Software Services
The feds limit the total that can be charged to the military and their dependents to 36% APR. For every pawner pawn shops and their employees are required to search the Defense Manpower Data Center for military status and record the search result (in Pawnbroker Pawn Shop Software).
Fingerprints can be taken either by ink pad on the pawn ticket or electronically using a finger-print scanner. This can be done easily in the program.
Searching the Ohio 'revised code' returns nothing for 'pictures' so it appears that taking images of pawns and pawners is not required. For practical purposes shops may opt to take pictures to aid in identifying pawned items and for identification of customers. Employee turnover is common in the pawn business so having pics of clients would be helpful to new employees. Images can be stored and recalled in PPSS.
Here again scanning the regs for 'finger' returns nothing so the assumption might be that fingerprints are not required. PPSS is graduated so purchasing a lesser edition with no fingerprint capability lets owners and employees become familiar with program basics while allowing the upgrade to higher editions with advanced features like finger scanning and recording.
Settings are stored in the program for values that are often repeated like location (city, state), pawn fees, loan periods, interest rates, sales tax(es), equipment settings (scanners, cash drawers, printers), grace and holding periods. etc. With the 24k edition of PPSS driver licenses can be scanned with a 2D (2-dimensional) scanner to populate the new-client screen with the information included in the 2D barcode on the back of licenses. Fake licenses of course won't scan and that provides a warning of a potential fake ID.
Multiple items can be added to the same pawn transaction and will be totaled on the form. The ticket is editable so any changes made will appear on the next printed pawn ticket.
Tickets are also available for resale (buy outright or secondhand buy and sell), cashing checks and issuing payday loans. Every ticket can be printed with legalities and shop's terms and conditions.
Optionally pawn contracts can be printed on Burrell forms. Special configuration is usually necessary.
Reports can be printed and delivered to police or they can be sent electronically. Today many police departments are using LEADS Online so shops in those jurisdictions can use Pawnbroker Pawn Shop Software to upload daily reports that way.
The program stores settings for business information (name, address, phone number, tax ID, email and web addresses), fees, interest rates, location - and it uses that information to complete forms and calculations and produce reports. The 'default settings' avoid having to reenter info with each new record.
Ohio laws require daily reports of transactions be given to the local chief of police or to the sheriff of the county where there is no municipal police department. The program can generate a written report, which is a archaic method of reporting still required by some jurisdictions, or the report can be generated electronically (in spreadsheet format) and sent to the authorities via the Internet. All transactions entered into the program will be included in the first report. Subsequent reports will only include transactions since the last report.
Here's a comparison of the 4 editions: Intro, Deluxe Diamond and 24karat.
Ohio Requirements
The pawn ticket in Pawnbroker Pawn Shop Software must be submitted to the State with the pawn application and it must include:
- A driver's license number, military identification number, or other personal identification number
- A physical description of the pledgor or seller
- An accurate description of the pledged or purchased property, including the name of the manufacturer, any serial and model numbers, any identifying features, and any identifying letters or marks
- Any other disclosures required by federal law
- Every person licensed as a pawnbroker shall keep and use separate pawn forms and purchase forms to be approved by the superintendent of financial institutions.
- The amount of the loan or the purchase price
- The date and time of the pledging or purchasing
- The licensee shall record on the appropriate form for each pawn or purchase all of the following information:
- The name, age, and address of the pledgor or seller
- The rate of interest and the charges to be paid on the loan
- The time within which the pledgor is to redeem the pledged property
In Pawnbroker Pawn Shop Software the ticket is 'editable' which means it can be changed at any time to incorporate changes in law or business terms and conditions (which will appear with the next form printed). Tickets are on a full sheet of paper which allows for multiple items to be included in the same pawn transaction. Managing tickets in this way prevents the waste of having to discard unused pre-printed forms.
Pawnbroker Pawn Shop Software
Super value and a simple program...
There is an ongoing expense to maintaining any software program and those benefiting from the creation and use of the service should expect to pay a small annual fee for the ongoing support.
If you've shopped for 'pawn software' no doubt you've discovered that the extremely high-priced offerings are presented on websites with absolutely no disclosure of initial prices much less the over-inflated cost that pile up after purchase.
By far the two most expensive programs are Pawnnaster and Bravo, neither of which discloses fees online, requiring a phone call and entrapment in a high-pressured sales pitch to explain why pawn shops should pay out the nose for their offerings.
Apparently there is also no disclosure much less a warning of the inherent 'trap' which is shops getting locked into a program then facing every-increasing costs for continuing to use the software.
It's also common practice to increase costs for multiple stations in the same shop. Every vendor will charge more for more stations but a few get signed blank checks for pawn-store owners for future increases in pricing.