Friday, September 2, 2011

Thinking about using hand-held terminals or tablets? Read this first.


Mobile POS Information

A Guide to Best Practices and Procedures

David Smelson
dsmelson@gmail.com
The following information is intended to inform restaurateurs of some of the choices and responsibilities to consider before choosing a wireless solution for their point of sale system.

Wireless technology is a great way to increase your servers’ time spent satisfying your guest.  It’s been shown to provide a great return on investment and is very functional. 

That being said, there are considerations that must be taken into account before you decide that wireless is a good choice for you and your operations.

This document is by no means fully inclusive of all possibilities as technology changes rapidly.  Please discuss opportunities with your point of sale representative in conjunction with a trusted IT provider.
Careful planning will help ensure the success of your project.
Things to consider when planning your wireless POS tablets/hand-helds:


·        It will be more expensive to implement a  wireless infrastructure than a comparable wired infrastructure

o   The cost to implement a secure wireless infrastructure in a restaurant is greater than the cost to run CAT-
5e cable. 

o   It is highly recommended that you have a complete wireless site survey by a qualified professional.

o   You will still need wired infrastructure for terminals, printers, kitchen display systems (if purchased) and back-office equipment.

o   The industrial wireless infrastructure required is not consumer-grade equipment and is much more expensive than the equipment you may see on the shelves at consumer electronics stores. These consumer products may lack security features required for PCI compliance and may have less than consistent wireless coverage power.

o   Consume-grade devices may not provide “smart-switching” capabilities that actively hand-off ownership of a signal from one access point to another, which can result in lost orders and credit card authorizations.

o   The maintenance and upkeep on the wireless infrastructure will be more complex and will likely require the services of an IT company/consultant specializing in wireless infrastructure whereas a wired network is generally a one-time expense.

o   There are special CISP/PA-DSS consideration for wireless networks. (Please ensure that you or your designated wireless contractor are familiar with these requirements prior to making any purchase. It’s also a good idea to check the requirements on a regular basis as they do change.)


·        Consider your hardware devices carefully

o   There are many hardware platforms available today.

o   iPads have sizzle and everyone likes them, but there are drawbacks:

o   They break frequently if dropped

o   The credit card swipe is generally a plug-in and can break easily

o   Look for hardware that has a break-fix warranty for at least three years

o   Look for hardware that is designed to be in a restaurant or is designed for military use


·        Software platforms that run point of sale on wireless devices

o   Be sure that any platform you choose processes credit cards with a processor of your choosing.  Some point of sales companies will lock you in at exorbitant processing rates with huge fees to switch

o   Be sure that your software and processing are PA-DSS compliant and are certified as such on one of the following sites:




·        The wireless hardware portion of your point of sale system will be more expensive than a comparable wired solution.

o   One wired terminal can be shared between 3-5 servers in a typical restaurant.

o   When using hand-held terminals (HHT’s) or wireless tablets each server needs one.

o   Batteries are not covered by warranty and generally need to be replaced on an annual basis.

o   You will still need terminals for bars/retail/carryout and it is highly suggested that you place some terminals where servers can get to them in the event that the wireless network goes down or becomes inoperable for any reason.


·        The wireless network will not be as resilient as a wired network.

o   This is a function of environment, not the point of sale system or the hht/tablets.

o   People physically create interference just by being in the restaurant. Wireless coverage testing should be done when your restaurant is full.

o   Support beams, decorative fixtures, lights, music amplification equipment  and  other devices can create interference which may affect the reliability of the network between the transmitting and receiving points. These conditions can change over time, or depending on what is being used at different times of the day or night. It is normal to have to make adjustments to wireless networks to maximize coverage and as conditions change.

o   Home wireless networks don’t cause errors or any noticeable trouble when they disconnect momentarily.  A POS system running a database needs to be in constant contact with the terminals and errors may result from a less than 100% connectivity rate.

o   Servers may need to reboot hht’s/tablets if they carry them out of range before they will connect to the network.


·        Adopting hht’s and/or tablets will require fundamental changes in the way your restaurant operates

o   Your servers will be able to handle more tables, so you will need fewer of them.

o   Servers’ sales may increase drastically as there are fewer of them.

o   You will need to employ drink and food runners

o   You may need to adjust your tip pool/sharing practices to accommodate the changes in what other employees are doing for your servers. 

o   Your table turn times may decrease putting more strain on the kitchen and bar to keep up.

o   Servers will need to have a wired, or wireless-ly bridged thermal printers nearby to print credit card auth’s, checks, and other items.

o   You will need to have a plan to manage the physical assets to avoid losing equipment. Checking the devices in/out to servers is recommended. Additionally, you need to consider the space, and electrical outlets to be able to charge the devices, and spare batteries. In most operations you will not be able to get through the whole day or shift on a single battery charge. Most wireless devices have swap-able batteries so that you can have fewer devices, with spare batteries to swap.


·        Who is responsible for the implementation and configuration of the wireless infrastructure?

o   Your point of sale sales representative may provide proposals for the wireless access points/ports if they carry/support them.

o   You may require more points/ports than are originally proposed based on variables that cannot be foreseen at the time of the initial configuration/proposal.

o   Any mounting of access points/ports that require equipment to install, i.e. cherry-pickers/cranes may be the responsibility of the restaurant.  Look at your contract.  If it’s not clearly stated, it will be your responsibility.

o   You may hire your own IT company to perform the survey and implementation of the wireless infrastructure.

  • In conclusion, it will cost you more to use wireless and it will change the way your servers interact with their customers.  It will also make you more money if you've got a steady customer stream and your kitchen can handle the extra volume.  There are ways to address that, which I'll discuss in my next post.


·        If you have any questions or I can be of further assistance, please contact feel free to contact me @ dsmelson@gmail.com






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