If your BPA POS system seems to be slowing down after several weeks or months of use there are a couple of functions in the software designed to run to keep the system operating at the speed you expect.

Posting Sales

Posting your table sales should be a part of your end-of-the-day routine. If you have not been posting your sales up to this point now is a great time to start. Posting moves all of your sale information into the Business System as well as marks temporary records for deletion. These records will actually get deleted in a later step. To post table sales follow these steps:

1. 1) Go to Restaurant System>End of Day Processing
2. 2) Click Post Table Sales
3. 3) You will see a prompt informing you that this should be something you do each day. Select Yes to continue.

1. 4) When the system has completed the posting processes you will be asked if you would like to print a posting report. The posting report will list every transaction that was posted and group them according to server.

If you post at the end of each day the posting process will only take a couple of minutes. However, if posting has not been a part of your normal procedures for several months or longer the posting process can take several hours. We strongly suggest that you start this process at the end of the night.

Packing Data Files

Packing database files is a software maintenance process that should be run at least once a week. If you notice your system slowing down during the week or you know that you do a high volume of sales, you may want to run this function more often. Packing simply removes any temporary information in the system and archives old sales information. To pack database files, do the following:

1. 1) Exit the BPA software on all client computers and select Exit Now.
2. 2) From the main server computer, exit the software. Choose the option to backup and exit. This will create a backup of BPA and then pack the data files. If you would like to pack files without creating a backup you may also select the Files menu at the top of your screen and select Pack Data Files.

By running these functions on a regular basis you can keep your BPA system operating at the speed you expect.

Business Software Solutions gets several requests a week from our customers for features that they would like to see in our software. Sometimes these requests are for additional functionality and some are simply features our customers would like to see to make their job a little bit easier. While many large POS companies would not give these requests a second thought or charge thousands of dollars to make the change, BSS listens.

We continually improve our product.

Recently, BSS was approached by a large frozen yogurt chain that was interested in using our software. While our TouchPOS product was designed to sell items by weight in this type of environment, this customer had a specific need. They wanted to weigh multiple items at a time and subtract tare weight for the number of containers they were selling. BSS saw this as a valuable feature to add to our software. Within a week our engineers were able to customize our software to meet this demand.

We see our customers as a resource.

While it is not possible for us to add every feature request to the software, we recognize that our customers are a great resource. Our Business Plus Accounting software is a high quality software package because of the feedback of our customers. Over time, implementing features based on customer feedback has been critical to the growth and acceptance of our software.

We listen to customers needs.

Since Business Software Solutions was started in 1989 we have been committed to meeting the demands of our customers. While our focus has shifted from customized business software to providing high quality POS systems, our commitment to meeting these demands remains the same. Our technicians have the ability to post any customer request to our inner-office website that is reviewed by our engineers on a regular basis. The more customers that request certain functionality, the more valuable it is to add to our software. We are also committed to adding features that are absolutely necessary for our customers. If a customer has a feature that they absolutely must have, we can give that customer a quote while they’re on the phone and typically finish the engineering within 2 weeks.

So the big question is, how well does your POS company listen?

The BPA software is very flexible when it comes to setting up coupons. The system comes with a predefined coupon product. By simply adding a menu button using this product, you can discount the order by whatever dollar amount you prefer. You can also create your own predefined coupons that deduct a specific amount. If you have a coupon for $10 you can simply set up a new product with the price as -$10. But what if you are using Groupons, City Deals, or Restaurant.com coupons and you want to track them separately? These simple steps will guide you through the process:

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The end of the year is always a busy time for restaurant owners. Ensuring all your tax and sales data is in order can be a daunting task. In this guide, we’ll discuss reports that are available to help you to close out your accounting year.

1) Un-archiving

Before we start pulling reports, you will want to make sure the system is using all the data for the entire year. BPA is designed to archive sales information after a certain period; this allows the software to run smoothly. Occasionally, if these settings are changed, they will cause inaccurate reports for the entire year. To verify your archive settings go to Restaurant System>Manager Functions>Misc. Definitions. Select the Business System option on the left. In the right, you will see several headings; scan down until you see Data archival.

Here you will see a section with your data archive settings. Depending on which reports you need to access will determine which archive settings you may need to change. The business system reports and monthly and yearly sales reports are controlled by the top option – Archive Sales Order Records After ‘XXXX’ days. Most of the restaurant reports will be controlled by the Archive POS Sales Records After ‘XXXX’ days option.

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In this day and age it can be difficult to hire staff that is completely trustworthy. We receive calls from restaurant owners all the time that have just realized that they have had employees stealing from them for a year or more and they did not realize it until it was too late. Even if you believe you have staff that you can fully trust, your restaurant may be presenting a huge temptation for dishonesty. The restaurant industry provides a huge opportunity for employees to handle and pocket cash and manipulate orders. Typically if there is a way to be dishonest, an employee will figure it out. So how can you safeguard yourself from being taken advantage of? Here are a few simple steps.

1) Use Security Options In Your POS System

Most, if not all, POS systems come with security features built in. If you are not using them, start now. Everyday functions in your POS system present a way to steal. Functions such as reprinting a receipt, removing items or orders, splitting tickets, and comping and discounting can all be used by an employee to pocket cash. Although it may be an inconvenience to your manager to have to approve these functions, it could save you a large amount of money in the end.

2) Review Security Reports Regularly

Your POS system should be able to report any time an order is removed, comped, or discounted. Check these reports often to make sure this in not happening regularly. Also check to make sure there is not a pattern to these reports and that you don’t see the majority of the activity coming from one employee.

3) Use Swipe Cards Instead of Passwords

POS systems typically have an option to allow an employee to use a secure function either by using a manually entered manager password or a manager swipe card. Using manual passwords works fine but sooner or later someone is going to watch you close enough to find out your password. Using manager swipe cards solves this issue. You must be there with your card to approve the particular function they are trying to access.

Swipe cards should not only be used for managers but for employees logging in as well. By allowing your servers to manually log into the system you allow the opportunity for employees to clock each other in and out and put orders in under another person’s ID. This can be a huge security hole. Set up employee login cards for each of your employees. This way you can make sure that they alone are responsible for their own orders.

If you are a BPA customer and would like to know more about using these features please call our technical support at (801) 336-3303. If your POS system does not support these functions and you are interested in a system that allows you to secure your business please visit www.businessoftware.com or call us at (801) 336-3303.

This time of the year our tech support gets a large amount of calls relating to not being able to post Payroll or Accounts Payable. The BPA software allows you to post information up to 1 year ahead of the current accounting year the software is set to. If you have not been using the general ledger in the BPA software many times this accounting period will remain unchanged. When you try to post you will see the following message.

This error is easily corrected by following these simple steps.

1) Go to Business System>General Ledger.

2) Select Change G/L Accounting Period.

3) Move the accounting period forward one month at a time until you get to the current year. In other words if it is set to 12/2010 you need to put in 1/2011 and hit enter. Enter “Y” to continue and hit enter again. Repeat these steps until you get to 1/2012.

It is important to remember that once you move your accounting period forward to the current year that you can no longer post to past years. If you are using Accounts Payable and still have payments that need to be posted to last year be sure to do so before you move all the way into 2012.

Moving the accounting period forward also affects one report that many of our customers use – the Product Activity Report. This report shows product quantities sold for each month throughout the year. When the accounting period is moved forward it updates this report to show quantities for the current year.

Summary

The number one thing that our technicians are asked once our customers have their system programmed is “How do I close out my POS System at the end of the day.” This guide will walk you through the process of running your end of day reports and closing out your BPA restaurant system. Below is a list of functions that you will want to make sure you run every day. This guide also contains optional steps for gathering additional information from the system.

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The following features have been added to the Business Plus Accounting software packages:

Restaurant Pro, Delivery Pro, and Retail Touch POS Customers

As you may know, within Business Plus Accounting, you can specify different colors of your menu items.  However, depending on the color you choose, it may be difficult to read the text on the button.  With our latest update, we now automatically change the text color on the button to black or white, depending on the button color you choose. 

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