Cash Sales: Cash Register
The cash register program allows the user to make cash sales on an immediate basis. These cash sales will leave behind a record that can be posted to the accounting system at a later time.
Selecting a Register
To begin using the cash register, select Cash Register from the Cash Sales Menu. The following window will come into view:
Select from the list of cash registers or add a new one at this point. The process of adding a new register is covered in the Process Cash Register Receipts topic.
Highlight the desired cash register and click Select and Proceed. The following window will come into view:
This is the main interface screen for cash register checkout. Its layout is slightly different from others in the accounting system. The font size has been increased for easier reading from a distance. Also, main functions have buttons with corresponding F-Key equivalents. This decreases the operator's dependency on using the mouse. The Product Code field is usually the field that maintains focus. When this field has focus, the operator can either key in the product UPC code or scan it with a bar code reader. The display fields in the upper right hand corner keep a running tally of the subtotal, the tax amount, and the total amount due. These numbers change each time a new item is scanned or entered.
The following is a description of each of the functions displayed on the screen.
Select from Cash Sale or Existing Customer. One advantage of attaching an existing customer is that history records can subsequently be searched for customer purchasing patterns. On the other hand, it may not be desirable to enter each new cash customer as a customer in the customer file. This could lead to a large and unwieldy customer file.
If Cash Sale is selected, the first text line will display the words "Cash Sale". The user can then optionally enter the customer's name, address, etc.
If Existing Customer is selected, the customer entry field will be be displayed with a lookup button. This field acts like other customer entry fields in the system. The user may enter a customer number or a few letters of the customer name. In this screen, the user can also enter the customer phone number (with or without area code) and the system will search the customer file for the correct customer record.
The window displays the system-assigned invoice number and today's date. The date can be changed if necessary. Also, the user can enter a Purchase Order Number if available.
The label of this button will be the word “Tax” followed by the name of the tax code being used to calculate tax in parentheses. For example, “Tax (CHAUT).” To change the tax code for this sale, click the Tax button and select a different tax code from the pick list.
Here the user can scan or manually enter the UPC code of the item to be sold. This field will only accept UPC codes, not Item ID numbers. If an item does not have a UPC code, it can be manually looked up by clicking on the lookup button or pressing the F2 key. The Item Price File browse window will be displayed in Select mode.
Use this button to open the “Browse the Item Price File” window and select the desired item.
Lookup Multiple Items (button)
Use this button to open a special search window for selecting more than one item at a time. The following window will appear:
The list box on the left includes all the items in the item price file (or a filtered list if text is entered into the Search Text field). The list box on the right includes items that will be inserted into this cash register sale. Double-click on an item or highlight an item and click the green right-arrow button to add it to the list on the right. Use the Change Quantity button to adjust the quantity.
Click the Delete button to remove an item from the right-hand list box. Click the OK button to bring the items in the right-hand list box into the current cash register sale. Click the Cancel button to return to the cash register sale without inserting any new line items.
Use this button to add items that are not stored in the item price file. The following window will appear:
In insert mode, the Description field will be enabled. Line items entered manually will not affect inventory levels at all. Simply give the line item a description, a quantity and a unit price. Be sure to check the Taxable box if this line item is subject to sales tax.
To add a line of text to the sale, simply check the Text Line Item box and enter the text to be displayed.
Change (button)
Use this button to change an existing line item. This is useful for increasing the quantity purchased. The following window will be displayed:
Make any necessary changes to Quantity or Unit Price in this window.
This button will mark all the items in the list taxable or, if they are already all taxable, it will mark them all non-taxable.
This button will suspend the current sale so that another sale can be made without losing the information from the current sale. The following prompt will be displayed:
If Yes is selected, the current sale will be saved and the screen will be blanked for entry of a new sale.
Use this button to retrieve a sale that has been suspended earlier. When the button is pressed, the following selection window will come into view:
Highlight the desired suspended sale and click the Select button. The screen will then be filled with the details from the suspended sale and it can be continued.
This button will retrieve a list of entered, unposted sales and allow for a reversal to be created based on the original sale.
Use this button to total the sale and print a receipt for the customer. When the button is pressed, the following window will appear:
The window shows the subtotals and allows for entry of the amount tendered. When the amount tendered has been entered, the window will calculate the change to be given to the customer.
Place On Account (Create Invoice) (Button)
If the customer would prefer to be billed for this purchase instead of paying for it at the time of purchase, the user can click this button to create an Accounts Receivable Invoice. The system will jump to the Invoice Entry window. If the OK button is pressed in the Invoice Entry window, control will return to the Add a Cash Register Sale window, ready for the next sale transaction.
Payment Type Buttons
Press the appropriate button to indicate the type of payment. If the payment will be split between more than one payment type, press the appropriate button for each payment.
Copies to Print
Enter the number of copies of the receipt to be printed.
Card Payments
Click on the Credit Card, Debit Card, or Gift Card button or swipe a card through a card reader to enter card information. The following window will come into view:
When this window appears, the fields will be filled if the card was already swiped, otherwise they will be empty. In order to use the card reader at this point, make sure the focus is on the Card Number field and slide the credit card through the card reader. The system will interpret the magnetic strip from the card and place the information in the display fields.
When the OK button is pressed, the system will use the DSI Client interface to process the credit card through Mercury Payment Systems. If the credit card authorization fails because of interrupted internet service or some other hardware or software reason, call the provided voice authorization phone number to obtain vocal authorization. Click the Voice Authorization button and enter the authorization number received over the phone in the space provided.
Press this button to see a preview of the printed receipt. If the sale printer is a full 8 1/2 by 11 page printer, a standard print preview window will appear. If the sale printer is a full page printer, the following will appear:
Finish & Print (button)
Pressing this button will physically print the correct number of copies of the receipt and finalize the sale. If change is due back to the customer, the following window will be displayed:
When OK is pressed, or if no change is due, the system will print the receipt(s) and return to a blank cash register screen ready for the next sale. Once a sale has been completed in this manner, it cannot be changed. It can only be voided using the Void button.
Posting cash register entries is performed through a separate process. For more information on this subject, see the Process Cash Register Receipts topic.
Cancel (button)
Pressing this button will close the totaling screen and return to the current sale in the cash register window.
If a cash drawer is connected to this computer, use the buttons on this tab to interact with the cash drawer. When this tab is selected, this new set of buttons will appear:
Pay Out (button)
Use this button to remove cash from the cash drawer. When this button is pressed the following will be displayed:
The window will display the current date and time. Enter the amount to be removed from the drawer. This can be done by either entering a total amount in the Amount Removed from Drawer field or entering counts of the different cash denominations in the appropriate fields.
If the current user has been set up to require confirmation of cash in / cash out, the program will require the User ID and Password of a user who is set up to be able to authorize cash in / cash out transactions. Indicate the destination of the cash being removed from the drawer. This can be the Cash Vault, a Bank Deposit or Transit. If Transit is selected, the current user and/or the person giving authorization will be responsible for the cash until it reaches its ultimate destination. When saved using the OK button, this entry will make a record in the cash register file that will be posted along with the sales for this cash register.
F4 Pay In (button or F4 key)
Use this button to add cash to the cash drawer. When this button is pressed the following will be displayed:
The window will display the current date and time. Enter the amount to be added to the drawer. This can be done by either entering a total amount in the Amount Removed from Drawer field or entering counts of the different cash denominations in the appropriate fields.
If the current user has been set up to require confirmation of cash in / cash out, the program will require the User ID and Password of a user who is set up to be able to authorize cash in / cash out transactions. Indicate the source of the cash being removed from the drawer. This can be the Cash Vault or Transit. If Transit is selected, the current user and/or the person giving authorization will be relieved of responsibility for the cash. When saved using the OK button, this entry will make a record in the cash register file that will be posted along with the sales for this cash register.
F5 View (button or F5 key)
Use this button to display a summary of the current cash register. The following window will appear:
F6 Print (button or F6 key)
Pressing this key will print out the cash drawer summary shown above.
F7 Open (button or F7 key)
Pressing this button will open the cash register drawer.