In Addition to EMV...

Since just about everyone is looking at hardware and software costs related to the upcoming EMV Liability Shift Date of October 1st, 2015 in the United States for card present transactions, this is a perfect time to look at other "housekeeping" items related to the point of sale system used by your business or organization.  In no specific order:

1. Make sure that you have the latest version of your point of sale software
2. Check to see if your annual maintenance contract is current for support and updates to your point of sale software
3. Look at a system "refresh" to see if any hardware, computers, or network equipment needs to be updated or replaced
4. Compare merchant services rates - never hurts to check and see what you could save by paying lower fees for credit and debit card processing service
5. Look at other point of sale systems before you commit to spending any money on your current point of sale system - a lot has changed recently and you may find that it is better to switch to a new point of sale system than continue to invest in your current point of sale system

Please visit my contact page for information on how to reach me.

The True Cost of Ignoring EMV

Update July 2016: Since many Microsoft RMS point of sale software would like to keep using RMS for another couple of years but still need to deal with the EMV Liability Shift Date, visit this post for more information on the Card Defender EMV add-on for Microsoft RMS versions 1.3 and higher (and HQ as well): http://retailpospondering.blogspot.com/2016/06/card-defender-emv-add-on-for-microsoft.html

I've had a few businesses and organizations mention to me that they plan to do nothing related to the EMV Liability Shift Date coming up on October 1st, 2015 in the US in relation on how to accept and authorize chip based credit and debit cards for payment.

Their mindset is that it is not worth investing money in new hardware and software to accept the new chip cards as the businesses average transaction is only around $30.00. Thus, it would be OK to lose $30.00 in sales revenue via a fraudulent transaction versus spending money on hardware and software upgrades.

These folks are forgetting the following:

• Cost of a chargeback (read your merchant services agreement but just about all merchant services companies charge you a chargeback fee for fraudulent transactions).
• Cost of bad press - any sort of fraud will likely be picked up by the local media or even shared via social media and review sites like Yelp.  Bad press + bad reputation = more lost revenue.
• Easy target. If word gets out that your business or organization is not using EMV/Chip Card hardware, then you could become a target for future fraudulent transactions.
• Loss of ability to accept any debit and credit cards as payment. I have seen this happen - too much fraud and no one will offer you merchant services. You will become a cash only business or have to use Square or similar more expensive options.

The EMV Liability Shift Date is not something to be ignored. We still have several months to plan and budget for any equipment upgrades or replacements as well as any software upgrade costs.

Are you  in the US and in need of no cost retail point of sale advice?  I'm happy to help and can be reached on my cell at 208-340-5632 (I am on Mountain Time) or via email at kevinantosh@gmail.com. There is also a contact form to the right that can be used to reach me.

EMV Affects Everyone

I was talking to a restaurant using a MICROS point of sale system and the owner mentioned to me that upgrading his MICROS software and hardware to meet the EMV liability shift deadline (October 1st, 2015 in the United States) was not going to be cheap!

With so much focus on legacy point of sale systems like Microsoft Dynamics RMS, it is easy to forget that everyone who accepts card present transactions needs to be doing something related to the upcoming EMV liability shift deadline or be prepared to absorb the full cost of a fraudulent transaction.

I can't stress enough how important it is to be sure that your cash register, credit card terminal, point of sale software, and/or point of sale hardware is upgraded and ready for the October 1st, 2015 deadline.

Are you  in the US and in need of no cost retail point of sale advice?  I'm happy to help and can be reached on my cell at 208-340-5632 (I am on Mountain Time) or via email at kevinantosh@gmail.com. There is also a contact form to the right that can be used to reach me.

EMV Advice and Discount Options for Former DirectPOS/RVP Business Systems Customers

Update July 2016: Since many Microsoft RMS point of sale software would like to keep using RMS for another couple of years but still need to deal with the EMV Liability Shift Date, visit this post for more information on the Card Defender EMV add-on for Microsoft RMS versions 1.3 and higher (and HQ as well): http://retailpospondering.blogspot.com/2016/06/card-defender-emv-add-on-for-microsoft.html

Update July 2016, Retail Management Hero demo and overview: http://retailpospondering.blogspot.com/2016/07/new-version-of-rmsretail-management.html

With the EMV (chip based credit and debit cards) Liability Shift Date coming up quickly (October 1st, 2015 in the United States), I wanted to pass along some important information for former customers of DirectPOS (RVP Business Systems) who formally sold and serviced cash registers and point of sale systems out of offices in Boise, Idaho, Salt Lake City, Utah and Spokane, Washington.

If you happen to be a former customer of DirectPOS or RVP Business Systems, you likely have questions related to making sure that your cash register or point of sale hardware and software is ready for the EMV Liability Shift Date.  I have made arrangements with multiple trustworthy companies to help you determine what, if anything, you need to do related to your current equipment and EMV.

Even better, these companies will offer you a special discount related to any costs you may incur. Because this involves multiple different types of hardware and software, as well as over 3000 different businesses and organizations, you need to contact me for more information.

Here are the systems that qualify for the discounts:

• MICROS e7
• MICROS 3700
• Sam4S Cash Registers
• QuickBooks Point of Sale
• NCR Silver
• NCR CounterPoint SQL
• Microsoft RMS
• Microsoft HQ
• Microsoft POS 2007 or 2009

If your business is using one of the above systems, and resides in the states listed below, do contact me for free advice and direction on what to do.  I will also be reaching out to all of you as time permits.

• Idaho - ID
• Utah - UT
• Washington State - WA
• Oregon - OR
• Wyoming - WY
• Montana - MT
• Ohio - OH
• Minnesota - MN
• Iowa - IA
• Wisconsin - WI
• Louisiana - LA
• Texas - TX
• Florida - FL
• California - CA

The goal here is to make sure that the upcoming EMV Liability Shift Date catches no one by surprise.

Are you  in the US and in need of no cost retail point of sale advice?  I'm happy to help and can be reached on my cell at 208-340-5632 (I am on Mountain Time) or via email at kevinantosh@gmail.com. There is also a contact form to the right that can be used to reach me.