PCs as Tills

One of the key cost decisions when installing a PC based till system is the choice of the basic computer hardware. Broadly speaking, you can either purchase dedicated retail optimised PCs or you can use regular PCs from a manufacturer such as Dell.

Many retailers will consider utilising existing PCs for their new system. This is usually a mistake. Older PCs are normally loaded up with lots of software and are usually well past their prime. It also gives the retail software supplier something to blame when things go wrong. If you are making the considerable investment in a retail software project, always give it the best foundation by purchasing new PCs.

The first requirement to bear in mind is the computer’s compunction ports. In this day and age, an network controller is standard, so this is not much of a worry, however, it is increasing common for PC manufacturers to cut costs by removing parallel and serial ports, and leave only USB ports. A lot of retail hardware such as receipt printers and barcode printers need these older style ports. A lot of these devices will run ok using standard USB adapters to make up the shortfall in hardware ports, however, be warned. A lot of suppliers will not support USB to serial and USB to parallel adapters. Different chipsets in these adapters can product different results, and the setup can often be fiddly – it is not uncommon to need 3 such adapters, and the mix up of COM port numbers can be confusing. Touch screen driver software often monopolises the ports without telling you, leading to things suddenly “not working” and a difficult (i.e. expensive) situation for the retail software supplier to troubleshoot.

Try and get a PC with at least 2 hardware serial ports and 1 hardware parallel port. Parallel devices are notoriously twitchy about using USB converters.

As time goes by, retail hardware suppliers will eventually settle on USB interfaces which are supported by retail software solutions, but at this present time it is still a problem.

Hardware support is even more important than the PCs themselves! If a hard disk goes bang, or a motherboard fails, don’t expect you retail solution provider to lift a finger. Even if they provided the PCs they’ll simply pass the issue onto the manufactures support channel. Having a PC till “down” for more than a day causes massive problems, especially in a single till environment.

Always buy your PCs from a reputable supplier, like Dell. These large companies provider various levels of support, and you can pay for next day, or even same day swap-out support. This is vital – an engineer will turn up and fix the computer for you, minimising downtime. Again, another warning – if the PC support tech has to replace the hard disk, it will become a “new” computer – and you retail software support provider will probably need to be paid to come and re-configure the till.

Another approach to support, or in addition to above, is to keep a spare set of everything, including the till PC, ready to “swap in” if a till fails. Of course, if the till running the main database of your retail system fails, you’ve still got a hefty reconfiguration bill from the retail software supplier. Make sure you know where you stand with all the suppliers. Ask you retail software supplier near the beginning of the project candid questions about what happens if things go wrong. Make sure you get straight answers. If a till hard disk crashes and work is needed to restore from backup etc, you retail solution supplier cannot be expected to cover this under support – it will need paying for.

Whatever you do, ignore the temptation to buy some cheap PCs from you mate who runs a tin-pot computer shop in the high street. You may not get the support you need to keep running your business when things go wrong. Even more dangerous, if you have an “IT chap” in the business, he may also lead you down the wrong path. Spend money on the hardware support and it will increase the chance that your retail software project will be a success.

Other considerations include size and cooling. Computer kick out a lot of heat, so make sure they’ve got enough space to breathe. Large supplier will specify what is needed. Also, buy something small and discrete so it can be hidden under the desk. Watch out for the power consumption as well – these PCs will be on 24x7, so getting efficient models will help on your electric bill. Leaving one computer turned on can easily cost over £100 per year. If you are a big business with 20 of them.....