BETA test version GIFT-E / 4-23-07

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FormicaFun
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Post by FormicaFun » Wed Apr 04, 2007 11:26 pm

my deepest appologies. I misread.
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daleadmin
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Stuff

Post by daleadmin » Fri Apr 06, 2007 9:06 pm

I have been working on this and it is a whole lot closer to being done.

As a new sub-feature you will now be able to go to the "reports" feature and pull up the history of of any gift card. For every time the card was accessed the report will tell you the transaction number, the type of change in the card (add/subtract money, void, or cash out), the date time of the transaction, the money change (add 25.00 / subtract 9.89) then the current value of the card. You can use the transaction number to look up the transaction in the "5. Void" feature of the POS.EXE program to see what was actually purchased.

This required a total change in the file format of the gift cards meaning that any test cards you have issued are now void. That's why it is called a "beta test" version folks.

All of the gift card data will be kept in a new subfolder. To back up your gift card data you will have to backup the folder.

This also means that there will be a limit on the total number of gift cards that can be handled by the program even if the cards have long ago been cashed out. Would any one have a serious problem with a limit of 100 million cards?

Dale

FormicaFun
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Post by FormicaFun » Sat Apr 07, 2007 3:43 pm

Hmmm..... I think that falls back on the old "if you need a POS system that does all that, you can afford one of the big ones". 100,000,000? That's a whole lot. Even if you sell a million gift cards in a year, it'd take 99 years and change before you started to a problem. And who knows, by then you might have a way to archive the zero blance, or expired(out dated) gift cards into another file. I can't wait to see how the final version works out.

One side note, I did notice while playing around with the BETA version if you have gift cards set to 3) random number, it still asks for a gift card number when selling one.

-Ryan :o)
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daleadmin
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A working version

Post by daleadmin » Tue Apr 10, 2007 7:12 pm

As unbelievable as it may seem I have an actual working (although NOT DEBUGGED) version of the POS program with a functioning gift card feature. It does not yet have the reports feature where you can get a report of all the transactions of any specific gift card but most of the rest of the stuff is done.


Make sure that you test this in a backup folder and that you go to the "Receipt language" feature of the POSCONFG.EXE program to reset all of the receipt labels to their defaults.

Things that I know that still need work are returns not allowing gift cards as a payment method, voids returning value to the gift cards, and using payouts to cash out gift cards if they are used as prepaid accounts.

But any other screwups you find are fair game for you to post to draw attention to my screwups.

Maybe tommorrow I will post some more documentation for the gift card feature.

Have fun.

Dale

Find the download link in one of the last posts in this thread.
Last edited by daleadmin on Wed Apr 18, 2007 7:26 pm, edited 4 times in total.

FormicaFun
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Looks Great!

Post by FormicaFun » Tue Apr 10, 2007 8:56 pm

Hey Dale!

So far, so good..... but..... No matter if you have the setting to generate random numbers, or numbers to be entered/keyed/swiped the system automatically generates a random number.

That's it, for now.
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Dukane
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Post by Dukane » Tue Apr 10, 2007 10:05 pm

After a purchase, the remaining balance is not display in "currency format" without leading/trailing zeroes.

ie) Remaining balance = $0.50. Program displays .5

Not a biggie.

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daleadmin
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Post by daleadmin » Tue Apr 10, 2007 10:13 pm

FormicaFun & Dukane,

Its good to know that people are working with this to help find the problems.

Dale

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Post by Kaz » Wed Apr 11, 2007 3:58 am

Let me just say the gift card feature is coming along very nicely. But as with any innovation there comes some kinks. I noticed when set up the payment types then go to format gift cards all the settings are erased unless I exit to the main config menu and then go back in. Also, I tested a return to a gift card it didn't quite work as I expected. First, I typed in 4011 for a banana hit enter blah blah blah, then I hit total it said -.44 so let's try returning the balance to a gift card since the "customer" originally bought it with one so I did. I choose gift card typed in the number hit enter the screen said remaining balance 200 not in currency format like Dukane said and instead of a receipt printing it said I now owed the "customer" -.88 instead of nothing. I hope this helps.

PS The program doesn't do this with the user defined tender no problem there.

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daleadmin
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Progress

Post by daleadmin » Wed Apr 11, 2007 7:17 pm

Still more progress since last night. This version answers the problem with doing a RETURN and putting the money on a gift card.

Particularly I need some testing of gift cards over a network.

Find the download link in one of the last posts in this thread.
Last edited by daleadmin on Wed Apr 18, 2007 7:26 pm, edited 2 times in total.

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daleadmin
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Reports

Post by daleadmin » Thu Apr 12, 2007 6:54 pm

Here is a question. How fast do you want this feature? If I have a version that is debugged but does not yet have the ability to print out the transaction history of a chosen gift card, should I release it and then work on the report later? Or should I hold off and not release it until the program is able to print the report?

Dale

lemon535
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Major Problem

Post by lemon535 » Fri Apr 13, 2007 2:48 am

Heres what i did.....(gift8)

Ring up a refund $100 to a premade Gift Card. Which adds $100 to the gift card.

Then go into void and Void that transaction

Instead of it taking the $100 back of the card it adds another $100.

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daleadmin
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Progress

Post by daleadmin » Fri Apr 13, 2007 7:50 pm

I have the problem with voided returns fixed.

You can now change the labels "GIFT CARD", "NUMBER #", and "INITIAL VALUE" on the printed gift cards to anything you want. Go to the part of the setup program where you can enter the text on the printed gift cards and keep pressing the up or down arrows to until you get to the label you want to change.

On the first gift card setup page you now have to following options...

Allow payouts to cash out the gift cards.
Allow zero value gift cards.
Allow money to be added to existing gift cards.

The "payouts" thing does not function yet but the other two do function.

There are still no bug reports on anyone testing this over a network. Does anyone want to gift that a try?

Find the download link in one of the last posts in this thread.
Last edited by daleadmin on Wed Apr 18, 2007 7:27 pm, edited 1 time in total.

FormicaFun
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NETWORK

Post by FormicaFun » Wed Apr 18, 2007 3:47 pm

Hey Dale,

I've ran the gift card system through the gament on a network, with no errors found yet. One suggestion...

I love the fact that you can use more than one gift card per transaction, if say one card doesn't have enough value remaining on the card (I often will recieve a few small gift cards for the same store around the holidays/birthday)... bravo. HOWEVER, it would be better to hide everything but the last 4 numbers, instead of showing the first four. Typically with gift card numbering systems, the first 4 numbers are the same, with any credit card the first 4 (well really 6) numbers note the bank or financial institution that issued the card. The last 4 are the most unique to the card. Plus if your cards are serialized (IE 1, 2, 3) the first few numbers will be the same on most of your cards, and therefore harder to tell what card was used on what transaction. Just a thought, great job!

-Ryan :o)
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daleadmin
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Getting close

Post by daleadmin » Wed Apr 18, 2007 7:35 pm

I have gift cards now working over a network.

This is getting real close to being released. All of the features are now working except the gift card reports which will probably not be in this release version. All that I need to do now is clean up, finding the little annoying things while searching for any real bugs.

The download link will be in one of the last posts in this thread.


I have also updated the documantation for gift cards. Remember that the gift card reports are not done yet.
<hr>

GIFT CARDS

To sell gift cards or use them to purchase merchandise you must first allow gift cards to be used in your store by going to the “Payment options” of the POSCONFG.EXE program. Once there you must set “Gift cards” to “YES”. Just as important while you are in this feature you must also press [F1] to configure gift cards. You will have 3 options.

1. Do not sell gift cards.
2. Gift card number is typed, scanned, or swiped.
3. Randomly generated gift card numbers.

If you choose option 1 you will not be able to sell or use gift cards in your store. If you choose option 2 then to sell a gift card you must either type in the gift card number, scan the barcode on the gift card, or use a card reader to read the magnetic stripe on the gift card. These last two options would require that you have obtained actual gift cards to use in your store with either, or both, magnetic stripes or barcodes on them. Option 3 will generate a random number for each gift card however when you are asked to enter the value of the card you may press [ESC] to go back and type in a number. Gift card numbers must be at least 6 characters long and up to 20 characters.

There are three options you may choose to utilize...
“Allow payouts to cash out the gift cards.” If this is set to “YES” and payouts are also set to “YES” (from the main POSCONFG.EXE program menu) then from the POS.EXE program you can choose option “2. Returns – Payouts” then from the sale screen press [F10]. You may now choose to return to the customer the remaining value (or partial value) of the gift card as any form of payment. Normally this feature is only used when gift cards as used as “Prepaid Accounts” to return unused value at the end of the season / year.

“Allow zero value gift cards” If this is set to “YES” then you may create gift cards with a 0.00 initial value. This is used if you want to issue gift cards instead of cash when there is a return, make some up and keep them handy. It can also be used to pre-register “Pre-paid Accounts” Another use is to give store credit like in a game cartridge swap store.

“Allow money to be added to an existing gift card.” This also should be allowed if you are using gift cards for “Pre-paid accounts.” NOTE: You can always added value to a card on a “Return”

The next set of gift card options are...

1. Print a certificate to use as a gift card.
2. Do not print a certificate to use as a gift card.

If you have obtained actual gift cards to use in your store then you would not want to print out a certificate to use as a gift card. If you have no actual gift cards then you must print a certificate to use as a gift card. If you choose to print a certificate to use as a gift card you will be able to enter up to 10 lines of text to print on your gift card certificates or the receipt issued when the gift cards are sold if certificates are not printed. This text may be used to explain any conditions on the use of the gift cards. While typing the text you may also use the up or down arrow keys to move to the labels GIFT CARD, CURRENT VALUE, and NUMBER #. If you type in new labels they will be used on certificates and receipts.

If you sell more than one gift card in a single transaction then a certificate to use as a gift card will print out for each gift card. You can sell up to 30 gift cards in a single transaction.


OTHER USES FOR GIFT CARDS

PREPAID ACCOUNTS
Gift cards can also be used as prepaid accounts. For example, let’s say you run a cafeteria or day camp and you want the kids to be able to purchase stuff but not have to carry cash. You can have their parents open a prepaid account by purchasing a gift card for each child. Since the gift card number may be up to 20 of any keyboard character you can use the child’s name as the gift card number or their student ID number. You can add additional money to the card at any time.

STORE CREDIT
You can use gift cards for an “exchange” type of business. For example if your store allows customers to bring in old game cartridges for credit to use the value to purchase new or additional used game cartridges, you can buy back the old game cartridges by putting the value on a gift card. Then the money can only be used in your store. Redeeming merchandise from a customer is handled as a “2. Return.” NOTE: To use store credit you must have previously created some zero value cards to be kept by the register for new returnees. Old returnees can use their current gift cards.

SELLING GIFT CARDS
Once you have set up gift cards you can sell them by going to a “Purchase” transaction and pressing [F10]. This will allow you to sell up to 30 gift cards in one transaction. Gift cards are not taxed and cannot be discounted or reduced.

When you sell a gift card you are not actually selling anything. A gift card is actually an interest free loan from your customer to you. If the card is lost or otherwise unredeemable then the gift card is a tax-free gift to you. (Not really, you still owe the money to the customer, he just has no way to ever collect it.) Therefore if after you sell a gift card and then check your sales on the closing screen you will notice that you have not sold anything in your net or gross sales. Your payment method sales will increase because the program has to account for money in the register but your actual sales will be unchanged. This also means that the “Z” reading for your register will also be unchanged. On the closing screen will be the total number of gift cards sold and their value.

INCREDABLY IMPORTANT

The current value of each gift card is not kept in the card, it is kept in your computer. There is a master index file for all cards on your hard drive and also a file for each card. This means that if anything happens to these files, or your computer, that the value of all outstanding gift cards will revert to NOTHING! Your customers will be VERY unhappy! Backups of your gift card files are essential. When you close the register at night you must backup your gift card files. This will probably require a high volume storage device such as a CD or RAM drive. To backup your gift card files you must make a copy of the subfolder that has the same name as your register files. For example, if you named your register data files MYSTORE then in the folder you keep your POS program files there will be a sub folder named MYSTORE, this is the folder you must back up. If you are using this software over a network then the subfolder will be on the server drive only.

Since the card value of each card is stored in the register that sold it (or the store network) this also means that if you have two or more stores, that a gift card can only be used in the store that issued the card unless you have somehow networked together the computers in multiple stores.

The program keeps a transaction file of each gift card. These files can be accessed through the “Payment options” feature of the POSCONFG.EXE program by pressing [F1] then pressing [F1] again for “Gift card reports.” You select the gift card you want by the gift card number and this will display a list of every transaction made with that card.

Code: Select all

GIFT CARD NUMBER                       BALANCE
DAVID BLAINE                            79.31       

TRANS TYP  DATE      TIME     AMOUNT   BALANCE
2563A T 08-24-2006 12:21:02   +50.00    50.00
1547C T 08-31-2006 16:12:15    -5.36    44.46
2837A T 09-01-2006 08:42:03     -.82    43.64
8517B T 09-01-2006 12:02:34    -6.87    36.77
1785C T 09-01-2006 15:52:41   -18.85    17.92
3011A T 09-02-2006 08:21:17    -8.25     9.67
8678C T 09-02-2006 10:52:12   +75.00    84.67
3112A T 09-02-2006 12:04:43     5.36    79.31
While this report will not tell you what was purchased with each transaction you can use the transaction number to go to the register that rang up the transaction and look up the details of the transaction either the file of past transactions or the journal. This is assuming that you enabled those features.

When purchasing, you can use gift cards as a payment option (if you have allowed gift cards.) When paying by gift card you will be asked for the gift card number. You will not be allowed to enter an amount. The program will charge the remainder of the amount due to the gift card so if you wish to charge only part of the sale to the gift card you must enter the other forms of payment first. If the gift card does not hold enough value to cover the sale the gift card will be cleared out and the value subtracted from the amount due. You will then be asked for an additional form of payment even if you have not allowed multiple forms of payments for a single sale. You will only be able to use one gift card on one sale. If you have zeroed out a gift card by tendering if for a sale and the amount on the gift card did not cover the total of the sale you can use up to two additional gift cards (3 total) to try to cover the amount of the sale.

VOIDING GIFT CARDS
If for some reason you have sold gift cards in error and completed the sale, you cannot void the transaction. The only way to void a gift card is to use “Payouts” to cash out the individual cards.
Last edited by daleadmin on Sat Apr 21, 2007 8:22 pm, edited 2 times in total.

robertepike
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Minor Errors

Post by robertepike » Fri Apr 20, 2007 2:17 pm

The Program is great with the gift card functions I have seen though that when an item is entered and you select in the options not to allow the item price be changed when using the stock table the program still allows me to change the price of the item. Another thing I have found is that when you print out a reciept with the tax number under the customer information it prints in the layout of a phone number.

Thanks for making such a great program!

The version I am using is posgifta it is the first one in the forum directly above this post.

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