Best Practices

As a business collecting revenue from its customers, you may take payment in various forms including either credit or debit cards. You have probably heard of the phrase ‘PCI Compliance.’

PCI stands for Payment Card Industry (American Express, Discover Financial Services, JCB, MasterCard Worldwide and Visa International). Payment card industry compliance is adherence to a set of security standards developed to protect card information during and after financial transactions. These guidelines were developed due to the ever increasing security concerns about the protection of card data. See the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council (PCI DSS) website.

PCI applies to all organizations or merchants that accepts, transmits or stores any cardholder data. Basically, if any customer pays a merchant using a credit or debit card, the PCI requirements apply. The PCI DSS applies to all payment channels, including retail (brick-and-mortar), mail/telephone order, and e-commerce. Nothing is more important than keeping your customer’s payment card data secure. The size of your business will determine the specific compliance requirements that must be met. Enforcement of merchant compliance is managed by the individual payment brands and the same is true for non-compliance penalties. The PCI Security Standards Council is available to help merchants through maintaining and enhancing the PCI Security Standards.

*Check with your merchant service provider for details on their adherence to the compliance standards. They should also help guide you through the compliance process and provide monitoring and reporting to help protect your business from a breach.

Let’s take a look at some requirements as listed on the Intuit Online Security Center website:

The PCI DSS offers a single approach to safeguarding sensitive data for all card brands. PCI DSS includes the following requirements:

• Install and maintain a firewall configuration to protect cardholder data.
• Do not use vendor-supplied defaults for system passwords and other security parameters.
• Protect stored cardholder data.
• Encrypt the transmission of cardholder data across open, public networks.
• Use and regularly update anti-virus software.
• Develop and maintain secure systems and applications.
• Restrict access to cardholder data.
• Assign a unique ID to each person with computer access.
• Restrict physical access to cardholder data.
• Track and monitor all access to network resources and cardholder data.
• Regularly test security systems and processes.
• Maintain a policy that addresses information security.

How do I comply? To achieve PCI DSS compliance, merchants and service providers must adhere to the PCI DSS requirements set forth by the PCI Security Standards Council, which offers a single approach to safeguarding sensitive data for all card brands.

Why is it important? By complying with the PCI DSS, entities can protect their business and their customers while building a culture of security that benefits all parties in the payment system.

What happens if I am not PCI DSS compliant? If you are non-compliant, you could be subject to fines from the card associations. If your security is compromised because of your non-compliance, you risk financial loss, additional fines, loss of business, damage to your brand's reputation, and other loss of critical systems.

Here’s a link to an excellent article posted on the PCI Security Standards Council website: “Why Comply with PCI Security Standards?”

I hope you made it through tax season with flying colors. Now that April 15th is behind you, what do you need to do next? Here are a couple of things to keep in mind and an important tip from one of our Bookkeepers.

• The CA Board of Equalization (BOE) assigns a filing frequency (quarterly prepay, quarterly, monthly, fiscal yearly, yearly) based on your reported sales tax or your anticipated taxable sales at the time of registration. Find your filing frequency for your due dates on the BOE website by clicking here.

If you reside outside of the state of C.A. you can find the BOE website for your state.

• 1st quarter sales tax reports are due by 4/30/14 for those who are on the Quarterly Prepay Reporting or Quarterly Reporting.

• What did we learn from tax season:

• Make sure to get W-9’s for your new vendors. It is also a best practice to request updated W-9 forms from your vendors each year, especially if any of their information has changed.
• Don’t wait until the last minute to gather your paperwork and prepare your taxes. When you do, you add undue stress to you, your Bookkeeper and Accountant, plus risk the chance of paying penalties.

New C.A. Sales and Use Tax Rates Effective April 1, 2014. In addition to the table shown here, you can find this and much more valuable information at the BOE website. www.boe.ca.gov.
Click to enlarge image.

The previous segment was the first part of an article recently written by Will English on how he has attained the status as “trusted advisor” to many of our clients and the importance of that. Today we would like to share with you the remainder of this enlightening article and are sure you will find the 3 takeaways beneficial.

The more comfortable you feel with the process, the more your clients will trust you and therefore listen when you make recommendations.

And this means investing in learning the retail industry.  RSPA (www.gorspa.org) is just one example of a great resource.  RSPA is a trade organization that has POS specific training and certification.  You need to be able to discuss with your retail clients GMROI, Inventory turns, Inventory Ageing, End of Day and credit card compliance.  J. recently won a large contract by being the most expensive.  Sound odd?  J. was the only dealer who discussed and recommended the tools they need to be PCI including encrypted credit card swipes.  The more you know, the more value you can add and transition yourself from the person that sold them their POS system to a valued member of their team. 

Second, learn from your mistakes (we all make them).  It’s not the end of the world when you do it wrong.  It is the end of your career if you don’t learn from your mistakes and make corrections on the next install.

Lastly, and maybe the most important of all is to do right by the customer, even if it means that it causes you to suffer short term pain to resolve issues that may not be in your control.  It is said that if a happy customer tells one or two people about you, that is great, but on average an unhappy customer will tell 6 people of their experience.
Author: English, William S., President of English Management Solutions, Inc. March 2014.
Contributing Author: Lombardi, J., Contessa of CounterPoint, Soft Intelligence, Inc. March 2014.

Throughout Will’s career of working in retail technology, he has attained the status of “trusted advisor” to many of our clients and we want to share some of the ways that he has developed this relationship. He recently wrote an article on this topic for some fellow advisors and this is very enlightening for clients too. It’s a good benchmark to use when choosing an advisor. Here is an excerpt:

There are three phases of a Trusted Advisor: pre-sale, implementation and post-sale.  The pre-sales phase is where your relationship with the customer is often made or broken.  That always means doing what is best for the client.  Your solution may be the best fit, but make sure you know that before you recommend a product.  If a client is too big for your solution, or has too many items, putting them into a product that is a bad fit just to get the sale will cost you BIG in the end.

During the implementation phase, you need know what you are doing.  A long established technology firm sold one of their first POS systems last month.  They tried to do everything in-house with disastrous results.  They are a very solid company but they didn’t understand retail or POS and made all the rookie mistakes.  They got experienced people involved after the fact, but will never regain the position as the “Trusted Advisor” because of how the install was handled.

How you handle the post-implementation phase will once again, set you apart or terminate your position.  We recently got a call from a disgruntled POS customer who was looking for a new dealer.  They big complaint wasn’t service.  They wanted a new dealer because the sales rep wouldn’t return calls.  Everyone in your firm is representing you!  Make sure someone on your staff doesn’t undermine all your hard work by handling a request poorly.

To recap, learn your craft!  Make sure you understand the product you sell, how it works and who should be using it.  Develop your skills in the retail industry.  When I teach, I tell my students that it will take at least 10-20 installs before you should feel comfortable in the product.  When you start, you don’t know what you don’t know.  The more comfortable you feel with the process, the more your clients will trust you and therefore listen when you make recommendations.
Author: English, William S., President of English Management Solutions, Inc. March 2014.
Contributing Author: Lombardi, J., Contessa of CounterPoint, Soft Intelligence, Inc. March 2014
Stay tuned for the remaining portion of the article where you’ll learn 3 great takeaways!
Read it here.

The annual Intuit Reseller Rally gives Intuit a chance to showcase the innovation taking place in their marketplace & the many ways they are working to help their best resellers grow. It’s an opportunity for Intuit Resellers to interact with fellow Resellers to share best practices & to network. When they collaborate, they help even more customers in a timely manner, providing a higher level of customer service. From meeting with senior management to seeing the table where Intuit Quicken was created, this year’s Rally has been quite enlightening! The Resellers are not required to attend but there are numerous benefits. It also shows that the Resellers are committed & that they care.

Will attended this week & provided some positive feedback. He stated that it was 2.5 days of meeting with the Intuit Senior Management to see the road map for future products as well as receive updates on existing products. It was a great opportunity for him as a Reseller to speak with the senior management team & interact with fellow Resellers at a venue that allowed them to meet in person for a few days. The Intuit management team values the Intuit Resellers & their input. The Resellers are on the front lines selling, implementing, & supporting the product.

For Will, the Rally highlight was the field trip to the Intuit headquarters where they got a chance to tour the Innovation Center & see the actual table where Scott Cook, Intuit Founder & CEO, worked on the first Intuit product- Quicken. Humble beginnings…

Now that you are familiar with the annual Intuit Rally, let’s look at what the Intuit Reseller Program is all about.

Intuit offers a tiered reseller program that enables business owners to profitably grow their business while offering clients the very best Intuit solutions. Clients get personalized, one-on-one service & are able to work with the same reseller on an ongoing basis. Intuit’s program offers multiple levels of benefits. As Resellers grow their business & provide exceptional service, they move up through the levels.
Some of the benefits include:

• Immediate access to Intuit products & a variety of peripherals
• Sales, procurement, & Intuit product support through a highly-qualified staff
• Extended hours of support
• Opportunities to sell a number of Intuit products & services that meet the needs of customers, & open the door for complementary product sales & professional services
• Certifications & knowledge/support services to increase the value-add to their customers

The Premier Level is the top tier within the Intuit Reseller Program & is designed for members with consistent & robust sales who provide the highest level of customer service.  Premier Resellers have expertise in technology & solutions integration for small-to-medium sized businesses. They are authorized to resell, implement, & support the QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions software, QuickBooks Point of Sale software, QuickBooks Financial software, & other Intuit & third-party products.

At English Management Solutions, Inc., we are excited to be a Premier Reseller because of our level of knowledge, customer service, & sales volume. As a value added reseller, we are authorized to sell the equipment, software, & services while passing along our cost savings to the client. This allows us to provide QB to our clients at an affordable rate while enhancing our ability to solve their diverse & complex requirements.

As we enter a new year, one topic that should be on the forefront of our minds is tax season. I know it’s not the most exciting thing to talk about right after ringing in the New Year, but it’s a necessity. We’ve seen too many people wait until the last minute to gather their paperwork and work with our Bookkeeper to prepare everything for their Accountant.

When you wait until the last minute, you add undue stress to you, your Bookkeeper and Accountant plus risk the chance of paying penalties. And remember, you are not the only customer that your Bookkeeper and Accountant are working with so they will need ample time to work with each client.

Intuit, the makers of Turbo Tax, has prepared a Tax Preparation Checklist. You may download and print it by clicking HERE. A checklist is an excellent way for you to mark what is applicable and stay on track. This way you don’t miss a step and you will have the necessary information available. Even if you are not the most organized person you should start a file for your taxes and use a checklist.

For a list of key dates, click HERE to read Intuit’s Turbo Tax online guide. Just as they say, “Knowing when and what you have to file can save you a lot of headaches at tax time. To avoid paying penalties, mark your calendar with the following key dates.” Intuit TuboTax

A good Bookkeeper understands how to make proper journal entries and record the day-to-day financial activities of your business. Without good books, your tax professional can’t properly do their job. This will result in more time and money spent.

At EM$, our Bookkeeping services are tailored to fit each client’s needs, whether it’s on a weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly basis. If you handle your own bookkeeping, you may retain our services as part of your overall tax preparation and planning.

Also, it’s extremely helpful to use a software application such as QuickBooks Financial to manage your daily transactions and manage your books. With features such as expense tracking, income tracking, and tax preparation, along with customer, vendor and employee management, you will manage and organize data easily and save time every day. Plus there are industry-specific editions.

Links to follow for additional helpful information:
https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tools/all-articles-and-videos/

IRS website: http://www.irs.gov/

We’re quickly moving into the holiday season! Many of you have been using the QuickBooks Point of Sale (QBPOS) system for a while now while others have implemented the system as recently as this month. With all of the holiday frenzy and shoppers a buzz, it’s a crucial time to make sure you are ready for this busy season. It’s also highly advisable to develop a rapport with a knowledgeable and friendly QuickBooks advisor so that when you need assistance, you have a trusted resource handy.

Some questions to consider:
1. Is your staff properly trained to use the QBPOS software? QBPOS has a practice mode that allows users to practice using the software without affecting the actual system and data. No transactions are actually recorded. We also offer onsite and remote training so that you and your staff know how to manage the various types of transactions and QuickBooks functions. If the staff isn’t comfortable and correctly trained in using the system, neither your company nor customers will benefit. As we know, most shoppers tend to be a bit impatient and you don’t want to lose their business due to untrained or improperly trained employees.

2. Are you offering gift cards? You can process gift card transactions easily, increase store traffic and sales encouraging more repeat business, and let’s not forget that they make a great gift, especially for shoppers who don’t know what to give or need to make a quick purchase. Gift cards never go out of style.

3. Does your customer loyalty or rewards program need fine tuning? You want to build relationships with your customers and ensure profitability.

4. Do you have plenty of receipt paper, pricing labels and tags? This will not be the time to run out and have to wait for a delivery, or pay expedited shipping costs.
Is your equipment working correctly or is it on the brink of expiration? Take inventory and order ahead so that you’re ready to take advantage of every customer opportunity!
Contact us today with any questions, inquiries and to place your orders!

With numerous small businesses already in operation and so many more opening each day, it is a joy to speak with business owners to learn what inspires them and how they got their start. Today, I had the pleasure of speaking with a new client who is opening a tea and cake restaurant/tea room where patrons can enjoy delicious food and treats while sipping on a selection of fine teas. With an appreciation for the British traditions, she has listened to her community to implement a strategic business approach. She will offer the high tea and afternoon tea, keeping some of the formality but in a less formal environment. The setting will be more relaxed and casual with indoor seating and outdoor garden seating. In the mornings, grab-and-go items such as coffee and baked goods will be available. She is implementing the QuickBooks Point of Sale (QBPOS) system and we will provide our support services.

As our business continues to grow, we receive great satisfaction from providing real solutions to our clients; not simply selling a product, and by ensuring that we have built a reputable rapport.

It’s always encouraging to receive positive feedback that we are in fact providing the type of service that we strive for and it makes an impressionable difference to our clients. It’s important for us to measure satisfaction, so we have been sending surveys regarding our services and customer support. We have embraced these as a tool to measure the level of satisfaction our clients experience with our company. We appreciate the responses we’ve received thus far. We’d like to share a few here.

From a new QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions client:
“Their sales rep (Anita) was incredibly understanding and patient with our Company transition. They set up an appointment to test drive QuickBooks with William who was informative and was very willing to tailor QuickBooks and the add-ons to exactly what we needed as a distributor. Furthermore, they were able to help me save $$ in our budget and provided us with a server for a more than reasonable price. I would FULLY recommend English Management Systems to any business in Southern California that needs a POS System or QBES!!!”

From a long time customer who has both the QuickBooks Point of Sale and Enterprise Solutions product:
“English Management has provided excellent support for our QuickBooks software applications. We use both the Enterprise version of the accounting software and the Point of Sale system that integrates to it. William English has been very helpful and provided quick response when we had problems and he has given us excellent advice on adapting the systems to our needs.”

This response is from a business owner who has been a customer of EM$ since 2006. They have multiple locations and recently upgraded their QBPOS to V2013:
“Sofia was fantastic to work with. She responded quickly to any questions that I had and made herself available to fit my schedule so that she could remotely work through a problem that we were having. Will English also helped me, via telephone, on a different computer issue while he was at a trade show on the other side of the country. I've dealt with English Management Solutions for software and hardware purchases as well as technical assistance for over 3 years now and have consistently had positive experiences. Thanks guys.”

Thank you for trusting us with your business software and bookkeeping needs!

Referrals Make a Difference. We value the confidence that you place in our staff and the Intuit product by referring EM$. For those clients who refer us business that results in billing hours, we will give you a $25 Amazon gift card.
 

You may have heard that Gov. Jerry Brown has signed the bill to increase the California minimum wage in two separate increments. The first will be from $8 per hour to $9 per hour effective July 1, 2014. Then on January 1, 2016, it will increase to $10 per hour. This comes during the fast food industry strikes to raise the federal wage. Some oppose this saying that it will hurt businesses and in turn, cause a reduction in jobs. There are always two sides with differing viewpoints but regardless, there are compliance recommendations that employers must follow.

ADP Payroll Services provided a great article on this topic including compliance recommendations in an email to their members. They explained: "The minimum wage increase also impacts the minimum salary requirements for employees who are exempt from overtime. To be classified as an exempt employee in California, very specific requirements must be met. The employee must, among other things, generally be paid a salary of no less than two times the state minimum wage. Assembly Bill 10 means that the salary requirement for exemption will increase to $720 per week (or $3120 per month) on July 1, 2014. On January 1, 2016, the salary requirement increases to $800 per week (or $3466.67 per month). For more information on exemptions, visit the Department of Industrial Relations website by clicking here.
Compliance Recommendations:
California employers must pay all non-exempt employees at least $9.00 per hour beginning July 1, 2014. In addition, employers must post a new minimum wage poster reflecting the increase by July 1, 2014. Once published, California's updated minimum wage poster will be available for download from the State & Federal Resources section of our website. Employers with exempt employees must also ensure that their salaries will meet the new minimums."

The sole purpose of this blog is to provide practical information concerning the subject matter and EMS is not rendering legal advice or other professional services related to this topic.

In a multi-workstation retail location, it is common for multiple employees to work the same register during the day.

It is very important you enable security in POS.  To do so, go to Company Preferences and in General Preferences check the box, require users to log in.  POS will prompt you to set up a Sysadmin password.  We recommend that it be a complex password, meaning a combination of numbers, letters and special characters. You should only use the Sysadmin account to create other login accounts.  Once you have enabled security, go to the Employee menu and Employee List.  Click New Employee and then set up the employee’s login and then click create password.   “Best Practices” mandate that each employee has a separate login and must never share their password.  Sharing passwords should be prohibited by written company policy and reinforced with each employee.  Let your employees know that they are responsible for their Till and any shortages.