Grocery stores, convenience stores, and other retail stores need cash register express (CRE) to replace old-fashioned cash registers. It will instantly tell your cash flows including your daily, monthly, and annual profit. Proper utilization of this system can make the entire store inventory process easier than before.
In this blog, we narrow down the things you need to know about cash register express, including its benefits in order to have a seamless business transaction.
What is Cash Register Express (CRE)
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Cash register express, which is made by pcAmerica, is a point-of-sale or POS system for small businesses such as liquor stores, restaurants, and other specialty retailers. It is being used for inventory management, time cards, advanced reporting, credit card processing integration, and even customer loyalty.
The application simply aims to improve the profitability of the business through faster customer checkout, reducing store shrinkage, monitoring employee labor, and marketing to customers based on purchasing trends.
Unlike cloud-based point-of-sale solutions, you can buy cash register express on a one-time basis with no ongoing payments and can operate independently from the internet. This is ideal for both start-ups and entrepreneurs who need easy access to store monitoring without needing to pay regular fees for their entire business function.
Benefits of Using Cash Register Express in Business
Faster Customer Checkout
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Cash register express uses bar code scanning, which means completing transactions is done faster and more precisely compared to those cash drawers. Especially if you have a quite established business, which gathers a large number of shoppers daily, this POS software can help you lessen the work. This allows you to speed up checkout times and consistently keep your purchasing lines shorter.
Even if you don't use a barcode scanner, your checkout is still quicker and more accurate because you are entering inventory item numbers that are automatically connected to prices specified in the cash register for each item. This point-of-sale system also makes other features easier to use like refunds and void with just one click.
Easy Inventory Monitoring
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Stores order items based on the number of stocks they think they will possibly sell. Checking your inventory lets you identify what months or days a certain product is in demand. For example, raincoats must probably be out of stock during rainy seasons, so in order to avoid losing sales, stocking the right amount of raincoats during these times would be ideal. Carefully monitoring your inventory report increases your efficiency.
The cash register express provides you with accurate information on the number of items that have been sold. It maintains regular track of all the product movement that occurs in your business. The inventory details that were stored by the system have all the information about the product such as price, date of purchase, amount sold, and such. Plus, it can print barcodes to your inventory before stocking them, which will ultimately help you to track, count, and sell the various products.
Reduce Theft
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The use of cash register express will help you reduce theft because through this your employees will become more involved in watching the store inventory if they are aware that every piece of inventory in your business is being accurately monitored and tracked. All of you will also spot on errors and missing pieces if ever there are.
Eliminate Shrinkage
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Shrinkage is the loss of inventory that can be influenced by various factors such as employee theft, customer shoplifting, administrative error, damage, cashier error, and more.
With cash register express software, you can watch your inventory and compare your in-store inventory to your computerized reports anytime, which results in both you and your employees being much more careful about providing inventory, retaining outdated inventory, monitoring any breakage and non-theft inventory in your business, as well as controlling inventory as the items enter and exits your store.
Employee Labor Management
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The cash register express will allow you to manage and keep an eye on your employees' work duration, sign-in, and sign-out times. The information obtained from their ins and outs provides insights into employees’ activities.
Login and logout monitoring provides real-time data reports that show what influences attendance so that any attendance issue can be resolved and prevented. The system helps you record the number of hours worked, absences, and even overtime, giving you full disclosure of the patterns and imbalances in working hours.
Customer Tracking
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Keep track of which product a customer bought as this will help you notify them when you have products on sale, especially when it comes to those items they regularly purchase. Sending emails or informing them from time to time may lead to customer trust. These steps will somehow make them feel appreciated, and that makes them keep coming back to your store. Note that customer relationships go a long way when it comes to any type of business.
Getting Started With Cash Register Express Software
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Your copy of the cash register express must be officially registered before being put into use. Simply choose the Register option from the File menu on the Login Screen. It will prompt you for your activation number; enter the serial number located on the side of your system box. After entering your activation number, the register will access the pcAmerica registration server over the internet to register your software. The below steps follow:
Plug in the Equipment
The first step of setting up your point-of-sale system is simply plugging in the equipment. Some of the devices may require hardware drivers which is what your computer uses to connect to each piece of equipment.
Install and Start Cash Register Express
For the second step, you must be logged onto your computer as an Administrator with full access rights in order to properly install cash register express software.
If you have multiple stations put within your store, it is a must to install the server first. Meanwhile, if you have several stores in different locations communicating with a corporate office, it is recommended you sign up for a pcAmerica training session to make sure you fully understand the process.
The first thing to do in this step is to Insert the cash register express CD into the CD-ROM drive. Before installing the cash register express the installer will automatically scan for any prerequisites. Whatever is listed on the screen needs to be installed prior to the CRE installation. If nothing on the screen is installed you will get prompted to click ok to install everything.
Add Employees Into the System
Employees are put together within the Employee Maintenance screen of the cash register express. Cashiers and servers must be added to the system before they can officially log in and ring up any sale.
Other types of store staff can also be added and their hours can be tracked as well within the cash register express, even if their job roles don’t require them to use the point-of-sale.
Configure Setup Options
Cash register express has over a hundred built-in features that can be turned on or off from time to time. Actually, the Setup Screen includes many of these options, segregating them into multiple tabs.
You can access the Setup Screen from the Login Screen by choosing the File menu and Setup Screen – you must use the administrator password to enter this screen. Global settings only need to be configured once for all stations while settings that are not global need to be configured once per station.
Create Inventory Items
Your store items or services are separated into different groups called Departments. For instance, in a department store where you can sell diverse kinds of items, a few examples of departments are Sweaters, Pants, Drinks, Vegetables, and Fruits.
Departments are used to organize your inventory items on the screen as well as on actual reports. After your departments are created, you put items inside each of your departments. You can always add new items if you plan to release them after some time.
Configure Inventory and Function Buttons
The invoice screen, where sales ring up is a customizable screen. By default, inventory items are displayed in the exact order you add them. The buttons are also added to the screen using a default color.
Suppose you want to change the look or display of your invoice screen and configure function buttons as well as bestsellers, you just need to select the Manager Button on the top right of the Login Screen and enter a username and password. Navigate to the Touch Screen Configuration screen inside of the Setup tab and go to the Items & Departments tab.
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Try to use the features in the Items & Departments tab to change the order, color, caption, and picture of your menu buttons. You can also choose to make some items or departments invisible, especially if you don't use them, to avoid confusion.
Log in to the System
Cashiers must log in to cash register express before they can ring up customers or enter orders. The Login Screen prompts cashiers for a username and password, or alternatively, the cashier can swipe their card to gain access to the system.
A secure login card can help prevent one cashier from logging in as a different cashier and accessing a system not intended for them. This can also prevent store theft. If using a username and password, make sure no one is watching as you log in to avoid any unnecessary scenarios.
Ring in Some Items
To ring up items, simply select the TS Lookup button then select the department in which the item is included. While looking at the inventory for a specific department you can then select the items you would like to add to the invoice. You can also scan the barcode of the item with the barcode scanner, the item will then be added to the invoice grid automatically.
However, if the item is not listed on the touchscreen and it does not have a barcode to scan, just select the Search button. This will let you search the entire inventory for the item.
Learn Some Basic Additional Functions
You can get access to additional functions by selecting the tabs that are located at the bottom of the invoice screen. Some of the examples are F1, which is a shortcut to the help section, F2 for inventory, F3 for the time clock screen, and F4 for the customer maintenance screen. These will somehow let you access the system features in a quicker manner.
Here is a plaulist of videos to help you get familiar with the cash register express software.
Complete the Transaction
Well, one of the most essential parts of a business or selling transaction is accepting payment in exchange for your goods and services. The three most common modes of payment in most retail stores are cash, credit or debit cards, and gift cards.
To pay for a transaction, select the appropriate button (PAY). This will direct you to the amount-tendered screen. You can also choose one of the Quick Tender buttons which will bring you to the screen based on the tender type selected. CRE also gives the ability to quickly ring in items and put them on a customer’s account.
The default amount is the exact amount remaining for the invoice. To enter a payment, enter the amount and select the payment method, expect to answer more information. You can also enable one-touch quick payment buttons for the most common tender amounts. CRE supports split tendering, so you can pay with more than one tender type.
Conclusion
No matter how many lanes you need or how many stores your business has, cash register express has the tools and features merchants are looking for along with the scalability and ease of handling their transactions. Cash register express allows retail stores to an accurate inventory and speed monitoring. You can access full control of the inventory with purchase orders, barcode printing, and even reorders.
