As Systems Administrators, we've always been watchful of our security logs. Obviously with Retail Pro, knowing how many times an employee logged in and out at a specific workstation, or how many failed login attempts were made, can be quite important.
Unfortunately, Retail Pro 8 does not offer any security auditing, but Retail Pro 9 does! With the release of Retail Pro 9.12, you can enable an "Audit Logon Events" policy, as well as list of other actions you can turn auditing on for.
To enable these features, simply go to Employee Mgmt->Click Groups->Policy Tab. Change "Audit Logon Events" to enabled, as well as any other actions you wish to log.
Click here to learn more about Retail Pro | or visit our website: http://www.onestepretail.com.
Problems with disappearing cash drops
The information in this article applies to
A recent, and frequently asked question received by our Support Technicians this week was:
File corruption problem.
Resolution:
The Cash Drop receipts for that workstation were being saved in the wrong month's sales file. Create a cash drop receipt. Look in the Rpro folder. Sorty by Date Modified. Look at the files that were modified near the time you created the cash drop. You will see a sales file from a previous month that was modified today. Look in that month's sales and you will see the cash drop receipts.
Go into "Rpro\SecureDoc\Ws1" (or whatever workstation has the problem). Then rename the folder for the Month where the cash drops are going to "Oldfilename", in all 3 folders, including Tmp, Archive & Data folders. Exit Rpro. Create a Cash drop receipt and that will fix the problem.
As always, I recommend you contact our Technical Support Department before making any changes to files to ensure things are done correctly. AND ALWAYS MAKE A BACKUP FIRST! I can't stress that enough... like I always say "If it's important to you, back it up!"
- Retail Pro® 8
- Cash Drop
A recent, and frequently asked question received by our Support Technicians this week was:
"When I create a Cash Drop on workstation 1/WS1, I can't find it. It seems like it's not being saved."
File corruption problem.
Resolution:
The Cash Drop receipts for that workstation were being saved in the wrong month's sales file. Create a cash drop receipt. Look in the Rpro folder. Sorty by Date Modified. Look at the files that were modified near the time you created the cash drop. You will see a sales file from a previous month that was modified today. Look in that month's sales and you will see the cash drop receipts.
Go into "Rpro\SecureDoc\Ws1" (or whatever workstation has the problem). Then rename the folder for the Month where the cash drops are going to "Oldfilename", in all 3 folders, including Tmp, Archive & Data folders. Exit Rpro. Create a Cash drop receipt and that will fix the problem.
As always, I recommend you contact our Technical Support Department before making any changes to files to ensure things are done correctly. AND ALWAYS MAKE A BACKUP FIRST! I can't stress that enough... like I always say "If it's important to you, back it up!"
Retail Pro Compatible Accounting Software
What accounting software is compatible with Retail Pro's Accounting link?
Below is a listing of all "Compatible" Accounting Link packages that are currently compatible with the Retail Pro Accounting Link v3.2. There may be some limitations with certain packages. When this is the case, it will be noted as to what the limitation is.
Quickbooks
Quickbooks Pro 2000 - *Note - No customer balance exchange
Quickbooks Pro 2001 - *Note - No customer balance exchange
Quickbooks Pro 2002 - *Note - No customer balance exchange
Quickbooks Pro 2003 - *Note - No customer balance exchange
Quickbooks Pro 2004 - *Note - No customer balance exchange
Quickbooks Pro 2007 - *Note - No customer balance exchange
BusinessWorks
BW v12.04
BW v12.81
BW v12.9
BW v12.92
BW Gold v2.4
BW Gold v3.0
BW Gold v4.0
BW Gold v4.1
BW Gold v5.0
BW Gold v6.0
BW Gold v7.0
MAS 90
MAS 90 v3.40
MAS 90 v3.41
MAS 90 v3.51
MAS 90 v3.60
MAS 90 v3.71
MAS 90 v4.0
MAS 90 v4.05
MAS 90 4.10
Below is a listing of all "Compatible" Accounting Link packages that are currently compatible with the Retail Pro Accounting Link v3.2. There may be some limitations with certain packages. When this is the case, it will be noted as to what the limitation is.
Quickbooks
Quickbooks Pro 2000 - *Note - No customer balance exchange
Quickbooks Pro 2001 - *Note - No customer balance exchange
Quickbooks Pro 2002 - *Note - No customer balance exchange
Quickbooks Pro 2003 - *Note - No customer balance exchange
Quickbooks Pro 2004 - *Note - No customer balance exchange
Quickbooks Pro 2007 - *Note - No customer balance exchange
BusinessWorks
BW v12.04
BW v12.81
BW v12.9
BW v12.92
BW Gold v2.4
BW Gold v3.0
BW Gold v4.0
BW Gold v4.1
BW Gold v5.0
BW Gold v6.0
BW Gold v7.0
MAS 90
MAS 90 v3.40
MAS 90 v3.41
MAS 90 v3.51
MAS 90 v3.60
MAS 90 v3.71
MAS 90 v4.0
MAS 90 v4.05
MAS 90 4.10
Uploading Inventory Scans from your PT Scanner
It's January and many Retailers are focusing on Physical Inventories (PI). A common problem most people face, is uploading inventory scans from their PT scanners to Retail Pro. After countless hours of scanning, and conducting your PI, the last thing you want to do... is lose your scans!
Here's a quick tip and actual scenario a Retail Pro Customer experienced after trying to upload a second set of PT scans to Retail Pro:
Website: http://www.onestepretail.com
Here's a quick tip and actual scenario a Retail Pro Customer experienced after trying to upload a second set of PT scans to Retail Pro:
- PROBLEM
- Customer uploaded scans twice from PT scanner, but first items scanned disappeared.
- CAUSE
- Customer had clicked New before uploading the second time, wiping out items uploaded previously.
- RESOLUTION
- You should only click on New when you're first starting the Physical Inventory. Clicking New wipes out anything that is there.
Website: http://www.onestepretail.com
How to Apply Promo Pricing (RPRO v8)
Go to Merchandise > Inventory:
To set up promotional pricing:
1. Click PROMO PRICING from the side toolbar.
2. Select ADD (
4. Press
6. Press
Example:
Quantity Price
1 $25
2 $22
4 $20
7. Select CLOSE (
To assign a promotional pricing to an item or style:
1. In either Item View or Style View, highlight or display the item or style to which you want to assign a promotion.
2. Select EDIT (
4. Enter the promotion number you want to assign to that item.
OR
Select (
5. Repeat the previous steps for any other items to which you would like to assign a promotion.
Ringing up Promotional Pricing at Point of Sale:
When an item is put on a receipt with quantities that quality for promotional pricing, click Apply Promo. (Version 8 Only: When you click Tender, you will get a window showing the promotional pricing.) You will select the item and click Apply to apply the promotional pricing to the item.
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FAQ: Will Retail Pro run on a Mac?
No. Retail Pro is programmed for and tested on IBM-compatible PCs. PC programs will not run on a mac, in general. Please read below for exceptions:
NOTE: Even if you can get Retail Pro running on a macintosh using one of the above two methods, this type of set-up wouldn't be supported.
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- While there are PC emulator software programs for the mac, not all PC programs will run under the emulator, and the speed at which the programs will run would be too slow to be usable.
- Macs are now shipping with Windows XP installed in a dual boot fashion. Although you can install Retail Pro on the Windows partition, a lot of features, such as the scheduler, have not been tested or approved to work with the Mac hardware. Specifically, polling by scheduler has been found not to work
NOTE: Even if you can get Retail Pro running on a macintosh using one of the above two methods, this type of set-up wouldn't be supported.
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New 8.52 Core Update Released!
The new core update (852Core102607.zip) released by Island Pacific became available on our Support Downloads site this morning.
The new core update contains critical fixes for the September release.
Remember to always:
Visit our Main Website.
The new core update contains critical fixes for the September release.
Remember to always:
- Schedule & Plan your updates.
- Perform a backup prior to updating.
- Contact a Support Representative for questions and assistance.
Visit our Main Website.
Norton Antivirus and Retail Pro
To ensure maximum performance and a safe working environment for Retail Pro, please follow the following parameters:
--
At this point, you should see the Norton Antivirus system tray icon with an red X on it. This indicates that Auto-Protect is off.
After Norton Antivirus performs its scheduled scan, it will display a report on the screen. Review this report every day and make sure there are no viruses residing on your system(s).
If at some point, you would like to turn Auto-Protect back on, follow steps 1-3 and make sure you check the two boxes that were unchecked originally.x
- If ANY of your computers are on the internet 100% of the time, ALWAYS keep your antivirus software running.
- If you are not always on the internet, but rather have dial up or other types of internet service where you can disconnect and reconnect your connection, be sure to have your antivirus software monitoring your systems when you are connected to the internet. When you are not connected, disabling the Auto-protect feature of Norton Antivirus will provide faster performance in Retail Pro.
- Another option is to turn off the Auto-protect feature completely and schedule a nightly scan of your system.
--
To turn off Auto-Protect and schedule a nightly scan, do the following:
(For Norton Antivirus 2003)- Go to START->PROGRAMS->Norton Antivirus->Norton Antivirus 2003.
- On the top left hand corner, click on OPTIONS.
- In the first group labeled "How to stay protected", uncheck the following:
- -Enable Auto-Protect (recommended)
- -Start Auto-Protect when Windows starts up (recommended)
- Again, make sure these options are NOT checked, then click OK. You will be prompted to hit OK one more time.
- On the left hand side of the menu, click on “Scan for Viruses”.
- On the bottom right under Schedule Task, click on Schedule.
- The scheduler will open. Click on “New”
- Under “Schedule Task”, choose Daily.
- Under “Start Time”, choose the time that you would like to scan for viruses. (Ideally, this would be a time that won’t interfere with other scheduled tasks, like polling or backup).
- Click OK.
- Close Norton Antivirus.
At this point, you should see the Norton Antivirus system tray icon with an red X on it. This indicates that Auto-Protect is off.
After Norton Antivirus performs its scheduled scan, it will display a report on the screen. Review this report every day and make sure there are no viruses residing on your system(s).
If at some point, you would like to turn Auto-Protect back on, follow steps 1-3 and make sure you check the two boxes that were unchecked originally.x
Gift Card Security and Theft Prevention
There are many ways to protect against theft, including standard procedures to protect against credit card theft. These include:
These security measures are only as good as the cashier's discipline in following them. Therefore it is important for managers to enforce these security policies.
Learn more about security and loss prevention for retailers,
or visit our website
- Always check IDs when someone uses a credit card and make sure the picture matches the person.
- Cashiers should also verify that the customer's signature matches the signature on the card.
- Cashiers can be required to take the name and address of the customer when selling gift cards. If customers have an objection, they should be told it is for security purposes due to frequent theft of gift cards.
- If you accept credit cards over the phone, always get the CVV (3-digit security code on the back of the card) and zip code.
- Cashier's can refuse to complete the transaction if the customer gives a zip code that doesn't match.
These security measures are only as good as the cashier's discipline in following them. Therefore it is important for managers to enforce these security policies.
Learn more about security and loss prevention for retailers,
or visit our website
Can you only cancel/uncancel receipts that have not yet been polled to the main?
No. As long as a user is assigned to a group that has rights to cancel/uncancel check-in/check-out receipts (in Tools > Sec Admin ), they can do it when they need to.
Visit our site www.onestepretail.com for more info; or to speak to a Representative Live!
Visit our site www.onestepretail.com for more info; or to speak to a Representative Live!
How do I reflect damaged merchandise in Retail Pro?
The answer depends on what you want to do with the damaged merchandise. Assuming you want to take the damaged merchandise out of inventory, if you want to return it to the vendor, you would do a return voucher by creating a new voucher and changing the voucher type to Return.
Otherwise, you could do a quantity adjustment memo to take it out of inventory of the remote store, and put "damaged" or something equivalent in the Reason field.
Visit our website for more info.
Otherwise, you could do a quantity adjustment memo to take it out of inventory of the remote store, and put "damaged" or something equivalent in the Reason field.
Visit our website for more info.
X/Z-Out Tax doesn't match when adding up individual amounts
I was recently asked why X/Z-Out Tax totals don't match when adding up individual amounts. Firstly, I'd like to point out that the following adheres to X/Z-Out Tax Totals.
If your Tax Totals are not matching up when adding up individual amounts, then you are experiencing rounding issues.
The dilemma faced by retailers (and by Retail Pro) in calculating sales tax is this: when a percentage is applied to monetary values there is always a mathematical possibility of rounding differences. These differences become evident when you look at the various ways sales tax can be reported.
For further details on how rounding causes differences, see the following Technical Memo
Visit our website to learn more about Retail Pro.
If your Tax Totals are not matching up when adding up individual amounts, then you are experiencing rounding issues.
The dilemma faced by retailers (and by Retail Pro) in calculating sales tax is this: when a percentage is applied to monetary values there is always a mathematical possibility of rounding differences. These differences become evident when you look at the various ways sales tax can be reported.
For further details on how rounding causes differences, see the following Technical Memo
Visit our website to learn more about Retail Pro.
Change Tax in Retail Pro 8.x
Changing your Tax within Retail Pro can become a routine task. A new Tax change in New York, for example, has just affected Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island and the Bronx.
Here's a simple "How-to:" on how to correctly change your tax rates when needed:
Here's a simple "How-to:" on how to correctly change your tax rates when needed:
- Make sure all computers on the network are out of Retail Pro before you start.
- Go into Options> System Preferences.
- Click the plus sign (+) next to "Taxes"
- Find the area you want to change in the drop-down box under "Tax Area"
- For the taxable code (usually #1), Change the settings as shown in the screen shot, but the rate should be whatever the correct rate is
- Click Save
- Follow these steps for each of the Tax Areas that need to be changed.
- Always click Save when done
Solving ISAM Errors
SYMPTOMS
Getting the following message in various sections of Retail Pro:
Corrupted Index File. ISAM Error……..File variable is NIL.
CAUSE
The error is caused by corrupted index files.
RESOLUTION
This issue can be resolved by doing a full reconstruct using the latest Windows Reconstruct Tool according to RTI.
Another method that has worked in resolving the above issue was to:
• Exit from Retail Pro
• Delete/Rename the index files (.ix files) in the RPRO folder.
• Let Retail Pro recreate those files by restarting Retail Pro
• Reconstruct
If you would like to obtain the latest reconstruct tool, please contact OSD Tech Support, or visit our Website || Support Downloads
Getting the following message in various sections of Retail Pro:
Corrupted Index File. ISAM Error……..File variable is NIL.
CAUSE
The error is caused by corrupted index files.
RESOLUTION
This issue can be resolved by doing a full reconstruct using the latest Windows Reconstruct Tool according to RTI.
Another method that has worked in resolving the above issue was to:
• Exit from Retail Pro
• Delete/Rename the index files (.ix files) in the RPRO folder.
• Let Retail Pro recreate those files by restarting Retail Pro
• Reconstruct
If you would like to obtain the latest reconstruct tool, please contact OSD Tech Support, or visit our Website || Support Downloads
How to speed up Retail Pro 9
Retail Pro 9 relies on heavy duty services which requires many resources. By default, Microsoft Windows is not optimized for running Oracle Databases.
Here's what you can do if Retail Pro 9 is running too slow.
Here's what you can do if Retail Pro 9 is running too slow.
- Make sure that your antivirus software is not actively scanning the \Oracle or \Retail9 directories. Scan those at scheduled times.
- Make sure System Restore is turned off.
- Make sure that you regularly reindex and tune your database (inside the Technician’s Toolkit).
- Make sure your pagefile is set to whatever Windows recommends.
- Optimize your system to allocate more resources to BACKGROUND SERVICES, as Oracle is considered a background service, not a program.
RPRO 9.0 – Manually Backing Up Oracle DB
1). Stop the following services
2). Copy the following files to a backup location:
3). Restart the following services:
- OracleODS901Agent
- OracleODS901TNSListener
- OracleServicesRPROODS
2). Copy the following files to a backup location:
- \Oracle\ODS901\pwdrproods.ora
- \Oracle\Oradata\*
3). Restart the following services:
- OracleODS901Agent
- OracleODS901TNSListener
- OracleServicesRPROODS
“Workstation already in use”, "polling in use", "workstation locked," or "workstation in use".
If you frequently receive any of the messages above, you will quickly come to learn that there are several different causes.
The most common causes are:
1) System shut down while in RPRO accidently, intentionally or due to power outage.
2) Someone enters system preferences when other workstations are in Retail Pro.
3) Process in/out takes places when Retail Pro is open on other workstations
4) Retail Pro locked up and was forced to shut down using CTRL-ALT-DEL.
Perform the following steps to quickly resolve these error messages:
Version 6
Version 7
Version 8
If you continue to have error messages, Contact a Support Representative.
Visit our website: http://www.onestepretail.com
The most common causes are:
1) System shut down while in RPRO accidently, intentionally or due to power outage.
2) Someone enters system preferences when other workstations are in Retail Pro.
3) Process in/out takes places when Retail Pro is open on other workstations
4) Retail Pro locked up and was forced to shut down using CTRL-ALT-DEL.
Perform the following steps to quickly resolve these error messages:
Version 6
- Click on "Setup", then "Company".
- If "Remove Locks" message appears, select "Yes".
- If message above does NOT appear, Click on "Setup", then "Workstation".
Version 7
- Click on "Preferences", then "System".
- If "Remove Locks" message appears, select "Yes".
- If message above does NOT appear, Click on "Preferences", then "Workstation".
Version 8
- Click on "Tools", then "RproDB".
- If the above does not work, go into the RPRO folder and delete the following files:
- Matlock.dat
- matlock.dia
- semaphore.dat
- semaphore.dia
- wslock.dat
- wslock.dia
If you continue to have error messages, Contact a Support Representative.
Visit our website: http://www.onestepretail.com
Where can I find the latest Retail Pro Upgrade?
Updates are available via our Support Downloads website.
Find your version of Retail Pro from the top menu bar, and locate the latest upgrade available.
Contact a Support Representative for more details and information.
http://www.onestepretail.com
Find your version of Retail Pro from the top menu bar, and locate the latest upgrade available.
Contact a Support Representative for more details and information.
http://www.onestepretail.com
Retail Pro V9 is here!
Retail Pro 9 Series is a comprehensive retail management solution designed specifically for corporations that want to manage any number of subsidiaries or company stores. Retail Pro 9 Series works with Retail Pro 8.40 and above.
Contact a One Step Data representative for details and information.
Protecting Passwords
I recently had a enlightening experience working with a local retailer, as I approached a workstation on their sales floor to install a new a new receipt design, the store manager called out from across the store Oh by the way the system administrator password is [....] just in case you need it .
There are really two things wrong here:
1. I never asked for the password.
2. The password was shouted out loud enough that all in the shop could have heard and written down the system administrator password for later use.
All system passwords should be protected as well as the retailer would protect the cash in his/her cash drawer. It is in essence equal in value to all of the cash in your cash drawer and the value of your entire inventory and the value of your customer data combined. All too often the default password remains when a software system is installed, countless wireless routers are installed with default passwords that make a network vulnerable, but we share passwords that leave our businesses just as vulnerable.
The system administrator password needs to be protected and not tossed about with out concern. Trusting an individual with the system administrator s password when you go on vacation or for just a period of time will lead to loss. If it is necessary to give out a password for support or maintenance purposes, change the password as soon as possible afterwards.
When choosing a password, follow these guidelines:
1. Do not use the same password that you use for you ATM card.
2. Do not use passwords that you have used for years because they are easy to remember.
3. Use combination of letters and numbers when possible alternate upper and lower case letters.
4. Do not write your password down and pass it along to others.
The first place I look it I need a password and no one is around is under the key board. I have found more passwords that I can say in this most-obvious location.
Many folks reading this may be rolling their eyes if they have read this far everyone knows that they need to protect their passwords, but all will agree that password protection is extremely important in safeguarding your point of sale software.
Remember passwords are like politicians and should be changed frequently.
Brett Reed
Technical Manager
www.onestepdata.com
There are really two things wrong here:
1. I never asked for the password.
2. The password was shouted out loud enough that all in the shop could have heard and written down the system administrator password for later use.
All system passwords should be protected as well as the retailer would protect the cash in his/her cash drawer. It is in essence equal in value to all of the cash in your cash drawer and the value of your entire inventory and the value of your customer data combined. All too often the default password remains when a software system is installed, countless wireless routers are installed with default passwords that make a network vulnerable, but we share passwords that leave our businesses just as vulnerable.
The system administrator password needs to be protected and not tossed about with out concern. Trusting an individual with the system administrator s password when you go on vacation or for just a period of time will lead to loss. If it is necessary to give out a password for support or maintenance purposes, change the password as soon as possible afterwards.
When choosing a password, follow these guidelines:
1. Do not use the same password that you use for you ATM card.
2. Do not use passwords that you have used for years because they are easy to remember.
3. Use combination of letters and numbers when possible alternate upper and lower case letters.
4. Do not write your password down and pass it along to others.
The first place I look it I need a password and no one is around is under the key board. I have found more passwords that I can say in this most-obvious location.
Many folks reading this may be rolling their eyes if they have read this far everyone knows that they need to protect their passwords, but all will agree that password protection is extremely important in safeguarding your point of sale software.
Remember passwords are like politicians and should be changed frequently.
Brett Reed
Technical Manager
www.onestepdata.com
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