POS integrated with a tablet
Andy,
First of all, I just want to say how impressed with RGP and all the latest improvements I am.
Now I have a suggestion/request. There are several scenarios in which we would find it very useful to be able to use a tablet PC as a roaming credit card POS. I know they make attachments for tablets that allow you to swipe credit and debit cards. The only issue would be printing/signing the receipt. Is there any way you could integrate a touch screen e-signature into some kind of mobile POS? We, and I'm sure other gyms, would find that endlessly useful when getting birthday party payment, when trying to relieve pressure on the front desk, etc.
What are your thoughts?
Comments
It would be a COMPLETE rewrite of the application to run on an IPAD. I haven't tested RGP on a Windows tablet since they have gained zero traction in the market.
I certainly wasn't expecting any kind of compatibility with an iPad (or any other apple product, for that matter). However, is running RGP on a tablet out of the question, since you can buy them? Would adding an e-signature for receipts on tablets be overly complicated? What if it saved the image of the receipt with the printer in a batch so we could print them out from the standard registers when we got the chance?
I just ordered a windows tablet and card reader. I make no promises but I will explore the possibilities.
Presumably one could still print the receipt over a networked receipt printer until such time as an ereceipt is an option.
In my real work away from the gym, I have been using a number of Windows/Linux based tablets. I could see no reason they would not work. They have all the functionality of a PC, except they have a touch screen. The main problem with them is that Windows and Linux are not written for fat fingers. In particular, the close program at the top right is so close to the minimise controls.
However It would be really good to use these in combination with keyboard and mouse for the paperless waivers, as you could potentially use the touch screen for the signature.
We have been getting them for about $330 plus shipping direct from China. That's in Australia, and we are buying quantity. The Windows that comes on them is not legitimate, so you need to add a windows licence. Did not worry us since we are using Linux on them. Look for capacitive screen, and flash drive, they are much better.
Rgp runs find on the tablet, as expected. I can't find a usb credit card reader that doesn't have a long, annoying cord unfortunately :(. Any suggestions?
As for waiver stations, yes the tablets would work. But they offer little advantage over a $400-500 all in one touch screen computer in my opinion. If you are going to do a doodle signature, you might as well just use the Esign/typed signature option (optionally confirm identity with a drivers license and record the number if you are paranoid). This still has the advantage of not requiring signature pads.
The problem with tablets for waiver stations is that they have to be secured or they will get stolen.
Cheers
Andy
I'm glad to hear that RGP seems to run ok on tablets. The networked printer idea is great. I think that would work fine. So the only obstacle seems to be finding a decent card reader. To honest, I'd rather have a mobile POS with a cord I have to keep bundled/tucked away/etc. than not have one at all. We're entirely happy with our waiver stations. The tablet would just be for mobile transactions. Are there any other major obstacles? We could connect the tablet to one of the main POS 'registers' over the network, right? It seems as though we could connect a receipt printer to our member check-in only PC and have the receipts from the tablet transactions print there.
Thanks for checking into this so thoroughly.
Yes, the tablet would just be assigned as the same register as one of your front desk computers and you'll print to a networked printer.
I'm sure some issues will come up but give it a try.
Be sure to get a WINDOWS 7 tablet, not Windows mobile.
Awesome, thanks.
Hey Andy,
So Daniel and I discussed the tablet further and he only thinks it's worth pursuing if we can get e-signatures and email receipts to the customers. I'm inclined to agree because if you have to run back to a computer to print a receipt, the mobility of the POS is much less useful. So, we'd love to see an e-signature/emailed receipt option from RGP in the future. Thanks for all the help.
You might wait a while for that...
What about just a networked and dedicated receipt printer located in your lobby/greet area just for this purpose?
We considered that and it might work. The only concern is that the primary purpose of the mobile POS is to be able to charge birthday party parents in the party rooms upstairs instead of them coming downstairs. This makes it more convenient for them and it lessens that chance that they'll accidentally leave without paying. They almost always want a receipt and we need a signed copy so if we have to run back downstairs to grab two receipts and run back up, the increased efficiency of the tablet is reduced considerably. If we put the printer upstairs, we can't use the tablet to ease pressure on the front desk when we're busy. I can't think of a good work-around.
If you are that busy, why not have a tablet and printer upstairs and a tablet and printer downstairs? Seems like you'll find plenty of uses for both.
Rather than a full re-write, would it be possible to write a supplementary application that would basically provide limited POS capabilities?
an example of where this could come in handy, is maybe taking the tablet out when we use our portable wall at events, then when we get back, sync the data from the tablet to the RGP database.
I suppose it would still be a pretty significant endeavor, and the effort to program it might not be worth the usefulness.
related to how asteward was talking about using it, simply adding a feature to email receipts would take care of most customers' needs. An example of course being the apple store, most people don't get a paper receipt, they just get one emailed to them. should be relatively simple, doesn't help if they actually want a paper receipt, but, most probably don't care.
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