With A "New Year Computer Checklist" Your Restaurant POS System Is In Good Health

Start out the year right for your restaurant POS system. Let’s point out some of the most common and crucial mistakes that restaurant owners make in regard to some very simple configuration aspects of the computer system. Some of these mistakes can cost restaurant owners hundreds and even thousands of dollars of wasted money and time. Worse than that… it can frustrate your customers and employees.

Whether you already have a computer system or you're going to configure a new one yourself — you better make sure that everything is done accordingly for your own sake.

Don't let me give you the wrong message. I don't always recommend configuring your own computer system! I recommend letting a 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 computer 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's your retail POS system configuration checklist for a Windows network:

1) Using a UPS
The number one cause of electronic component failure is from fluctuations in electricity (up and down). Having a proper UPS can solve this problem by regulating the power. I would recommedn getting a good UPS for your server. And it's a good idea to use them on all your workstations too.

2) Plug All Your Cables Into the UPS
Check if all cables that power your computer and network are plugged into your UPS. You also need to check if the cables that are plugged into a surge protector or UPS are carrying the right amount of power. For example, the phone line for your modem can heat up and fry your computer if it's not plugged into a surge protector. So make sure your modem line, network cables, and power cords are all plugged in properly.

3) Tightening Up Security
It is advisable that you lock your server with a hard-to-break password on all Windows accounts so that no one will be able to access it especially hackers who love to mess up servers damage your server].

4) Install Anti-virus and Anti-Spyware Software and Configure For Automatic Updates
Make sure that all your secirity tools are configured to automatically update every day, so you don't forget.

5) Limit Your Employees' 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 password protect internet access.

For a restaurant, this is very important! In order to protect secured files from the hands of the dirty minds, 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
In many situations, it's still best to configure your back up to run automatically after work hours. Don't forget you still need to remember to change your back up device (like tapes) every day.

7) The Importance of Testing Your Back Up Regularly
I have talked to a lot of people who think they have a good back up plan for restoring damaged files. But when they try to restore they find it hasn't been working for months or years. 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 restore to an alternate file location so you don't mess up your existing software.

Avoid having regrest by forgetting to do these simple checklist. It's not a waste of time and it's not just for your business, employees and customers but for your own sake as well.

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.