Smart Card Update 2 – September 2015

Update on EMV Readiness (Sept. 30, 2015)

We continue to wait for the Master Card certification to complete the EMV enablement of the software and hardware. We share your frustration in that we started this project nearly two years ago but are unable to release the enhancements with the liability shift deadline upon us.

Here are a few considerations to remember as we leave September and begin October.

First, the liability shift does not affect your card acceptance capabilities. However, the liability for fraudulent cards will shift to you, the merchant. While Christian retailers are at the lower end of risk for fraud, you should be more alert to odd or unusual transactions that do not fit your normal business model. As a reminder, it is always a good practice to verify a customer’s identity (like with a Driver’s License) when accepting checks or credit cards. Keep in mind, that only EMV cards encounter the liability shift. Non-EMV cards (Mag Stripe) will continue to fall under the liability of the card issuers.

Second, most cardholder information is stolen when entire systems are breached (Target, Home Depot, etc.). Additionally, online transactions are not covered by the liability shift.

Finally, we are not alone. As of July 2015, 20% of all terminals and point of sale systems were EMV ready. Based on the current certification schedules, the industry expects only about 40% of all merchants that accept credit and debit cards to be EMV ready on October 1st. They anticipate that number to reach 47% by the end of 2015. Further, card issuers have only replaced about 60% of credit cards with EMV enabled cards. Debit cards have an even lower issue percentage.

We are also working with the front end processors (providers of authorizations), NPC, and device manufacturers to offset the EMV certification costs. Our hope is to eliminate the monthly fee that covers the initial and future certification costs.

All in all, we are on the cusp of being ready to deploy the new EMV products. If you have not already pre-ordered your device please do so by following the link below.

Click here to view your EMV readiness options and place your pre-order.

We trust that you will join us in praying that this process will be completed quickly and costs reduced to us all.

Grace and Peace,

Your BSMGR Support Team
support@bsmgr.com | (800) 997-6724 (option 2)

BSMGR on Facebook     BSMGR YouTube Channel

Smart Card Update – September 2015

Update on EMV readiness – Sept. 17, 2015

We previously notified you that we are waiting the certification process to complete for the EMV readiness of the software and hardware. At this time, certifications are complete for all card brands with the exception of MasterCard®. While we do not have a specific date for the MasterCard certification, we want to begin accepting pre-orders for the EMV-compliant equipment and software.

Click here to view your options and place your pre-order.

You may be interested in knowing the payment industry’s EMV implementation status.

As of July 2015, 29% of all credit cards issued and 10% of all debit cards issued were EMV/Smart Cards. Based on published EMV card rollout schedules released by banks, they are forecasting that 70% of credit cards and only 41% of debit cards will support EMV by the end of 2015.

Also as of July 2015, 20% of all terminals and point of sale systems were EMV ready. Based on the current certification schedules, the industry expects only about 40% of all merchants that accept credit and debit cards to be EMV ready. They anticipate that number to reach 47% by the end of 2015.

These numbers are low and reflect the industry’s struggles to make the software and hardware enhancements and get the validations and certifications completed in a timely fashion. While we have been working on this for the past several months, Bookstore Manager has fallen prey to the delays caused by the industry wide rush to validate and certify hardware and software.

As a reminder, the EMV liability shift deadline does not mean merchants will not be able to accept payments cards. No matter your status on October 1st your card acceptance capabilities will remain the same. The liability shift is simply a shift in who is responsible for fraudulent transactions. On September 30th, the card brands are the liable parties. On October 1st, that liability shifts to merchants that are not EMV-compliant for transactions using an EMV-capable card. (If a card doesn’t have an embedded “chip”, fraud liability still remains with the card brands, even after October 1st.)

The positive news for the Christian industry is that Christian retailers and churches are at the lowest end of risk to suffer a fraudulent transaction. This does not mean that you should not be vigilant for fraud, but simply that your business is least likely to suffer this type of transaction.

We again thank you for your understanding and patience in implementing this change.

Grace and Peace,

Your BSMGR Support Team
support@bsmgr.com | (800) 997-6724 (option 2)

BSMGR on Facebook     BSMGR YouTube Channel

Program Changes on September 2015 Update

RMS Version 8.00Q Program Changes on the September 2015 Update


The monthly update disc you receive from BSMGR for RMS contains a current copy of the Christian Books & More® database, new images, music samples and program changes. Remember to run IVDC after installing your update to reflect retail prices changes for your store’s inventory items. When that program completes, you can use IVL to print labels with the new prices.


As a reminder, each month’s update disc also includes a folder titled “Manual” that contains the current RMS manual. The file is in Microsoft Word format, and there is a free Word viewer program in the folder in case you don’t have a copy of Microsoft Word installed on your computer. For your convenience, the RMS program changes on this update are listed below.


BSMCRCD:
ADDED SUPPORT FOR DUPLICATE RECEIPT AND PAPER CUTTING.
EOPARS:
FIXED CUSTOMER REPORTED FE 46.
EZDATA:
FIXED ISSUE WITH THE EXCHANGE RATE FOR INTERNATIONAL PRICING.
IVO:
ADJUST FULL PO STOCK CHECK RESULT SCREEN.
IVPSCRN:
REPORT TYPE BUTTONS LINED UP EVENLY.
MLP:
ADDED OPTION FOR PRINTING JUST CUSTOMERS WITH RETURNED CHECKS.
POS:
EMAIL RECEIPT WASN’T CLOSING THE EMAIL TEXT FILE ON “PRINT AND EMAIL”.
POSSCRNS:
CHOOSING DEPT 27 ON MISC. SCREEN ACTED LIKE USER HAD PRESSED ESC KEY.
POSTHTTP:
SPED UP PROCESS USING FLUSH_ON_CLOSE.
QSCAN:
TWEAKED EXPORT FILE CREATION.
SETFONTS:
RESOLUTION “C” GRADIENT DIDN’T FILL SCREEN.
TIME:
• WHEN PRINTING A TIME REPORT, BSM NOW SHOWS THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF DAYS WORKED DURING THE PERIOD BOTH ON THE DETAIL AND THE SUMMARY REPORT.
• SPED UP THE EMPLOYEE REPORT BY SKIPPING DATES OUTSIDE THE DATE RANGE REQUESTED.


Please contact us if you experience problems installing your update.

Remember, you can view ECN notices and other emailed communications from Bookstore Manager at emails.bsmgr.com.

Your BSMGR Support Team
support@bsmgr.com | (800) 997-6724 (option 2)

BSMGR on Facebook     BSMGR YouTube Channel

CPE 2015 Murfreesboro Pre-Registration Deadline Reminder

Today is the Pre-Registation deadline for the Christian Product Expo (CPE) being held later this month (9/20 – 9/22) in Murfreesboro, TN. If you haven’t signed up yet, we encourage you to take a few minutes to do it today at www.cpeshow.com, and we look forward to seeing you at the show! (Remember, we’ll be in booth #83.)

What will I get from CPE? Experience workshops, training, author signings, devotions, peer networking, worship, fellowship, and two special movies (click the movie titles below to see the trailers). Special guests this year include All Sons & Daughters, David Ring, Brian Hardin, Hayden Shaw, Taranda Greene, Big Daddy Weave, Believe with Randy Frazee and Bart Millard of MercyMe. Check out the full schedule below.

Who should attend CPE? This show is specifically geared towards the Independent Christian Retailer.

Does BSMGR have show specials for CPE?Yes!

  • $500 off RMS Platinum
  • qScan Mobile Inventory – Sign up at the show and get a second qScan user for FREE
  • Switch to Bookstore Manager CC Processing – Get integrated software for free (Save $495)

Do I have to be a member of the Munce group to attend? No. ALL independent Christian retailers are invited and encouraged to attend.

What does it cost to attend? There is no registration fee to attend the show, and this is the only show that provides a generous reimbursement plan for your expenses.

Pre-Register by 9/3/2015, order from 30 exhibitors AND experience a product presentation from 15 others to receive:

  • All meals FREE for two people from your store.*
  • Up to 2 nights at the Embassy Suites Hotel and Convention Center.*
  • Up to $250 travel allowance (airfare or mileage).*
  • Entered into the cash prize drawings!

* See the 2015 Reimbursement Instructions form for limitations.
Did you know that on average more than half of the CPE attendees have qualified for full reimbursement?


The Pre-Registration deadline (to qualify for the cash prize drawing) is TODAY (September 3rd)!
Visit www.cpeshow.com to register now!


Sunday, September 20th
7:15am-7:00pm Registration open
9:00am-Noon Retail Refresh Boot Camp – Robbie Halstead (Kingdom Retail Solutions)
1:00pm-4:30pm Bookstore Manager Training (in Mirabella A)
1:00pm-2:00pm Blogging to Get People Into Your Store – Lori Roeleveld
2:15pm-2:45pm Leveraging Author Relationships with CAN (Chris an Authors Network)
2:45pm-3:15pm 2015 Product Trends and Beyond
3:30pm-4:30pm TBD
4:00pm-4:30pm Social Media Matters – Kirk Blank
4:30pm-5:30pm Author/Artist Personality Party – Meet & Greet & Signings
5:30pm-7:00pm Dinner – Samaritan’s Purse
7:00pm-8:00pm Night of Worship – All Sons & Daughters (Integrity Music) – David Ring (Baker Publishing Group)
8:30pm-10:00pm Movie – Risen (Different Drummer) – click to see trailer
Monday, September 21st
7:00am-6:00pm Registration Open
7:30am-8:15am Devotions/Presentation – Brian Hardin (Tyndale)
8:30am-9:45am Multi-Generational Selling – Hayden Shaw (Tyndale) – Q & A and Wrap up with Kirk Blank
10:00am-6:00pm Exhibit Hall Open
Noon-1:00pm Complimentary Buffet Lunch Served in the Exhibit Hall
6:30pm-8:30pm Banquet & Showcase – Taranda Greene (Provident) – Big Daddy Weave (Word)
8:30pm-10:00pm Movie – Woodlawn (Provident) – click to see trailer
Tuesday, September 22nd
7:15am-1:00pm Registration Open
7:30am-8:15am Devotions/Presentations – Believe with Randy Frazee (HCCP)
8:30am-Noon Exhibit Hall Open
Noon Cash Prize Drawings! – Special Guest Appearance by Bart Millard (Mercy Me)

We look forward to seeing you there!

Your BSMGR Sales Team
sales@bsmgr.com | (800) 997-6724 (option 1)

BSMGR on Facebook     BSMGR YouTube Channel

Holiday Hours for Labor Day 2015

Our office will be closed on Monday, September 7th for Labor Day.

Our weekend emergency support number will be monitored on Monday from 9am until 6pm (Central) for critical issues, such as an inability to perform sales, accept credit cards or burn discs. That number is (325) 669-2381. Leave a message and your call will be returned as soon as possible. Non-emergency calls will be returned during normal business hours on Tuesday, September 8th.

We hope you have a blessed Labor Day weekend!

Your BSMGR Support Team
support@bsmgr.com | (800) 997-6724 (option 2)
Remember you can use  SPT  at “Enter Program Name” to put your support request directly on our support docket.

BSMGR on Facebook     BSMGR YouTube Channel

CPE 2015 Murfreesboro Invitation – Workshops, Training, Devotions, Worship and Movies in TN

You are invited to join us September 20-22, 2015
at the Christian Product Expo (CPE) in Murfreesboro, TN.
We will be in Booth #83.

What will I get from CPE? Experience workshops, training, author signings, devotions, peer networking, worship, fellowship, and two special movies (click the movie titles below to see the trailers). Special guests this year include All Sons & Daughters, David Ring, Brian Hardin, Hayden Shaw, Taranda Greene, Big Daddy Weave, Believe with Randy Frazee and Bart Millard of MercyMe. Check out the full schedule below.

Who should attend CPE? This show is specifically geared towards the Independent Christian Retailer.

Does BSMGR have show specials for CPE?Yes!

  • $500 off RMS Platinum
  • qScan Mobile Inventory – Sign up at the show and get a second qScan user for FREE
  • Switch to Bookstore Manager CC Processing – Get integrated software for free (Save $495)

Do I have to be a member of the Munce group to attend? No. ALL independent Christian retailers are invited and encouraged to attend.

What does it cost to attend? There is no registration fee to attend the show, and this is the only show that provides a generous reimbursement plan for your expenses.

Pre-Register by 9/3/2015, order from 30 exhibitors AND experience a product presentation from 15 others to receive:

  • All meals FREE for two people from your store.*
  • Up to 2 nights at the Embassy Suites Hotel and Convention Center.*
  • Up to $250 travel allowance (airfare or mileage).*
  • Entered into the cash prize drawings!

* See the 2015 Reimbursement Instructions form for limitations.
Did you know that on average more than half of the CPE attendees have qualified for full reimbursement?


The Pre-Registration deadline (to qualify for the CASH PRIZE DRAWING) is September 3rd.
Visit www.cpeshow.com to register today!


Sunday, September 20th
7:15am-7:00pm Registration open
9:00am-Noon Retail Refresh Boot Camp – Robbie Halstead (Kingdom Retail Solutions)
1:00pm-4:30pm Bookstore Manager Training (in Mirabella A)
1:00pm-2:00pm Blogging to Get People Into Your Store – Lori Roeleveld
2:15pm-2:45pm Leveraging Author Relationships with CAN (Chris an Authors Network)
2:45pm-3:15pm 2015 Product Trends and Beyond
3:30pm-4:30pm TBD
4:00pm-4:30pm Social Media Matters – Kirk Blank
4:30pm-5:30pm Author/Artist Personality Party – Meet & Greet & Signings
5:30pm-7:00pm Dinner – Samaritan’s Purse
7:00pm-8:00pm Night of Worship – All Sons & Daughters (Integrity Music) – David Ring (Baker Publishing Group)
8:30pm-10:00pm Movie – Risen (Different Drummer) – click to see trailer
Monday, September 21st
7:00am-6:00pm Registration Open
7:30am-8:15am Devotions/Presentation – Brian Hardin (Tyndale)
8:30am-9:45am Multi-Generational Selling – Hayden Shaw (Tyndale) – Q & A and Wrap up with Kirk Blank
10:00am-6:00pm Exhibit Hall Open
Noon-1:00pm Complimentary Buffet Lunch Served in the Exhibit Hall
6:30pm-8:30pm Banquet & Showcase – Taranda Greene (Provident) – Big Daddy Weave (Word)
8:30pm-10:00pm Movie – Woodlawn (Provident) – click to see trailer
Tuesday, September 22nd
7:15am-1:00pm Registration Open
7:30am-8:15am Devotions/Presentations – Believe with Randy Frazee (HCCP)
8:30am-Noon Exhibit Hall Open
Noon Cash Prize Drawings! – Special Guest Appearance by Bart Millard (Mercy Me)

We look forward to seeing you there!

Your BSMGR Sales Team
sales@bsmgr.com | (800) 997-6724 (option 1)

BSMGR on Facebook     BSMGR YouTube Channel

Smart Card Update – August 2015

EMV / Smart Card Integration Update

Bookstore Manager has been working for some time to make EMV / Smart Card processing available to our users.

The final step in releasing the EMV module is the certification of the software and hardware interface with the Front End Processors (the entity that provides approvals for your transaction).

As you can imagine, we are one of many attempting to get these certifications completed in time for the October 2015 liability shift deadline. The backlog has created long waits to obtain these certifications.

While we have not been given a specific completion date, we have been assured that we will have the certification before the deadline. As soon as we receive this certification, we will be able to update your system and process the hardware order.

You may be interested to know that the electronic payment industry is struggling to implement EMV in the United States. Some major retailers are not yet able to process some types of EMV transactions while standalone terminal manufactures are attempting to resolve issues with certain types of EMV transactions (usually debit transactions).

Transactions are cancelled and the cardholder is directed to swipe the card using the old Mag Stripe. Other reports indicate that stand alone terminals are “locking up” on these types of transactions.

As we approach release of our new EMV compatible module, we are striving to provide a trouble free solution that will provide you and your customer the best possible checkout experience.

Thank you for your patience and understanding. As always, we are very grateful to join you, in a small way, in proclaiming God’s Good News to your community.

Your BSMGR Support Team
support@bsmgr.com | (800) 997-6724 (option 2)

BSMGR on Facebook     BSMGR YouTube Channel

Full PO Stock Check Anchor, Ingram, New Day and STL

Time Saver for Distributor Orders

Earlier this year, we introduced a time saving feature to IVO that allows you to do a full PO stock check with STL at the click of a button.

The August 2015 update included an exciting enhancement that expands this capability to include Anchor, Ingram and New Day.

With the push of a button, BSMGR will do a stock check for each item on the open purchase order with the four companies listed above. In our office testing, it takes about a second per item to check each item with all these distributors. So, an order with 30 products should finish in just over half a minute.

The summary results show how many items each company can fulfill along with an approximate wholesale cost. You can also click a button to see a detailed report that lists all the items on the PO with how many you ordered, how many are in stock at that warehouse, the discount, retail price and estimated wholesale cost.

The stock check results are stored locally for an hour. So, if you are interrupted while doing the full stock check, you can restart it. The process will only stock check items that don’t have a count within the past hour.

Please let us know if you have any suggestions on how to improve this great new feature!

To see a quick demonstration (length is 2:47), please click here.

Your BSMGR Support Team
support@bsmgr.com | (800) 997-6724 (option 2)

BSMGR on Facebook     BSMGR YouTube Channel

Program Changes on August 2015 Update

RMS Version 8.00P Program Changes on the August 2015 Update


The monthly update disc you receive from BSMGR for RMS contains a current copy of the Christian Books & More® database, new images, music samples and program changes. Remember to run IVDC after installing your update to reflect retail prices changes for your store’s inventory items. When that program completes, you can use IVL to print labels with the new prices.


As a reminder, each month’s update disc also includes a folder titled “Manual” that contains the current RMS manual. The file is in Microsoft Word format, and there is a free Word viewer program in the folder in case you don’t have a copy of Microsoft Word installed on your computer. For your convenience, the RMS program changes on this update are listed below.


CASHCALC:
SOME STORES REPORTED THE DEFAULT WINDOWS PRINTER WAS BEING CHANGED BY CASHCALC. ADDED CALL TO “DEFPRT” TO FORCE A RESTORATION OF THE WINDOWS DEFAULT PRINTER AFTER THE PRINTER CLOSES.
CATPAGE:
FIXED DISPLAY ISSUE WITH 7.4 SCREEN.
CKSOCK:
NEW PROGRAM FOR HANDLING ANCHOR STOCK CHECKS OUTSIDE OF BSMINET.
EOPARS:
• CUSTOMER WASN’T SEEING ACK FROM ANCHOR OR STL. ADDED DEBUG LOG FILE THAT IS ENABLED WITH ENV LINE “FTPTRAN-DEBUG Y”.
• ADDED LOOP CONTROL LOGIC – A CUSTOMER WAS GETTING “INDEX OUT OF BOUNDS” WHILE PARSING X.12 FILES. ALSO, X.12 TEMP FILES DIDN’T HAVE THE ISA HEADER INCLUDED WHICH CAUSED THE ACK/CONFIRMATION FILES TO NOT SHOW IN IVIC.
EZADMAIL:
ADDED LOGGING.
FTP:
CLEANED UP THE LOG FILE TO MAKE IT CONSISTENT WITH FTPTRAN LOGGING.
FTPTRAN:
CUSTOMER WASN’T SEEING ACK FROM ANCHOR OR STL. ADDED DEBUG LOG FILE THAT IS ENABLED WITH ENV LINE “FTPTRAN-DEBUG Y”. ALSO ADDED RETRY LOOP FOR FILE COPY THAT WAS FAILING FOR A STORE.
IMAGEBTN:
THE ACTION BUTTONS ARE NOW HIDDEN WHILE THE IMAGE IS BEING PROCESSED. ALSO, CHANGED THE PROGRESS TEXT TO INDICATE “STEPS” INSTEAD OF “BUTTON IMAGES” BEING PROCESSED.
IVDI3:
NONE OF THE GIFT PRODUCT IMAGES WERE SHOWING WHEN DOING A SEARCH IN IVDI.
IVIC:
CUSTOMER WASN’T SEEING ACK FROM ANCHOR OR STL. ADDED DEBUG LOG FILE THAT IS ENABLED WITH ENV LINE “FTPTRAN-DEBUG Y”.
IVL:
WHEN YOU TRY TO USE IVL FOR “PURCHASE ORDER NOT RECEIVED”, BSMGR SOMETIMES PULLED LABELS FOR MORE THAN ONE P.O.
IVM:
CUSTOM IMAGE MODIFICATION – SOME STORES REPORTED THAT WHEN THEY CHANGE THE CUSTOM IMAGE, IT DIDN’T REFRESH WHAT WAS SHOWN. IVM NOW GOES BACK TO TAB 1 WHEN A CUSTOM IMAGE IS CHANGED TO FORCE THE SCREEN TO REFRESH PROPERLY.
IVO:
NOW DOES A FULL PO STOCK CHECK FOR ANCHOR, INGRAM, NEW DAY AND STL.
IVPSCRN:
IN IVP, ON THE “MISC PARAMETERS” TAB, THE “GROUPING” DROP DOWN MENU STILL SHOWS “STOCK ITEM”.
IVUL:
#1 OPTIONS ENTER STOCK ITEMS – CLICKING ON “?” DIDN’T BRING UP IVI.
IVVM:
MOVED BOTTOM BUTTONS ON ONE RESOLUTION SETTING, THE BOTTOM BUTTONS WERE PARTIALLY CUT OFF.
MUNCERTN:
DUE TO CHANGES AT MUNCE, WE CHANGED THE FTP SITE FOR FILE UPLOADS.
MUMLTRTN:
DUE TO CHANGES AT MUNCE, WE CHANGED THE FTP SITE FOR FILE UPLOADS.
POS:
• DEPOSITS CAN NOW BE 1 OR -1 ONLY ON QUANTITY.
• WHEN FIXING THE F2 SUB-TOTAL ISSUE, THE CHANGE CAUSED THE COLORED BUTTON USED ON TOUCH-POS SCREEN TO SHOW ON THE NON-TOUCH SCREEN.
• FIXED “INDEX OUT OF BOUNDS” ERROR WHEN USING USB PRICE DISPLAY MONITORS AND APPLYING DISCOUNTS TO THE 7TH ITEM OF A TRANSACTION.
• VIEWING TRANSACTIONS BEFORE SLTR – POS WILL NOW WRITE THE TRANFILE (USED BY SLTR) AT THE TIME OF A SALE INSTEAD OF AFTER RUNNING SLTP. THIS BEHAVIOR CAN BE TURNED OFF BY ADDING “WRITE-TRAN-FILE N” TO ENV.
• REMOVED DEBUG LINE WHEN ADDING MODIFIER ON TOUCH POS.
POSMENU:
ALLOWABLE DEPARTMENTS ARE 1-48, 64-66 AND 69-71. WHEN YOU SAVED A BUTTON, IT WOULD ONLY ALLOW DEPARTMENTS 1-48 TO BE SAVED.
POSSCRNS:
TOUCH POS – WHEN USING THE PAGE-UP FEATURE TO CHOOSE A MISC. DEPT, DEPT 27 WAS NOT OPERATIONAL.
QBS:
NEW LOGIC TO ADD WHOLESALE CODES – UMG HAS NEW WHOLESALE CODES. QBS NOW LOOKS FOR A “SEED” FILE OF NEW CODES. IF FOUND, IT PROMPTS TO ADD THE CODES WHEN THE PROGRAM STARTS. IF “YES” IS CLICKED, THE CODES ARE ADDED/UPDATED, THEN THE SEED FILE IS DELETED. IF “NO” IS CLICKED, THE SEED FILE IS LEFT FOR NEXT TIME QBS START
QSCAN:
CATEGORY LOOK UP NOW IMPORTS THE SELECTION.
SLA:
ADDED “GROSS SALES” LINE – 5 YEAR REPORT NOW HAS A “TL SALES” AND AND A “NET SALES” LINE. ALSO, THE DISCOUNTS ARE NOW SHOWN AS A NEGATIVE AMOUNT.
SLGP:
COLUMNS 2 AND 3 WERE DUPLICATING THE USED DATES OF COLUMN 1.
SLTP:
• BSM WILL NOW LET THE USER KNOW THAT ‘SLTP’ POSTING TRANSACTIONS HAVE NOT YET POSTED FROM THE LAST TIME SLTP WAS RUN.
• ADDING “WRITE-TRAN-FILE Y” TO ENV WILL CAUSE POS TO WRITE THE TRANFILE (USED BY SLTR) AT THE TIME OF SALE INSTEAD OF WAITING FOR YOU TO RUN SLTP.
SYS:
MISC CONFIG 4073 – ON TOUCH POS, THE USER CAN CHOOSE A LARGER FONT FOR THE RECEIPT DISPLAY IN UPPER LEFT HAND CORNER. USING THE LARGER FONTS MAKE THE DISPLAY ONLY SHOW THE PAST 4 ITEMS INSTEAD OF 6 AND TRUNCATES THE TITLE A FEW CHARACTERS.
THEFLAGS:
• ANCHOR CHANGED ISP’S, WHICH CHANGED THEIR DNS CONFIGURATION. STOCK CHECKS USED TO GO TO “ANCHORDISTRIBUTORS.COM”. THEY NOW HAVE TO CONNECT DIRECTLY TO “SC.ANCHORDISTRIBUTORS.COM”. THE PROGRAM WAS UPDATED TO REFLECT THIS CHANGE.
• UPDATED TO USE NEW CKSOCK PROGRAM FOR DIRECT ANCHOR STOCK CHECKS WITHOUT REQUIRING BSMINET.


Please contact us if you experience problems installing your update.

Remember, you can view ECN notices and other emailed communications from Bookstore Manager at emails.bsmgr.com.

Your BSMGR Support Team
support@bsmgr.com | (800) 997-6724 (option 2)

BSMGR on Facebook     BSMGR YouTube Channel

FW: Should I Upgrade to Windows 10?

Microsoft’s planned roll-out of the latest version of Windows is scheduled for this week. We hope you saw our guidance/recommendation to delay installing the Windows 10 update until we have a chance to test hardware (receipt printers, price display poles, label printers, etc.) drivers.

 

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: BSMGR Support <support@bsmgr.com>
Date: Wed, Jun 10, 2015 at 8:00 AM
Subject: Should I Upgrade to Windows 10?
To: %%emailaddress%%

Bookstore Manager 

Microsoft® announced that computers, laptops and tablets with qualifying versions of Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 will be able to upgrade to Windows 10 (sometimes referred to as Windows X) at no charge starting July 29th. Starting on June 1st, many of you may have noticed a new “Get Windows 10” icon by the clock. We want to address the upgrade with you now, so you can make the best decision on when to upgrade.

First, in case you don’t want to read the entire email, our current recommendation is for you to plan on waiting until January 2016 to install the Windows 10 upgrade (assuming we send out a “green light” message between now and then). This email includes information on how to hide the free upgrade from showing on your computers so you (or your staff) don’t accidently upgrade too soon.

Now for a little history on our support for operating systems, our testing plan, details on the upgrade and how to hide the upgrade icon.

Some History on our O/S Upgrade Support:

We first began to license Bookstore Manager to other retailers in 1989. Over the years, we have run on various operating systems including 386/MultiWare, SCO XENIX, SCO UNIX, Novell, LANtastic, Windows for Workgroups for DOS, Windows 3.11, Windows 95, 98, ME, XP, Vista, 7, 8 and 8.1 as well as Windows NT 3.5, NT 4.0, Windows 2000, 2003, 2008 and 2012. One challenge we have encountered with the progression from one version of Windows to the next was a lag/delay before all the POS hardware would work properly. While Bookstore Manager Software continued to work as expected on each newly released version, we would sometimes find a commonly used receipt printer, price display unit or multi-feature (Cherry or Logitec) keyboards, Zebra label printers, PS/2 barcode scanners and various serial devices that didn’t have drivers for the new O/S.

Because of the wide range of hardware configurations that have been sold over the years that are capable of running Microsoft Windows, there have been other problems with initial releases of new versions of Windows (and sometimes with Service Packs). In addition to POS hardware driver issues, there have been network communications problems, and even one big Windows update that caused a significant number of computers to no longer boot.

Our Testing Plan for Windows 10:

We plan to download Windows 10 onto a test system in early August to begin testing. Since a support tech will be doing this while also handing normal duties (including support calls and emails), we don’t know exactly how long it will take to do our testing. We will keep a log of which hardware has been tested and will send out a list by the end of October. Since most retailers don’t want to make big changes right before going into the Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons, we anticipate many will wait until January before installing the upgrade.

When we send out our upgrade report, we will include a list of the hardware we tested with Windows 10. If you are using equipment we didn’t test, please let us know. If it is something we sold in the past, we will do our best to find that specific model so we can test it here. If we’ve never sold it, we will most likely be limited to reports on that hardware being used with Windows 10 that may be found on the Internet.

Windows 10 Upgrade Details:

Here is a summary of information from the Microsoft Windows 10 Upgrade FAQ. You can read it in its entirety by clicking here. Starting July 29, 2015, qualified Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 devices can upgrade to Windows 10 for free. You have until July 29, 2016 (one year) to take advantage of this offer. If you are still running Windows 8 on a PC, laptop or tablet today, we recommend installing Microsoft’s free upgrade to Windows 8.1 so you can take advantage of the Windows 10 upgrade offer.

Here is a quick chart to show you which version of Windows 10 you will get for free based on the operating system installed when the upgrade is downloaded and installed.

Running Now (From)New Version (To)
Windows 7 StarterWindows 10 Home
Windows 7 Home Basic
Windows 7 Home Premium
Windows 7 ProfessionalWindows 10 Pro
Windows 7 Ultimate
Windows 8.1Windows 10 Home
Windows 8.1 ProWindows 10 Pro

How to Hide or Remove the Windows 10 Upgrade Icon:

There are actually a few different approaches you can follow to hide/remove the Windows 10 upgrade icon.

⇒ First, you can change the “behavior” for the icon in the Notifications Area Icon settings. Please note that this approach has been reported as only effective until you log out or restart your computer. Once you log in again, the Windows 10 icon will again show by the clock.

  1. Click Start | Control Panel. In the Control Panel’s search box, enter Notifications Area Icons.
  2. Click on the “Remove icons from notification area (system tray) on the desktop” link.
  3. Next to the “GWX – Get Windows 10” icon, change the behavior to “Hide icon and notifications”
  4. Click the “OK” button

⇒ Second, you can show or hide the icon using the Task Scheduler.

  1. While pressing the Windows key, press the R key, then release both. This opens the Run command window. Type taskschd.msc, then click the OK button.
  2. In the left pane, click to navigate to Microsoft | Windows | Setup | gwx under the Task Scheduler Library.
  3. In the middle pane there should be two entries, named “launchtrayprocess” and “refreshgwxconfig”.
    1. To disable the Windows 10 upgrade notification, right click on each one and click “Disable”.
    2. To enable the Windows 10 upgrade notification (for later on), right click on each one and click “Enable”.
  4. Close Task Scheduler and either log off and log back in, or restart the computer to apply the change. If this is the server (especially for a multi-store setup), please make sure no one else will be impacted by a restart.

⇒ Third, you can change the Task Scheduler using a Windows registry update file available on our web site.

  1. Download the appropriate registry file.
    1. To disable the notification, click here to download the Disable “Get Windows 10” registry modification.
    2. To enable the notification (for later on), click here to download the Enable “Get Windows 10” registry modification.
  2. Save the file to your desktop, then double click the icon to merge the change into your registry. The files are plain text, so you can view what will be changed using Notepad if you so desire.
  3. If prompted, click on “Run” and answer “Yes” (UAC), Yes and OK to make the change.
  4. Once the change is made, you can delete the .reg file.
  5. Restart the computer to apply the change. If this is the server (especially for a multi-store setup), please make sure no one else will be impacted by a restart.

⇒ Finally, you can completely remove the “Get Windows 10” program from your computer by uninstalling the KB3035583 update. Please note that you must be logged in as a local Administrator to do the following.

  1. Click Start | Control Panel. In the Control Panel’s search box, enter Installed Updates
  2. Click on the “View Installed Updates” link.
  3. In the list of updates, find “Update for Microsoft Windows (KB3035583)”.
  4. Click on this update, then click the “Uninstall” button/link at the top of the window.
  5. When that finishes you can hide the update for KB3035583 so it doesn’t show as an available update to re-install.

Your BSMGR Support Team
support@bsmgr.com | (800) 997-6724 (option 2)
Remember you can use SPT to put your support request directly on our support docket.

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