Clearing out the PLU not found Buffer on the SAM4s SPS-520RT register

This is one of the most common calls we receive. My register errors that memory is full. Unless your registers memory allocation was not set up properly this is probably not true. What is happening in most cases is you are adding UPC items using the PLU not found feature which is a great way to add them.

The error is misleading in this case. the memory that is full is the buffer holding the not found PLU's you just added. The maximum amount is 100 regardless of the amount of memory your register has on board.

Watch the video and we explain how to reset the buffer and get you back on track. Of course if you are not using the PLU not found feature to assist the programming of new items it can really indicate the memory has been filled. Even if that is the case don't panic, we can solve most of those cases too. Important thing to do in that case is nothing until you have spoken to an expert. We don't want you accidentally purging all the memory. For support for a fee call us at 800-863-2274, please don't call looking for free support as that is provided in the videos and other blog post. Support is chargeable unless you are under warranty or have a support plan. 

You can find many more self help videos and other resources for your SAM4s cash register here.

new resource for SAM4s Cash Register Manuals

If you are looking for a manual for your SAM4s cash register we have the site your need. Not only do they have manuals for many current and retired models you will also find other helpful items. This resource page also list cables guides, keyboard overlays (templates) software for some models and the software manual.

All this information is provided for free. So if you have been looking please try this site SAM4s cash register manuals and keyboard templates 

Free Cash Register Manual Downloads

For a limited time only the Cash Register Guys are providing SAM4s cash register manuals to be downloaded at no cost. If you did not know The cash register guys is the largest seller and supporter of SAM4s cash registers in the United States.

While the manual is free please don't call looking for FREE Support if you did not buy the cash register from them. They offer excellent support for a fee should you require it. To find out more about the SAM4s Cash Registers and Support 

SAM4s Programming Support Available

We can program and support all SAM4s cash registers. If you require help programming anything we can help. We do charge for support but you will save time and money talking to people that know SAM4s registers very well.

To arrange support for your register call us at 800-863-2274 and yes we do have to charge for our time.

Free Tablet POS system vs the cash register

We have now looked at a lot of tablet systems and other software based POS systems but really feel the cash register still has a great place in the small to medium mom and pop business. sure the POS system will do the job but do you need to use a hammer when a fly swatter would do the job?

Even with the so called free Tablet POS systems, do the math is anything free? A free tablet POS system locks you into a long term merchant service contract. Do you think they are really giving you the best rates? Or do you pay a monthly support fee for your FREE Tablet POS systems?

So before you sign you life away with a free POS system check out a SAM4s cash register and see if it will fit the bill.

Programming your SAM4s cash register

SAM4s makes the best cash registers on the market in the US and Canada. Not only do we sell all the models made by SAM4s we can support and program yours if you already have one. In some of the advanced models we can even email files to you to update your register. Some of the programming choices we offer are

• Programming tax on the SAM4s cash register
• Keyboard Templates for SAM4s cash registers
• Credit card interface for SAM4s registers
• menu item programming
• Add a bar code scanner

So if you want to see if we can help you program your SAM4s cash register call us at 1-800-863-2274

We offer programming for SAM4s cash registers and Sharp too

Over a week we receive numerous calls from people that have bought cash registers for a cheap price online maybe on Amazon or another online discounter. Of course we all want a great deal and value for our money but make sure you count in service or support into the equation. Like I mentioned we get calls every week from people looking for support for SAM4s Cash Registers or maybe a Sharp. They like the fact they can reach us, we answer the phone, we have an online chat support tool, and we know what we are doing. What they don't like is the fact that if you did not buy your cash register from us we have to charge for support. We do have quite a few of these calls turn into paying customers and we appreciate their business, however had they bought from us in the first place the support may have been free!

We hear from end-users that often do contact the people they bought their cash register from and they would like to help but they don't know how! Don't let this happen to you. You can still buy online for a discounted price but buy from cash register companies like us in the first place.

If it is too late and you have already bought a Sharp cash register or maybe a SAM4s model from someone that can't help you then call us. We can help you learn to use the register, program the register, take reports and more we just charge for our support. Please keep in mind that commercial grade Sharp registers and SAM4s machines are all sold by independent dealers and none of us are paid for support or service from the factory and of course can't help one another customers for free.

If you are interested in getting support for your cash register please give us a call at 1-800-863-2274 we are open Monday through Friday 8am to 5pm PST.

Please note we support commercial grade Sharp cash registers. We don't support models that begin with XE, sorry those are not commercial grade.

SAM4s cash register keyboard templates and manuals available for download

SAM4s cash registers

If you are looking for a site that offers SAM4s cash register manuals this is the site for you. These manuals will help you program sales tax rates or departments if you need to.

They also offer SAM4s cash register keyboard template as well. Everyone with a cash register should have their own template so you can edit and print your keyboards as needed.

SAM4s ER-650 cash register manual download or hard copy

SAM4s ER-650 cash register

You can now buy a download of the SAM4s ER-650 cash register manual as well as the ER-650R manual. If you don't want a download you can purchase a hard copy of the manual for  just a bit more. The Cash Register Guys will give you a download free if you purchased your register from them.

SAM4s cash register manuals

cash registers

If you have misplaced your SAM4s cash register manual there is a chance you can get a free download or buy a replacement manual. Some of the newer machine do not come with a manual but rather a CD with the manual on it. Please keep in mind that cash register dealers do not receive extra manuals, only one manual comes with a register for the end-user and the dealer does not get any spares from the manufacture. We either buy them or print them from the file ourselves.

Once you have your manual and you need help we can help you with programming and training. It is not free but it is available whether you bought the register from us or not.

Give us a call at 1-800-863-2274

Free cash register help

There is a website that offers some free support tips and many free SAM4s cash register manuals you can download. Check it out when you are looking for free cash register help. If you need support and don't want to figure it out on your own we offer support for a fee and you can call 1-800-863-2274 to check rates and availability. If you bought your register from us we will try and give you support for free (just depends what you are looking for)

SAM4s and Sharp cash register programming

The cash register guys can help with most of your programming needs for your Sharp or SAM4s cash registers. We can help you change your sales tax, receipt logo, departments and more. We can even help with more advanced functions like credit card interface using the Datacap TwinTran, kitchen printers, integrated scales and computer interface.

So yes we can do all this but please don't call and expect to have someone get on the phone with you to solve your problems at no cost. We have to charge for our services in order to have technicians on staff to do all this. If you bought your cash register here I'll always provide limited support for free and often that will take care of the issue. If you did not buy your cash register here you are still welcome to call just have your credit card ready. To arrange support call 1-800-863-2274

SAM4s cash register programming

cash registers

Here is a site that has some free programming help for SAM4s cash registers. Right now they only have a few models listed but maybe adding more later? If you need live help that is also available for a fee. We can provide help changing tax rates, logo messages, department programming and much more. To arrange a support call you can call 1-800-863-2274 just remember we do charge for support

Interface your cash register to credit card payments with Datacap products

If you are looking for a Datacap to interface credit card payments directly on your cash register this is the only site I'm aware of that is currently offering all three models of Datacap Tran products so you can use the credit card providor of your choice.

They sell all three models which consist of:

1. Datacap TwinTran
2. Datacap IPTran
3. Datacap DialTran

If you don't want to shell out the dough for your own Datacap you can always get one through Mercury Payments starting as low as $12.50 per month and they take care of it for you.  When you stop processing with them you send it back, easy as that!

All three major Cash Register makes in the country use Datacap for credit card interface. There are two Sharp cash registers that use something else, a few Casio models can also use the PAX unit but all the SAM4s that can do integrated credit card all use the Datacap products.

Connecting a credit card terminal to a cash register is not for a begginer and in almost every case you should not attempt it!

What is the IRC feature in a cash register?

Inter-register communications (IRC) in cash registers is a very important feature. What is it you might ask? We in simple terms it is a cash register network which you could compare to a computer network or LAN (local area network)

Why is this important? well if you only need one cash register it means nothing at all. If you need two or more cash registers then IRC can save you a lot of time and add features.

How does it save time to have IRC? Well first it allows you to program all of your cash registers by programming just one and downloading to the other cash registers in the network. The other benefit is reports, you can go to one register and take reports from all the registers and have them consolidated all from one cash register.

Some machines have a simple IRC and some have fully capable IRC. The differences may or may not affect your choice. The simple IRC allows programming download and IRC reporting but will not allows floating guest checks and cashiers or allow a shared device like a Datacap TwinTran or kitchen printer.

Most mid level SAM4s cash registers come standard with IRC however only the highest couple models of Sharp Cash Registers offer IRC.

Keep in mind if you have three cash registers and it takes you three hours to program one of them without IRC it will take you 9 hours total to program your cash registers as with IRC you would have been done in 3.5 hours total!

Programming Cash Registers for the New Year

So as the new year approaches plan ahead if you have to do any programming changes to your cash registers. Is your sales tax going up the first of the year? Maybe a new tax rate being applied so you will now have two rates? Does the date on your cash register roll over to the new year or do you have to program it?

The new year should not affect anything to do with cash registers interfaced with credit card or gift cards so should be good there. The new year may be bring new PCI concerns so check with your processor.

Make sure you can locate your programming manual and programming keys in case you do need to make some changes. Most cash register companies do charge a support fee when you call up to make tax programming changes or related items so don't be surprised.

Our company can support all SAM4s cash registers , all the commercial grade Sharp registers and you can call us at 1-800-863-2274 and if you bought your register from us we may be able to help you for free (for very simple quick changes sometimes) if not we will help but we do charge for support.

Programming more than one cash register

This topic comes up often whenever people are shopping for cash registers and are trying to get the cheapest one they can. OK none of us wants to spend more money than needed right? Well before doing that figure out what is needed!

Perfect example of how this affects a business happened this morning at my office. A customer had called a couple weeks a go looking for five registers. The customer was very sure of the make and model they wanted and just wanted a price. Nothing more just price, price, and price! The customer was really sure this was the best machine for them and there was not going to be an opportunity to discuss anything else.

They bought the 5 registers and took delivery of them. This week the customer called for support to get started programming the registers, no problem we do that all the time. In discussing programming and set up with the end-user I quickly determined it was going to take 3 to 4 hours to program each machine. It take a very long time to enter the names of hundreds of items, prices for hundreds of items, make the custom keyboard etc etc. That is a lot of time 3 to 4 hours times 5 registers so now looking at 15 to 20 hours of your time programming cash registers.

If the time had been taken to discuss the other options we would have steered them to a register that has an SD card port so after programming one register the data could be transferred to another register within a matter of minutes! So now it would still be 4 to 4 hours programming the first register and maybe 30 minutes each for the other 4 including taking them out of the box as you can quickly replicate them rather than re-doing all the work!

So when buying more than one register where the program will be the same make sure you buy one with and SD card port, or an IRC feature, or PC software all of these features would allow you to clone the first programmed register. Also if you decided to use a Datacap Twin Tran to accomplish credit card interface with your cash registers IRC would allow you to share one interface rather than needing one per register.

Very few Sharp cash registers come with a SD card port or PC interface. Many more SAM4s cash registers have free utility software for programming and SD card ports in almost all newer models.

So if you save $50.00 a register is it worth 20 hours of your time? I doubt it is. Consult with us before you pull the trigger on buying your cash register to make certain you are at least presented with your choices and make an informed decision. 1-800-863-2274

The SAM4s SPS-320 Cash Register now shipping

We have now installed several of each of the SAM4s SPS-300 series which consist of the following cash register models.

• SAM4s SPS-320
• SAM4s SPS-340
• SAM4s SPS-345

We have had great success with each install and they are all going very well. We will be deploying more this week and next. Pretty sure these registers are going to be a huge hit for SAM4s line up of cash registers.

SAM4s SPS-500 Series Cash Register modification

The SAM4s SPS-500 series cash register system which includes the following models

• SAM4s SPS-520F
• SAM4s SPS-520R
• SAM4s SPS-530F
• SAM4s SPS-530R

Beginning with serial number 101155XXXX, the SAM4s SPS-5X0 series is being produced
with the Model 57 cash drawer instead of the Model 56 Drawer. These Cash Registers can be easily
identified by the “Model 57” stickers on the box and the front of the drawer. The new Model 57
cash drawer provides 5-adjustable coin compartments (instead of 8-coin compartments of the
Model 56 drawer).

What's in a name SAM4s or SAMS Sharp, Sharpe or Sharper?

We hear all the names but let's sort it out!

OK the real name of those great cash registers that used to be named Samsung is SAM4s not SAMS cash registers or anything else. Their models begin with ER, SER, or SPS like the ER-650, the SER-7000 or the SPS-530

Now lets look at the Sharp models. It is just plain old Sharp not Sharpe Cash Registers or Sharper Cash Registers. Models start with XE, ER, or UP however XE is the consumer line NOT the commercial line. STAY AWAY FROM XE MODELS UNLESS YOUR STORE IS SMALL AND YOU DON"T DO MUCH VOLUME!