Bryans Blog

As you may know, Windows XP and Windows 2003 are getting harder to find and buy, which means that more than likely your next PC or Server purchase is going to have Windows 7 or Windows 2008 in either a 32bit or 64bit version (See My Blog on the differences here).

Most software has minimum requirements for RAM, CPU speeds, and Operating Systems supported to use the software. For example a Server for CounterPoint SQL has a minimum CPU requirement of 2 Ghz Pentium 4 or better, 2 GB memory, and Windows XP SP3 to Windows 2008 64bit.  This means that just about any available OS will work.  On the other hand CounterPoint V7 requirements for the OS are Windows XP up to Windows 7 32bit only, which includes Windows 2003 32bit also.  A 64bit OS is not a supported environment for CounterPoint V7.

That doesn’t mean it wont run or install, it means that either A. It has not been tested or B. It has been tested and problems where found.  Perhaps compatibility of the software or other 3rd party driver or software that is used.  This also means that, from a support stand point, that the manufacture may not even help if you are trying to run software in an unsupported environment.

Manufactures try to test as many scenarios of environments they can, and make recommendations on what should be used. As explained above, even though the software may install and run just fine, there is a reason why it is not supported.  Perhaps data corruption, certain hardware/software doesn’t work correctly or consistently, or it doesn’t run or work consistently in a mission critical environment.  Sure you can try it, but I would not test this in a live environment.  Another thing to consider is what if I do run into an issue that can not be fixed by my IT department and I need to call the manufacture for help?  They may tell you its because your running in a non supported environment, or worse they may not help at all.

Sometimes the only option is to either upgrade your software to what is supported on the equipment/OS that you have, or downgrade the OS to a supported version.  An alternative OS  is often available when you purchase a new System.  Hopefully you can find the media and the license to be able to downgrade.

If you have any questions on whats supported for CounterPoint SQL or V7, give the CCS Retail Systems Support Department a call at 800-672-4806 or email_us.  CCS can still get new systems with Windows XP and Windows 2003 32bit if needed.

-Bryan

The Holiday’s are right around the corner, you are probably getting a ton of emails for sales, by one get one free, etc.  But do you know where those emails are coming from? They may say they are from JC Penny’s, Sears, Macy’s but you have to be careful.  If you do plan on buying gifts online, here are a few simple rules to help protect your identity as well as your bank account.

•  Never click a link in an unsolicited email. Although the email may look legitimate, and the link takes you to a site that "looks" like the company who sent the email, it may already be too late.  Just by clicking the link could have installed malware without your knowing.  Instead of clicking the link in the email, open up your browser of choice and type in the address of the company you want to order from. 

• If its too good to be true, then it probably is.  Ever see those advertisements on web pages that claim they are selling IPads for $50?  This is most likely an "Ebay" type auction site, where you are charged for EACH BID you place.  More likely than not a computer is bidding against you just to make more bids come in.  Remember that’s how they charge you, FOR EACH BID placed. 

• Shipping Charges can add up.  I recently heard a story about how some online stores are touting their low prices.  For example, in the story I heard, a company was selling a shovel for $19.95.  Good price you say?  After filling in all the info and getting ready to commit to the sale, it was determined that after shipping that shovel was going cost about $56.  Not such a bargain after all.  Some companies offer shipping for multiple items, it is always good to ask if that is something they offer.

Remember the bad guys don’t care that it’s Christmas, they just want your information.  As stated above, "If its too good to be true, it probably is". If you are not sure about an email, open a browser and type in the web address of where you are trying to go or give the company a call and verify the information first.  Be sure to check the shipping fees.  Never give out personal information to anyone over the phone or in an email unless you initiate the contact.  That way you know who you are speaking with.

If you have any questions on email or related system topics, call the CCS Retail Systems Support Department at 800-672-4806 or email_us.  We are here to help.

-Bryan

What is a VPN or Virtual Private Network?  It is a secure "tunnel" usually through the Internet that connects you to a remote network and makes your PC look like it is connected locally.  With all the free Wifi "Hot Spots" (concentrated user access facilities like coffee shops) popping up, where security is either non-existent or very lax, a VPN is one of the safest ways to connect to your office or home.

The tunnel created is encrypted so hackers may be able to "see" the data, but will not be able to make any sense of it.  Why is this more secure you ask?  Well an unsecured hot-spot has no encryption enabled between you and the hot-spot equipment.  This means hackers, or even regular users, can "peak" at the information being sent.  That includes user-names and passwords, credit card information, even shared folders and printers can be used by a rogue user if not properly protected. The same goes for home users.  If you purchased a wireless router, and just plugged things in and did not change any settings, more than likely you are unprotected.

In today’s world of scams, hackers, and security breaches, the more security you have the better.  But remember, you will have to give a little to get a little.  The more security that is implemented, usually the less convenience you will get.  Sometimes, that less convenience could mean a few extra clicks or remembering another password.  But for the piece of mind, it is well worth it.

So next time your at your favorite Hot-Spot, remember that if it is not a secure site, anything more than browsing the web could potentially leave you vulnerable.

If you have questions on best practices for securing your network or Wifi, give the CCS Retail Systems Support Department a call at 800-672-4806 or email_us to discuss your concerns and questions.

-Bryan

Occasionally you will need to replace equipment in your store.  Whether it be a printer, modem, or router you need to be aware of the differences between home and commercial products.  Although home grade equipment can be used in a pinch, you will be better off getting a commercial grade product.

An example of why commercial grade products are usually better than the “home” version for business brings me to a recent project I was tasked with.  I was asked to help a customer replace/reconfigure some of their network equipment.  They were replacing an older DSL Modem which the previous MIS tech setup and configured.  They left no documentation on how to access or configure it.  The current MIS wanted to just reset the router and start from scratch.  They had a backup router just in case there were problems.  After fussing with the old router and getting nowhere, the MIS tech decided to put  the backup router they brought in place.  The backup router was a “home” version.  Everything worked just fine when no one else was using the network, but the next morning when the store opened and more than 1 PC was in use, the network came to a halt.  The most likely reason for this is that most “home” routers limit  the number of concurrent connections it can handle, usually about 5 (wireless and wired). 

Business/Commericial products are usually more robust on what can be configured.  They usually do not have such a low limit on concurrent connections.  After explaining this again, they went a bought a commercial grade router. Although there was much more to configure, once in place I was told that the network has never run as fast.

The moral of the story is “You get what you pay for”.  If your business is small, you may be able to get away with using a “home” version of a product.  If you have 5 or more users, paying the extra for a commercial grade product now, will save you the frustration and problems down the road.

CCS Retail Systems has many years of experience with many different desktop, server, and networking products.  We have  found that commercial grade products usually last longer, are more flexible, and give less problems.  Especially when put into a higher user/volume environment,  they will cause less frustration.  If you are planning to replace equipment, give the CS Retail Systems Support Department a call at 425-672-4806 or email_us before you buy.  That way you can get professional advise on what to purchase and the best way to configure the new equipment to get the best, most efficient use of the product.

Remember that CCS Retail sells an installs most networking, desktop, server, and retail equipment.  We can guarantee a smooth installation and stand behind the products.

-Bryan

Were you aware that CCS Retail Systems is an authorized training facility for CounterPoint Software.  Training is an important step in getting your CounterPoint System (CP) working properly.  This can save significantly on support bills.

Over the years at CCS I have taken quite a few support calls on how or why a particular function works the way it does.  Most of the time the answer could have been answered in training. 

For example, a recent call I took from a customer had to do with transfers.  This company has been using the software for quite sometime.  For what ever reason, the procedures they were using for transfers between locations was confusing.  The employees and owners of the store have been confused on this for quite some time. This was just recently brought to my attention. 

If proper training were taken by at least one person in the company, the transfer procedure could have been adjusted just slightly.  All the paper work involving transfers would have made more sense to everyone involved.  It was not that they were doing things wrong per se, but missing an important step in the process.  This step completed the transfer process and saved time. Now the owner and store managers would not have to go through extra steps "fixing" things after the fact.

Your whole company may not need to attend the training sessions, only those most directly involved.   It is always a good idea to train several people to make sure you account for holidays, sickness, and turn-over.  Training sessions are an invaluable learning opportunity for your company to be able to use your system to the fullest.  CP is  very complete software.  It is designed to make manage your business easy with its many functions and tools.  But you need to know that these tools exists and that is where training can help.

If you are interested in training for CounterPoint or any of our other software products that CCS supports, please call CCS Retail Systems at 800-672-4806 or email_us.  The ROI on your training investment can most likely be seen immediately.

-Bryan

Its that time of year again, No, not kiss the boss day….. …but Physical Counts of your inventory.  Having accurate "quantity on hand" for your inventory is an important step in keeping your systems data up to date.  Whether you count your inventory once a year or do cycle counts multiple times a year, the Physical Count process is what you would use.

There are certain steps that should be taken before, during, and after your counts.  I will not go into too much detail here but one thing to remember before you start is to be sure everything is posted and any old counts that may have been forgotten or never finished be "Removed".  This helps get you a clean slate to start with and will help keep your counts accurate. 

Remember the old saying "Garbage In/Garbage Out"?  This is one place in the software where that holds true.  Bogus quantities of your items can cause a buyer to buy too much or too little of a key product. The value of your inventory could be artificially inflated/deflated.  These quanity errors can affect your tax bill and bottom line if your not careful of what information you are putting into your system. 

Don’t forget that the use of hand held data collectors is supported in both CounterPoint V7 and CPSQL to help with the process.  Both versions of CounterPoint have an import function that can be used for the counts that are collected.

One critical feature that sets your CounterPoint Physical count aside from competiitors is the Quantity Freeze.  You can continue selling while counting is being performed.  The Freeze feature will ensure that the Count and Reconcillation steps work correctly.  This is NOT true of competative systems.

If you would like some help doing your counts, or information about hand held data collectors call the CCS Retail Systems Support Department at 800-672-4806 or email_us.

Happy Halloween
-Bryan

Are you going to be hiring temporary workers this holiday season?  Do you have current employees that don’t usually ring up customers work the cash registers?

If so, a practice company would be a great idea to help train your staff.  By having a practice company, users can make all the mistakes they want and not affect your live data.  The system will look and perform just as if you were in the live company.  You will be able ring up customers, take returns, simulate a credit or debit transaction, do receiving, Po’s, etc just as if you were working with live data and customers. 

There are other benefits of a practice company as well:

• being able to use it through out the year to train new employees

• see what a change in the setup or turning on an option does and how it affects other aspects of the software.

If you are interested in setting up a practice company in either CounterPoint V7 or in CPSQL, give the CCS Retail Systems Support Department a call at 800-672-4806 or email_us.  I recommend getting help with your practice company.  Improper setups can cause problems.  For example, if improperly setup, live Credit Card transaction could be run by accident.  They could be hard to reverse afterwards.

-Bryan

I’ve been asked by a few customers about registry cleaners and optimizers.  Although some are better/safer than others, I usually recommend against using these tools. A good example of why I am against most of these tools has to do with a recent support call I received.

This particular customer was having problems with their system locking up and randomly freezing. The owners friend recommended running one the the more common cleaners that are out there. After the tool scanned and reported what was found, the user went ahead and told the program to "fix" the problems found.  Although the program did ask if he wanted to make a backup, he chose not to do so.  The next morning, when I received the call, another software program they use for their business, functioned sporadically and claimed that there were missing files.

After some sleuthing, I was able to determine what programs were missing, and asked if any backups were made that we would be able to restore to get the missing programs back.  Although there were backups made to tape, none of the files in question had been backed up for some time. Basically there were no backups.  I found a copy of the programs that were missing and was able to put them in place. Then they could continue running their business and get customers out the door.

The moral of the story is that if you do choose to run any system optimizers or registry cleaners, make sure you make a backup of the system before the tool is run.  Always choose to make a backup of what the optimizer is going to remove.  It is a good idea to have someone knowledgeable with the tools to help if you have any questions. Exclude scanning directories that are either in use or are part of mission critical programs of your operation. 

Luckily we were able to get this customer back up and running quick, but this could have been a disaster that could of taken many hours to repair.  Which also brings up having a disaster recovery plan.  See Johns Blog about Disaster_Planing for information about planning for quick recovery.

If you have any system question or concerns, call the CCS Retail Systems Support Department @ 800-672-4806 or email us.
-Bryan

 

Are you planning on changing your credit card processor?  If you are, there are some things you should be prepared for.

First, you should check with your current processor to make sure you do not have a contract termination problem or penalty.  I recently helped a customer switch their processor.  After getting everything setup in the software and tested, I got a call the next day asking for me to change it back because they signed a contract with their current processor for a set amount of time and it was going to cost the company a considerable amount money to break the contract.  Fortunately, backups of the existing setup were made and I was able to get them switched back in a timely manner.

Another thing to be aware of is processing equipment.  If you process debit cards through your system with pin pads, you will need to get new pin pads or have your current ones re-encrypted with your new processor and merchant information.  Although most customers ask CCS for help when it comes to setting up the credit card processing, some companies do it themselves.  I’ve even heard of the new processor rep. doing it for them. 

I have had a customer who either setup their system themselves or had someone else set it up call and tell me that they cannot run debit cards.  When asked if the pin pads were replaced and they answered "No", I explained what the problem was and was told that their rep said they did not have to.  However the cards would not work until after they requested new pin pads from their new processor.  So keep in mind that the processor may not realize that.

Lastly be aware of how your are processing your authorizations and settlements.  Currently, CounterPoint V7 and CounterPoint SQL can process cards either over the Internet or with a dial-up modem. For Internet Processors, besides changing what processor you are using through the CPGateway Internet service, there is not much that has to be done.  But if processing with a dial-up modem, you need to be sure you have the correct authorization and settlement numbers. 

As with the above Pin Pad "gotcha", not having the correct numbers to use can cause rejected authorization and/or settlements, or a complete rejection of the whole transaction.  It is recommended that you have a dedicated reliable phone line to processes through, especially in a high volume environment.  I have seen where the credit card modem and the fax machine share the same line., There is nothing wrong with this, but in a high volume stores, if there is a multipage fax coming through, all attempts to get an authorization or settlement will fail.  This can cause a backup in getting your customers though checkout and some customers to leave.

If you need help setting up credit card processing for the first time, or switching processors, give the CCS Retail Systems Support Department a call at 800-672-4806 or email_us.  We have a setup form that can be filled out by your processor to give us all the information needed to properly setup and configure your system to accept credit and debit cards.  To avoid any problems. we review your system before making any changes for all the necessary information and equipment for a seamless cut-over.

-Bryan 

 

Backing Up Your Desktop – What if it is now infected?

I know that this topic has come up before, by myself, John, and Dave at CCS Retail Systems.  But I must bring this up again.  I recently took a call from a customer who works with many different customers from many different countries.  She called me in a panic, stating that her anti-virus software is warning her that there are infected files on her system, and the list keeps stacking up. 

At first I thought this was the typical "Fake Anti-Virus" malware complaining that "Your PC is Infected" and to pay to remove the problem.  Unfortunately that wasn’t the case.  She was infected with one of the most destructive virus/malware I have seen in a while.  Although her anti-virus did find the infection, this malware is fairly new and there is no "fix/removal tool" out for it yet.  I tried many different low level tools and was able to find the infection.   Removing it was nearly impossible because it infects just about every file on your system.

Here is where backing up comes into the picture.  Because of its nature and how deeply rooted the infection was, it was decided that the best course of action was to re-install Windows XP.  I was afraid of trying to save any files because if they were infected, the whole cycle would have to start over again.  Since no backup was performed, there was no way to be sure that any files saved were safe to put back on the system.

There are many way to backup your desktop PC. 

• You could use a flash drive to save the important documents and data files.  This is probably the most cost effective and user friendly way to backup files.  You can get storage for as little as $1 per Gbyte. There are several synchronization software products that will automatically backup as you use your system.
• You could use an external hard drive.  This is similar to using a flash drive.  Most large external hard drives come with good backup and restore software that handles your complete system.   There are many Free packages such as Macrium, or the Microsoft backup tool built in to your desktop to use as well.
• You could try an online/off-site backup service.  I have not tried any of these, but have seen many advertisements for them.  Typically they give you about 2GB of free storage and charge a small monthly fee for more capacity.  2GB is more than enough for most users important files.  This is most suitable for files that do not contain financial or personal identification information.  Security is still an issue in my mind.
• Remember, if you backup an infected file, it will still be infected when you restore.  That’s why its good to have more than 1 backup.  We recommend scanning your backups for infections before relying on them.

If you think your PC is infected, need some help backing up your PC or deciding what files to back up, give the CCS Retail Systems Support Department a call at 800-672-4806 or email_us. 

If this person had just one clean backup,even if a few months old, a lot of time, money and effort could have been saved.

-Bryan