For those of you using our registers, you know that at the beginning of the day you need to open a new batch. This is basically telling the register and credit card modem to create a new group of transactions. This helps in the remit process because if there are errors in the batch, it is very easy to track down when they happened. Sometimes though, we go to open or close a batch and we get an error message. This can be very frustrating when you know your register is about to endure an onslaught of anxious visitors or you just really want to get home after a long work day.

The majority of the time these issues arise because the register is having a hard time communicating with the credit card modem. It is sending a message down to the modem saying it is time to open or close a batch, but if the modem can't see the register, it won't be able to send confirmation back. Here are a couple of tips that will fix these errors 95% of the time.
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1.  If your batch will not open, it may be because the cashier the night before never closed their batch. You will need to log on to the register with their credentials to close the batch first and then switch back to your credentials to open the new one.
2. Give the modem and register a kick by power cycling the modem and then service resetting the register. If you have Merlin registers, you will have to shut down the register first.

Most of the time when this issue occurs, one of these two things will fix it. Sometimes however, there is a greater issue that concerns IP Addresses and other deeper programming. If one of these things doesn't work, please give us a call and we will walk you through a few more troubleshooting procedures. We will probably end up asking you to repeat the processes in this post just to be sure it was done correctly. 

We have worked with National Parks for over a decade and if there is one thing that we've learned, it is that no two parks are the same. Every National Park has many unique aspects about it and each presents it's own set of hurdles that our Point of Sale systems need to overcome. Most of these issues can be fixed with a piece of technology, but something we can't completely avoid is the air that surrounds the registers. Many of the parks that we work with have either a lot of dust (deserts) or a lot of salt (seashores) in the air. If you are one of these parks, here are a few tips to help you protect your registers from these damaging elements for as long as possible.
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1. Screen protectors go a long way towards keeping damaging dust from collecting on your touchscreens. Dust is actually very sharp, and if you are constantly wiping dust from your screen, it makes thousands of tiny scratches that will do serious damage over time. A screen protector will take the abuse instead and can be replaced in minutes once it becomes too scratched up.
2. A lot of the damage done by dust and even more so salt air, is done to the internal components of the registers. If you are using Merlin registers, these will probably fail pretty quickly because of the large vents and fans on them. EliXR's are much better suited for these environments. However, no matter what model you have, it is a good idea to cover your registers at night to at least protect them during these times. 
3. A strategy that some parks have used is to have a spare register on hand. Periodically swapping the hardware out and giving it a break seriously extends the life of the internal components. Yes, this means buying a whole new register, but if you can more than double the functional life, it may be worth it. 

These tips will help you extend the life of your systems. However, the reality of operating in these harsh environments is that they will die faster than they would elsewhere. If you've been in these areas for awhile, you've probably already experienced trials with electronics. These suggestions will help you though and keep your registers working for much longer.

Having spent so many years playing with cash registers and peripheral equipment, we've picked up a few small habits that keep the systems working better for longer. These are things that we normally wouldn't think to tell someone because they have become so second nature to us. I want to share a few of those with you so that you can try them out and take care of your equipment.
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1. Most of the parks that we work with use Datacap brand credit card modems. These little black boxes take care of all of your credit card transactions. They will sometimes go down due to network bumps or power outages and you may need to do a power cycle on them. Part of that sequence is unplugging the power from the back of the modem. Be very careful taking the power connector out! These ports are not super strong so don't rip at them. Gently pull it out and you won't ever have to have us repair the port for you.
2. Speaking of credit cards, many of our systems use a magnetic card swipe to read the payment information. On the EliXR Duo model, there is a trick to making the reader work every time. To make sure that it is sliding uniformly through the entire swipe, hold the credit card with your thumb and middle finger and place your index finger at the top edge of the card to keep it steady. Push a little with your index finger and slide it through. This should read the card 99% of the time.
3. Sometimes the thermal receipt printer will not want to print correctly. Doing a system reset on it will fix it most of the time. Turn off the printer with the switch on it, hold down the feed button and then turn it back on. A receipt will print. Let go of the feed button and then press it again and a longer receipt will print. This should kick the printer back to the way it should be.
4. If you have a touchscreen, it is possible that the calibration will become a little skewed. If you start noticing that buttons aren't pressing when you want them to or you need to press extra hard for it to register, this may be your problem. To fix it, go to service mode, type in 999 decimal enter, then follow the instructions to touch each of the "plus signs" when they appear. This will re-calibrate your screen and bring it back to normal. 

Once you start working with these registers every day, you will pick up a lot of little tricks that help you out. As always, if you have a problem that you can't fix, call us and we will walk you through how to repair the equipment. 

This past week we were able to attend the annual RSPA Convention near Dallas, TX. This is the biggest gathering of point of sale vendors in the country and was the perfect opportunity for us to see what developments have been made this past year. With the best interests of the National Park Service in mind, we spoke to dozens of vendors to find the best ideas out there for point of sale systems.  

Over the three days that Darin, DJ and John were there, they were able to meet with a wide variety of equipment and software providers. They came back to our office with several new ideas that look very hopeful for improving our services to the national parks. We are now working on using the new knowledge and contacts we have  to further refine the Point of Sale solutions we provide.