Point of Sales and FM

[Naphtali]

I am putting up a system to run a small retail shop which will include Inventory, Customer, Vendor, Invoice and Purchase Order Files. I have been asked to link my FMP system to a Point of Sales system that will, in real time, capture all sales and debit inventory at the cash register. This is entirely new to me. I would be grateful if someone can point me in a direction for further research, hardware and software. Does anyone know if FMP does this well? I have downloaded Troi, which plugs in a serial port connection, but what then? Do we need a special cash register to do this. I presume that the cashier would enter the sale directly into a FMP layout, then activate the opening of the cash register and the printing of a receipt via the serial port plug-in. Is this correct? Thanks a lot. Naphtali

[LiveOak]

What do you mean by "Pont of Sale System"? Do you mean a cash drawer and display? Do you mean another piece of software and hardware (a cash register)? What does your customer consider a "Point of Sale System"?

Seems basic, but if you don't know where you're going, you probably won't get there. Don't be shy about asking about EXACTLY what is desired. Don't PRESUME anything!

I've done a fair amount of interfacing to hardware using serial plug-ins. You'll also have to know a few things about the hardware interfaces in order to build the correct cables. There is no "standard" serial (RS232C) interface.

-bd

[Rod McDevitt]

Chill out there Naphtali. I have been using a POS system for 6 years with no problems connected to a Star receipt printer (DP8340 I think) and second-hand cash drawer using a small program given to me called AEPrinter which uses Filemaker appleevent scripts to send information to the serial port. You may need a custom serial lead as the normal serial to parallel does not work. The hardest thing for me ( an amateur) to figure out was the trigger to open the till (Control-G).The receipts are't 100% (sometimes columns don't match up) but they will do.

I also have Troi Serial but have not been able to configure it correctly yet. I also use Troi OaziumEvents (previously ScriptScheduler but simpler to configure ) to trigger the till opening when money is credited etc. Troi have info on their web site (www.troi.com) re what cash drawer to buy and how to configure it. If I was setting it up now, I would go with Troi serial. Email me directly if you want a copy of the program at [email protected]

[JPaul]

Naphtali, first of all pardon me for my non-fluent english (i'm writing you from Italy !).

I have drawn dozen of POS apps. (excluding credit cards validation) and, from my experience, i can tell you: don't be in PANIC.

Building these applications the designer does keep in mind that the real focus is negotiating data with cash register: hopefully the majority of these equipments is delivered with two options to do this:

- manually (via software) issue the control flow

- keep the data in a file, following the specs provided by the factory, (see equipment manuals)and then launch a specific program that the builder of cash put at our disposal (usually there are more than one: for WIN and for DOS).

If you are not confident with this type of job i really think the second solution is the best for you: all you have to do is to embed the transaction values in "command string" following the builder's specifications, push these strings in a file, close the transaction and run external program that will take care to transmit the contents of the file to the cash reg. controlling, the same time, the serial protocol during the negotiation time.

To clarify, the program provided with the reg, is a big 'file parser' and serial flow controller !!

The most relevand reg's vendors (such as SWEDA) usually provide these two options: direct control (via program) and batch control.

If you have problem don't hesitate to mail to me directly.

Be happy and have a nice job.

JPaul