Quick Troubleshooting Your POS Terminal

As a busy merchant you hopefully have had a lot of customers making payments with you. The last thing that you want when you have a store full of customers or have just completed a job is a POS system that is not working. If your terminal is not working you will not be able to receive the payment and it will result in a lot of unhappy people going somewhere else. So, should this happen what are some simple things that can be done to help avoid this or make this less painful when it happens?

Power

There is one thing that your POS system needs to operate and that is power. Most of the time your power supply is constant and no issues will be found but all it takes is one event to give you a headache. Power spikes and surges can be caused by natural sources or even by other devices around you like a microwave oven. A power spike or surge can overload your terminal and cause it to fail. What is the best way to avoid this? Use a power strip which will mitigate some of these or a more specific power protection device designed for use with POS hardware. Or have a dedicated circuit installed with an isolated ground to be used only for your POS equipment or even a battery backup.

That is not the only issue with power that you may encounter. For mobile POS devices they will need to be charged every day. There might come a time when you (or an employee) forgets to plug one in. Or a cable could go bad and not provide charge. The last thing that you want is to start your day only to find your device is low on battery. The best way to avoid this is to have multiple chargers. Have several in your store and have one for each of your vehicles, that way at the very least if the device does not charge overnight it can at least charge while it is on the road.

Cables

Speaking of cables, your POS terminals have a lot of cables attached to it. It is easy to step on one and break it or trip over it. Or it is easy for someone to not realize what cable goes with what device and unplug it accidentally. What is the best way to avoid this? Good cable management. Mark all of the cables clearly say by putting a piece of tape around it and writing on it. Keep the cables tucked away and out of the way of people walking around and that will avoid anyone tripping over the cable. And if a cable goes bad, have a spare on hand to quickly replace it.

The Software

No technology is perfect. Some POS terminals are only consumer-grade and may not be able to stand up to the rigors of retail use. Updates are also sent on occasion to patch security holes. If the device is not working restarting the device (just like with your computer) is usually the first thing to start with. If you are using a mobile solution it may not be able to keep up with the constant use and you may need to buy a different terminal. 

Inaccurate Reporting

One of the other benefits of a POS terminal is that it can also handle many inventory tasks as well. You won’t need to go into the warehouse to find out how many widgets you have, the information is at your fingertips. But, maybe your POS system is not keeping up or is giving you inaccurate information. You might need a more powerful system. Or your employees may not be using the system correctly and only good training will take care of that.

Don’t forget about promotions as well. Not all POS systems can handle sales or promotions well. You might need a more powerful system installed.

Connectivity

One thing that your POS system needs is power. Another is access to the Internet. As technology improves most POS systems are now wireless, though many can still be hardwired. With a wireless network you will need a good connection and also a secure connection. This may necessitate having a dedicated wi-fi network for the POS system so that it can handle the data that is being transmitted and this might require something more than you can buy from a big box store. 

When it comes to issues with your POS system many of them can be overcome by simply using the correct equipment. By using a cheap off the rack solution you might have more problems than you asked for and it might wind up costing you more money than it is worth. By working with a reputable payment processor like JLE Business Consultants we can help you get the right POS system for your business. We can also help you get everything set up so that your system will work when you need it. Keeping them charged though will be up to you.