Configuration of RMS

That is certainly a large sum of money. However consider the value over time. If they install your system they "own" the support, meaning, anything that does not work correctly after the install is "their" problem. Everything depends on the complexity of your store (with 3 registers I would think you have a good size store with over 10000 PLU's). Setting up RMS is no easy task by any means (especially if you are trying to configure the OPOS drivers) and I would gladly pay that kind of money provided that the consultant guarantees the work and provides free support for at least six months after the install. A basic installation of RMS is really simple, the complications arise when you add peripherals like scanner/scales and use Random Weight EAN codes, like in the meat dept. If these guys are just going to setup the network and configure the registers and setup the database, 20 hours sound like a lot of time. However if they don't have a problem coming back several times and ensureing their work after the install, then is money well spent.

Mary- you can set this up yourself - especially with 2.0. Do you have any data you need to import?

If so you may need to use an import utility like qs import.

I agree that there is a lot you can do yourself. However, if you need to do data import and don't know what you are doing I would recommend having someone experienced do it for you. An experienced RMS tech will be able to do data import for you over the phone in as little as a couple of hours depending on connection speed. Having said that, most of the configuration you can do yourself. Setting up OPOS drivers will be the hardest part and if you need help with that there are many experienced users here ready to help. If you are starting from scratch it is a daunting task but I still would not have someone do the whole setup. Maybe have someone spend a couple of hours with you going over setting things up correctly, but there will be many hours of typing descriptions and setting up departments, etc. and most of that you can do yourself. As a matter of fact you will need to be right there anyway because only you will know what departments and categories items will go into. Craig

Hi Mary

I would simply say get the solution centre to do it for you, they will give you advice on setting up product codes i.e. making them meaningful etc. Your business is based around procedures, so they should look at these and show the best way to do this around the system. You do what you do best - running your business and let them work with you to set the system up correctly.

Best wishes

Hi Mary - you need to understand what they mean by "configure"; if it means that they will sit down with you and 1) do an exhaustive consultation of your business and processes, then, 2) review and apply settings to the overall behavior in the system (ie the file - configuration settings in store ops manager), and finally 3) system training covering manager and POS scenarios (customers, exchanges, returns, etc.) then the money is worth it - obviously check the company references and how long they've been in business working with RETAILERS (if they have 20 years experience installing computers that's not necessarily a plus)

Now, if by "configuration" they mean plug everything, set basic settings, print test pages, and test the scanner, and there is no training or followup support then it will not be money worth spent. A rotten implementation of the best software will be a failure, whereas a good implementation of a so-so software can be a success.

H> Hi everyone,

$100 an hour is about standard, my partner charges $120 an hour. If that's all they are doing for you though don't let them work for 14 hours. That's just way too much. Once they show you a couple of times how to setup items you should be able to take it from there. That's just my opinion though. If you aren't comfortable doing it yourself let them do it. Like I said in my other post, for items you will have to be right there with them telling them what departments and categories they fit into anyway. So why not save yourself some money and do everything you can by yourself. Craig

Craig's right about $100 per hour being about right (standard rates) - 8 hours to install and test two full-blown POS stations and one backoffice station with say a report printer, barcode printer sounds reasonable (one full day of setup) if its just one person (if they send two people to do this then its too much)

Two hours for "administrator" is not right; the only settings you need in administrator are entering the register number, changing default paths if applicable, and entering EDC info if you're going to use integrated credit/debit processing; if they have all the info beforehand this can be done in a few minutes, max 15-20 min for all thre registers

If this is your first POS system the consultant should spend about an hour reviewing and defining security (setting up cashiers and security levels access and restrictions); around 30 minutes to an hour (depending on the size of your store and depth/width of your inventory) defining and entering your departments and categories; then enter ingyour suppliers, inventory, purchase orders, receiving, tagging and maybe transfers; POS training is a couple hours, but it may be more if you have many questions or many people that need to be trained.

I would budget for 8 hours setup and testing and 12 hours of configuration and training (a day and a half) - that is, if they know what they're doing and have extensive experience installing and training on POS systems (esp RMS) - if they're going to be reading the manual at your store and billing you for this time you shouldn't pay for that. 20 hrs sounds reasonable, but again, the 20 hrs. must be productive hrs. for you and your staff.

H> $100 an hour is about standard, my partner charges $120 an hour. If that's