Is Zero-Cost Credit Card Processing Really Free? The growing adoption of mobile and digital payments in recent years reflects our steady migration to a cashless economy. With consumers increasingly choosing electronic and digital payment methods in stores and online, credit, debit, and prepaid card checkouts surged to $9.4 trillion in…
Benefits of a SaaS POS System for Retailers A common misconception when implementing a SaaS (software as a service) POS (point of sale) solution is that it means ditching existing current systems entirely, making it a significant undertaking. However, switching to a SaaS POS system can be as simple and…
SaaS POS vs. Traditional POS Systems for Retailers One of the most essential pieces of any retail store is the point of sale (POS) system. It’s the heart of your operation, tracking inventory to payments and practically everything in between. So when deciding what POS system to use, it’s essential…
Three Customer Marketing Tactics For Retail Stores Whether you are just opening a retail store or have been running a business for years, you know customers are what keep your doors open. It’s common for retailers to focus on earning new customers, but having a loyal customer base is crucial…
How to Boost Operations with Your Current Retail POS Technology With the challenges retailers face today, whether dealing with labor shortages and finicky customers, issues like social distancing, constant cleaning, or maintaining proper inventory fulfillment processes, achieving operational efficiency is vital to save time and focus on customer service and…
The Latest Updates to Benefit Your Retail Business From the Windows 10 Update to Android Mobile POS It’s no secret that the past year has forced many retailers to reconsider their business operations and uproot many of their traditional plans. Many of them rushed to move their stores online, create…
3 Ways Retailers Must Adapt Their eCommerce Retail Strategy Post-Pandemic The pandemic has changed how retailers operate, causing many to re-elevate their eCommerce retail strategy. But what happens to those eCommerce operations once the pandemic is finally over? According to a recent survey, 63 percent of consumers stated that they…
4 Things Retailers Need to Know About Dark Stores and Fulfillment Centers In the United States, some of the most powerful retail stores rely on a hybrid sales design pairing eCommerce with in-store shopping and fulfillment for tremendous financial success. It’s a system that corporations, like Walmart and Target, have…
4 Ways to Stand Out as a Value-Added Reseller Returning to normal after the pandemic isn’t going to be as easy as it sounds for businesses. In fact, “normal” is likely to be different than ever before. Throughout this transition, businesses such as retailers and restaurants will be seeking guidance…
3 Reasons Your Store Should Already Have a Tobacco Scan Data Incentive Program Convenience stores rely heavily on their sales of tobacco products, yet many miss out on opportunities to grow their sales and offer special discounts to customers. This can be done by integrating scan data into existing…
5 Reasons Why Power BI is the Best Option for Your Business Analytics The 2020 pandemic proved just how fast business could change and the importance of quickly and efficiently monitoring your enterprise. This is why The General Store has partnered with Microsoft to bring Power BI integration to…
The 5 Biggest Retail Trends to Watch in 2021 2020 has become one of the most influential years in history, affecting everything from our lifestyle choices to businesses of all sizes. After hurdling the challenges of this past year, retailers are asking themselves what comes next. The use of technology…
5 Reasons You Need a Retail Multi-store Management Solution Operating and managing multiple sores is complex and challenging. While the operational aspects of these businesses may not seem so different from a single store’s operations when examined individually, but when observed as a whole, their scale and variability require a…
How Online Retail Shops Benefit with eCommerce If you’re a brick-and-mortar shop owner, you have had to pivot your business several times throughout the last six months. COVID continues to affect retail, and the push toward online solutions is essential. Although COVID has made a lasting impact on traditional businesses…
Why Your Retail Location Should Offer Cash Discounting How to Determine if a Cash Discount Program Fits Your Business In a digital economy, there are many different payment method options to choose from, and customers demand a variety. As a retail business, you want to meet the demand; however, payment…
5 Top Features your Liquor Store Tech Needs for a Future-Proof Solution Technology across many retail sectors is quickly advancing, giving many retailers everything they need and more for the point of sale (POS) systems and beyond. As technology continues to advance, more and more retail operations continue to rely…
6 Pros and Cons of Cloud-Based POS Systems in Retail It’s no secret that across the retail industry your point of sale (POS) system is the workhorse of your technology solutions. Not only does it help you and your operations complete sales, it can also help you better track inventory…
Top Retail Trends to Watch in 2020 A new year is an exciting time for many organizations and 2020 is no different. However, the start of a new decade means a new era is about to begin across the retail industry. In fact, total global retail sales are projected to…
Announcing BlockChyp: The General Store’s Newest Processing Partner We are proud to announce our newest EMV payment processing integration, BlockChyp, which uses block-chain technology to safely and securely process transactions. Easy Setup, a Powerful Merchant Portal, and Lightning Fast Transaction Speeds Make BlockChyp an Easy Choice BlockChyp uses the Equinox Payment’s…
EMV Solutions: Signature Processing For over 20 years, Signature Processing has been helping General Store customers with their payment processing needs through fantastic pricing and outstanding technical support. Take a look at the video below to see this integrated payments solution in action! Again, here are some bullet points that…
TGS Tech Tip – Close-the-Store Many of you already know how to “close-the-store” each day. However, a surprising number of TGS users neglect to do it. So, here is a short YouTube video outlining the procedures for closing the store each day in the General Store. After watching the video,…
TGS Tech Tip – Open-the-Store Intended for New Users and Experienced Users Alike To properly open-the-store, first open the General Store back office. Then open the point of sale module on each register workstation. It’s that simple! Here is a short YouTube video demonstrates the correct daily opening procedures in…
The General Store v11.0 The General Store Retail Management System Version 11.0 (TGS v11.0) is now available and ready to ship. All merchants who are currently within their initial free maintenance period, or who are covered under a General Store maintenance contract are entitled to the new version. EMV and…
The General Store Now Supports Cayan We are pleased to announce availability of the General Store Cayan Genius Interface for fully integrated, EMV supported payment processing. Once again, the General Store provides you flexibility and leverage when dealing with the multitude of processing companies that knock on your door each…
Buy-Downs For Tobacco Stores Do you sell tobacco products in your store? Then you are probably familiar with a form of discounting known as buy-downs. Buy-Down Utilities in The General Store The General Store supports this type of discounting and provides two utilities for creating and monitoring manufacturers’ buy-downs. •…
Star Cloud Services Connects TGS to the Cloud Turn your current Star printer into a cloud-connected device! If you currently use Star TSP100 series printers, then Star Cloud Services, a subsidiary of Star Micronics, can easily transform shopping receipts generated by The General Store into valuable marketing messages by way…
Tech Tip: The Dreaded 161 Error Simply Apply your Actian or Pervasive License Key Your Actian/Pervasive database software was shipped with at least one license key, called the base license key. The license key sticker is typically affixed to the DVD case that your software was shipped in. You can only…
Should You Upgrade To Windows 10? Legacy hardware installed? Don’t Upgrade to Windows 10 Yet! To upgrade to Windows 10 or not to upgrade to Windows 10? That is the question. Although the General Store runs perfectly fine under the Windows 10 operating environment, if you currently have older, legacy…
The General Store OpenEdge EMV Payment Processing Interface The General Store now includes an OpenEdge EMV Payment Processing interface. Formerly known as PayPros, or PPI, OpenEdge is the technology innovation division of Global Payments, a processor providing payment processing to roughly 2 million merchants in 29 countries. OpenEdge, a preferred General Store…
Datacap NETePay and The General Store As many of you are already aware, we have selected Datacap NETePay as our “processor-agnostic” middle-ware solution for merchants wishing to process payments in The General Store via their own processor (First Data, Sterling, Elavon, EVO, etc.). Current List of EMV Certified Processors on the…
When are PCI Fees a good thing? Many of you probably frown when you see a PCI compliance fee on the monthly merchant statement you receive from your payment processing company. But these PCI fees may actually be a good thing depending on what the fee actually entails. PCI fees for…
PayPal via NFC. Presented by Mercury Payments In the coming months, PayPal is conducting a pilot regarding merchant acceptance of PayPal mobile payments via near field communication (NFC). For dealers and developers, this means select Mercury merchants will be participating in the PayPal pilot. General availability for merchants to accept…
Payment Processing – EMV and the Liability Shift In the payment card industry, and tech in general, change is constant. In the case of the current hot button, EMV, it remains to be seen whether change is good or not . But nonetheless, we are stuck with it. At the…
VeriFone Announces End Of Life for PCCharge The end of life for PCCharge is eminent. On April 6th, 2015 Verifone announced to their partners that they will halt development, sales, and support of their computer-based credit card processing solution PCCharge in stages, beginning immediately and culminating in the coming months.…
Simplified Case Management in The General Store In addition to our standard three-way case break feature, we also have a simplified case management process for those items that you order by the case, but only sell by the “each”. Learn More….. Need More Help? General Store Online Knowledgebase
Tablet Mode POS The General Store has a new tablet mode POS interface. It is perfect for any Windows PC or Windows tablet running Windows 7 Professional or higher. To learn more, take a look at the video…. See more features….
New Item Entry New item entry has been greatly enhanced in the General Store with it’s Flash Create pop-up. New Item Entry Video This quick how-to video will show you how to quickly add a new item in inventory in The General Store. Need More Help? General Store Online Knowledgebase,…
Running Classic Style POS in Fast Mode Learn how to set up, and run The General Store classic style POS module in Fast Mode. Perfect for liquor, convenience and grocery. Fast Mode Video Need More Help? General Store Online Knowledgebase, Tech Support
