Adding electronic cash drawer

[Gene]

I'm considering adding an electronic cash drawer to replace the manual one I have now. Could you clear up a couple matters?

1. Helios sells a drawer that only works in tandem with a receipt printer. Is that the only type that works with Helios? Some electronic ones are trigged by the software rather than being triggered by the receipt printer pop-up. Since I print a receipt maybe once every five months, I could care less about a receipt printer.

2. How would this work in a two computer linked system? Would the slave trigger the drawer also? Or would I have to get two whole cash drawer/receipt printer rigs?

3. In your opinion, how much more security does this set-up really offer compared to a manual push-the-button cash drawer?

Thanks for your consideration.

[Andy]

Hi Gene:

I understand from Helios that "YES" it does have to be a Cash Drawer connected to Receipt Printer connected to a (LPT1) parallel port to work with Helios. Furthermore only certain Receipt Printer pass the appropriate "ESC" code thru to the Cash Drawer that causes the Drawer to open automatically.

Helios Technical Support have adviced a number of my clients that they must have a Receipt Printer / Cash Drawer combo for each Workstation. This may be desirable in terms of balancing an individual cash drawer related to a cashier, BUT it is not technically necessary. You can connect the Receipt Printer / Cash Drawer to one workstation, share the printer and "CAPTURE" that network printer as "LPT1" on the second workstation. You would not have to capture the Receipt Printer for it to work but you do have to capture it for the Cash Drawer to work through it.

If you have a second printer ensure that it does not use LPT1 on either workstation for this to work properly - USB or LPT2 will both work fine for a Report Printer.

The additionhal security feature that you achieve within Helios is that it logs every time the Cash Drawer is opened using the F3 button - outside of the normal End Sale feature. I have assisted a number of user isolate inappropriate action by employees comparing this log with the void sales log.

Hope this helps

[Malibu_Stacey]

I have electronic drawer, it's great. You can lock the drawer so it doesn't pop open when a sale is made or you push F3...so security is tight on this.

Stacey