I believe the answer is yes for every one of our customers. When you have an issue with your POS on a busy night you need help right now and don't want a manger waisting time to ask for approval to call for help.  However, there are situations where a restaurant owner feels comfortable operating their POS system without a help desk agreement in place (good software and equipment helps too). Our support staff is here for you even if you don’t have an agreement, but here are some additional reasons why you may want to have a support agreement:

First, what is a PCI SAQ? The acronym stands for Payment Card Industry Self-Assessment Questionnaire. It is a method in which the PCI DSS (pcisecuritystandards.org) determines if a business is upholding the security standards agreed to when applying to accept credit card transactions as a form of payment. Large merchants with over 1 million card transactions per year are required to complete a Report on Compliance but smaller merchants can perform a self-assessment to attest to their compliance. 

Do you even have an effective rate? If you accept credit cards you do and you should know what it is. The effective rate is the total overall cost to your business to accept credit card payments. A lot of credit card companies try to hide this number so you won’t actually know what you are paying and they can tell you that you are getting a good deal. But you should know what it is and it's really easy to calculate. 

If you are someone who looks at POS stations you will have noticed a lot of Toast terminals at your local restaurants. Not any of the chain restaurants, but a lot of the independents. If you are a restaurant owner, that might make you ask yourself, “is Toast right for me”? 

In my day-to-day life I talk a lot about how the hospitality technology industry has changed and how our company can still effectively compete. If you own and/or operate a restaurant, I don’t need to tell you about the changes that have occurred. So how do we compete and why do restaurant owners want to work with Spark Solutions Group when they have so many other options. 

The 5 most common tactics scammers use, plus tips to spot them and ideas to help protect your business provided by Wells Fargo Bank. 

Surcharge programs labeled as cash discount programs have begun popping up. Misleading and non-compliant with card brand guidelines create confusion about the difference between surcharges and cash discounts. Unfortunately, that's also putting businesses at risk.