Ensure That Your POS Hardware and Supplies Work With MicroBiz
Save yourself the time from having to research product specifications – or worse – buying hardware or supplies that are incompatible with your MicroBiz system. You can now use the ecommerce store on our website to buy hardware, peripherals and supplies that are certified to work with your MicroBiz point of sale. Plus our prices are great!
Given our OEM relationship with HP, we can offer retailers using MicroBiz software HP-branded retail hardware at prices comparable or lower than online retailers. Plus when buying from MicroBiz you get access to our support department for any compatibility issues as well as the comfort of knowing that the hardware and supplies have been tested to work with your MicroBiz system.
The new www.microbiz.com website has a fully functioning online store selling hardware, peripherals, bundles, supplies, software licenses and keyblock replacements. So, you can continue to buy software and hardware through your MicroBiz reseller or by calling us – or you can now go to our website and buy these items directly.
Quote of the Month:
"Start with what is right rather than what is acceptable."
- Peter Drucker
POS Tip of the Month: Importing Data Into MicroBiz
Are you planning to import new products into MicroBiz and want to avoid the time and cost of manual entry? Please use the helpful tip below.
The “Import New SKU’s and “Update Existing Description & Prices” utilities can be used to import new products or update existing products in MicroBiz. You can find this utility on the Main Menu under Management – Impor/Export Data. This utility can be used to also bulk add/edit products or even import new SKU's from a 3rd party vendor. If you already have your products in an Excel format then it will only take a few easy steps to import your product information into MicroBiz.
The first step would be to create the header name above each column. This header will need to exactly match the header in the MicroBiz product database file. These header names can be found by typing “=ZB(“product”)” at the MicroBiz work screen. The second step is to save the Excel sheet as a CSV file. The final step is to import it into MicroBiz. If you are editing items already in your system, please make sure that the SKU in your Excel sheet matches what you have in MicroBiz.
CSV stands for Comma Separated Values, sometimes also called Comma Delimited. A CSV file is a specially formatted plain text file which stores information in a very simple format, with one record on each line, and each field within that record separated by a comma. The first line must contain the fields and the corresponding data separately on each line thereafter, also separated by a comma. A very common import into MicroBiz would be for SKU, DESCRIPTION and PRICE. A text file would need to be created as follows:
SKU, DESC, PRICE
1111, Shirt, 19.99
2222, Jacket, 34.99
Importing a file containing the data above will create two products each with their own description and price as shown. Note that the field headings must match exactly how MicroBiz has each field named in the PRODUCT.DBF file. Please call into MicroBiz Support if you need help retrieving this information.
Export Data to QuickBooks Though the GL Merge Feature
The “GL Merge” option allows you to export end-of-day data to supported accounting packages - the most notable program being QuickBooks. The GL Merge utility can be found on the MicroBiz main menu under the Tools option. Once you have the GL Merge screen active, you have a few options to select which data to export in which format.
The first option allows you to choose the type of accounting package. MicroBiz has multiple options here, but for the purposes of this tip we will show you how to setup the QuickBooks Windows Merge. You then need to choose the start and end date. If you just want to export just one day then you can leave both dates the same. The export file name will be qb.iif and the export file directory will be C:\Program Files\Quickbooks. If you need to make any edits to the accounting information then select the edit/browse accounts button. The final step is to click on the Post Closeout button to start importing the qb.iif into QuickBooks.
Reminder that Windows 7 Hardware in Only Supported by MicroBiz Version 15
Please remember that only MicroBiz for Windows version 15 is certified to work with hardware running the Microsoft Windows 7 operating system. Prior releases of MicroBiz for Windows have known compatibility issues with Windows 7. So, with version 15, you can upgrade your hardware to Windows 7 machines without worrying about MicroBiz compatibility issues. The update is available for download at www.microbiz.com or by calling support.
Retail Tip of the Month: How to Increase Your Local Search Rankings
Consumers are increasingly going online to find out where to buy products and services locally. So, if you are dependent on your local market for business, you must be very, very focused on winning online searches for local products and services – including searches using mobile browsers, location-based search engines and online maps. Below are five helpful tips to increase your chances of ranking high in local searches.
1. Incorporate Local References into Your Web Pages
There are many ways to make your website pages appear localized. Making sure that the search engines have enough content and data to tell that your business is local can be a very effective strategy to increase your search rankings.
2. Secure and Build out Your Local Search Profiles
The local search directories at Google, Yahoo and Bing want you to claim your local profile and populate it with rich and helpful information. This improves their directory products and makes it easier for people to search their directories for local businesses.
3. Allow Consumers to Rate and Review Your Store
More and more local business directories have added the ability for users to post ratings and reviews. These ratings are used by many consumers as an unbiased tool to determine who has the best products or service in their search area.
4. Make Sure Your Listings and Citations are Up to Date
Citations are mentions of your business and address that appear on other websites. These are a key component of search engine ranking algorithms because they tie your business name to its location. There are companies will make sure your business gets listed in a variety of directories across the Internet and ensure that your information is up to date.
5. Create a Blog That Appeals to a Local Audience
Consider devoting a section of your blog to local news that your audience will appreciate or feature local events and festivals. The idea is to instantly connect with local visitors and demonstrate that you are offering content with a local flair.
If you would like to read the entire article, please visit our Blog at www.microbiz.com/blog.
Wanted! Early Adopters to Help Test New Versions of MicroBiz
Interested in helping us release new versions of MicroBiz more quickly and with less bugs? If so, please volunteer to receive early versions of new releases so that we can test the software in a live environment. Please contact us at suggestions@microbiz.com.