DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF SECURED POINT OF SALES (POS) BILLING MANAGEMENT SYSTEM FOR BUSINESS

1.0 Introduction

1.1 Background Of Study

According to López et al (2004), one of the great recent advances in the world of information technology is the rapid development of communication which has brought world into a global village, we can send mails electronically (e-mail), search for information (WWW), buy goods online (e-commerce), withdraw transfer money (e-banking), schooling online (e-learning), this has affected the society positive to a great extent, as result computerization of sales should not be exempt application of technology in Sales has been adopted in developed countries for over two decades now, and this has been attributed to the desire of the governments of these countries to improve the efficiency of their goods and services, processes, accountability (López et al., 2004). Switching from a traditional cash register to a computerized POS system can be difficult - there are many factors to consider and some pitfalls to avoid. However the return on investment and benefits to your business can really make it worth your time and effort. In the most basic sense, a POS system is a glorified cash register. The most basic POS system consists of a computer, a cash drawer, receipt printer, a monitor, and an input device such as a keyboard or scanner. However, in addition to being more efficient than cash registers, POS systems can create detailed reports that can help you make more informed business decisions. New businesses choose to invest in a POS system before reaching those revenue levels - or before having any appreciable revenue at all. They may want a POS system simply for the reporting features, or they may see it as an investment that can boost efficiency starting on opening day. A POS system is rarely totally unnecessary - most often, the only question is how soon it can pay for itself (López et al., 2004).

POS systems saves money, provides productivity gains, and can cut down the amount of time you spend away from the primary focus of your business. This POS System Buyer's Guide will walk you through the process of evaluating multiple POS vendors and choosing the right system (Petee, 2005).­

1.2 Statement Of Problem

Over the years, manual method of generating receipt of payment. This method has its problems. It has been proven to be very ineffective and inefficient. Some of the problems are

1. Delay in daily or weekly sales record preparation,
2. Manual methods have a lot of discrepancies and raise doubts in the voucher.
3. Figures are easily manipulated and changed in the manual process which results to fraudulent act.

1.3 Aim And Objectives Of Study

The aim of this project to design and implement a secured web based Point of Sale Billing Management System for business software that will totally or partially eradicate the problems associated with existing system;

The objectives are as follows;

1. To provide full functional reports to management
2. To be able to get a fast and accurate way of auditing records
3. Control those errors made by human beings due to shortcomings.
4. And also make sure that problem in recording information is highly minimized.

1.4 Significance Of Study

Moving from a cash register machine to a computerized Sales system is very significant to the following;

1. Retail sales of business activities because the return on investment and benefits to your business in the area of stocks processing, accountability and accurate data collation for effective management of the business.
2. The study will serve as reference material for subsequent researcher in the field or related topics.

1.5 Scope Of The Study

This project covers the sales (deposits and withdrawals), stock supplier, sales records for businesses using Imo State University (IMSU) bookshop as a case study.

1.6 Limitation Of The Study

During the course of this study, many things militated against its completion, some of which are:

1. Time Constraint: The time frame given to accomplish this project was very short due to school academic calendar and it was carried out under pressure which made the researcher not to implement some necessary features.
2. Establishment Policies: Establishment policies posed a serious limitation as most staffs are not ready to release information needed for this project work. There were lots of information needed from the staffs of this institution to enhance the study which took them time to release or they did not release at all for security purposes, hence the scope was reduced.

1.7 Definition Of Terms

• Accounts receivable Amounts owed to a business (an asset), usually by customers who purchased goods or services on credit.
• Additional markdown: An increase of a previous markdown to further lower the selling price.
• Address Verification Service (AVS) A service that reduces credit card fraud by verifying the cardholder's address information when the physical card isn't available to swipe through an MSR device (e.g., as with telephone orders). AVS processing doesn't affect whether the charge is approved. Instead, AVS indicates whether or not the address provided by the customer matches the address on file with the credit card company so that the merchant can decide whether or not to process the charge.
• Adjustment An increase or decrease to the quantity indicated in the retail software package. The adjustment ensures that the records in the retail software match the actual physical quantity in inventory.
• Bar Code: information encoded into a rectangular bar shape, this information can be read by special device.
• Cash Drawer: a box attached to point of sales system that opens when directed by the software.
• Daisy Chained: used when one device is connected through another device
• Data Collection Terminal: a stationary or hand held battery powered terminal with application software use to collect and process data from bar code
• Drawer fund The amount of money left in a drawer after the drawer has been closed. The drawer fund is typically used to provide startup money (change) for the next business day.
• Drop-ship Refers to an item that will be shipped directly from your supplier to your customer.
• DUKPT (Derived Unique Key per Transaction) A method of PIN pad encryption.
• Dun A demand for payment of a bill or account.
• EBT (Electronic Benefit Transfer) An electronic system that allows recipients to receive government benefits (e.g., food stamps) by means of a debit card. Retailers can only accept EBT cards for food items that have been authorized by the USDA’s Food Stamp program
• EDC (Electronic Draft Capture) : An automatic method of authorizing, balancing, and settling credit card transactions entered in your retail software package.
• EDI (Electronic Data Interchange): Ability to electronically exchange purchasing information between your retail software and the vendor's system.
• Employee discount: A reduction in selling price on merchandise sold to an employee.
• LCD (Liquid Crystal Display): technology used for display.
• SKU (Stock Keep Unit): used in inventory control and POS where each product is assigned a number.
• VAR(Value Added Reseller): a classification of business that resells items and add some value to the sale either in training or supports
• Warranty A written guarantee of a manufacturer's or retailer's responsibility. A limited warranty provides specific conditions under which a manufacturer or retailer will repair or replace an item.
• Accounts receivable Amounts owed to a business (an asset), usually by customers who purchased goods or services on credit.
• Additional markdown: An increase of a previous markdown to further lower the selling price.
• Address Verification Service (AVS) A service that reduces credit card fraud by verifying the cardholder's address information when the physical card isn't available to swipe through an MSR device (e.g., as with telephone orders). AVS processing doesn't affect whether the charge is approved. Instead, AVS indicates whether or not the address provided by the customer matches the address on file with the credit card company so that the merchant can decide whether or not to process the charge.
• Adjustment An increase or decrease to the quantity indicated in the retail software package. The adjustment ensures that the records in the retail software match the actual physical quantity in inventory.
• B2B: Refers to selling of products or services to other businesses.
• B2C: Refers to selling of product or services to end consumers.
• Banner: An advertisement or image displayed on one or more websites to attract visitors to your site.
• Bar Code: information encoded into a rectangular bar shape, this information can be read by special device.
• Cash Drawer: a box attached to point of sales system that opens when directed by the software.
• Credit card: it is a card entitling its holder to buy goods and service from certain establishment.
• Daisy Chained: used when one device is connected through another device
• Data Collection Terminal: a stationary or hand held battery powered terminal with application software use to collect and process data from bar code
• Drawer fund The amount of money left in a drawer after the drawer has been closed. The drawer fund is typically used to provide startup money (change) for the next business day.
• Drop-ship Refers to an item that will be shipped directly from your supplier to your customer.
• DUKPT (Derived Unique Key Per Transaction) A method of PIN pad encryption.
• Dun A demand for payment of a bill or account.
• EBT (Electronic Benefit Transfer) An electronic system that allows recipients to receive government benefits (e.g., food stamps) by means of a debit card. Retailers can only accept EBT cards for food items that have been authorized by the USDA’s Food Stamp program
• E-commerce: Generally refers to exchange of goods or services over electronic system such as internet.
• EDC (Electronic Draft Capture) : An automatic method of authorizing, balancing, and settling credit card transactions entered in your retail software package.
• EDI (Electronic Data Interchange): Ability to electronically exchange purchasing information between your retail software and the vendor's system.
• Employee discount: A reduction in selling price on merchandise sold to an employee.
• LCD (Liquid Crystal Display): technology used for display.
• Merchant: Refers to as organization (such as an MIT department) accepting credit card payments for the goods or services they provides.
• Order ID: A unique identifier assigned to a customer order in clear commerce.
• Order: A record of a request for goods or services initiated by a customer.
• Shopping cart: A wheeled cart for purchase of goods in a store or supermarket.
• SKU (Stock Keep Unit): used in inventory control and POS where each product is assigned a number.
• VAR(Value Added Reseller): a classification of business that resells items and add some value to the sale either in training or supports
• Warranty A written guarantee of a manufacturer's or retailer's responsibility. A limited warranty provides specific conditions under which a manufacturer or retailer will repair or replace an item.