As power blackouts spread across Northern California, SpeedLine would like to let customers know the best way to shut down their point of sale system equipment safely.
If you have notice of an intentional power outage, follow the steps below to shut down your SpeedLine stations and prevent data loss or hardware damage:
- If your store will close for the remainder of the day, and you have enough time, run a day end in Terminal (or prepare to run day end if you use automatic day end), otherwise, complete any transactions, or cancel them.
- Exit Terminal on all stations.
- Using the Windows start menu, shut down the Primary server (usually Station1). Avoid turning off computers using the power switch, Windows Task Manager, or by unplugging.
- Shut down the Secondary server (usually Station2).
- Shut down the remaining stations.
- If your computers and other electronic equipment is plugged into a UPS battery backup with surge protection, it can remain plugged in, otherwise unplug it.
If you don't have advance notice of an outage, the UPS battery backups recommended by SpeedLine should give you enough time to properly shut down your stations before they lose power. Once the UPS unit starts beeping, it is using its limited battery power, so do not delay shutdown.
If your system loses power before you can prepare, unplug the computers and other electronics to prevent damage from a power surge when power is restored.
After the power is restored, log into Terminal and run day end if you did not do so before the outage (automatic day end will launch automatically). If the power has been off for more than a week, contact your processor to settle the batch and add tips before transactions expire; if you process credit cards via Monetra, also contact SpeedLine Support to run an offline batch settlement and prevent double charges.
Get more information: read the Store Disaster Preparedness Checklist Knowledge Base article.
