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Point of Sale Software

Program Features Serving Customers Since 1984, our program turns almost any vintage PC into a cash register that also manages your inventory and creates a customer history database. A variety of built-in reports help you manage your business. Designed as a marketing tool for a small retail business to help build repeat sales. Built for ease of use and solid, dependable operation.
  • Complete CASH REGISTER system. Calculates discounts, sales tax, total invoice amounts, change to be returned, and prints an invoice for the customer.
  • Prints a footer message on every invoice. The message can easily be changed, as often as you like. Remind customers of sales, seasonal promotions, or print your own redeemable coupons.
  • Can automatically print an additional footer message when cumulative purchases by individual customers reach a preset amount.
  • Provides for PAID OUTS, OVERRINGS, VOIDS, and REFUNDS with complete reports.
  • Works with most serial electronic cash drawers and supports Bar Code Readers for automated entry.
  • Maintains a complete file of all transactions.
  • Includes a wide variety of Customer, Inventory, and Sales reports.
  • Maintains a complete Customer File with built in word-processing and mail merge capability.
  • Can automatically print a letter to all new customers.
  • Built in password security with multi-level passwords.
  • Contains a complete inventory management system including reorder level reports.
  • Handles coupons and sales promotions.

Requirements Suggested minimum hardware:
  • PC-AT (80286) or newer [all Intel® compatable CPU's]
  • 640KB RAM
  • 20MB Hard Drive
  • MS Dos 3.1 or newer
  • Monochrome or Color CGA/VGA Monitor
  • Parallel Printer

You may find it difficult to actually purchase a new '286 computer, it might be hard to find a new '386 also. But somewhere in the back of the closet, gathering dust, is all the computer you really need to run the POS software. The software will also run under Windows® as a 16-bit DOS application.


Upgrade Instructions Upgrade Instructions for 3.0
  1. Make a backup of the existing POS system.
  2. Purge as much dated customer and transaction data as possible. (optional)
  3. Rename the existing POINT.EXE file to POINTEXE.OLD
  4. Move the new POINT.EXE file into the directory where the old one was.
No other changes are needed.

Upgrade Instructions from 1.x to 2.x

  1. Make a backup of the existing POS system.
  2. Purge as much dated customer and transaction data as possible.
  3. Copy the update files to the subdirectory you are using and run the UPDATE.EXE utility.
  4. Move or delete the .NEW files.
  5. Delete UPDATE.EXE and the .OLD files after confirming the program and your data are all in order.
The update program is necessary since the structure of several of the databases changed, existing data is transfered into the new files. Two new files are the VOIDLOG.DBF database and a new .MEM configuration file.

As part of the UPDATE program any values in Family Size will be lost/changed.

A list of the .NEW files:

  • transact.new
  • detail.new
  • invent.new
  • thistory.new
  • shistory.new
  • summary.new
  • dailysal.new
  • customer.new

Upgrade Features Summary Version 3.0

All dates have always been stored as 4-digit years with only the last two digits of the year displayed. With version 3.x all screen and report dates are now displayed as 4-digit years, all date entry fields are expanded to 4 digit years.

New reports:

  • Print selected portions of the inventory from one item through another item.
  • Category Sales Total Report summarizes sales for a date, based on the first character of the ITEM code.
Additional internal monitoring added to help maintain the databases.

Upgrade Features of Version 2.x

The following represent just some of the changes and additions to the Point of Sale program since 1991.

  • Item number (SKU) increased to 10 character digits
  • Sales tax field width increased to four digits (.xxxx)
  • Promotional Incentive Money (PIM) added as new field to inventory database
  • Zip code field now supports zip+4
  • Family Size field changed to Customer Category (alphanumeric)
  • Support for non-taxed mailorder transactions added
  • No Sale key added
  • VOID transactions now written to an audit file
Reports
  • Custom Promotional Incentive Money report added
  • Sales summary report (daily sales summary) for any day or date range
  • Profit Margin Percentage calculated in Daily Sales Report and Summary
  • Sales report now includes Void listing
  • Number of coupons now counted
  • Print letters and labels by specified zip code range
File
  • Increased control over transaction and operation files
  • Deleting stale transaction data much faster
  • Routines to delete stale customer and transaction data added
  • Beginning INVOICE number can be reset

Ordering Information Single Site $250¹
Upgrade to version 3.0 for only $125¹

¹Plus applicable tax and shipping. Discounts for multiple purchases.


Product Support Support is provided via e-mail. Installation and support options available subject to geographical limitations.

Answers to the most common questions are provided below:

Cash Drawers

The POS runs an external stand-alone program whenever it needs to open the cash drawer. Most drawers are connected to the computer via a serial cable attached to either port COM1 or COM2. Cash Drawer Support involves the following files:

  • CASH1.EXE Opens a cash drawer connected to COM1:
  • CASH2.EXE Opens a cash drawer connected to COM2:
  • DRAWER.COM Rings the system bell if no cash drawer present
If a cash drawer is attached, to COM1, test it by running CASH1 from a DOS prompt. Once you have confirmed it will open your cash drawer, rename it to DRAWER.EXE and rename DRAWER.COM to DRAWER.OLD. If neither CASH1.EXE nor CASH2.EXE will open your cash drawer, contact the drawer vendor for the appropriate drivers.

Error Messages

RUN error when printing or opening the cash drawer

Depending on how memory management is configured on your computer (the HIMEM and EMM386 lines in CONFIG.SYS) you may experience a RUN error after changing to a newer computer or installing new device drivers for a mouse or CD-ROM drive.

The RUN error occurs when the POS runs an external program and there is not enough memory or COMMAND.COM cannot be found. RUN is used to test for the printer being on-line and ready before printing an invoice and to open the cash drawer. If you experience this error, the following environment variable will override the default Point of Sale memory allocations and reserve sufficient memory for the RUN command:

SET CLIPPER=V012;R128 (No spaces on either side of the '=' )

  • You can type this in just before running the POINT.EXE program.
  • You can place the SET command in a batch file that also runs the POINT.EXE program, or
  • Place the SET command in a PIF file that runs POINT.EXE, or
  • Place it in the autoexec.bat
V represents Kbytes allocated for the memory variable table.
R is the KB reserved for the RUN command.