Liquor stores
Payment processing for liquor stores
A liquor store counter is fast, the basket is small and the card is most of the volume. What matters is that the payment device keeps up, that the close reconciles, and that somebody has actually read what the store is paying before anything changes.
Remote setup and training nationwide. Onsite service across Tampa Bay.
What should a liquor store look at in its payment processing?
Four things, in this order: what the current statement actually says, how the payment device behaves at a fast counter, whether the payment path is integrated with the POS or separate, and what happens when the connection drops. For an Infinity system, card processing runs through one of two paths, Bold or Hybrid. Which one suits a store is decided from a current statement, and BizTracker quotes no rate before somebody has read one.
Processing is the part of a POS project most often decided on a number somebody quoted over the phone. The number is the last thing worth looking at, because it is the thing that changes when the rest is understood.
- The statement firstIt is the only document that says what the store is actually paying.
- The device at the counterA slow terminal on a Friday evening costs more than a rate difference.
- Integrated or separateIt changes re-keying, reconciliation and who the store calls when something fails.
- What happens in an outageA question for the processor and the device, and usually the one nobody asks.
No rate is quoted before a statement. What a change would mean for your store is read from your own statement, and if the answer is that staying put is better, that is what we will say.
What to review
The liquor store payment setup, part by part
Each of these is a decision with its own consequences at a busy counter, and none of them is settled by a rate.
The current statement
Statement reviewRead line by line, by somebody who can explain what each line is. The BizTracker Merchant Statement Review is free and there is no obligation to switch processors.
Integrated or a separate terminal
Terminal or integrated paymentsAn integrated setup takes the amount from the sale; a separate terminal takes it from the cashier. That changes re-keying, reconciliation and the phone call when something fails.
The processing path
Merchant processingFor an Infinity system, card processing runs through one of two paths, Bold or Hybrid. Hybrid is the same commercial program BizTracker offers with LINGA restaurant systems — the same rate structure and the same merchant agreement.
The device at the counter
Hardware for InfinityWhat the cashier touches, how fast it is, and how it is mounted on a counter where the queue moves.
PCI and the chip workflow
PCI and EMVThe payment devices are set up and tested with the system; PCI validation stays between the business, its processor and its acquiring bank.
Outages
Payment outage planningWhat the payment path does when the connection drops, answered by the processor rather than assumed.
What liquor store owners bring us
-
Nobody can explain the statement
The store cannot tell a real cost from a padded one.
The statement is read line by line and explained, whether or not anything changes afterwards.
Statement review -
The card total is keyed in by hand
A mistyped total is a reconciliation problem at close and a refund the next day.
An integrated path takes the amount from the sale rather than from the cashier.
Terminal or integrated payments -
The terminal slows the counter down
On a Friday evening that is a queue, which is the one thing a liquor customer notices.
The device is chosen and mounted for the counter it is going on, and tested with the system.
Hardware for Infinity -
Two vendors, and each blames the other
A failed batch becomes a phone call nobody owns.
Where BizTracker sets up the payment path with the system, there is one place to start.
Merchant processing -
Switching was decided on a quoted rate
The rate turns out to describe one card type on one kind of transaction.
No figure is quoted before a statement, and what it shows is what gets discussed.
Why merchants switch
Liquor store payment processing questions
What will it cost me per transaction?
Nobody can answer that responsibly without your statement, and we will not try. Send one recent statement and you will get a straight answer about what you are paying now and whether a change is worth making.
Is there a charge for the review?
The BizTracker Merchant Statement Review is free and there is no obligation to switch processors. You keep the answer either way.
What are Bold and Hybrid?
They are the two processing paths for an Infinity retail system. Hybrid is the same commercial program BizTracker offers with LINGA restaurant systems — the same rate structure and the same merchant agreement. Which path suits a store is decided from a current statement.
Do I have to switch processors to use your POS?
Which processing path an Infinity system uses is settled as part of the specification, and it starts from your current statement rather than from a requirement.
Does the POS handle age verification at the same time?
Age-restricted selling is configured in the POS with prompts, permissions and manager approvals to support the store’s own procedure. It is a separate matter from the payment path, and it has its own page.
What happens to card payments if the internet drops?
That depends on the processor and the device, and it is worth asking before it happens rather than during. It is part of what a failover plan covers.
Start with one recent statement
One statement, read line by line, and a straight answer about whether a change is worth making. The BizTracker Merchant Statement Review is free and there is no obligation to switch processors.