Point of Sale (POS) Cash Register

There are as many types of point of sale hardware as there are stars in the sky, but believe it or not, they all fall into relatively few categories. Visual Retail Plus has the scalability and flexibility to work with a very wide array of what is available to the average business. On a basic level, we need to mimic the finer points of a cash register. On a deeper level, we also need to be able to provide you, the user, with all the features that made you choose VRP in the first place.

The Computer – Any standard professional computer would form the brain from which the software itself functions. Any computer you buy now has more than enough horsepower to run a store with a few registers. At a minimum, we’d prefer Microsoft Windows XP Professional, with 1 gigabyte of Memory, and a beefy hard drive to hold all your data. The ports the actual computer needs would be defined by its role. Will it be a register? Then one needs to consider what peripherals will be hooked up to it. Is it going to be a server? Then you definitely want more memory and storage space.
Example: Dell Optiplex 210

The Receipt Printer – No transaction is complete without a bill of sale. Visual Retail Plus supports many different types, including but not limited to: standard type, full-page, and half page, ledger, and QuickBooks format. Most prefer the 3x1/8” receipt tape, but the program remains flexible enough to use different formats to suit your needs. Thermal, laser or inkjet, any kind will do.
Example: Star TSP700

The Cash Drawer – (aka, the Till) No matter what form of business you have, someone always prefers cash. Cash drawers are pretty straightforward; they either pop automatically at the end of a sale, or you have to manually open it with a key. For the previous to work, you have to have one that is compatible with the brand of printer you are using for receipts. 
Example: MMF Heritage

The Barcode Scanner – The handheld barcode scanner is probably one of the most useful tools you can have in retail inventory management. Because of this, it is also the most produced. Scanners come in all shapes, sizes, colors and mounts. Any scanner that can transmit codes in a raw format can be used with VRP. 
Example: Metrologic Voyager.

Customer Displays – In many municipalities, the law insists on the customer being able to see the running additions and then the total sale amount displayed at the end of the sale. Even where not mandated by law, customers prefer to know what is going on. The software has the ability to not only display running descriptions and totals, but also to scroll a message when the register is idle. This can be accomplished by getting just about any generic 2 x 20 character serial interfaced pole or tabletop display.
Example: Logic Controls PD3000

These are just the basic components for your Point of Sale System. There are many different facets of hardware you can use to enhance your system and ensure a quick and easy checkout for your customers as well as your employees. For hardware to make checkouts quicker and more efficient, be sure to visit www.shopvrp.com to view touch screen monitors, different types of barcode printers and scanners, credit/debit card processors, and fingerprint login units.