Frequently Asked Questions
Below are some of the frequently asked questions, however, if you have a questions of your own, please fill out the form below or give us a call directly:
Q. How do you purchase Fireside Retail?
You may purchase the software or hardware to be hosted from your store location or central headquarters, or you can purchase the software as a service where we handle all support and maintenance.
Q. Do I need to purchase any servers for my store location?
No, if you choose to use Fireside Retail as a service, you only need a computer, receipt printer, cash drawer, barcode scanner and magnetic card swipe reader for a POS register. For using the Fireside Retail Backoffice, any standard computer would work fine. If you decide to purchase and manage the software yourself, then there is hardware needed and we will help make sure you get the proper equipment.
Q. Is an Internet connection required or can I just use a phone connection?
Yes, because the phone lines do not provide the necessary speed, you will need to have an Internet connection at each store location.
Q. Do I need my credit card processing machines that I have today?
No, since credit card processing is integrated into the system, these are no longer needed and will be replaced with a simple magnetic card swipe reader. However, we do recommend that you keep them handy as a backup.
Q. What about merchant accounts?
We offer competitively priced merchant account services that has been already approved. However, if you wish to stay with your current provider, we would need to make sure they are on the approved list since it is necessary for our integration.
Q. What about security?
Fireside Retail network is designed to be ultra-secure and takes extreme measures to protect your data and your customer’s information with the latest in firewall and encryption technology.
Q. What about training?
We provide initial on-site training with the option of additional training as needed. In addition, the system has a built-in training mode and we have the ability to provide remote support and training as well.
Q. How do gift cards work?
Gift cards are PVC cards similar to credit cards except the balance and the authorization are managed within the Fireside Retail system. This means there are no credit company authorization fees associated with their use. This saves you money.
Q. Do you support UPC or SKU’s?
Our system prefers automatically generated SKU’s which allow each retailer to tailor their inventory tracking according to their needs. If you prefer UPC, the software can be adjusted to accommodate.
Q. Can I see inventory in my other stores?
Absolutely, you have the ability from the POS Registers or Backoffice to view inventory including quantity of any item in any of your stores. In addition you have the ability to have those items transferred between stores and reserved for a customer or sent directly to a customer.
Q. How often are updates released?
A. Major updates are available in official releases, which occur at least 2 times a year, but minor enhancements can occur as often as monthly. The updates are seamless and in most all cases do not require any involvement from your staff.
Q. How is my store linked with my e-commerce store?
A. The e-commerce and retail stores share the same database. Therefore, any change applied in the Backoffice or retail store is immediately reflected online without having to manually make changes. This means you only have to manage inventory in one system.
