Point-of-sale glossary

ESC/POS is the command set created by Epson that most receipt printers understand. Software that speaks ESC/POS controls printing, paper cutting and the opening of the cash drawer.

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OPOS is the Windows implementation of the UnifiedPOS standard: a driver layer that exposes a point-of-sale device to a Windows application under a logical name, always the same way.

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JavaPOS is the Java implementation of the UnifiedPOS standard. It uses the same object model as OPOS, but targets Java applications and runs on Windows as well as Linux.

JavaPOS mostly concerns resellers whose client runs cross-platform till software or a Linux station. Ask the software vendor whether it ships a JavaPOS driver for the device class you need. Without one, the unit falls back to a cruder interface, usually keyboard wedge.

UnifiedPOS is the application interface specification for point-of-sale devices, maintained by the Object Management Group (OMG). OPOS, JavaPOS and POS for .NET are its three implementations.

OPOS, JavaPOS and POS for .NET are three ports of one specification, each aimed at a platform. A device advertised as UPOS-compatible is only useful if the implementation matching your client’s platform exists. Check it with the manufacturer before you prepare the quote.

Keyboard wedge (HID) is the mode in which a reader presents itself as a keyboard: scanned characters are typed into the active field with no driver, but the application cannot tell where the input came from.

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USB-COM is a connection mode in which a USB device, through a driver, creates a virtual serial port. The application reads that port and can therefore tell a scan from a keystroke.

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An RJ11/RJ12 cash drawer is a point-of-sale drawer connected to the receipt printer through an RJ11 or RJ12 jack. It opens when the printer sends it a pulse at the software’s request.

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The driver is the software that lets a device talk to the operating system; the firmware is the software embedded in the device itself. The two are updated separately.

A fault that follows the unit from station to station comes from the firmware or the hardware; a fault that stays on one station comes from the driver or the operating system. Ask that first: it saves returning a perfectly working device.

A 1D barcode is a linear code that encodes a string of characters in vertical bars of varying width. The information sits on a single axis, which limits its capacity to a few dozen characters.

Nearly all retail labels are still linear, so an entry-level laser reader covers a lot of needs. Before you quote a laser, ask the client whether they will also need to read Data Matrix delivery slips or coupons shown on a phone.

A 2D barcode is a matrix code that encodes information on two axes, in light and dark modules. It holds far more data than a linear code, stays readable when partly damaged and requires an imager-based reader.

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A symbology is the grammar of a barcode: which characters it accepts, how they are drawn and how they are checked. A reader only decodes the symbologies enabled in its configuration.

When “some codes just won’t scan”, test the symbology first. Readers ship with only some symbologies enabled. The enabling barcodes are in the model’s manual: a few minutes are enough to fix what the client experiences as a breakdown.

Code 128 is a high-density linear symbology that encodes the 128 ASCII characters. It is the common format for internal labels, lot numbers and logistics.

A reseller working with a wholesaler, a warehouse or a workshop will see Code 128 everywhere. It is also the symbology of choice when a client prints its own internal labels: it accepts letters as well as digits, which retail codes do not.

EAN-13 (13 digits) and UPC-A (12 digits) are the symbologies used for retail product codes. UPC-A dominates in North America; a retail reader must decode both.

A reader that decodes only EAN-13 cannot read a large share of North American products; check that both symbologies are enabled before delivery. If your client sells periodicals, also check the two- and five-digit supplements, a separate option in the reader’s configuration.

The QR code is a 2D matrix symbology recognizable by its three finder squares. It reads in any orientation and serves labelling as much as displaying a link or an invoice.

At the till, a QR code is usually presented by the end customer on their phone screen: coupons, tickets, loyalty cards and invoices. A reader that cannot decode QR off a backlit display will be rejected at the counter, even if it reads paper labels flawlessly.

An imager-based reader is a reader that photographs the target and decodes both 1D and 2D codes, including on a phone screen. A laser reader sweeps a line and reads 1D codes only.

Laser suits a counter that only reads product labels. As soon as the client needs to read a phone screen, a 2D code or a damaged label, quote an imager. It is the most common trade-off in a reader quote, and the right choice avoids a hardware return.

Prefix and suffix are characters a reader adds before and after the scanned data. The terminator, usually Enter or Tab, tells the application that the scan is complete.

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Direct thermal printing is a process that darkens heat-sensitive paper through contact with a heated head. It uses no ink or ribbon, but the print fades with heat, light and solvents.

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Thermal receipt paper is sold in rolls of two main widths: 80 mm for counter and kitchen printers, and 58 mm for compact and portable models.

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The auto-cutter is the mechanism that trims the receipt at the end of printing. It is the most heavily used moving part of a receipt printer, and the first cause of jams when a foreign object gets in.

In food service, the cutter decides a printer’s useful life. Learn to open the mechanism and clear a jam without stripping the unit down: it takes a few minutes on site, whereas a return leaves the client without a printer for several days.

A kitchen printer is a unit that prints order tickets in the hot line. It is usually connected to the network and must tolerate heat, grease and continuous use.

This is the most exposed station in a restaurant install, and the one a reseller revisits most often. Choose a networked model, mount it away from heat and keep the roll easy to reach: those install-time choices set the number of calls over the following seasons.

Point of sale is the place and the equipment where the transaction is completed. POS and PDV mean the same thing; the payment terminal is a separate device supplied by the acquiring institution.

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An all-in-one terminal is a point-of-sale station that packs the computer, the touchscreen and the power supply into a single chassis. It replaces the separate box, monitor and stand, and cuts the number of cables at the counter.

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A capacitive touchscreen is a screen that senses the conductivity of a finger: it is precise and supports multi-touch, but ignores a thick glove. A resistive screen responds to pressure and works with a glove or a stylus.

Ask the client who will touch the screen, and with what. Resistive still makes sense in a kitchen where staff wear gloves, in a cold warehouse or in a workshop. At a retail counter and for fast order entry, capacitive is nicer to use and lasts longer. No setting fixes the wrong choice of technology.

The IP rating is the standardized measure of how well an enclosure is sealed. The first digit covers solids and dust, the second liquids; the higher the digit, the stricter the protection.

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A VESA mount is a mounting system that meets the VESA standard. That standard sets the hole spacing on the back of a display or terminal, so the unit fits an arm, stand or wall without a proprietary adapter.

A known VESA spacing opens up the whole market of standard arms, stands and wall plates; a proprietary mount locks the client into one accessory supplier. Check the spacing on the manufacturer’s datasheet before quoting: the mount can be priced without the unit in hand.

The customer display is the screen that faces the shopper and shows the details of the transaction as it is entered. It is either a secondary screen or a two-line panel, connected to the terminal or the printer.

Merchants often ask for one for transparency, so the shopper can see the amount being entered. Check where it connects, to the terminal or to the printer, and whether the client’s software can drive it: without that support, the display stays blank.

A rugged tablet is a tablet built for professional use. It has a reinforced chassis, withstands drops and splashes, and has battery life designed to last a full shift.

A consumer tablet rarely survives a full dining-room shift or a day in a warehouse. A rugged tablet costs more per unit, but can cost less over its life. Work out the difference with the client from the breakage rate they see today.

An MSR is a magnetic stripe reader that reads a card as it is swiped. Built into the terminal or plugged in over USB, it handles loyalty and gift cards issued by the merchant.

In pre-sales, the MSR is often mistaken for a payment terminal. Bank card payments are made on the device supplied by the acquiring institution; the reader built into the point-of-sale terminal plays no part in the card transaction. Make this clear to the client in the quote.

An ID-1 format PVC card is a card measuring 85.60 × 53.98 mm under ISO/IEC 7810, the size of a bank card. It is the standard format for loyalty and gift cards.

The format drives everything else: card holders, wallets, dispensers and card printers. Stay on ID-1 for a loyalty program: it is the format the end customer files with their other cards, and therefore the one they will actually have on them.

A magnetic stripe is divided into up to three tracks: track 1 accepts letters and digits, track 2 digits only, and track 3 is rewritable. Loyalty programs most often use track 2.

Encoding is set when the cards are ordered and cannot be corrected afterwards. Before production starts, confirm with the software vendor which track it reads and in what format the identifier must be encoded: a mistake means reprinting the whole batch.

A loyalty card is a card that identifies a customer within a merchant’s rewards program. It carries only an identifier, read by barcode or magnetic stripe, and the point balance is held in the software.

Loyalty cards sell on a recurring basis: a shop that keeps signing up customers keeps reordering cards. Before the first order, validate the whole setup with the client: how the card is read, the identifier format and compatibility with their software.

A gift card is a prepaid instrument, single-use or reloadable. Like a loyalty card it carries only an identifier: the balance is held by the point-of-sale software or the card platform.

The gift card is the easiest sale to justify to a merchant, since the merchant collects the money before delivering anything. One technical point is a blocker: the client’s software must be able to hold a balance and draw it down. Check that function before you offer the cards.

Paging is a local radio system that alerts one specific person without going through the cellular network or Wi-Fi. In food service it tells a guest their table is ready, or a server that an order is up.

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The guest coaster pager is the unit handed to a waiting customer. It vibrates, flashes or beeps when the host calls it, and returns to its charging base once the guest is seated.

The unit handed to a guest is also the one that gets lost, broken and carried out in a bag. Plan a replacement stock and say so in the quote: unit replacement is part of the running cost, just like till paper.

The staff pager is worn by an employee. It receives short messages sent from the kitchen, a call button or a console, and does away with public address calls in the dining room.

A restaurateur gets fewer trips to the kitchen and no more PA calls in the dining room. Before you quote, list the sending points with them, such as the kitchen, the bar and the host stand: their number sets the configuration.

Line-of-sight range is the maximum distance between transmitter and receiver with nothing in between. On a real site, walls, metal, kitchens and floors cut it down: only an on-site test confirms it.

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A wholesaler is a business that buys in volume and resells mainly to other businesses. The reseller (integrator, dealer or consultant) installs the hardware at their client’s site and owns the commercial relationship.

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The wholesale price is the price granted to the reseller. The MSRP, the manufacturer’s suggested retail price, is a reference for resale and is not binding. The gap between the two is the reseller’s margin.

The MSRP published by the manufacturer helps a reseller position their offer to the client, but nothing requires them to follow it. At G4POS, wholesale prices are reserved for reseller accounts, and terms are discussed when the account is opened.

An RMA is the case number issued before hardware is returned. It ties the received parcel to the open request: a return shipped without it cannot be identified on arrival.

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In Québec, an SEV is a sales recording system certified by Revenu Québec, and MEV-WEB is the service it transmits invoices to for the sectors covered. Only the software is certified; the hardware is not.

Do not improvise on this point: a client covered by mandatory billing needs software certified by Revenu Québec, whatever hardware is installed at the counter. For any question about their tax obligations, refer the client to Revenu Québec and to their software vendor.

Deal registration is the step in which a reseller declares a client or a project to its wholesaler before the sale. At G4POS, the reseller who is first to register a client or a project is protected for that client.

G4POS grants no territorial exclusivity. Registration protects the reseller client by client: G4POS does not refer a registered client to another reseller. Register the project with your account manager before you send your quote.

A manufacturer’s warranty is a commercial warranty offered by a product’s manufacturer, added to the legal warranty, that sets the terms for repair and replacement. Hardware distributed by G4POS has a one-year manufacturer’s warranty unless its product page states another term.

The legal warranties under the Civil Code of Québec apply on top of the manufacturer’s warranty. When a covered failure occurs, your G4POS account manager sends you the return authorization (RMA). State each device’s warranty term in your quote.

Online backup is an operation that copies a computer’s files to a remote site over the Internet. Online backup services usually provide automatic backup, easy access to the data and encryption.

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Antivirus software is security software that analyzes data to detect viruses, block their intrusion or remove them from an infected system.

A Windows checkout station is protected like any computer: the JG8000, the DG820 and the DG870GB are Windows compatible. G4POS sells resellers antivirus software for these stations. Check with the point-of-sale software vendor which settings it recommends.

Object storage is a storage method in which data is kept and managed as objects. “S3-compatible” means the service accepts Amazon S3 API commands, which many backup programs use.

IDrive e2, which G4POS sells to resellers, is S3-compatible object storage. It serves as the destination for backups made with software such as MSP360 or Acronis Cyber Protect Cloud. Check that your client’s backup software accepts an S3 destination before you propose it.