coming and the heat (finally) starting to hit, we know that some of our customers will see hardware failures due to overheating start to become more common.

Most of this can be easily avoided. All it takes is a little preventative maintenance. What we are talking about is no different then getting an oil change, tuning your oven or backflushing an espresso machine. It's necessary to keep things running along smoothly.

There are really three things to consider when checking out your POS.

• Removing materials from around your POS computer. Are you one of those people with a roll of paper towels on your computer? Do you stack menus on top and around the computer? If so - Stop it! Computers (even those without fans) need air flow.

• Cleaning. When you have a chance, open the case on your computer and spray it with a can of compressed air. You might be amazed at the amount of dust that fills the air! Do this once every six months and you will extend the life of your computer.

• Printers. Don't forget that those printers load up with dust from the paper rolls. Every so often, just open the lid, turn the printer upside down and tap it once or twice.

If you need some additional advice, don't hesitate to contact us!

Contact us at:

SelbySoft

Mike Spence

800-454-4434

Sales@SelbySoft.com

WWW.SelbySoft.com

8326 Woodland Ave. E

Puyallup Wa 98371

Gift Card Feature Updates

Over the last couple weeks our developers have been working on new enhancements to SP-1.  Along the way, there have been some improvements to the gift card system!


To recap more about how the gift card system can be used, check out my previous blog
 7 Cool Things About Gift Cards.  


Now that we remember all the current cool things about SP-1 and our gift card system, here are some of the new changes!


The balance is now displayed when loading a card.   If you are loading a card with a balance, we now display what the current balance (before load) is.  This was designed to provide all the information on one screen.

When a card is loaded the ticket reflects the previous balance.  If you have a current balance on a card and add an additional amount to it, then we are now showing that on the ticket.  The circled item on the ticket below shows that the card had $25.00 on it and we are currently adding $5.00!













Gift card balance is shown when a customer is selected.  If you assign gift cards to customers, this new option will be helpful. As soon as you start a ticket with a customer that has a gift card, you will see their balance on the screen!  This helps eliminate the need to inquire about a card!

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

Integrate your credit cards through Point of Sale!

When talking to owners of food and beverage locations, I'm often asked about credit card processing. 

Usually the conversation revolves around if the owner should integrate the credit card processing into the POS or continue to use a terminal for processing.   

So what does integration have over terminals?  Quite a bit . . . 

• No equipment needed.  Since it is working through software only, you get to free up space on your counter.
• Ease of use.  Your employees already should know how to swipe a card!  Plus you have the card swipe for employee clock ins and gift cards already.
• Less mistakes.  When credit card processing is integrated through SP-1, your employees don't have to enter any information beyond the card number (and that is handled by swiping the card on the side of the monitor!   Unlike a terminal, the employee does not need to enter the total dollar amount (eliminating those typos).
• Compatibility.  We work with virtually every credit card processor out there.  No issues with having to re-program a terminal.
• Flexibility.  Have multiple stations? With the credit card integration you have the ability to take credit cards on all computers running SP-1 with no additional cost. 
• No additional phone line.  Since the credit cards are run through an internet connection, you don't need an additional phone line.

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

Happy Fourth

Don't forget!  SelbySoft has emergency support available from 9am to 10pm PST on the Fourth!

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