POS system

In a series of posts on his website, KrebsOnSecurity.com, famed cyber security professional Brian Krebs, has written about Bebe, the latest retailer to suffer from stolen credit and debit card data at the point of sale (POS). "The most common way that thieves steal this type of card data is by hacking into cash registers at retail locations and planting...

Retail breaches at the point of sale have security vendors scrambling to better understand the situation ahead of the holiday shopping season. A recent post on eWeek.com looks at one report, issued by Cyphort, which analyzes some of the main culprits of point of sale malware. As the only full-service point of sale provider — from software development to franchise...

Changing budgets and tastes, the growth of online shopping and security at the point of sale all represent challenges, and opportunities, for retailers. In the last year, mobile point of sale (mPOS) has also continued to grow and evolve. Industry researchers point to the advent of tablets and powerful apps as driving the revolution in how organizations serve their customers...

Security lapses at the retail point of sale continue to make news. The latest involves CurrentC, one of Apple's competitors in the hotly contested mobile payment space. In a business news website CNBC.com post on the recent breach, technology reporter Cadie Thompson writes that CurrentC, a mobile payment system backed by the Merchant Customer Exchange (MCX), "sent out an email...

As news about retail point of sale (POS) breaches continues unabated, information about how to better protect customers, and reputations, becomes paramount. The information technology channel observer Business Solutions Magazine (BSMinfo.com) ran a recent guest column by Andrew Bagrin, Founder and CEO, My Digital Shield is on topic in this regard, but his focus is more on the users than...

Many businesspeople today are considering frozen yogurt franchising, and it can be helpful for them to read the story of how someone else found success in that arena. Brian Trager, for example, spent 20 years as an international businessman, a producer-exporter in Costa Rica, consulting in Vietnam and working in New York City startups before getting into frozen yogurt franchising...

In one of our recent posts, "NYC To Host International Franchise Expo (IFC)," we recommended the June, 2014 event as an excellent way forward into the world of franchising.  Recently we noticed a short video, made at the IFC, in a post on Entrepreneur.com, "Would You Make A Good Franchisee?" Because franchisees are a unique breed of entrepreneur, the three-minute...

Gourmet Hamburgers Fast food burgers are, well, done. In "Americans Are Totally Over Fast Food Burgers," the title of an interesting online article on The Huffington Post, Jillian Berman writes, "Some day soon, a burger and fries will no longer be the quintessential American fast-food meal." Berman's claim is supported by a recent report from analysts at Janney Capital...

S&H Green Stamps set the foundation for the customer loyalty programs we see today. Beginning in 1896, participating retailers purchased the stamps from S&H that were then passed along to customers in accord with the dollar amounts they spent in stores. Customers then redeemed their stamps once they had accumulated enough for the item or items they wanted. Those who...

In what may be another sign of continuing growth and dynamism in the restaurant sector of the economy, Patrice & Associates Hospitality Recruiting (PAHR) has introduced a regional development franchising program. Given the strong presence Sintel Systems has in the retail, restaurant and service industries' point of sale marketplace, we share these service sector growth trends with our customers and...

Dreaming of franchising? Fantastic! You're ready for a life change and the market is heating up. But before you take the plunge, make sure your due diligence includes interviews with existing franchisees who can say, "Been There, Done That." We strongly agree with an Entrepreneur.com post we spied, "Interviewing Existing Franchisees," and subtitled "When investigating a franchise, don't forget to...

FoxBusiness.com is reporting on how, in the response to the recent high-profile hacking incidents over the past year, technology is being developed to further security for credit card purchases. Expect to see a newly established global standard for credit cards called EMV, the acronym for Europay, MasterCard and Visa. The new EMV cards harbor computer chips and work with authentication...

Franchises can fail, but how and why? And how may failure be avoided? Franchising, licensing and intellectual property lawyer Tony Wilson shares some thoughts on the subject in an online report, "Why So Many Franchises Fail," at TheGlobeandMail.com. Just as we happily share our vast point of sale experience and expertise with startup owners in order to help them make...

News has arrived of the arrest being of one of the world's most prolific traffickers in stolen financial information. The U.S. Department for Homeland Security has announced that the Secret Service has arrested Roman Valerevich Seleznev. The Russian national known as "Track2" was originally indicted in the Western District of Washington in March, 2011 for allegedly carrying out breaches of...

Forbes.com is reporting on how, in the aftermath of the recent high-profile hacking incidents over the past year, technology is being developed to further security for credit card purchases. The hacks perpetrated against the likes of giant retailers such as Michaels, Neiman Marcus and Target have opened a view into the multi-million dollar business of credit card attacks designed to...

The Franchiser/Franchisee relationship is a lot like a marriage. Do You Take This Franchiser?Before you say, "I do," you may want to hear yourself say, "Due Diligence." We spotted just that sentiment in the article titled "Franchisees: Don't Say 'I Do' to a Franchisor Unless the Chemistry is Right," posted on Entrepreneur.com. Just as we happily share our vast point...

The National Restaurant Association (NRA) has released a new version of its Restaurant TrendMapper, an online subscription service that helps interested parties keep up-to-date with the latest economic indicators and trends in the restaurant space. We spotted the news in an item titled "NRA Releases New Version of Trend Mapper," at QSRMagazine.com (QSRM). Just as we share our vast point...

Most people imagine cybercrime as involving hackers from remote locations on the other side of the globe, breaking into servers to steal information and, as such, our involvement comes when the bank places a freeze on our credit cards. "Shockingly, this is not the case," reports ITPortal.com in their post, "How to Defend Against Physical Point of Sale Attacks." In...

The appeal of franchising includes the fact that there are many, many franchising options available for consideration. That simple fact also means that the process of finding the right opportunity can be time-consuming. Fortunately, for an article titled "The Top Franchise in Every Industry," Entrepreneur.com has prepared what it refers to as its "Best of the Best list: the 97...

Evidence is mounting that, as baby boomers exit their professional careers, they're turning to franchising to achieve the level of autonomy that comes with being your own boss. We at Sintel Systems found this of particular interest, as it matches the momentum we've witnessed in mid-life career changes and older entrepreneurs entering into the franchise sector, a major area of...

Business Advice This article topic started out with the title of "Treating Your Vendors Like Your Customers." But as research went on to find what other bloggers were writing about this topic, more articles were found with the titles of "Treat Your Employees Like Your Customers" and "Treat Your Customers Like Family." These were all very valid points, something we...

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) will continue to be affected by trends, some new and some continuing, according to the experts queried by ERP observer EnterpriseAppsToday.com. "The Top 8 ERP Trends for 2014," EnterpriseAppsToday.com's recent blog post is a fascinating read on the changes, and challenges, ahead for ERP. Time to start planning — for how you'll be making resource plans...

Change in the point of sale (POS) landscape is fast-paced and fraught with the creative destruction typified by new enabling technologies and business models. Take, for example, a post we spotted at PointofSale.com, "The New POS Model: Direct to End User?" The post states that the existing model of value added resellers (VARs), that of being middlemen between point of...

So you have your business plan. You're ready to launch, as all the material you need is laid out in front of you ready for implementation. But wait, you can't launch a business with no name right? How will people know what to call you by? One can look at it this way, your business is kind of like having...

It takes a lot to shut down a frozen yogurt shop considering our self-serve frozen yogurt store in North and South Dakota are always open, but a Nor'easter massive storm has 100 million Americas contained in its area covering from all of New England to West Virginia and parts of Kentucky, Tennessee and North Carolina. Disruptions in merchant account services...

Sintel Systems is your one true stop for all POS solutions. We provide you your hardware, software, training, support, gift cards and even business tips for your market. Here at Sintel Systems we know POS, however often times business owners can overlook the importance of fully training their staff with POS before the first day of opening. "I've seen businesses...

For today's retailers, taking care of business means enterprise resource planning (ERP); efficient, tightly integrated systems, including accounting, point of sale (POS), inventory control and forecasting. "The Top Five Signs Your Business is Ready for an ERP System," a recent article on ERP provider NetSuite's website NetSuite.com, provides a quick summary of the problems and frustrations addressed by enterprise resource...

The good news is that your merchandise is flying off the shelves. The bad news is, your merchandise is flying off the shelves — thanks to shoplifting. For this blog post, we flip things around and give you the bad news first, followed by some good news about how a robust POS systems from Sintel can be your greatest ally...

Based upon "Retail IT Forecast 2014: It’s All About the Consumer," a recent article at Business Solutions' IT Channel-focused website bsminfo.com, retailers proclaiming themselves as "consumer-focused" seem ready to walk the talk. Business Solutions surveyed its over 40,000 newsletter subscribers about their 2014 technology plans over a broad variety of disciplines, including in-store hardware and software, marketing & operations and...

With many of today's style-savvy retailers demanding both lower prices and higher aesthetics in their point of sale (POS) solutions, many value added resellers (VARs) recommend an iPad, or some other mobile tablets, in this style-starved market. From our insider perspective, that approach is unsustainable, penny-wise and pound foolish. Given the strong presence Sintel Systems has in the retail restaurant...

New York - December 4, 2013 - Tutti Frutti continues it expansion across several continents with self-serve frozen yogurt point of sale (POS) provider Sintel Systems (www.FrozenYogurtPOS.com) How to order your Tutti Frutti POS system: 1. http://www.TuttiFruttiPointofSale.com/ or Call 855-POS-SALE and ask for the Tutti Frutti franchise POS package. 2. Take care of all your other opening needs. 3. Receive...

The phenomenon and randomness of the Yelp user review continues to rattle small businesses, and restaurants in particular. Restaurants account for the largest slice of the Yelp pie (with shopping a distant second and nightlife an even-more-distant third), and estimates are that more than 40% of restaurant patrons review their experiences on Yelp.  Clearly, this is a topic that needs...

As a provider of integrated merchant accounts or credit card processing services, Sintel Systems is always working to bring value to our customers. To that end, here is a summary of some recent thinking on merchant credit card fees. No Free Lunch Do you know why merchant account fees cannot be guaranteed? Or why merchant account fees seem to have...

Given the horror stories of stores nearly crushed by deal-hungry customers, small business owners may be forgiven for their wariness over the daily deal. And yet, success stories abound — so the question is: How to strike a balance and achieve a daily deal program that works for a small business and its clientele? An answer may be found in...

Call it a Tech-tonic Shift. Consumer devices are storming into organizations, causing great disruption and leaving entrepreneurs and corporate executives feeling less in control over what happens within the company's walls. It's a big challenge, but one that, if met successfully, will redefine how companies retain employees, engage consumers and make profits. As the only full-service point of sale (POS...

Louis Sullivan, the great American architect, coined his famous dictum, "Form ever follows function" — although across time, the word "ever" was dropped. Although Sullivan likely never ate frozen yogurt, the spirit of his phrase lives on in frozen yogurt entrepreneurial ingenuity. Take, for example, the recent story published on the Nation's Restaurant News (NRN) website, "Fro-Yo Chain Looks to...

Given the broad awareness of certain entrepreneurs' early success in their late teens or 20s (Gates, Jobs, Ellison, Dell, Zuckerberg, Brin and Page), expectations for entrepreneurial success would seem to skew in favor of the old saw, "Youth must be served." Lately however, that outdated adage is being tested and found wanting. In an earlier Sintel blog post we referenced...

If it ain't broke, don't fix it! The truth of this old bromide is found in modern franchising, and in particular, the retail frozen yogurt segment. "Although the popularity of the frozen yogurt franchise industry suffered a decline in the late 1990s, the category has been making a colossal comeback in the last decade, with a new generation of flavors, toppings, and...

Call it Reta(i)liation. Five9, the Cloud contact center provider, recently released an infographic on what companies can do to prevent "customer rage." We came across a blog post discussing the infographic at VentureBeat.com. Retailers may want to sit down before considering the following findings: - 85 percent of all consumers say that, if their customer service needs are not met...

As the only full-service POS provider — from software development to franchise incubator to ongoing support — part of Sintel's commitment to our customers and industry is to share information on how to achieve success. Whether you're a first-time franchise hopeful, a small business owner or an established chain, it's always smart to stay on top of information technology. In...

Too often, owners puts the focus on numbers instead of customers' needs, not realizing that if they paid attention and did everything in their power to fill those needs, the numbers would materialize. In a blog post entitled "Customer Service Plan: Superior Customer Service Requires a Strategy," Franchising.com urges owners to shift perspective, and outlines the proper steps in creating...

In an article posted on their website, "What Private Equity Loves About The Booming Frozen Yogurt Trend," CNBC.com looks into a retail industry phenomenon. Given the strong presence Sintel Systems has in the frozen yogurt segment of the restaurant POS marketplace, we share these stories with our customers and franchise hopefuls looking for key opportunities. We also happily share our...

We were intrigued by a recent blog post, "Nordstrom Finds Cash Register Skimmers," on Brian Krebs' Krebs On Security (KOS) website. The KOS blog points out that most scam artists who deploy debit and credit card skimmers target ATMs, but criminals may also use the inexpensive data storage devices, typically $30 to $40, to exploit modern-day cash registers. As the...

Stronger than ever, frozen yogurt has staged a comeback in 2013, according to "Frozen Yogurt Industry Analysis 2013 – Cost & Trends" report by franchise industry observer franchiseHELP.com. "Although the popularity of the frozen yogurt franchise industry suffered a decline in the late 1990s, the category has been making a colossal comeback in the last decade, with a new generation...