Control over all aspects of security is one of many demands on any POS system—one with high stakes. With Compass Technologies’ Retail Point of Sale, you’ve got two angles from which to approach security. First, for big sweeping security on a window-by-window basis, there’s GP’s Security Task & Role system. There you define user roles to grant access to only the windows needed to do a job. You can allow access to—and keep various users out of—any window across the system, from sales inquiries to reports to lookup windows.
Defining GP security is a great starting point for meeting your needs when it comes to security. However, Compass’s Retail Point of Sale takes fine-tuning security a step further. In the Compass User Options window, you make decisions at a deeper level, setting security for what a cashier can do once a window is open or, in some cases, defining how a window will appear. We’ve put together the following four tips on specific ways to combine GP Security with Compass User Options for win-win control.
POS Inquiries and Reports
First, consider the wealth of reports and inquiries available within Retail Point of Sale. POS Sales reports include sales summaries broken down in any possible way—by item, salesperson, document type, date range, location, etc—while POS inquiries offer historical drawer reconciliation information, open certificate information, promotion sales and more. In order to limit access to sensitive information, Compass recommends using GP’s tasks and roles security to hide all inquiry and report windows from cashiers who don’t need to know. By unmarking any POS Report and Inquiry window for those in cashier roles, you can completely eliminate access to sensitive information. In many cases, the menu options will disappear so the user doesn’t even know what it is they’re not seeing. Defining access to POS Inquiries and Reports through GP Security is a must.
Drawer Reconciliation
Secondly, considerPOSDrawer Reconciliation: You could use GP security to block users from opening the Compass Drawer Rec window, for instance, if it’s not a feature you use. But it leaves the Drawer Reconcile button enabled, and then a hand-slapping message appears telling the user they don’t have security if they do click. A better way is to disable access through the POS User Options setup. When disabled, the button will be grayed out (essentially unclick-able), eliminating the step of clicking OK on a message.
But let’s say you do want to use the drawer reconciliation feature. Perhaps your non-manager cashiers will originally do the counting, while your manager cashiers will complete the drawer reconciliation process. In this case, you can set the “Drawer Reconcile” option to Available to All Users, and then set “Full Reconciliation” to Manager Only. This results in what is known as a blind reconcile for the non-manager users. The calculated totals will be hidden, removing the knowledge—or temptation—to enter totals that match known quantities. Later a manager, who sees a complete picture of the drawer due to the expanded view, can verify the original entry and complete the reconciliation process.
Transaction Numbers and Dates
Thirdly, there’s the question around whether or not to allow cashiers to change transaction numbers or the user date. If you don’t want to give cashiers the ability to look up and pull in existing transaction number, again you COULD use GP security to take away security to the POS Transactions Lookup window. But it would be clumsy. An even better option is to use Compass User Options to block a user from overriding the transaction number entirely by setting “Override Trx Number” to Disable. The difference is that if you only block access to the lookup window, the cashier can still physically type in a new or existing sale number. Try the POS User Option instead. Once you disable the ability to override the transaction number, then the sale number field and the lookup will both be disabled, with the editable fields starting on Customer. The cashier will never even have an option to touch the Sale Number. You can also disable the option to “Override Trx Date” entirely, or set it on to be available to Manager Password or Manager Only. The fine-tuning is sure to meet your needs at one end of the security range or the other, or anywhere in between.
Pricing Options
Lastly, consider the options within a sales transaction. Your company obviously wants absolute control of what actions are allowed. For example, although GP Sales Order Processing supports the entry of negative quantities and negative prices on a sale, you may or may not choose to use these options within Retail Point of Sale. From allowing markdowns to discounts, overriding prices or allowing the entry of negative quantities or negative prices, POS User Options gives you the ability to set all or none of these options to Available to All Users, Manager Only, Manager Password, or Disable. Again, welcome to win-win control on a user-by-user basis.
In summary, for all-or-nothing control on a window-by-window basis, GP’s security is a great starting point. For control over behavior within any transaction, be sure to check out Retail Point of Sale’s User Options, and combine the two for just the behavior you require for your fine-tuned POS system.