Shift4 EFT large environment issues

Issue:

Shift4 setup in very large environments (e.g. Stadium environments) can lead to transaction settlement problems without adjusting the EFT setup.


Description:

In an environment (e.g. Stadiums) where Shift4 EFT is to be used, and each workstation is set up as a separate V8 Remote, a specific procedure has to be followed for the overall setup in order to avoid possible transaction problems. These problems can happen when the following situation occurs:

• Each Workstation is a V8 Remote,
• 1 MID is used for all workstations (Remotes),
• 2 transactions at 2 different locations at 2 different times within the same settlement period receive the same Retail Pro Reference ID (the first 3 digits in the 8-digit Reference Number on each transaction),
• The same Credit card is used for both transactions

The reason for this happening, is the fact that when each Retail Pro installation processes transactions through its own \Retail\Rpro\EFT directory, each individual Retail Pro installation uses the same method for generating the so called Shift4 Reference ID (the first 3 digits in the 8-digit Reference number on each transaction). If no adjustment to the setup is made, each Retail Pro 8 installation would generate a reference ID of '000'. Under normal circumstances, this is not an issue as each store typically uses a different shift4 MID.

NOTE: The use of POSRES is not supported in this environment.

Solution:

In order to resolve this, all Retail Pro V8 Remotes have to be forced to use a different Shift4 Reference ID (the first 3 digits in the 8-digit reference number on the transaction).

To make sure that each RetailPro 8 installation uses a different Shift4 Reference ID, all RetailPro installations must initially generate 1 transaction through a common central EFT directory.
This EFT directory can reside anywhere on the network, as long as the location is accessible by each V8 Remote install. Point each V8 Remote to the correct EFT location by adjusting the EFT path in Workstation preferences.

Follow the steps below:

1. Create a central EFT directory on a computer somewhere on the network and create a share for it. Make sure that this EFT directory is of the same Rpro version as all other installations and that it includes an entry in the ppmlic.dat file for each Workstation (Remote).
2. In this EFT directory, delete the following files (if they exist): S4WSSeqID.dat and Shift4SN.dat (and corresponding .ix and/or .dia files).
3. Adjust the EFT path for all V8 Remotes in Workstation Preferences to point to this central path.
4. Create 1 sales transaction for each V8 remote and verify that all have received a unique Reference ID (the first 3 digits in the 8-digit reference number on each transaction).

This initial setup will ensure that no 2 V8 remotes will receive the same Reference ID.

After this initial setup requirement, you have different options to proceed:

1. You can leave everything the way it is. All Remotes will keep processing through this central directory. No further changes are necessary
2. You can copy the central EFT directory back to each \retail\rpro directory and overwrite the existing EFT directory in each installation.
3. Some Business Partners/Clients prefer to use several central EFT directories so that a ?down? situation for the central ?EFT? computer does not affect transactions for ALL Remotes.
   • In the case of such a setup, use the following steps:
     
     - Copy the initial central EFT directory to multiple locations, rename and create a share for each location,
     
     - Decide which groups of remotes link to which share, and adjust the EFT path for each grouping of V8 Remotes to point to one of the specific centrally located EFT directories

All 3 setup options above have the advantage that after the initial setup, regardless of which EFT directory a V8 remote points to, it will always have the same, unique Reference ID.