Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)'s

Merchant Magic Point of Sale

Q.    If I already own a computer, can I just buy the software?

A.    Yes.  Given your computer fits the recommended specifications for running the software, there is no problem with only buying the software and loading it yourself.  As a matter of fact, you can buy all of the pieces a la carte, through Cervelle Software.  Cervelle is your one-stop shop for Point of Sale systems.

Q.     Will Merchant Magic™ run on an Apple computer?

A.     No, the system was not designed to run on an Apple computer.

Q.     If I need a custom feature, can you program it just for me?  How much will it cost?

A.    We welcome suggestions and feedback from our customers.  Many of these are included in the product, and become available to you in future upgrades.  If you have a very unique request, and need it immediately, then you can discuss this with Cervelle.  We can include the functionality into the system for an additional charge.  This functionality will most likely be made available to everyone at the next release.  The advantage to you is that the feature becomes available to you at the agreed-upon delivery date.  There are some features that work independently of Merchant Magic and that will not be included in the standard feature list of Merchant Magic.  These features will always be available at an additional cost.  An example of this feature is the wireless inventory reconciliation module that lets you take inventory with a hand-held device and once it is plugged into the computer, it reconciles with the Merchant Magic™ inventory

Q.     Do you offer on-site training?

A.     We can send a Cervelle representative to your site for on-site training. However, we suggest you try the online tutorials and built-in Help prior to resorting to this method. The system was designed to be easy to learn and use so you may want to use it for a month or so and see if you really need training.  On-site training is the most costly alternative.  However, it is a superior and effective training method which is cost-effective for large groups of employees. 

 Q.     Is the product constantly being upgraded and enhanced with new features?

A.     Yes!  Even though Merchant Magic™ POS and Serial Tracker  are jam-packed with a long list of features, these products continue to evolve to accommodate the evolving needs of today’s retailers. 

 Q.     Can you briefly explain how the sales, refunds, trades, consignments, etc work together?

A.    The system allows you to transact normal sales, refunds, trades, direct buys, layaways, special orders and consignments.  The power of the system is apparent when you find that you can combine sales, refunds, trades and layaways all on the same ticket! 

 Q.     Does this system support serialized tracking of inventory?

A.     The system has an integrated serialized tracker that not only shows you the acquisition and disposition record of a single firearm; it lists the complete tracking history.  When you look up a firearm by serial number, you can see, for example, that it was received from Vendor A on March 30, sold to Customer B on April 5, traded back in by customer B on May 5, sold to Customer C on May 28 and left on consignment by Customer C on June 1st.  This information can be printed in many different formats, depending upon the nature of the inquiry.  The full history can be printed, the last transaction, all serialized items belonging to a certain customer…. These are just some of the ways to obtain the serialized information.

This is COMPLETE serialized tracking… the ability to instantaneously retrieve ALL activity associated with a serialized product, not just an acquisition/disposition pair.

 Q.     What about ATF Compliance?

A.    The ATF requires that each retailer that deals in firearms sales submit samples of reports generated by the software product they have purchased.  Serialization reports were submitted to the ATF on behalf of a gun shop and the ATF was astonished at how complete, thorough and organized the submission was.  Cervelle will provide you with all of the information and letters necessary for the submission process.   

Q.     What specific features do your customers rave the most about?

A.    There are many features that they rave about but we have listed a few below.

n       The sophisticated layaway and special orders module is a big selling point.  All payments on layaways and special orders are neatly organized and accessible with a simple name and/ or phone number lookup.

n       Customer like the fact that  you can change Your Receipt Type from a Sale to a Layaway or Special Order and back again, if needed, on the fly.

n       Put one or more transactions on open (all day long) and process other customers. This is a great feature for gun ranges where customers may be shooting for hours and need to keep adding items to their receipt.

n       Add Inventory on the fly (security driven)

n       Change item price on the fly (security driven)

n       Give line item discounts and receipt discounts

n       Override security to grant temporary access to all functionality , when exceptions arise

n       Optionally put customer name on receipt or leave it blank

 Q.     What if I don’t see the feature listed?