First steps
While dPos is very easy for the point of sale operator to use, setting up the database does require some planning and understanding of how the system functions. This introduction is divided into four parts:
1. Setting up the database
2. Printing barcode labels
3. Operation at point of sale
4. Viewing and printing reports
We recommend that you read this introduction before trying to operate the system, and that you experiment with small amounts of data before using the system for real!
On installation dPos contains a small demonstration database with some entries in each of the four tables. These make it easier for you to practice using dPos before entering your own data.
The first time dPos is started you will see a display that invites you to enter company name and address that can be used in shortcut tags for inclusion on receipts, invoices and orders. These tags can be used to simplify the design of the receipt, invoice and order templates that we will encounter later, but you don’t have to use them. However, the receipt, invoice and order templates provided with the sample database does use these tags, so you should either enter your own information or leave the default values in place.
When you close this screen by pushing the Close button you will be taken to the Setup and Maintenance screen. This is the screen you or your system administrator will use to change the designs of receipt, invoice and order templates, to backup the database and templates, or to edit sales tax details, etc.
This screen shows the name of the database and its server (e.g. your computer’s name for a single computer installation).
You can check that your computer allows you to connect to the trial database by pushing the “Connect to database” button. If you get an error message please refer to the README file in the installation directory for instructions.
The screen also requires you to provide a word or phrase to be used for sales tax in your locality (eg. VAT, TVA, Sales tax, etc.) and requires you to provide a two-character code for this pos computer (this code is stored along with all sales allowing the unit to be identified from a receipt; if you are installing a multi-point system this code must be unique for each computer).
This screen permits the printers to be used for printing receipts, invoices and orders to be selected (by pushing one of the Select button), and layouts or receipts, invoices and order to be designed (more about that later). This screen is also the place to visit to do database backups, or to import or export the database tables, archive out-of-date data, or edit the tax codes when the sales taxes go up!
Pushing the Continue button takes you to dPos’s main login screen – which is the screen you will normally see when dPos is started.
The administrator’s login name is admin and the default password for the administrator is admin. If you wish to change the admin password, or add additional operators, you can do this by pushing the Operators button on the Setup & Maintenance screen. The Operators button is visible alongside the Continue button, but only to the admin user.
Normally the pos operator will just press the Start button and start selling. For the moment, however, we will be examining the other buttons.
If you are using touch screen obviously you just touch the buttons. If you are using a mouse or other pointing device, just click on the required button. If you wish to run the system from a keyboard only, then use the shortcut keys – identified either with a key name (eg Setup – F2) or by the underlined character in the button label (eg the label on the Items button has an underlined I, so holding down the Alt key and pressing the I key will operate the Items button). If the underlines are not showing, then pressing and releasing the Alt key will make them appear. Note that the shortcut keys are provided only for functions that would normally be carried out at a point of sale by the point of sale operator; they are not provided for every function.
More:
Setting up a database