Getting Started with Essentials Solution - Pretraining Tasks

The Essentials Solution has a web-based back office, which gives businesses the power to run their business from anywhere by accessing up-to-the-minute data from any browser. Please check your email account for an email from support@posmail.bofamerchantservices.com with your Back Office login credentials. This email includes the Back Office site link, your username, your temporary password and PIN.

To log in to Back Office 

1. Go to Back Office site link: https://pointofsale.bofamerchantservices.com 
2. Type in your username and password, which you will find in your email.
3. When prompted to complete a two-factor authentication, enter the code sent to the cell phone number you provided on file.
4. Update your Back Office password from the temporary password assigned to your initial login. Write down the new password as you will need it for future access.

You are now logged into the Back Office. For additional login assistance, check out Back Office Login and Password Setup and Employee PIN Creation.

When logged into the Back Office you will see several tabs to navigate and explore. At the top left corner of the screen, select Settings to review and configure the settings for your business. An overview of the Settings options is provided below.

NOTE: 
The symbol * indicates a required field. All other fields are editable to the user’s preference on how they’d like to see the system reflect their business goals.

Company Information

Store Information

Taxes

Tax categories are attached to items. By default, there is a “No Tax” category set to 0%. If you will be selling taxable items, then you must create a new tax category to attach to your items. The tax percentage value can be found by consulting your local department of revenue or business accountant. Learn more about setting up tax categories for your business.

Payment Methods

You can decide which payment types are accepted at the POS. Cash and credit cards are default options and cannot be removed; however, you can choose whether to accept checks or prepaid coupons. You can also decide whether to allow the cashier to manually enter card information or whether you will accept tips on a credit card transaction or round cash payments. Learn more about setting payment method options.

POS item building can be simple or complicated dependent on the list provided to input into the system. As part of your Merchant and Activation Training, the MAT agent will assist in putting a majority of your items into the system. It is a good idea to put in a miscellaneous item to account for any irregular orders not captured during your POS item build.  

To set up a simple POS item

1. Create a category:
   1. In Back Office, select the  Inventory tab.
   2. Click Add a Category on the left side of the screen.
   3. Give the category a name, such as MISC.
   4. Save your changes.
2. Add an item to the category:
   1. From the Inventory tab, click Add Item.
   2. Give the item a name, such as "Misc Item".
   3. Price the item.  You can leave the price at $0, if desired. You can also choose to select Prompt for a Price and allow the person entering the item in the Point of Sale app to enter a price. 
   4. Set the tax category for the item. For example, choose the Sales Tax you set up when doing configuration above.
   5. Save your changes. You can now test a sale on the POS with your basic item.