OUR NEW WEBSITE IS NOW LIVE!!

This website is no longer being updated, for up to date product information and to buy online, please visit www.merlinsoft.co.uk

If you have any questions regarding the use of EPOS or the facilities provided by our systems then you should find the answers to your enquiries here.

Click on one of the links below to jump to a section:

GENERAL
EPOS
NEWS

G E N E R A L

Q. Is it easy to book in stock?

A. Yes, it's very easy - the system will produce an order for you automatically from the stock available and re-order level. Use this as your 'Buying List' and then when the goods are Delivered or Collected, merely confirm the quantities and prices - the system will automatically book them into stock for you. (You can also print bar-code and shelf-edge labels at the same time if required).

Q. What do I do about V.A.T.?

A. Nothing! The V.A.T. content is automatically extracted from all sales and receipts at the appropriate rate. A detailed report is available at any time showing current liability, which the system automatically calculates for all rates for each quarter.

Q. What do I do about the Business Sales where I give a discount?

A. No problem! Five different levels of discount are available for all products. Give the customer a Discount Level from 1 to 5 and the system will automatically calculate the correct price for them.

Q. What about Staff Sales?

A. Details of all Staff Sales are kept and, by using the appropriate Discount Level, the system ensures you do not give discount on items where the margins are too small.

Q. What about those busy periods where I just don't have time to scan all the items?

A. No problem! Our software allows you to set up multiple 'Hot Keys' for those commonly sold items. You just press the appropriate key and the system automatically sells the correct product. These 'Hot Keys' can be changed very easily at any time, to suit your own particular requirements.

Q. What about those occasions when the shop is busy and someone is taking time to make a selection?

A. This is catered for by the Set Aside key. The sale is then put on one side whilst you deal with your other customers. It can be recalled at any time - by any till - for completion.

Q. How easy is it to find out what the stock position of any item is?

A. It's very easy - just press the Stock Enquiry key and scan or enter the details of the product you want to find. The system will then tell you what stock you have available. In the case of a publication, the system will also tell you its expected delivery date if you have no stock.

Q. What about Special Offers?

A. Most types of Special Offers such as Multi-Packs, Multi-Saves, Link-Saves, etc. are automatically handled. You set the criteria for the offer and the products involved and the system will automatically control it for you.

Q. Can I be working on the P.C. while the system is operating?

A. Yes - the system is fully multi-user, so you can be carrying out any functions you want on the P.C. and it will not affect the point of sale.

Q. What happens if the power fails half-way through a sales transaction?

A. Nothing very serious, as the software will automatically re-create the transaction for you once the power is restored.

Q. How do I stop everybody having access to sensitive information?

A. A very sophisticated Security System is included in the system which can be set by you to suit your own particular operational requirements.

E P O S

Q. Isn't EPOS just for the big chains of shops?

A. Definitely NOT - this is a popular misconception amongst the small and medium sized retail sector. Consider the scenario; you all have a finite amount of space in which to store and display your goods, you have a finite amount of hours in which to open your store, you all compete on the same street BUT the bigger retailers have BETTER buying power and LOYAL customers and of course lots of staff to implement the systems. If, as a result of all these advantages, they still feel the need to spend £Millions on this technology why do you feel you don't need the same facilities just to stay in business?

Q. How much should I budget for an EPOS system for my business?

A. That is a difficult question to answer as it depends very much on what facilities you already have available which you can utilise. However, as a rule of thumb a fully integrated system with till, back-office, scanning and all other associated costs should be available for considerably less than £5,000, or £35 per week.

Q. What kind of turnover do we need to make for the system to pay for itself?

A. Once again this tends to depend on the type of business you are in as some retailers obtain far higher profit margins than others. However, to gauge this aspect for yourself you can use the following formula; take 2% of your weekly turnover (£20 per £1,000) as the approximate saving on stock holding, add in the cost of your time for stock control, product pricing, preparing VAT records and other book-keeping functions (at a reasonable hourly rate). Having added these figures together deduct the average weekly cost of a typical EPOS system (say £35) and see what the savings are!

Q. What will I save by installing EPOS?

A. The answer to that is contained in the above, if you look at the difference between the actual cost of the system and the money saved you will see the figures for yourself. However, this is not all the story, as there are lots of other benefits which have savings; better and more accurate price control, reduction in poor selling lines, increase in better selling lines, reduction in pilfering and staff fraud, etc, etc, etc.

Q. How easy is it to enter all my stock details to begin with? Could you do this for me?

A. The entry of the main stock file is by far the most time consuming process of the whole operation as it has to be done properly and effectively to reflect the pattern of your own business. If it is possible to obtain data files from suppliers and manufacturers this can save significant time on data entry, but you will still need to check the pricing and order quantities to match your own business requirements. In addition, we also provide an Input facility where data can be created in Microsoft Excel™ and then ‘imported’ into the system.

Q. Is there a limit to the number of stock items I can put on the system?

A. There is no limit at all to the number of items you can put on the system nor is there any minimum requirement. The system will accept any number and type of products you require.

Q. Do I have to do a full Stock Take before I can start to use the system?

A. There is no requirement to carry out a Stock Take before implementing the system, as you can always add in this figure later. However, it is good practice to carry out a full Stock Take as soon as practicable so that the system can start to produce meaningful management information as soon as possible.

Q. What happens if I have a problem with the software?

A. All software is supported by a 24 hour 7 day a week 'Help Line'. In addition, we also supply a modem so that a direct link can be established with your operation and any problems quickly and easily eradicated.

Q. What happens if I have a hardware-related problem? What back-up do you provide?

A. We have a graduated scale for the support of hardware related problems. In the eventuality of a complete system failure someone will restore operation for you within 4 hours. If a single terminal fails on a multi-terminal system, this will be repaired within 8 hours. In the event of other 'minor' problems, sticking printer, cash drawer, etc., these will be repaired within 24 hours.

Q. Will the system let me run a loyalty scheme?

A. A Loyalty Scheme option is available whereby the customer obtains vouchers based upon the products purchased. These vouchers have a realisable monetary value and can then be redeemed at any time, at any Branch.

Q. Does the system link to Sage or other accounts packages?

A. NO - the system is fully integrated with its own accounting system so if you require these facilities you would either have to operate the EPOS system separately from your in-house system or install the associated accounting modules.

Q. I sell some items by mail order / over the Internet. Can the system cope with this?

A. The system has an optional module available for Sales Order Processing (customer not present sales), which can be linked directly into a Web Site so that you process orders over the Internet or any other form of indirect sales processes i.e. tele-sales, mail-order, catalogues, etc.

Q. I already have a PC in the office in the shop. Can I use this?

A. Provided that your existing PC is of an adequate specification, there is no reason at all why you can't integrate it into the system.

Q. My PC runs Windows™. Can I use it with your system?

A. Our system is fully Windows™ compatible so there is no problem with linking this into our system.

Q. What training is included with the system?

A. FULL training for ALL operational staff is automatically supplied with every system sold.

Q. Can I train staff on the system without interfering with my trading data?

A. We provide a special 'Training Company' on every system so that you can train or re-train staff on any aspects of the system operation, at any time. Without affecting any of your trading data.

Q. I have a lot of products that don't have barcodes. What do I do about these?

A. There are two solutions you can adopt; firstly you can continue to use the old PLU or SKU number or secondly, you can use the in-built bar-code label print program and print out your own labels to stick on them.

Q. I am planning to expand the business. How easy will it be to add another till to the system?

A. Adding an additional till to the system is very easy, as all that is required is the appropriate piece of cable to link it into the system and an additional software user licence.

Q. I'm thinking of opening another branch - can I link the shops together?

A. The system allows for the addition or more branches with no limit as to the number available. Special 'polling' software is available to transfer data between locations and an additional site licence is required for each extra location.

Q. How does the system deal with vouchers and coupons?

A. There is a special facility within the system to take any type of Voucher or Coupon as a method of payment. In addition, all transactions incorporating Vouchers or Coupons are automatically included on the Till Reconciliation.

Q. Will the system take credit / debit cards?

A. An optional module is available to allow for the on-line processing of all major types of Credit and Debit Cards.

Q. Will the system tell me what I need to re-order, and when?

A. The system will automatically prompt you to re-order stock based on various criteria i.e. replenishment to set levels, sales in a predefined period, forward projections, seasonal variations or purely manually entered data. There is an option for ‘automatic stock replenishment’, which can be set to ensure that you never run out of specific products, if appropriate to your business activity.

Q. I want to be able to process transactions in the Euro. Will the system do this?

A. The system is fully Euro compatible and also includes the ability to deal in any currency. All multi-currency transactions, including the Euro, are automatically included in the till reconciliation.

N E W S

Q. What happens if a customer wants to pay a News Bill half-way through buying their groceries?

A. No problem - merely press the special 'News' key and the system will automatically transfer into the News module, giving you all the facilities you need for Account Enquiries and Payments. If money is taken, the system will automatically credit the customer account and put it on the receipt. News bills are automatically calculated up to the next Saturday so that customers can pay by week if required.

Q. Is it easy to enter Holidays?

A. It's very easy - using the special 'News' key again the system allows you to Add, Amend or Cancel holidays. A print-out of the details is available if required for the customer, directly at the point of sale.

Q. What do I have to do at night before I finish for the day?

A. All you have to do is cash up the tills, run off your Shelf Removals Report, collect up the appropriate publications and enter their details into the Publications Returned List for each Supplier. Then simply print out the reports and tie them to the bundles, put the tape in the tape streamer for the back-up and that's it!

Q. What do I have to do to bring my News Accounts up-to-date at the end of each week?

A. Nothing! Your news accounts are always up-to-date.

Q. Can I run off a Delivery List without charging to the accounts?

A. Yes - you have the option to select whether to Charge To Account or not.

Q. What happens if a publication is due today and is on a delivery sheet but doesn't arrive?

A. The system knows you can't deliver publications that you haven't received so they won't appear on a customers account unless the Delivery Sheet was printed using expected deliveries. They will then automatically appear on the next appropriate Delivery Sheet.

Q. What happens when the price changes on a publication for a particular day?

A. No problem! Our software allows you to hold Individual Prices and Costs for each day of the week. Just adjust as required. You can also set a Price Change to occur at a future date if required.

Q. How do I handle the accounts for my Paper Boys and Girls?

A. Accounts for all Deliverers are included in the software - including the ability to put miscellaneous items on such as Crisps, Coke, etc. for settling up at the end of the week. It also includes a full Holiday Rota for Deliverers on a week by week basis so that Holidays, Time Off etc. can be properly controlled.