Selling Items at POS
PrismCore POS
Setup
When digital content is sold or refunded at the registers, the POS system will communicate with the digital content server via WPServer on the WinPOS distributed server, Communications Admin, or PrismCore Server.
Please contact PrismCore support to add the digital content line to WPConsole.
Additionally, A/R must be enabled in PrismCore in order for information to flow properly.
Finally, port 443 must be open securely, using TCP/IP outbound, on the POS Admin.
Sale
At the register, a digital book can be sold in the same manner as any other regular item.
- Start a Sale or A/R Sale by pressing the appropriate key
- Scan the barcode on the digital provider card or type in the SKU or Digital ISBN.
- After scanning all items, press <Total>, select the tender type, and enter the tender amount to complete the transaction
It is after completing these normal steps of a sale that, if a digital book exists on the transaction, an "Authorizing Digital content" window will display on screen while WPServer communicates with the Digital content server.
If an Access Code is successfully obtained from the Digital content server, the transaction will clear from the register and the receipt will print.
Any receipt containing a digital book will include the instruction attached in the Digital content module (See Understanding the POS Receipt).
It should be noted that if the instruction entered in the Digital Content Instructions module includes a <b> tag, then the Access Code obtained from the Digital content server would replace the <b> tag, and print within the instruction on the bottom of the WinPOS receipt (See 'Understanding the WinPOS Receipt' section of this document).
Basket ID Error
If a digital book sale times out or fails to obtain a Basket ID/Access Code from the Digital content server, the transaction will still complete, and the receipt will still contain the instruction attached to the Digital Content.
However, because no Basket ID was obtained the Instruction will display "(Basket Id Error)" instead of a true Basket ID/Access Code.
On POS, a Basket ID/Access Code can be obtained for a previous Digital Content sale that timed out.
To obtain a Basket ID/Access Code at the register, enter "TI" (Transaction Inquiry) at the "Enter Transaction" prompt and then enter the digital book sales receipt number at the "Enter Receipt" prompt.
Once the transaction is displayed on screen, enter "DT" (digital textbook) in the "Enter Transaction" prompt. The standard "Authorizing Digital content" box will display as WPServer communicates with the Digital content server.
Once a new Basket ID/Access Code is obtained, a new copy of the digital book sales receipt will print.
Refunds
To return digital book refunds, there are steps that need to take place that differ from regular refunds.
The short URL being used in place of Basket Id contains an invalid character ( and cannot be manually keyed in at the "Enter Basket Id for Item #######" POS prompt.
To pull up the transaction, enter the "TI" transaction command.
Enter the receipt number from the printed receipt. If the receipt has been lost, the original receipt number may be found in PrismWeb Manager, under Digital Content > Basket Search.
Choose which items to include in the refund.
This should populate the refund transaction with the items needing to be refunded.
Lastly, complete the refund transaction as normal.
After totaling the refund, WPServer will communicate with the Digital content server to verify that the digital book is available to be returned and the standard "Authorizing Digital content" box will display on screen.
The refund must then be tendered and completed. Once completed, the "Authorizing Digital content" box will again display as the final refund details are communicated to the Digital content server.
Once a digital book is refunded, it is no longer available on the Digital content website for download.
Invalid Returns
If a digital book has been downloaded by the customer, it will NOT be eligible for return and the prompt, "You are attempting to return (Qty1) Digital Content(s). There are no digital books available to return".
Exchange
Digital content can be exchanged for other items and other items can be exchanged for Digital content.
When exchanging one digital book for another digital book, the Basket ID received with the original sale of the first digital book will be nullified.
A new Basket ID will be given for the new digital book that was sold on the exchange transaction. It is this new Basket ID and the exchange receipt number that should be used by the consumer when accessing the Digital content website.
When exchanging a digital book for a regular item, the Basket ID received with the original sale of the digital book will be nullified. Because the new item being sold is NOT a Digital Content, a new Basket ID will NOT be generated.
When exchanging a regular item for a digital book, a Basket ID will be generated as the exchange transaction is completed. It is this Basket ID and the exchange receipt number that should be used by the consumer when accessing the Digital content website.
Post Void
To ensure that digital items are returned correctly, post voids should not be done on transactions that contain digital items. A refund transaction is the best way to make sure the customer access is removed and the book is removed from your list of titles sold.
PrismPOS
Selling Digital Content with PrismPOS is not all that different from WinPOS here are the basic steps:
- Scan digital provider barcode
- Total and tender as normal
- "Authorizing Digital Content" dialog displays
- Transaction completes
- Digital Contents Instruction prints on receipt
If you encounter a basket error such as, 'Authorizing times out or fails', contact Support for further steps.
Refunding Digital Content in PRISM360 POS
- Scan the Receipt or otherwise retrieve the transaction
- Select item(s) to refund
- Complete the refund as normal
- Authorizing Digital Content will display
- Digital Book will no longer available for download
- Downloaded books not eligible for refund
- "You are attempting to return (Qty1) Digital Contents(s). There are no digital books available to return" displays