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*** It's About Time ***
We had a great response to our last newsletter--regarding wireless networks (Wireless Networks...Don't Do It!!!).
I just want to reemphasize that I am not against wireless networks. I am suggesting that if you are using a Point-of-Sale System such as Cash Register Express with heavy data access, you should use a wired network. If you must use a wireless network (for example, if it is just impossible to add wiring in your location), then you will probably need to hire a wireless expert, who can test the reliability of the networks and ensure that the antennas are powerful enough and situated properly. Those $100-per-station wireless networks sold in the store are fine for home use, but unlikely to meet your requirements in a business environment.
It's About Time
Many software programs, including Cash Register Express, are very time-sensitive. You must make sure that the time/date setting on your computer is exactly correct. For example, if your store did $2,500 in sales today and you print out a report and see that your sales for today are $0, it's quite probable that the date on your computer is not set correctly.
If you are using a network, it becomes even more crucial that all of your computers are time-synchronized. Imagine the chaos if your server is set for Monday, two of your workstations are set for Sunday, and another workstation is set for Saturday. The reports in Cash Register Express and other software programs rely on accurate time and date information.
How Accurate Does it Have to Be?
A one- or two-minute difference it time probably will not make a difference. Depending on the accuracy that you require, a one-hour difference could be significant.
How to Synchronize Your Time
If you only have a single-user system, exact synchronization may not be that important. You may not care if a sale is made at 9:18 a.m vs. 9:23 a.m. However, you will want to make sure that your computer clock and date are at least accurate to within an hour.
It is crucial that network computers are synchronized. If they are not, sales and credit card reports may not match correctly. A ten-minute discrepancy will not cause chaos; however, if one computer is set for Wednesday and another is set for Tuesday, your reports will appear to be inaccurate.
You should make sure that all computers on your network have the same time and date. Microsoft Windows has commands that will automatically set your time and date to match your server. So, make sure that your server has the correct time and date. Have each work station update the time and date automatically by grabbing the time and date from your server. A network person should be able to help you do this. One way to accomplish this is to use the command (from the MS-DOS Command Prompt):
net time \\pca3 /SET /YES
If you make this part of your computer startup, your work stations will automatically log onto your server and adjust the time on the work station to match the time on your server.
An Atomic Clock
At Budget POS, we have found a great utility available on the internet at http://atomtime.com/. This is a very small program that runs in the background on your computer. If you have access to the internet, it will synchronize your computer clock with the official U.S. Government Clock in Boulder, CO. If you are using a dial-up connection such as AOL, you can still synchronize your clock manually using Atomtime. It really works well. You can have it resynchronize on startup or every 3 hours. It works great with all versions of Windows.
Windows XP also comes in with a built-in utility that will synchronize computers attached to a network. We were never able to get it to work. That's why we went to Atomtime.
The important thing is...check the accuracy of the time and date on your computer daily. It is important--especially for time-sensitive software programs such as Cash Register Express.