FAQ's

If you have any questions regarding the use of EPOS or the facilities provided by our systems then you should find the answers to your enquiries here.

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General Questions	Clothing & Apparel Questions	News Questions	Charity Shops Questions

General Questions ...

q		Is it easy to book in stock?
a		Very easy - the system will produce an order for you automatically from the stock available and re-order level. Use this as your 'Buying List' and then when the goods are Delivered or Collected, merely confirm the quantities and prices - the system will automatically book them into stock for you. (You can also print bar-code and shelf-edge labels at the same time if required).

q		What do I do about V.A.T.?
a		Nothing. The V.A.T. content is automatically extracted from all sales and receipts at the appropriate rate. A detailed report is available at any time showing current liability, which the system automatically calculates for all rates for each quarter. The system is fully approved by HM Customs and Excise.

q		What do I do about the Business Sales where I give a discount?
a		Merlin^® allows you to set up to five levels of discount for all products. Give the customer a Discount Level from 1 to 5 and the system will automatically calculate the correct price for them. You can also add additional discounts at the point of sale if required.

q		What about Staff Sales?
a		Merlin^® keeps details of all Staff Sales and by using the appropriate Discount Level, ensures you do not give discount on items where the margins are too small.

q		What about those busy periods when I just don't have time to scan all the items?
a		Merlin^® allows you to set up a maximum of 70 'Hot Keys' for those commonly sold items. Just press the appropriate key and the system automatically sells the correct product. These 'Hot Keys' can be changed at any time to suit your own particular requirements and there is also the option to have different 'Hot Keys' on each till.

q		How do I stop everybody having access to sensitive information?
a		Merlin^® includes a very sophisticated Security System which can be set by you to suit your own particular operational requirements. This security system is unlimited in its configuration.

q		What about Special Offers?
a		Merlin^® automatically handles most types of Special Offers such as Multi-Packs, Multi-Saves, Link-Saves, Group Discounts, Dump Bin etc. You set the criteria for the offer and the products involved and the system will automatically control it for you. Offers can run for any period from one minute to infinity.

Clothing & Apparel Questions ...

q		Can a customer find an alternative colour at the point of sale?
a		No problem - there is a standard 'Stock Enquiry' facility which will show all colours available in any size.

q		What about alternative sizes in a single colour?
a		With Merlin^® it's very easy - just use the 'Stock Enquiry' key again.

q		What about re-ordering by size?
a		All you have to do is to run the Replenishment Report and Merlin® will tell you what requires ordering by size. If you wish, you can convert this directly into an order, by Supplier, and then amend quantities afterwards if required.

q		What do I have to do to bring deliveries into stock?
a		The system will book them in automatically from the Goods Received Note

q		What about bar-code labels?
a		Merlin^® can automatically print bar-code labels for all stock received if required. Additionally, manual bar-code labels can also be printed.

q		What happens if I get a whole new colour range?
a		Merlin^® will automatically allow you to 'add' any size matrix to any colour.

q		What happens about Mark Downs and other Special Offers?
a		The system can hold a variety of special promotions, controlled by product, category, date and time. You can even run 'Happy Hour' promotions if required.

q		How do I handle the savings accounts for my customers at certain times of year?
a		Merlin^® includes accounts for all customers and can be used to track all payments made, whether 'on account' or against actual sales. This information is available at the point of sale if required.

News Questions ...

q		Can a customer add groceries to their News Bill?
a		Yes - if the goods have been scanned through then the Account button can be pressed and the goods charged to the customer account instead of being a cash sale.

q		Is it easy to enter Holidays?
a		With Merlin^® it's very easy - the system allows you to Add, Amend or Cancel Holidays.

q		What do I have to do at night before I finish for the day?
a		All you have to do is cash up the tills, run off your 'Returned Publications Report', collect up the appropriate publications and enter their details into the 'Returned Publications List' for each supplier. Then simply print out the reports and tie them to the bundles, put the DVD into the DVD recorder for the back-up and that's it!

q		What do I have to do to bring my News Accounts up-to-date at the end of each week?
a		Very little - all papers and magazines are charged at the time of delivery. Any payments entered on the till can be automatically allocated to invoices in the back office either daily or weekly.

q		Can I run off a Delivery List without charging to the accounts?
a		Yes - Merlin^® allows you to select whether to Charge To Account or not.

q		What happens if a publication is due today and is on a delivery sheet but it doesn't arrive?
a		Merlin^® will deliver publications on each order except for monthlies which must be added to the delivery round prints. They will then automatically appear on the next appropriate Delivery Sheet.

q		What happens about Mark Downs and other Special Offers?
a		No problem. The system can hold a variety of special promotions, controlled by product, category, date and time. You can even run 'Happy Hour' promotions if required.

q		What happens when the price changes on a publication for a particular day?
a		The system holds Individual Prices and Costs for each day of the week. Just adjust as required. You can also set a Price Change to occur at a future date if required.

q		What happens when the price changes on a publication and I've already charged the accounts?
a		Just run 'uncharge' and then 're-charge' and everything is up to date.

q		How do I handle the accounts for my Paper Boys and Girls?
a		Merlin^® includes accounts for all Deliverers. It also includes a full Holiday Rota for Deliverers on a week by week basis so that Holidays, Time Off, etc. can be properly controlled. Additional rounds can be added for holiday/illness cover if required.

Charity Shop Questions ...

q		Is it easy to book in stock?
a		Very easy - the system will automatically produce special bar-coded labels for you to attach to your products at the time of entry. It will also produce a list of 'Goods Received' that you can match to your printed labels to avoid any errors in item identification.

q		What do I do about V.A.T.?
a		Nothing. If you have items that carry a V.A.T. element the system will automatically extract the correct amount from all sales and receipts at the appropriate rate. A detailed report is available at any time showing current liability, which the system automatically calculates for all rates for each quarter. The system is fully approved by HM Customs and Excise.

q		What do I do about Sales where I want to give a discount?
a		Merlin^® allows you to set up to five standard levels of discount for all products. You can then give individual customers or customer categories i.e. students, a Discount Level from 1 to 5 and the system will automatically calculate the correct price for them. You can also give additional discounts or make price changes at the point of sale if required.

q		What about Sales of 'purchased' items?
a		Merlin® allows you to scan these at the point of sale using the bar-code on the item

q		What about those items which don't have a bar-code?
a		No problem. Merlin^® allows you to set up to 70 'Hot Keys' for those commonly sold items. Just press the appropriate key and the system automatically sells the correct product. These 'Hot Keys' can be changed at any time to suit your own particular requirements and there is also the option to have different 'Hot Keys' on each till.

q		How do I stop everybody having access to sensitive information?
a		Merlin^® includes a very sophisticated Security System which can be set by you to suit your own particular operational requirements. This security system is unlimited in its configuration.

q		What about Special Offers?
a		Merlin^® automatically handles most types of Special Offers such as Multi-Packs, Multi-Saves, Link-Saves, Group Discounts, Dump Bin, Bargain Rail, etc. You set the criteria for the offer and the products involved and the system will automatically control it for you. Offers can run for any period.