Business Books

Start out the year right for your restaurant POS systems. Let’s talk about some of the most common and vital mistakes that are made in regard to some very simple and basic configuration aspects of the computer system. Mistakes can seriously damage a restaurant or any other retail business, not to mention the huge amount of time and money on repairs. Even worse than that… it can frustrate you, your customers and employees.

Whether you’re the one who’s going to configure your restaurant’s computer system or not somebody else to do it for you] — you better make sure that everything is done properly for your own sake.

Please don’t let me give you the wrong message. I don’t always recommend configuring your own computer system! I recommend letting a computer professional do the work. But I’m sure some of you will do it yourself no matter what I say. So this is for those of you that insist on doing your own system installations and for everyone else to double check and make sure everything was done properly. This could help you avoid some major problems and save hours of precious time.

So here are some simple retail POS system configuration checklist for a Windows network you could follow:

1) Install a Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS)
The number one cause of electronic component failure is from fluctuations in electricity (up and down). A good UPS can solve this problem by providing clean power. I would recommedn getting a good UPS for your server. And it’s also a good idea to use them on all your workstations too.

2) Plug All Your Cables Into the UPS
All cables that powers your computer and network must be properly plugged into your UPS. It’s also important to make sure cables that can carry electrical charges are plugged into a surge protector or UPS. For example, the phone line for your modem can easily heat up and fry your computer if it’s not plugged into a surge protector. So you better make sure that all cables are plugged properly. Your modem line, network cables, and power cords can cause severe damage if not plugged properly.

3) Tightening Up Security
At the very least, I suggest locking down your server with a strong password on all Windows accounts so your employees and hackers have more difficulty messing with your server.

4) Intalling and Configuring Security Tools Like An Antivirus Software and AntiSpyware Software
It is gravely important for you to make sure that these security tools are configured to updating automatically, so you would never forget.

5) Limit Internet Access
Employees that surf the internet can cause more problems than anything. You mave the lastest antivirus and antispyware software installed but if an employee unwittingly downloads the wrong program or accepts the wrong message, it can bring your system down. You can avoid this by disabling internet browsing on your computers. Or another option is to protect internet access with a password.

For restaurant owners, this is very important! In order to protect secured files from evil hands, limiting employee internet access is a must. A retail business owner has to enforce rules to protect his business as well as his profit. Otherwise, what good will a restaurant POS system do if it’s run by a misbahaved or ignorant personnel.

6) Configuring Your Back Up To Run Regularly
As well proven in many situations, it’s best to configure your back up to run automatically after work hours. But you still need to remember to change your back up device (like tapes) every day.

7) Testing Your Back Up At Least Once A Month
I have talked to dozens people who think they have a good back up plan for restoring damaged files. When they try to restore they find it didn’t properly funciton. That’s why you need to do a “real” test restore once a month to make sure it’s working. By the way, you should also remember o restore to an alternate file location so your existing software won’t be affected.

So please, start checking your computer systems now and do the neccessary updates, configurations and back ups.

With over 20 years of restaruant experience, the author and Vice President of Customer Relations at POS-for-Restaurants.com, helps you use your technology to be more efficient and more profitable.