ACCPAC ePOS 5.2 is a unique design
in point-of-sale software that brings
enterprise-level features to small
and medium-sized retail businesses.
By deploying the client software
over the Internet, ePOS can greatly
reduce and centralize administrative
tasks for businesses with multiple
remote retail locations. For example,
one of ACCPAC’s ‘case
study’ customers uses ePOS
to manage a number of cellular telephone
sales kiosks. A central back-office
location maintains all accounting
records using the integrated ACCPAC
Advantage Series 5.2 accounting
suite.
EASE OF USE – 4 Stars
The browser-based interface (ePOS
Workstation) provides access to
the point-of-sale application. This
is intended as a single-purpose
application (sales entry), so the
functionality that is available
from this window is limited to the
functions necessary to process sales
and returns, and lookup customer
and inventory information. All other
reporting and data-entry tasks are
relegated to the centralized accounting
modules of the companion ACCPAC
Advantage Series application. The
main screen has five tabs across
the top: Main Screen, Customer,
Items, Layaway and Returns. Clicking
on the tab (or using the associated
hotkey) displays a different screen
with the appropriate data-entry
and lookup options.
The Main Screen is used to ring
up sales. A list in the center of
the screen shows the items that
have been added to the sale. Three
smaller panels at the bottom of
the screen display customer information,
an item lookup area and transaction
totals. Mini-tabs in the lower right-hand
corner are also available for Layaway
Sale and Finalize Sale. Each tab
function is available via a keyboard
shortcut to minimize the need to
use the mouse during transaction
entry. The Item Lookup list lets
you select multiple items to add
to the sales invoice by simply checking
the box beside the desired item(s).
ACCPAC ePOS also supports barcodes
for item entry. When all items are
entered, you complete the sale by
accessing the Finalize Sale screen,
where appropriate tender amounts
are entered. You can also receive
customer account payments from the
ePOS workstation application.
MODULES/SCALABILITY – 5 Stars
Since ACCPAC ePOS is essentially
a fully integrated extension of
the Order Entry module, one of the
prerequisites is the installation
of the core ACCPAC Advantage Series
accounting modules, including System
Manager, GL, AR, AP, Inventory Control,
and Order Entry. ACCPAC Advantage
Series v5.2 Enterprise, Corporate,
and Small Business Editions are
supported. You have several options
for database server: IBM DB2, Pervasive
SQL, Microsoft SQL Server or Oracle.
Linux-based installations are supported
as well. For those wishing to run
ACCPAC ePOS utilizing the Linux
operating system, the database server
can run on Linux, in conjunction
with ACCPAC Advantage Series running
on a Windows-based application server.
Although the technology behind ePOS
is somewhat complex, once the centralized
server configuration has been completed,
client installations are fast and
painless, making this a highly scalable
solution in environments where the
location and number of point-of-sale
workstations need to be adjusted
quickly to meet seasonal demands
or peak check-out times. Since the
application is browser-based, only
a small ‘thin-client’
application download is required
to have new workstations up and
running. The number of workstations
that can be used is only limited
by the server capacity.
FEATURES/FUNCTIONALITY – 4 Stars
With its Internet-based design,
ACCPAC ePOS offers real-time centralized
inventory, pricing and AR control.
Customer and product information
is instantly accessible at checkout,
and all transactions from connected
locations are posted in real time
to the central location as they
become finalized in the system.
However, an offline mode allows
the posting of sales, which can
then be transmitted at a later time
via dialup or other Internet connection.
Enough information is downloaded
onto the workstation to maintain
register functionality, even when
a connection to the central server
is unavailable.
ACCPAC ePOS works with all common
point-of-sale hardware, including
barcode readers, weigh scales, pole
displays, magnetic stripe readers,
programmable keyboards, touch screens,
dot matrix and thermal receipt printers,
and integrated hardware terminals
such as the IBM SurePOS. Multiple
register sessions can be opened
on the same workstation (till) to
control and monitor individual clerk
cash and operations. Pricing rules
established through the ACCPAC Advantage
Series Inventory Control and AR
modules are reflected in the price
of items as they are rung up. New
customers can also be added at the
workstation and will be automatically
added into the AR module.
INTEGRATION – 5 Stars
Integration is provided primarily
with the ACCPAC Advantage Series
accounting modules. There’s
little need for information to be
imported or exported, since ACCPAC
provides both a front-end as well
as a back-end accounting solution.
ACCPAC ePOS supports various online
credit and debit authorization services,
including IC VERIFY, PCCharge and
CreditCHEQ Direct.
TRACKING/REPORTING – 4 Stars
Reports available at the workstation
level include Transaction Report,
Payment Report, Salesperson Report,
Detailed Transaction Report and
Category Sales Report. In addition,
many other reports are available
from within the ACCPAC Advantage
Series modules for things like inventory
and order entry. All reports are
based on the Crystal Reports engine,
which provides for previewing, printing
or exporting to numerous electronic
formats.
RELATIVE VALUE – 5 Stars
State-of-the-art technology and
a well-designed user interface make
this a very attractive product.
The whole design is flexible enough
to run in either a Windows or Linux
environment, which in itself is
no small feat. A solid, integrated
back-office accounting application
creates a total solution for many
different types of retail operations.
ACCPAC ePOS 5.2 is available through
authorized ACCPAC Solution Providers
at an SRP of $2,000 (USD) for the
Server component and $1,000 (USD)
for the Register component.
2004
OVERALL RATING: 4.5 Stars
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Tags: Technology
