Liquor of Liquor Store Associations in the United States

 Nice list of the various state and national liquor store associations in the United States (non control states only). Looks like UBRA in Arkansas was missed tho...

If there are any other liquor store associations missing from the list, please contact me at kevinantosh@gmail.com

Liquor Stores: Cloud Retailer Liquor Store Profit System Help Desk is Up and Running

 

https://helpdesk.cloudretailer.com/support/home

24/7

No paywall

Registration is Optional

Why are these liquor store owners and managers in Kansas and Texas giving a "Thumbs Up"?

 Because they use the Cloud Retailer point of sale software for beer, wine, and liquor stores!

Video explaining further:

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.

Which Locales Can I Help

Just a quick note that I am only able to help folks whose business or organization are located in the United States or Canada. Due to differences in currency, tax structures, areas that software is sold and supported, and grammar/languages, I'm not familiar with the various point of sale systems sold outside of the US and Canada.

Undercover Boss - Again with Point of Sale Issues

I believe that this is my third post related to an episode of the CBS TV series "Undercover Boss" where segments of the episode includes problems and issues related to a point of sale system. In the most recent episode, True Value CEO Jon Hartman goes undercover posing as an employee. Whether you believe the show is part reality/part acting or all staged, here are some issues related to the point of sale system mentioned in the episode (note that I have worked with businesses similar to True Value in the past - including some Coast to Coast hardware stores and independent locally owned hardware stores):

1. Unable to look up stock/special orders while working with a customer on the sales floor
2. Point of sale system 'crashing'
3. Learning curve
4. Ability to count back change

So, what should the folks at the various stores do about this? Here is my (free and unbiased) advice to them:

1. The ability to look up stock and/or place special orders varies from system to system. At the very least, the point of sale systems that I have provided to hardware stores allow for a 'station' to be setup on the sales floor so employees can look up stock information and place special orders without the customer having to go to a checkout lane.  More advanced point of sale systems also the use of mobile devices and hand held computers to check stock, place special orders, and accept payment right from the device itself (sell anywhere - this also works great in garden centers and nurseries as well).
2. If the point of sale system is crashing, then get your IT staff and point of sale provider together to locate the source of the problem. Make sure all your hardware and software is up to date as well. Don't forget that 'dirty' power can cause problems as well. A simple line conditioner can work wonders if 'dirty' power is an issue.
3. It should never take more than 15 minutes to train a cashier on how to use a point of sale system unless the point of sale system is poorly designed.
4. If the change back display is not showing then there is a design flaw in the point of sale system (plus - everyone should known how to count back change and not rely on a display).

There is plenty more advice to share but it tends to require more details related to the various issues and problems.

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