title: Antares

text: Antares can also be occulted by the planets, e.g. Venus, but these events are rare. The last occultation of Antares by Venus took place on September 17, 525 BC; the next one will be November 17, 2400. Other planets have been calculated not to have occulted Antares over the last millennium, nor will they in the next millennium, as most planets stay near the ecliptic and pass north of Antares. Venus will be extremely near Antares on October 19, 2117 and every eight years thereafter through to October 29, 2157 it will pass "south" of the star.


title: Antares

text: Antares illuminates foreground parts of the Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex. The illuminated cloud is sometimes referred to as the Antares Nebula or is otherwise identified as VdB 107, Ced 132, DG 141, LBN 1107 and Magakian 668.


title: Antares

text: α Scorpii is a double star that is thought to form a binary system. The best calculated orbit for the stars is still considered to be unreliable. It describes an almost circular orbit seen nearly edge-on, with a period of 1,218 years and a semi-major axis of about . Other recent estimates of the period have ranged from 880 years for a calculated orbit, to 2,562 years for a simple Kepler's Law estimate.


title: Antares

text: Early measurements of the pair found them to be about apart in 1847–49, or apart in 1848. More modern observations consistently give separations around . The variations in the separation are often interpreted as evidence of orbital motion, but are more likely to be simply observational inaccuracies with very little true relative motion between the two components.


title: Antares

text: The pair have a projected separation of about 529 astronomical units (AU) (≈ 80 billion km) at the estimated distance of Antares, giving a minimum value for the distance between them. Spectroscopic examination of the energy states in the outflow of matter from the companion star suggests that the latter is over beyond the primary (about 33 billion km).


title: Antares

text: Antares is a red supergiant star with a stellar classification of M1.5Iab-Ib, and is indicated to be a spectral standard for that class. Due to the nature of the star, the derived parallax measurements have large errors, so that the true distance of Antares is approximately from the Sun.


title: Antares

text: The brightness of Antares at visual wavelengths is about 10,000 times that of the Sun, but because the star radiates a considerable part of its energy in the infrared part of the spectrum, the true bolometric luminosity is around 100,000 times that of the Sun. There is a large margin of error assigned to values for the bolometric luminosity, typically 30% or more. There is also considerable variation between values published by different authors, for example and published in 2012 and 2013.


title: Antares

text: The mass of the star has been calculated to be about , or . Comparison of the effective temperature and luminosity of Antares to theoretical evolutionary tracks for massive stars suggest a progenitor mass of and an age of 12 million years (MYr), or an initial mass of and an age of 11 to 15 MYr. Massive stars like Antares are expected to explode as supernovae.


title: Antares

text: Like most cool supergiants, Antares's size has much uncertainty due to the tenuous and translucent nature of the extended outer regions of the star. Defining an effective temperature is difficult due to spectral lines being generated at different depths in the atmosphere, and linear measurements produce different results depending on the wavelength observed. In addition, Antares appears to pulsate, varying its radius by 19%. It also varies in temperature by 150 K, lagging 70 days behind radial velocity changes which are likely to be caused by the pulsations.


title: Antares

text: The diameter of Antares can be measured most accurately using interferometry or observing lunar occultations events. An apparent diameter from occultations 41.3 ± 0.1 milliarcseconds has been published. Interferometry allows synthesis of a view of the stellar disc, which is then represented as a limb-darkened disk surrounded by an extended atmosphere. The diameter of the limb-darkened disk was measured as in 2009 and in 2010. The linear radius of the star can be calculated from its angular diameter and distance. However, the distance to Antares is not known with the same accuracy as modern measurements of its diameter.


title: Antares

text: The Hipparcos satellite's trigonometric parallax of leads to a radius of about . Older radii estimates exceeding were derived from older measurements of the diameter, but those measurements are likely to have been affected by asymmetry of the atmosphere and the narrow range of infrared wavelengths observed; Antares has an extended shell which radiates strongly at those particular wavelengths. Despite its large size compared to the Sun, Antares is dwarfed by even larger red supergiants, such as VY Canis Majoris or VV Cephei A and Mu Cephei.


title: Antares

text: Antares, like the similarly sized red supergiant Betelgeuse in the constellation Orion, will almost certainly explode as a supernova, probably in million years. For a few months, the Antares supernova could be as bright as the full moon and be visible in daytime.


title: Antares

text: Antares B is a magnitude 5.5 blue-white main-sequence star of spectral type B2.5V; it also has numerous unusual spectral lines suggesting it has been polluted by matter ejected by Antares. It is assumed to be a relatively normal early-B main sequence star with a mass around , a temperature around , and a radius of about .


title: Antares

text: Antares B is normally difficult to see in small telescopes due to glare from Antares, but can sometimes be seen in apertures over . It is often described as green, but this is probably either a contrast effect, or the result of the mixing of light from the two stars when they are seen together through a telescope and are too close to be completely resolved. Antares B can sometimes be observed with a small telescope for a few seconds during lunar occultations while Antares is hidden by the Moon. Antares B appears a profound blue or bluish-green color, in contrast to the orange-red Antares.


title: Antares

text: In the Babylonian star catalogues dating from at least 1100 BCE, Antares was called GABA GIR.TAB, "the Breast of the Scorpion". In MUL.APIN, which dates between 1100 and 700 BC, it is one of the stars of Ea in the southern sky and denotes the breast of the Scorpion goddess Ishhara. Later names that translate as "the Heart of Scorpion" include ' from the Arabic قَلْبُ ٱلْعَقْرَبِ '. This had been directly translated from the Ancient Greek '. ' was a calque of the Greek name rendered in Latin.


title: Antares

text: In ancient Mesopotamia, Antares may have been known by various names: Urbat, Bilu-sha-ziri ("the Lord of the Seed"), Kak-shisa ("the Creator of Prosperity"), Dar Lugal ("The King"), Masu Sar ("the Hero and the King"), and Kakkab Bir ("the Vermilion Star"). In ancient Egypt, Antares represented the scorpion goddess Serket (and was the symbol of Isis in the pyramidal ceremonies). It was called "" "the red one of the prow".


title: Antares

text: In Persia Antares was known as "Satevis", one of the four "royal stars". In India, it with σ Scorpii and τ Scorpii were Jyeshthā (the eldest or biggest, probably attributing its huge size), one of the "nakshatra" (Hindu lunar mansions).


title: Antares

text: The ancient Chinese called Antares 心宿二 ("Xīnxiù'èr", "second star of the Heart"), because it was the second star of the mansion "Xin" (心). It was the national star of the Shang Dynasty, and it was sometimes referred to as () because of its reddish appearance.


title: Antares

text: The Māori people of New Zealand call Antares "Rēhua", and regard it as the chief of all the stars. Rēhua is father of "Puanga/Puaka" (Rigel), an important star in the calculation of the Māori calendar. The Wotjobaluk Koori people of Victoria, Australia, knew Antares as "Djuit", son of "Marpean-kurrk" (Arcturus); the stars on each side represented his wives. The Kulin Kooris saw Antares ("Balayang") as the brother of "Bunjil" (Altair).


title: Antares

text: Antares appears in the flag of Brazil, which displays 27 stars, each representing a federated unit of Brazil. Antares represents the state of Piauí.


title: Abu Hanifa

text: Nuʿmān ibn Thābit ibn Zūṭā ibn Marzubān (; –767), commonly known by his "kunya" Abū Ḥanīfa (), or reverently as Imam Abū Ḥanīfa by Sunni Muslims, was a Persian Sunni Muslim theologian and jurist who became the eponymous founder of the Hanafi school of Sunni jurisprudence, which has remained the most widely practiced law school in the Sunni tradition, predominates in Central Asia, Afghanistan, Iran (until the 16th century), Balkans, Russia, Chechnya, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Muslims in India, Turkey, and some parts of the Arab world.


title: Abu Hanifa

text: Some followers call him al-Imām al-Aʿẓam ("The Greatest Imam") and Sirāj al-Aʾimma ("The Lamp of the Imams") in Sunni Islam.


title: Abu Hanifa

text: Born to a Muslim family in Kufa, Abu Hanifa is known to have travelled to the Hejaz region of Arabia in his youth, where he studied in Mecca and Medina. As his career as a theologian and jurist progressed, Abu Hanifa became known for favoring the use of reason in his legal rulings ("faqīh dhū raʾy") and even in his theology. Abu Hanifa's theological school is claimed to be what would later develop into the Maturidi school of Sunni theology.


title: Abu Hanifa

text: Abu Hanifa was born in Kufa in 80 AH, 77 AH, 70 AH, or 61 AH, during the reign of the Umayyad Caliphate. Most historians choose the latest view, 80 AH, in accordance with the principle of choosing the latest date death as this is for the purpose of caution.


title: Abu Hanifa

text: But Mohammad Zahid Al-Kawthari, adjunct to the office of the last Shaykh Al-Islam of the Ottoman Empire, writes that the middle view, 70 AH, is supported by two facts the others aren’t. Firstly, Mohammad Ibn Makhlad Al-Attar considers the narration of Abu Hanifa’s son, Hammad, from Imam Malik Ibn Anas to be an example of an older man narration from a younger man. Secondly, Abu Hanifa was concerned with who should succeed Ibrahim Al-Nakhai after his death in 96 AH. Something that could only happen after Abu Hanifa was slightly older since it’s well known Abu Hanifa only cared about his religious studies after he was about 19. According to the view of Abu Hanifa being born in 80 AH, Abu Hanifa would have been 16.


title: Abu Hanifa

text: His ancestry is generally accepted as being of Persian origin as suggested by the etymology of the names of his grandfather (Zuta) and great-grandfather (Mah). The historian Al-Khatib al-Baghdadi records a statement from Abu Hanifa's grandson, Ismail ibn Hammad, who gave Abu Hanifa's lineage as Thabit ibn Numan ibn Marzban and claiming to be of Persian origin. The discrepancy in the names, as given by Ismail of Abu Hanifa's grandfather and great-grandfather, are thought to be due to Zuta's adoption of the Arabic name (Numan) upon his acceptance of Islam and that Mah and Marzban were titles or official designations in Persia, with the latter, meaning a margrave, referring to the noble ancestry of Abu Hanifa's family as the Sasanian marzbans. The generally accepted opinion, however, is that most probably he was of Persian ancestry .


title: Abu Hanifa

text: His grandfather, Zuta, may have been captured by Muslim troops in Kabul and sold as a slave in Kufa. There, he was purchased and freed by an Arab tribesman of the Taym Allah, a branch of the Banu Bakr. Zuta and his progeny thereafter became clients ("mawali") of the Taym Allah, hence the sporadic references to Abu Hanifa as 'al-Taymi' (i.e. 'of the Taym Allah'). It is otherwise held that his family emigrated from Charikar north of Kabul to Baghdad in the eighth century. The Indian scholar Qazi Athar Mubarakpuri reports from the grandson of Abu Hanifa, who said, "By God, our family was never a slave to anyone and my grandfather Numan was born in 80 AH." Athar also suggests that Zuta had embraced Islam during the reign of Ali and was named Numan.


title: Abu Hanifa

text: There is scant biographical information about Abu Hanifa. It is generally known that he worked a producer and seller of "khazz", a type of silk clothing material. He attended lectures on jurisprudence by the Kufan scholar Hammad ibn Abi Sulayman (d. 737). He also possibly learnt jurisprudence (fiqh) by the Meccan scholar Ata ibn Abi Rabah (d. ) while on Hajj.


title: Abu Hanifa

text: Abu Hanifa succeeded Hammad, when the latter died, as the principal authority on Islamic law in Kufa and the chief representative of the Kufan school of jurisprudence. Abu Hanifa gradually gained influence as an authority on legal questions, founding a moderate rationalist school of Islamic jurisprudence that was named after him.


title: Abu Hanifa

text: In 763, al-Mansur, the Abbasid caliph offered Abu Hanifa the post of "qadi al-qudat" (chief judge of the state), but he declined the offer, choosing to remain independent. His student Abu Yusuf was later appointed to the post by Caliph Harun al-Rashid.


title: Abu Hanifa

text: In his reply to al-Mansur, Abu Hanifa said that he was not fit for the post. Al-Mansur, who had his own ideas and reasons for offering the post, lost his temper and accused Abu Hanifa of lying.


title: Abu Hanifa

text: "If I am lying," Abu Hanifa said, "then my statement is doubly correct. How can you appoint a liar to the exalted post of a Chief Qadi (Judge)?"


title: Abu Hanifa

text: Incensed by this reply, the ruler had Abu Hanifa arrested, locked in prison and tortured. He was never fed nor cared for. Even there, the jurist continued to teach those who were permitted to come to him.


title: Abu Hanifa

text: On 15 Rajab 150, (August 15, 767) Abu Hanifa died in prison. The cause of his death is not clear, as some say that Abu Hanifa issued a legal opinion for bearing arms against al-Mansur, and the latter had him poisoned. The fellow prisoner and Jewish Karaite founder, Anan ben David, is said to have received life-saving counsel from Abu Hanifa. It was said that so many people attended his funeral that the funeral service was repeated six times for more than 50,000 people who had amassed before he was actually buried. On the authority of the historian al-Khatib, it can be said that for a full twenty days people performed funeral prayers for him. Later, after many years, the Abu Hanifa Mosque was built in the Adhamiyah neighbourhood of Baghdad. Abu Hanifa also supported the cause of Zayd ibn Ali and Ibrahim al Qamar both Alid Zaydi Imams.


title: Abu Hanifa

text: The tomb of Abu Hanifa and the tomb of Abdul Qadir Gilani were destroyed by Shah Ismail of the Safavi Empire in 1508. In 1533, Ottomans conquered Baghdad and rebuilt the tomb of Abu Hanifa and other Sunni sites.


title: Abu Hanifa

text: Yusuf ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Mizzi listed 97 hadith scholars who were his students. Most of them were famous hadith scholars, and their narrated hadiths were compiled in the Sahih al-Bukhari, Sahih Muslim and other famous books of hadith. Imām Badr al-Din al-Ayni included another 260 students who studied Hadith and Fiqh from Abu Hanifa.


title: Abu Hanifa

text: His most famous student was Imām Abu Yusuf, who served as the first chief justice in the Muslim world. Another famous student was Imām Muhammad al-Shaybani, who was the teacher of the Shafi‘i school of jurisprudence founder, Imām Al-Shafi‘i. His other students include:


title: Abu Hanifa

text: The sources from which Abu Hanifa derived Islamic law, in order of importance and preference, are: the Qur'an, the authentic narrations of the Muslim prophet Muhammad (known as hadith), consensus of the Muslim community (ijma), analogical reasoning (qiyas), juristic discretion (istihsan) and the customs of the local population enacting said law (urf). The development of analogical reason and the scope and boundaries by which it may be used is recognized by the majority of Muslim jurists, but its establishment as a legal tool is the result of the Hanafi school. While it was likely used by some of his teachers, Abu Hanifa is regarded by modern scholarship as the first to formally adopt and institute analogical reason as a part of Islamic law.


title: Abu Hanifa

text: As the fourth Caliph, Ali had transferred the Islamic capital to Kufa, and many of the first generation of Muslims had settled there, the Hanafi school of law based many of its rulings on the prophetic tradition as transmitted by those first generation Muslims residing in Iraq. Thus, the Hanafi school came to be known as the Kufan or Iraqi school in earlier times. Ali and Abdullah, son of Masud formed much of the base of the school, as well as other personalities from the direct relatives (or Ahli-ll-Bayṫ) of Moḥammad from whom Abu Hanifa had studied such as Muhammad al-Baqir. Many jurists and historians had reportedly lived in Kufa, including one of Abu Hanifa's main teachers, Hammad ibn Abi Sulayman.


title: Abu Hanifa

text: Abu Hanifa is regarded by some as one of the Tabi‘un, the generation after the Sahaba, who were the companions of the Islamic prophet, Muhammad. This is based on reports that he met at least four Sahaba including Anas ibn Malik, with some even reporting that he transmitted Hadith from him and other companions of Muhammad. Others take the view that Abu Hanifa only saw around half a dozen companions, possibly at a young age, and did not directly narrate hadith from them.


title: Abu Hanifa

text: Abu Hanifa was born 67 years after the death of Muhammad, but during the time of the first generation of Muslims, some of whom lived on until Abu Hanifa's youth. Anas bin Malik, Muhammad's personal attendant, died in 93 AH and another companion, Abul Tufail Amir bin Wathilah, died in 100 AH, when Abu Hanifa was 20 years old. The author of al-Khairat al-Hisan collected information from books of biographies and cited the names of Muslims of the first generation from whom it is reported that the Abu Hanifa had transmitted hadith. He counted them as sixteen, including Anas ibn Malik, Jabir ibn Abd-Allah and Sahl ibn Sa'd.


title: Abu Hanifa

text: He attained a very high status in the various fields of sacred knowledge and significantly influenced the development of Muslim theology. During his lifetime, he was acknowledged by the people as a jurist of the highest calibre.


title: Abu Hanifa

text: Outside of his scholarly achievements, Abu Hanifa is popularly known amongst Sunni Muslims as a man of the highest personal qualities: a performer of good works, remarkable for his self-denial, humble spirit, devotion and pious awe of God.


title: Abu Hanifa

text: His tomb, surmounted by a dome erected by admirers in 1066 is still a shrine for pilgrims. It was given a restoration in 1535 by Suleiman the Magnificent upon the Ottoman conquest of Baghdad.


title: Abu Hanifa

text: The honorific title "al-Imam al-A'zam" ("the greatest leader") was granted to him both in communities where his legal theory is followed and elsewhere. According to John Esposito, 45% of all Muslims follow the Hanafi school.


title: Abu Hanifa

text: Abu Hanifa also had critics. The Zahiri scholar Ibn Hazm quotes Sufyan ibn `Uyaynah: "[T]he affairs of men were in harmony until they were changed by Abù Hanìfa in Kùfa, al-Batti in Basra and Màlik in Medina". Early Muslim jurist Hammad ibn Salamah once related a story about a highway robber who posed as an old man to hide his identity; he then remarked that were the robber still alive he would be a follower of Abu Hanifa.


title: Abu Hanifa

text: As with Malik ibn Anas (who was a teacher of Imam al-Shafi'i, who in turn was a teacher of Sunni Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal), Imam Abu Hanifa was a student of Ja'far al-Sadiq, who was a descendant of the Islamic "Nabi" (Prophet) Muhammad. Thus all of the four great Imams of Sunni "Fiqh" are connected to Ja'far from the "Bayt" (Household) of Muhammad, whether directly or indirectly.


title: Abu Hanifa

text: In one hadith, Abu Hanifa once said about Imam Ja'far: "I have not seen anyone with more knowledge than Ja'far ibn Muhammad." However, in another hadith, Abu Hanifa said: "I met with Zayd (Ja'far's uncle) and I never saw in his generation a person more knowledgeable, as quick a thinker, or more eloquent than he was."


title: Abu Hanifa

text: Imam Abu Hanifa is quoted as saying that Jahm ibn Safwan (d. 128/745) went so far in his denial of anthropomorphism (Tashbih) as to declare that 'God is nothing (Allah laysa bi shay')'. And Muqatil ibn Sulayman's extremism (d. 150/767), on the other side, likened God with His creatures.


title: Abu Hanifa

text: Other scholars have upheld that Abu Hanifa was the author such as Muhammad Zahid Al-Kawthari, al-Bazdawi, and Abd al-Aziz al-Bukhari.


title: Abu Hanifa

text: Scholars such as Mufti Abdur-Rahman have pointed out that the book being brought into question by Wensick is actually another work by Abu Hanifa called: ""Al-Fiqh Al-Absat"".


title: Trevoh Chalobah

text: Trevoh Tom Chalobah (born 5 July 1999) is an English professional footballer who plays as a centre-back or defensive midfielder for club Chelsea.


title: Trevoh Chalobah

text: Chalobah joined Chelsea in 2007 at the age of eight, joining his brother Nathaniel in the club's academy. He spent time out on loan at Ipswich Town, Huddersfield Town and French side Lorient. He made his senior debut for Chelsea in the 2021 UEFA Super Cup, helping the club lift the trophy following a penalty shoot-out win.


title: Trevoh Chalobah

text: He has represented England at various youth levels from U16 to U21 level. In 2017, he helped England win the 2017 UEFA European Under-19 Championship.


title: Trevoh Chalobah

text: Born in Freetown, Sierra Leone, Chalobah joined Chelsea at the age of eight. He signed his first professional contract with Chelsea in June 2016 and signed a new contract in March 2018. His youth honours at Chelsea include the UEFA Youth League in 2015–16, the FA Youth Cup in 2015–16 and 2016–17, and the Under-18 Premier League in 2016–17.


title: Trevoh Chalobah

text: He was named by Antonio Conte as a substitute for the 2018 FA Cup Final victory against Manchester United on 19 May 2018 at Wembley Stadium despite never having previously played a professional game. Chelsea won the match 1–0, and Chalobah did not enter the field.


title: Trevoh Chalobah

text: He signed for Championship club Ipswich Town on a season-long loan deal in June 2018. He made his professional debut on 4 August, starting in a 2–2 draw with Blackburn Rovers. Two weeks later he scored his first senior goal, equalising in a 1–1 draw with Aston Villa at Portman Road. On 6 October, he scored a late winner in a 3–2 win against Swansea City, earning Ipswich their first league win of the season. Despite primarily playing as a centre-back during his time in the Chelsea academy, he played as a central midfielder for Ipswich during his first season in senior football. Chalobah featured regularly for Ipswich during the 2018–19 season, playing 44 matches and scoring 2 goals for the team, who were relegated to League One.


title: Trevoh Chalobah

text: On 8 August 2019, Chalobah signed a new contract with Chelsea through to the 2022 season, and began a season-long loan at Huddersfield Town. He made his debut five days later in a 1–0 home loss to Lincoln City in the first round of the EFL Cup, playing the full 90 minutes. He scored his first goal for Huddersfield on 21 August against Cardiff City, initially equalising to level the score at 1–1, in a match that Huddersfield went on to lose 1–2. He made 38 appearances in all competitions for Huddersfield during the season, scoring once.


title: Trevoh Chalobah

text: On 18 August 2020, Chalobah signed a new contract with Chelsea until 2023 and joined French side Lorient on loan for the 2020–21 season. He made his league debut as a substitute on 13 September, in a 3–2 loss against RC Lens. He scored his first goal for Lorient on 27 January, netting the opening goal in a 3–2 win against Dijon. Chalobah had another productive loan spell at Lorient, scoring 2 goals in 30 appearances, including scoring on the final day of the season in a 1–1 draw against Strasbourg.


title: Trevoh Chalobah

text: On 11 August 2021, Chalobah made his debut for Chelsea in the 2021 UEFA Super Cup against Villarreal, as his side won 6–5 in a penalty shoot-out after the match finished in a 1–1 draw after extra time. Three days later, Chalobah made his Premier League debut in Chelsea's opening match of the season against Crystal Palace where he also scored his first ever Premier League goal in a 3–0 win.


title: Trevoh Chalobah

text: On 4 November 2021, Chalobah signed a new contract with Chelsea, keeping him at the club until 2026. On 23 November, Chalobah scored his first UEFA Champions League goal, netting the opener in a 4–0 home win against Juventus at Stamford Bridge.


title: Trevoh Chalobah

text: On 29 October 2022, Chalobah scored an own goal in Chelsea's 4–1 defeat away to Brighton & Hove Albion in the Premier League. This was the first defeat in Chalobah's Chelsea career.


title: Trevoh Chalobah

text: He has represented England at youth level from Under-16 up to Under-20, captaining all four teams at various stages. In November 2014, Chalobah captained the England under-16 team against Scotland in the Victory Shield. In May 2016, Chalobah was captain of the England under-17 team that lost to Spain in the quarter-final of the 2016 UEFA European Under-17 Championship.


title: Trevoh Chalobah

text: Chalobah was included in the England under-19 squad for the 2017 UEFA European Under-19 Championship. An ankle injury sustained in the final group game against Germany ruled him out for the rest of the tournament. England went on to defeat Portugal in the final.


title: Trevoh Chalobah

text: On 30 August 2019, Chalobah was included in the England U21 squad for the first time and made his debut during the 3–2 2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifying win against Turkey on 6 September 2019.


title: Trevoh Chalobah

text: Born in Freetown, Sierra Leone, Chalobah moved to the United Kingdom at the age of two and grew up in Gipsy Hill in the London Borough of Lambeth. His brother Nathaniel Chalobah is also a professional footballer, who plays for Fulham, having also previously played for Chelsea.


title: Mortal sin

text: A mortal sin (), in Catholic theology, is a gravely sinful act which can lead to damnation if a person does not repent of the sin before death. A sin is considered to be "mortal" when its quality is such that it leads to a separation of that person from God's saving grace. Three conditions must together be met for a sin to be mortal: "Mortal sin is sin whose object is grave matter and which is also committed with full knowledge and deliberate consent." The sin against the Holy Ghost and the sins that cry to Heaven for vengeance are considered especially serious. This type of sin is distinguished from a venial sin that simply leads to a weakening of a person's relationship with God. Despite its gravity, a person can repent of having committed a mortal sin. Such repentance is the primary requisite for forgiveness and absolution. Teaching on absolution from serious sins has varied somewhat throughout history. The current teaching for Catholics was formalized at the 16th-century Council of Trent.


title: Mortal sin

text: The term "mortal sin" is thought to be derived from the New Testament of the Bible. Specifically, it has been suggested by Jimmy Buehler from Theocast that the term comes from 1 John 5:16–17. In this particular verse, the author of the Epistle writes "There is a sin that leads to death."


title: Mortal sin

text: In AD 385, Pacian of Barcelona, in his "Sermon Exhorting to Penance", gives contempt of God, murder, and fornication as examples of "mortal" or "capital sins."


title: Mortal sin

text: In the moral theology of Catholicism, a mortal sin requires that all of the following conditions are met:


title: Mortal sin

text: Although the Church itself does not provide a precise list of grave sins or divide actions into grave and venial categories, Church documents do name certain "grave sins" as well as "offenses" and "actions" whose subject-matter is considered to be grave. For example, in the area of human sexuality, the Catechism of the Catholic Church notes that the following actions can involve increased gravity: extramarital sex, divorce (but not legitimate separation), and masturbation. The sins against the Holy Ghost and the sins that cry to Heaven for vengeance are considered especially serious.


title: Mortal sin

text: With respect to a person's full knowledge of a certain act being a grave sin, the Catholic Church teaches that "unintentional ignorance can diminish or even remove the imputability of a grave offense. But no one is deemed to be ignorant of the principles of the moral law, which are written in the conscience of every man. The promptings of feelings and passions can also diminish the voluntary and free character of the offense, as can external pressures or pathological disorders (mental illness). Sin committed through malice, by deliberate choice of evil, is the gravest." Furthermore, Catholic teaching also holds that "imputability and responsibility for an action can be diminished or even nullified by ignorance, inadvertence, duress, fear, habit, inordinate attachments, and other psychological or social factors." In this regard, a sin committed while one is inebriated may lack the awareness and consent necessary for the sin to be mortal. But when one becomes aware of the danger of excessive drink, such drinking itself becomes a serious matter.


title: Mortal sin

text: Grave sins should not to be confused with the seven deadly sins, which are so called because they lead to other sins; they are not necessarily grave sins.


title: Mortal sin

text: Mortal sins are called "grave sins" under the Code of Canon Law due to the "grave" nature of all mortal sins, and the terms are used there interchangeably. This does not deny the distinction given above, that there may be grave "matter" but not a grave "sin" if the other conditions of knowledge and freedom are not present.


title: Mortal sin

text: Mortal sins must be confessed by naming the specific offence along with how many times it was committed. Mention of how long since one's last confession is to establish whether one is truly penitent – has a purpose of amendment.


title: Mortal sin

text: It is not necessary to confess venial sins although they may be confessed, a practice that began with the Irish monks around the 12th century. Venial sins are all sins that are not mortal. The Church encourages frequent, intelligent use of the sacrament of confession even if a person has only venial sins, in view of the benefits that might be derived.


title: Mortal sin

text: Some mortal sins cause automatic excommunication by the very deed itself, for example renunciation of faith and religion, known as apostasy, desecration of the Eucharistic species, and "a completed abortion". Those mortal sins are so serious that the Church through law has made them crimes. The Church forbids the excommunicated from receiving any sacrament (not just the Eucharist) and also severely restricts the person's participation in other Church liturgical acts and offices. A repentant excommunicated person may talk to a priest, usually in a confessional, about their excommunication to arrange for the remission. Remission cannot be denied to someone who has truly repented their actions and has also made suitable reparation for damages and scandal or at least has seriously promised to do so. However, even if excommunicated, a Catholic who has not been juridically absolved is still, due to the irrevocable nature of baptism, a member of the Catholic Church and therefore must still carry out their obligations of fulfilling their duties of attending Mass, Divine Liturgy, etc. on a Holy Day of Obligation, abstaining from meat on the Fridays of Lent, etc., albeit their communion with the Christ and the Church is gravely impaired. "Perpetual penalties cannot be imposed or declared by decree." However, "the following are expiatory penalties which can affect an offender either perpetually..."


title: Mortal sin

text: Since the mid-twentieth century, some theologians have taught that a person who lives by a constant attitude of charity is unlikely to fall in and out of God's graces without being profoundly aware of the change. The term "fundamental option" arose and is used in a variety of senses.


title: Mortal sin

text: Pope John Paul II reaffirmed traditional teaching going back to the Council of Trent in his encyclical "Veritatis Splendor," as does the "Catechism of the Catholic Church", which states: "The teaching of the Church affirms the existence of hell and its eternity. Immediately after death the souls of those who die in a state of mortal sin descend into hell, where they suffer the punishments of hell, 'eternal fire'." The Catechism then adds: "The chief punishment of hell is eternal separation from God, in whom alone man can possess the life and happiness for which he was created and for which he longs." However, the Catechism does not by name say a specific person is in Hell, but it does say that "...our freedom has the power to make choices for ever, with no turning back." Most significantly, the Catechism also proclaims that "There are no limits to the mercy of God..." and that "although we can judge that an act is in itself a grave offence, we must entrust judgment of persons to the justice and mercy of God." We cannot see into their mind to know if it was deliberate or committed in full knowledge. Also, like the father in the Parable of the Prodigal Son, God forgives those who repent sincerely. Vatican II, in its Dogmatic Constitution "Lumen Gentium", reflects the traditional teaching of the Church on punishment, and on merit or reward for good deeds.


title: Mortal sin

text: Mortal sin is ordinarily remitted by the priestly absolution in the Sacrament of Penance. However, the effectiveness of the absolution is dependent of the acts of the penitent starting with sorrow for sin or contrition. Perfect contrition, coupled with the firm resolution to sin no more and to make recourse to the sacrament of Penance as soon as possible, can restore a person's relationship with God, as well as God's saving grace, that is, sanctifying grace. This teaching on perfect contrition is a reminder that God's mercy and forgiveness is available outside the Sacrament of Penance, yet, also indicates that Catholics who know about Christ's institution of the sacrament of Penance must intend to use it. Any human act that arises from a person's love of God, is inspired by God's prevenient action and is directed to doing as God requires. When perfect contrition is the means by which one seeks to restore one's relationship with God, there must also be a resolution to confess all mortal sins (that have not been confessed and absolved previously) in the Sacrament of Penance.


title: Mortal sin

text: Autonomous, self-governing (), Catholic particular churches and liturgical rites in full communion with the Bishop of Rome, the Pope, are known as Eastern Catholic churches. They derive their theology and spirituality from some of the same sources as the Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox churches, yet use the Latin Catholic distinction between "mortal" and "venial" sin. However, names other than "mortal" and "venial" are often used.


title: Mortal sin

text: The following is a partial alphabetical list of actions that are defined as constituting grave matter, according to the "Catechism of the Catholic Church" or like sources (such as declarations by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Apostolic Letters, or other sources printed by Church authorities).


title: Mortal sin

text: According to Father Allyne Smith, "While the Roman Catholic tradition has identified particular acts as 'mortal' sins, in the Orthodox tradition we see that only a sin for which we don't repent is 'mortal.'"


title: Mortal sin

text: In the Orthodox Church there are no "categories" of sin as found in the Christian West. In the pre-Vatican II Catholic catechism, sins were categorized as "mortal" and "venial." In this definition, a "mortal" sin was one which would prevent someone from entering heaven unless one confessed it before death. ...These categories do not exist in the Orthodox Church. Sin is sin. Concerning Confession, having a list of deadly sins could, in fact, become an obstacle to genuine repentance. For example, imagine that you commit a sin. You look on the list and do not find it listed. It would be very easy to take the attitude that, since it is not on a list of deadly sins, it is not too serious. Hence, you do not feel the need to seek God's forgiveness right away. A week passes and you have completely forgotten about what you had done. You never sought God's forgiveness; as a result, you did not receive it, either. We should go to Confession when we sin – at the very least, we should ask God to forgive us daily in our personal prayers. We should not see Confession as a time to confess only those sins which may be found on a list.


title: Mortal sin

text: Though not part of the dogma of the Orthodox Church the mortal–venial distinction is assumed by some Orthodox authors and saints as a theologoumenon. For example, Saint Ignatius Brianchaninov (1807–1867), who wrote primarily for monks, says in his book "A Word on Death", in a chapter entitled "Mortal sin":


title: Mortal sin

text: Similarly, the "Exomologetarion" of Nicodemus the Hagiorite (1749–1809) distinguishes seven classes of sin:


title: Mortal sin

text: Nicodemus gives the following example for the seven classes of sin. "The initial movement of anger is pardonable; near to the pardonable is for someone to say harsh words and get hot-tempered. A non-mortal sin is to swear; near the non-mortal is for someone to strike with the hand. Between the non-mortal and the mortal is to strike with a small stick; near the mortal is to strike with a large stick, or with a knife, but not in the area of the head. A mortal sin is to murder. A similar pattern applies to the other sins. Wherefore, those sins nearer to the pardonable end are penanced lighter, while those nearer to the mortal end are more severely penanced."


title: Fumihito, Crown Prince of Japan

text: The prince was born on 30 November 1965 in the morning at 12:22 am in the Imperial Household Agency Hospital, Tokyo Imperial Palace in Tokyo. His given name is Fumihito. His mother, Empress Emerita Michiko, is a convert to Shinto from Roman Catholicism. His childhood appellation was Prince Aya (礼宮 Aya-no-miya). He attended the primary and secondary schools of the Gakushūin. He played tennis in primary and secondary schools of the Gakushūin.


title: Fumihito, Crown Prince of Japan

text: In April 1984, the prince entered the Law Department of Gakushuin University, where he studied law and biological science. After graduating from the university with a Bachelor's degree in Political Science, he studied the taxonomy of fish at St John's College, Oxford in the United Kingdom from October 1988 to June 1990.


title: Fumihito, Crown Prince of Japan

text: Upon the death of his grandfather, Emperor Shōwa (Hirohito), on 7 January 1989, the prince became second-in-line to the throne after his elder brother, Crown Prince Naruhito.


title: Fumihito, Crown Prince of Japan

text: The prince received a PhD degree in ornithology from the Graduate University for Advanced Studies in October 1996. His doctoral dissertation was titled, "Molecular Phylogeny of Jungle Fowls, genus Gallus and Monophyletic Origin of Domestic Fowls". He conducted field research in Indonesia in 1993 and 1994, and in Yunnan Province in the People's Republic of China. When the Emperor Emeritus was then Crown Prince, he introduced tilapia to Thailand as an important source of protein. Tilapia can be easily cultured and Prince Fumihito, who is also known as a "catfish specialist," has managed to maintain and expand the aquacultural studies with the people of Thailand. The prince has worked as a researcher at The University Museum of The University of Tokyo where he also is an Honorary Fellow.


title: Fumihito, Crown Prince of Japan

text: Prior to Fumihito's birth, the announcement about the then-Crown Prince Akihito's engagement and marriage to the then-Ms. Michiko Shōda had drawn opposition from traditionalist groups, because Shōda came from a Roman Catholic family. Although Shōda was never baptized, she was educated in Catholic schools and seemed to share the faith of her parents. Rumors also speculated that Empress Kōjun had opposed the engagement. After the death of Fumihito's paternal grandmother Empress Kōjun in 2000, Reuters reported that she was one of the strongest opponents of her son's marriage, and that in the 1960s, she had driven her daughter-in-law and grandchildren to depression by persistently accusing her of not being suitable for her son.


title: Fumihito, Crown Prince of Japan

text: On 29 June 1990, Fumihito married Kiko Kawashima, the daughter of Tatsuhiko Kawashima (professor of economics at Gakushuin University) and his wife, Kazuyo.


title: Fumihito, Crown Prince of Japan

text: The couple met when they were both undergraduates at Gakushuin University. Like his father, the emperor emeritus, the prince married outside the former aristocracy and former collateral branches of the imperial family. Upon marriage, he received the title Prince Akishino (Akishino-no-miya – strictly "Prince Akishino") and authorization from the Imperial Household Economy Council to form a new branch of the Imperial Family. The marriage was bitterly resented by officials at the Imperial Household Agency, who had desired that the Prince adhere to tradition and not get married before his elder brother.


title: Fumihito, Crown Prince of Japan

text: Fumihito serves as the president of the Yamashina Institute for Ornithology and the Japanese Association of Zoological Gardens and Aquariums. He is also the honorary president of the World Wide Fund for Nature Japan, the Japan Tennis Association, and the Japan-Netherlands Association.


title: Fumihito, Crown Prince of Japan

text: The prince and princess have made numerous official visits to foreign countries. In June 2002, they became the first members of the Imperial Family to visit Mongolia, in celebration of the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations. In October 2002, they visited the Netherlands to attend the funeral of Prince Claus of the Netherlands. In September 2003, they made goodwill visits to Fiji, Tonga and Samoa, again, the first time ever members of the Imperial Family had visited these countries. In March 2004, the prince and princess returned to the Netherlands for the funeral of Queen Juliana of the Netherlands. In January 2005, they visited Luxembourg to attend the funeral of Grand Duchess Joséphine-Charlotte. From October to November 2006, they visited Paraguay to commemorate the 70th anniversary of Japanese emigration to that country. In January 2008, they visited Indonesia for a ceremony commemorating the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and the Republic of Indonesia.


title: Fumihito, Crown Prince of Japan

text: The prince and princess visited Austria, Bulgaria, Hungary, and Romania in May 2009 on the occasion of "Japan-Danube Friendship Year 2009" and the Netherlands in August 2009 for the commemorative event of the 400th anniversary of the trade relations between Japan and the Netherlands. They have also visited Costa Rica, Uganda, Croatia, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Peru, and Argentina.


title: Fumihito, Crown Prince of Japan

text: In addition, Fumihito carried out public duties on behalf of the Emperor when he was hospitalized. He and other members of the imperial family visited the affected areas after the Great East Japan earthquake in March 2011. From June to July 2014, Prince Fumihito and Princess Kiko visited Republic of Zambia and United Republic of Tanzania.


title: Fumihito, Crown Prince of Japan

text: In accordance with legislation passed allowing his father's abdication, he became heir presumptive to the throne on 30 April 2019. In June–July 2019, the Crown Prince and his wife carried out the first official overseas visit by the imperial family following the accession of Emperor Naruhito. They visited Poland and Finland to participate in the celebrations for the 100th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relationship between Japan and the two countries. In August 2019, the couple and their son, Hisahito, arrived in Bhutan for a visit.


title: Fumihito, Crown Prince of Japan

text: The public proclamation of Fumihito as crown prince did not take place on 19 April 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. His accession as crown prince took place privately. On 8 November 2020, Fumihito was formally declared first in line to the chrysanthemum throne. During the ceremony he said "I will carry out my duties by deeply acknowledging my responsibilities as crown prince".


title: Twisted Metal

text: Twisted Metal is a series of vehicular combat video games published by Sony Computer Entertainment, and developed by various companies. The series has appeared for the PlayStation, the PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable and PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5. As of October 31, 2000, the series has sold 5 million copies. Several of the games in the series were re-released as part of the Sony Greatest Hits program. The original game and its first sequel were also released for the PC.


title: Twisted Metal

text: In concept, "Twisted Metal" is a demolition derby that emphasizes the usage of ballistic projectiles, machine guns, mines, and other types of weapons (up to and including satellite-based weapons and nuclear weapons). Players choose a vehicle, and an arena—or a series of arenas in the story mode—to engage in battle with opposing drivers. A variety of weapons and upgrades are obtainable by pick-ups scattered throughout the stage. The last driver alive is the winner.


title: Twisted Metal

text: Although each individual game features its own storyline, they all revolve around the eponymous "Twisted Metal": a vehicular combat tournament hosted once a year. In almost all of the games, the host is a man called "Calypso"; in the series' fourth installment, perennial contestant Sweet Tooth briefly takes over. The general goal is to destroy all opponents; apart from the other contestants, unique vehicles seemingly designed by the host themselves may stand in the competitors' path. The winner is brought before the tournament host, who will grant the contestant a single wish.


title: Twisted Metal

text: The hosts of these games are the persons who are, through arcane means, capable of warping reality itself to grant the wish of the contest winner; however, there is a general "be careful what you wish for" theme in the game series, as nearly all of the winning contestants end up with "not-so-happy" endings, due to the skill and proclivity of the hosts for twisting the words of their wish around—often to deadly effect. The games in the series usually contain a healthy dose of dark humor.


title: Twisted Metal

text: Windows versions of "Twisted Metal" and "Twisted Metal 2" exist. "Twisted Metal 2" on PC features slightly cut-down graphics compared to the PlayStation version (minor details of some levels disappeared) but it doesn't require a 3D accelerator video card and played well on computers with lower processing capabilities. It also features multiplayer over a modem line or Internet.


title: Twisted Metal

text: After a contractual dispute with SingleTrac, "Twisted Metal" development duties were handed over to Sony's in-house development team, 989 Studios. The "Twisted Metal" titles developed by 989 Studios were fundamentally different, due in no small part to the fact that SingleTrac owned the engine used in the first two titles and so an entirely new engine had to be built from scratch for the non-SingleTrac-developed entries. One of the major changes that resulted were the introduction of advanced physics simulation and AI techniques to the series.


title: Twisted Metal

text: David Jaffe, in speaking about these two entries in the series, was reported to have said, "...[in and of themselves] they're good games, they're just not good "Twisted Metal" games".


title: Twisted Metal

text: After developing several non-"Twisted Metal" vehicular combat games for GT Interactive, a large number of SingleTrac employees left the company to form the gaming studio Incognito Entertainment, and signed with Sony. With much of "Twisted Metal" original creative team back with the company who owned the franchise, this reunion led to the creation of the series' first installment on the PlayStation 2, "Twisted Metal: Black".


title: Twisted Metal

text: Despite what was essentially a complete relaunch and rebranding of the franchise with "Twisted Metal: Black", Incognito decided to return to the series' roots and create a game that felt more like a true follow-up to the original "Twisted Metal" series, bringing back the bright colors and cartoony characters of "Twisted Metal" 1 and 2. Available on the PSP in time for its North American launch and utilizing the PSP's built-in online capabilities, it also marked the first time a "Twisted Metal" game had full online play available from the start.


title: Twisted Metal

text: In February 2008, Eat Sleep Play, a new development studio formed by David Jaffe and Scott Campbell, released "Twisted Metal: Head-On" for the PlayStation 2. While primarily a direct port of the PSP game "Twisted Metal: Head-On", it does feature a number of extra features, most notably four complete and playable levels from the unreleased/incomplete "Twisted Metal: Black" sequel, called "Twisted Metal: Harbor City". Other bonus content includes: a code to download the soundtrack (a timed offer which has since expired); a half-hour documentary on the series with some of the original developers called "Dark Past"; a rough playable portion of an unfinished and unreleased third person action game starring Sweet Tooth (controllable for the first time ever on-foot and outside of a vehicle); and the never before seen original live-action ending videos of all the characters from the first "Twisted Metal", directed by Jaffe.


title: Twisted Metal

text: "Twisted Metal" (2012) is the most recent game in the "Twisted Metal" series. It features multiple drivers and tracks. It also features multiplayer gameplay and other game modes. The game consists of three story arcs that focus on Sweet Tooth, Mr. Grimm and Dollface.


title: Twisted Metal

text: Instead of delivering a PlayStation 2 follow-up to "Twisted Metal: Black", Incognito took an unexpected turn and developed "Twisted Metal: Small Brawl" for the original PlayStation, a "Twisted Metal" aimed at a younger audience that featured radio-controlled toy cars instead of full-size vehicles.


title: Twisted Metal

text: A game featuring only the multiplayer portion of "Twisted Metal: Black", but playable online. A free copy could originally be obtained by mailing in a card that came packaged with the PlayStation 2 online network adapter. After Sony stopped offering the disc, it was later included as a bonus disc in subsequent reissues of the Greatest Hits version of "Twisted Metal: Black". The servers to the game have since been shut down.


title: Twisted Metal

text: A sequel to the PlayStation 2 game "Twisted Metal: Black", titled "Twisted Metal: Harbor City", was in development but was cancelled before it was announced when the series co-creators left the development team. At the time of cancellation four levels had been completed; these levels were included and playable in "" as a special mode.


title: Twisted Metal

text: A "Twisted Metal" game set in a post-apocalyptic environment, which was originally in development in 2008 but was scrapped. Artwork of the cancelled game was released by David Jaffe at the San Diego Comic-Con International; it showcased concept arts of locations such as a destroyed Mount Rushmore as well as a giant crater. Eat Sleep Play team was originally rather keen on the idea, though it was hinted by Jaffe that the idea was rejected by Sony Computer Entertainment, speculated to be because of the release of "", a racing game which also featured a post-apocalyptic environment.


title: Twisted Metal

text: Apart from "Twisted Metal: Apocalypse", another "Twisted Metal" game was in development for the PlayStation 3 which utilized street culture and hip-hop influence. The game was titled "Twisted Metal: Revolution", but it was cancelled; it would have featured characters with a more realistic look such as a Sweet Tooth that looked more of a smooth criminal rather than a psychopathic clown. Other characters included Yakuza, FBI agents and street gang members. David Jaffe compared the game to Rockstar's "Midnight Club" series when describing the look and feel of the game. In addition, Jaffe said that it was extremely difficult to portray the environments that they had created in their concept art within the game as it resulted in an extremely bland environment.


title: Twisted Metal

text: A one-shot "Twisted Metal 2" comic book was published by DC Comics in 1996, written by Jamie Delano, pencilled by Phil Hester and inked by Peter Gross. The comic was given out as a prize in a promotional contest held in the "Tips & Tricks" magazine.


title: Twisted Metal

text: In February 2012, Sony Pictures Entertainment was bringing "Twisted Metal" to the big screen by hiring "Crank", "", "Gamer" and "" co-director Brian Taylor to write and direct the film. Five years later in September, Brian Taylor confirmed that Sony had passed on the "Twisted Metal" movie, feeling the series fanbase didn't warrant the higher budget it would have cost to realize the movie.


title: Twisted Metal

text: However, "Twisted Metal" was the inspiration for "Slaughter Race", a fictional video game featured in the Disney animated film "Ralph Breaks the Internet" (2018).


title: Twisted Metal

text: In March 2019, Sony Pictures Entertainment chairman and CEO Tony Vinciquerra spoke about a TV series, that is currently in development, for the "Twisted Metal" franchise, during a presentation for investors at a special event. According to Tony Vinciquerra, his division will be working closely with his acquaintances at the PlayStation division through a brand new production team created solely with the purpose of helping Sony produce filming television projects based on their gaming IPs. In February 2021, a "Twisted Metal" TV series was moving forward, with Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick helping to develop the series, with Michael Jonathan Smith writing the series and executive producing the series alongside Will Arnett, Reese, Wernick, Marc Forman, Peter Principato, Asad Qizilbash, Carter Swan, and Herman Hulst. Later in September, Anthony Mackie is reported to be in the role as John Doe, which was later officially confirmed to be starring and executive producing the series, which had been given a series order at Peacock. In May 2022, Stephanie Beatriz, Thomas Haden Church and Neve Campbell joined the cast. Will Arnett was hired to voice Sweet Tooth in June, with Samoa Joe playing the dual role. Mike Mitchell will be playing Stu, the best friend of Mike who will be played by Tahj Vaughans. Lou Beatty Jr. will be playing a character named Tommy.


title: Twisted Metal

text: The artwork and title of the album "Death Race for Love" by rapper Juice Wrld was inspired by the series.


title: Point of sale

text: The point of sale (POS) or point of purchase (POP) is the time and place at which a retail transaction is completed. At the point of sale, the merchant calculates the amount owed by the customer, indicates that amount, may prepare an invoice for the customer (which may be a cash register printout), and indicates the options for the customer to make payment. It is also the point at which a customer makes a payment to the merchant in exchange for goods or after provision of a service. After receiving payment, the merchant may issue a receipt for the transaction, which is usually printed but can also be dispensed with or sent electronically.


title: Point of sale

text: To calculate the amount owed by a customer, the merchant may use various devices such as weighing scales, barcode scanners, and cash registers (or the more advanced "POS cash registers", which are sometimes also called "POS systems"). To make a payment, payment terminals, touch screens, and other hardware and software options are available.


title: Point of sale

text: The point of sale is often referred to as the point of service because it is not just a point of sale but also a point of return or customer order. POS terminal software may also include features for additional functionality, such as inventory management, CRM, financials, or warehousing.


title: Point of sale

text: Businesses are increasingly adopting POS systems, and one of the most obvious and compelling reasons is that a POS system eliminates the need for price tags. Selling prices are linked to the product code of an item when adding stock, so the cashier merely scans this code to process a sale. If there is a price change, this can also be easily done through the inventory window. Other advantages include the ability to implement various types of discounts, a loyalty scheme for customers, and more efficient stock control. These features are typical of almost all modern ePOS systems.


title: Point of sale

text: Retailers and marketers will often refer to the area around the checkout instead as the point of purchase (POP) when they are discussing it from the retailer's perspective. This is particularly the case when planning and designing the area as well as when considering a marketing strategy and offers.


title: Point of sale

text: Some point of sale vendors refer to their POS system as "retail management system" which is a more appropriate term, since this software is not just for processing sales but comes with many other capabilities, such as inventory management, membership system, supplier record, bookkeeping, issuing of purchase orders, quotations and stock transfers, hide barcode label creation, sale reporting and in some cases remote outlets networking or linkage, to name some major ones.


title: Point of sale

text: Nevertheless, it is the term "POS system" rather than "retail management system" that is in vogue among both end-users and vendors.


title: Point of sale

text: The basic, fundamental definition of a POS System, is a system which allows the processing and recording of transactions between a company and their consumers, at the time in which goods and/or services are purchased.


title: Point of sale

text: Early electronic cash registers (ECR) were controlled with proprietary software and were limited in function and communication capability. In August 1973, IBM released the IBM 3650 and 3660 store systems that were, in essence, a mainframe computer used as a store controller that could control up to 128 IBM 3653/3663 point of sale registers. This system was the first commercial use of client-server technology, peer-to-peer communications, local area network (LAN) simultaneous backup, and remote initialization. By mid-1974, it was installed in Pathmark stores in New Jersey and Dillard's department stores.


title: Point of sale

text: One of the first microprocessor-controlled cash register systems was built by William Brobeck and Associates in 1974, for McDonald's Restaurants. It used the Intel 8008, an early microprocessor (forerunner to the Intel 8088 processor used in the original IBM Personal Computer). Each station in the restaurant had its own device which displayed the entire order for a customer — for example, [2] Vanilla Shake, [1] Large Fries, [3] BigMac — using numeric keys and a button for every menu item. By pressing the [Grill] button, a second or third order could be worked on while the first transaction was in progress. When the customer was ready to pay, the [Total] button would calculate the bill, including sales tax for almost any jurisdiction in the United States. This made it accurate for McDonald's and very convenient for the servers and provided the restaurant owner with a check on the amount that should be in the cash drawers. Up to eight devices were connected to one of two interconnected computers so that printed reports, prices, and taxes could be handled from any desired device by putting it into "Manager Mode". In addition to the error-correcting memory, accuracy was enhanced by having three copies of all important data with many numbers stored only as multiples of 3. Should one computer fail, the other could handle the entire store.


title: Point of sale

text: In 1986, Eugene "Gene" Mosher introduced the first graphical point of sale software featuring a touchscreen interface under the ViewTouch trademark on the 16-bit Atari 520ST color computer. It featured a color touchscreen widget-driven interface that allowed configuration of widgets representing menu items without low level programming. The ViewTouch point of sale software was first demonstrated in public at Fall Comdex, 1986, in Las Vegas Nevada to large crowds visiting the Atari Computer booth. This was the first commercially available POS system with a widget-driven color graphic touch screen interface and was installed in several restaurants in the US and Canada.


title: Point of sale

text: In 1986, IBM introduced its 468x series of POS equipment based on Digital Research's Concurrent DOS 286 and FlexOS 1.xx, a modular real-time multi-tasking multi-user operating system.


title: Point of sale

text: A wide range of POS applications have been developed on platforms such as Windows and Unix. The availability of local processing power, local data storage, networking, and graphical user interface made it possible to develop flexible and highly functional POS systems. Cost of such systems has also declined, as all the components can now be purchased off-the-shelf.


title: Point of sale

text: In 1993, IBM adopted FlexOS 2.32 as the basis of their IBM 4690 OS in their 469x series of POS terminals. This was developed up to 2014 when it was sold to Toshiba, who continued to support it up to at least 2017.


title: Point of sale

text: As far as computers are concerned, off-the-shelf versions are usually newer, hence more powerful than proprietary POS terminals. Custom modifications are added as needed. Other products, like touchscreen tablets and laptops, are readily available in the market, and they are more portable than traditional POS terminals. The only advantage of the latter is that they are typically built to withstand rough handling and spillages, a benefit for food & beverage businesses.


title: Point of sale

text: The key requirements that must be met by modern POS systems include high and consistent operating speed, reliability, ease of use, remote supportability, low cost, and rich functionality. Retailers can reasonably expect to acquire such systems (including hardware) for about $4000 US (as of 2009) per checkout lane.


title: Point of sale

text: Reliability depends not wholly on the developer but at times on the compatibility between a database and an OS version. For example, the widely used Microsoft Access database system had a compatibility issue when Windows XP machines were updated to a newer version of Windows. Microsoft offered no immediate solution. Some businesses were severely disrupted in the process, and many downgraded back to Windows XP for a quick resolution. Other companies utilized community support, for a registry tweak solution has been found for this.


title: Point of sale

text: POS systems are one of the most complex software systems available because of the features that are required by different end users. Many POS systems are software suites that include sale, inventory, stock counting, vendor ordering, customer loyalty and reporting modules. Sometimes purchase ordering, stock transferring, quotation issuing, barcode creating, bookkeeping or even accounting capabilities are included. Each of these modules is interlinked if they are to serve their practical purpose and maximize their usability.


title: Point of sale

text: For instance, the sale window is immediately updated on a new member entry through the membership window because of this interlinking. Similarly, when a sale transaction is made, any purchase by a member is on record for the membership window to report providing information like payment type, goods purchased, date of purchase and points accumulated. Comprehensive analysis performed by a POS machine may need to process several qualities about a single product, like selling price, balance, average cost, quantity sold, description and department. Highly complex programming is involved (and possibly considerable computer resources) to generate such extensive analyses.


title: Point of sale

text: POS systems are designed not only to serve the retail, wholesale and hospitality industries as historically is the case. Currently POS systems are also used in goods and property leasing businesses, equipment repair shops, healthcare management, ticketing offices such as cinemas and sports facilities and many other operations where capabilities such as the following are required: processing monetary transactions, allocation and scheduling of facilities, keeping record and scheduling services rendered to customers, tracking of goods and processes (repair or manufacture), invoicing and tracking of debts and outstanding payments.


title: Point of sale

text: Different customers have different expectations within each trade. The reporting functionality alone is subject to so many demands, especially from those in the retail/wholesale industry. To cite special requirements, some business's goods may include perishables and hence the inventory system must be capable of prompting the admin and cashier on expiring or expired products. Some retail businesses require the system to store credit for their customers, credit which can be used subsequently to pay for goods. A few companies expect the POS system to behave like a full-fledged inventory management system, including the ability to provide FIFO (First In First Out) and LIFO (Last In First Out), reports of their goods for accounting and tax purposes.


title: Point of sale

text: In the hospitality industry, POS system capabilities can also diverge significantly. For instance, while a restaurant is typically concerned about how the sale window functions: whether it has functionality such as creating item buttons, various discounts, adding a service charge, holding of receipts, queuing, table service as well as takeaways, merging and splitting of a receipt. These capabilities may be insufficient for a spa or slimming center which would require, in addition, a scheduling window with historical records of customers' attendance and their special requirements.


title: Point of sale

text: A POS system can be made to serve different purposes to different end users depending on their business processes. Often an off-the-shelf POS system is inadequate for customers. Some customization is required, and this is why a POS system can become very complex. The complexity of a mature POS system extends to remote networking or interlinking between remote outlets and the HQ such that updating both ways is possible. Some POS systems offer the linking of web-based orders to their sale window. Even when local networking is only required (as in the case of a high-traffic supermarket), there is the ever-present challenge for the developer to keep most if not all of their POS stations running. This puts high demand not just on software coding but also designing the whole system covering how individual stations and the network work together, and special consideration for the performance capability and usage of databases. Due to such complexity, bugs and errors encountered in POS systems are frequent.


title: Point of sale

text: With regards to databases, POS systems are very demanding on their performance because of numerous submissions and retrievals of data - required for correct sequencing the receipt number, checking various discounts, membership, calculating subtotal, so forth - just to process a single sale transaction. The immediacy required of the system on the sale window such as may be observed at a checkout counter in a supermarket cannot be compromised. This places much stress on individual enterprise databases if there are just several tens of thousands of sale records in the database. Enterprise database Microsoft SQL Server, for example, has been known to freeze up (including the OS) entirely for many minutes under such conditions showing a "Timeout Expired" error message. Even a lighter database like Microsoft Access will slow to a crawl over time if the problem of database bloating is not foreseen and managed by the system automatically. Therefore, the need to do extensive testing, debugging and improvisation of solutions to preempt failure of a database before commercial implementation complicates the development.


title: Point of sale

text: POS system accuracy is demanding, given that monetary transactions are involved continuously not only via the sale window but also at the back end through the receiving and inputting of goods into the inventory. Calculations required are not always straightforward. There may be many discounts and deals that are unique to specific products, and the POS machine must quickly process the differences and the effect on pricing. There is much complexity in the programming of such operations, especially when no error in calculation can be allowed.


title: Point of sale

text: Other requirements include that the system must have functionality for membership discount and points accumulation/usage, quantity and promotional discounts, mix and match offers, cash rounding up, invoice/delivery-order issuance with outstanding amount. It should enable a user to adjust the inventory of each product based on physical count, track expiry of perishable goods, change pricing, provide audit trail when modification of inventory records is performed, be capable of multiple outlet functionality, control of stocks from HQ, doubling as an invoicing system, just to name some.


title: Point of sale

text: It is clear that POS system is a term that implies a wide range of capabilities depending on the end-user requirements. POS system review websites cannot be expected to cover most let alone all the features. Unless one is a developer, it is unrealistic to expect the reviewer to know all the aspects of a POS system. For instance, a POS system might work smoothly on a test database during the review but not when the database grows significantly in size over months of usage. And this is only one among many hidden critical functionality issues of a POS system.


title: Point of sale

text: Vendors and retailers are working to standardize development of computerized POS systems and simplify interconnecting POS devices. Two such initiatives were OPOS and JavaPOS, both of which conform to the UnifiedPOS standard led by The National Retail Foundation.


title: Point of sale

text: OPOS (OLE for POS) was the first commonly adopted standard and was created by Microsoft, NCR Corporation, Epson and Fujitsu-ICL. OPOS is a COM-based interface compatible with all COM-enabled programming languages for Microsoft Windows. OPOS was first released in 1996. JavaPOS was developed by Sun Microsystems, IBM, and NCR Corporation in 1997 and first released in 1999. JavaPOS is for Java what OPOS is for Windows, and thus largely platform independent.


title: Point of sale

text: There are also nearly as many proprietary protocols as there are companies making POS peripherals. Most POS peripherals, such as displays and printers, support several of these command protocols to work with many different brands of POS terminals and computers.


title: Point of sale

text: The design of the sale window is the most important one for the user. This user interface is highly critical when compared to those in other software packages such as word editors or spreadsheet programs where the speed of navigation is not so crucial for business performance.


title: Point of sale

text: For businesses at prime locations where real estate is at a premium, it can be common to see a queue of customers. The faster a sale is completed the shorter the queue time which improves customer satisfaction, the less space it takes, which benefits shoppers and staff. High-traffic operations such as grocery outlets and cafes need to process sales quickly at the sales counter so the UI flow is often designed with as few popups or other interruptions to ensure the operator isn't distracted and the transaction can be processed as quickly as possible.


title: Point of sale

text: Although improving the ergonomics is possible, a clean, fast-paced look may come at the expense of sacrificing functions that are often wanted by end-users such as discounts, access to commission earned screens, membership and loyalty schemes can involve looking at a different function of the POS to ensure the point of sale screen contains only what a cashier needs at their disposal to serve customers.


title: Point of sale

text: The advent of cloud computing has given birth to the possibility of electronic point of sale (EPOS) systems to be deployed as software as a service, which can be accessed directly from the Internet using any internet browser. Using the previous advances in the communication protocols for POS's control of hardware, cloud-based POS systems are independent from platform and operating system limitations. EPOS systems based in the cloud (most small-business POS today) are generally subscription-based, which includes ongoing customer support.


title: Point of sale

text: Compared to regular cash registers (which tend to be significantly cheaper but only process sales and prints receipts), POS systems include automatic updating of the inventory library stock levels when selling products, real-time reports accessible from a remote computer, staff timesheets and a customer library with loyalty features.


title: Point of sale

text: Cloud-based POS systems are also created to be compatible with a wide range of POS hardware and sometimes tablets such as Apple's iPad. Thus cloud-based POS also helped expand POS systems to mobile devices, such as tablet computers or smartphones.


title: Point of sale

text: These devices can also act as barcode readers using a built-in camera and as payment terminals using built-in NFC technology or an external payment card reader. A number of POS companies built their software specifically to be cloud-based. Other businesses who launched pre-2000s have since adapted their software to evolving technology.


title: Point of sale

text: Cloud-based POS systems are different from traditional POS largely because user data, including sales and inventory, are not stored locally, but in a remote server. The POS system is also not run locally, so there is no installation required.


title: Point of sale

text: Depending on the POS vendor and the terms of contract, compared to traditional on-premises POS installation, the software is more likely to be continually updated by the developer with more useful features and better performance in terms of computer resources at the remote server and in terms of fewer bugs and errors.


title: Point of sale

text: Other advantages of a cloud-based POS are instant centralization of data (important especially to chain stores), ability to access data from anywhere there is internet connection, and lower start-up costs.


title: Point of sale

text: Cloud based POS requires an internet connection. For this reason it important to use a device with 3G connectivity in case the device's primary internet goes down. In addition to being significantly less expensive than traditional legacy point of sale systems, the real strength of a cloud based point of sale system is that there are many developers creating software applications for cloud-based POS. Cloud-based POS systems are often described as future proof as new applications are constantly being conceived and built.


title: Point of sale

text: A number of noted emerging cloud-based POS systems came on the scene less than a decade or even half a decade back. These systems are usually designed for restaurants, small and medium-sized retail operations with fairly simple sale processes as can be culled from POS system review sites. It appears from such software reviews that enterprise-level cloud-based POS systems are currently lacking in the market. "Enterprise-level" here means that the inventory should be capable of handling a large number of records, such as required by grocery stores and supermarkets. It can also mean that the system software and cloud server must be capable of generating reports such as analytics of sale against inventory for both a single and multiple outlets that are interlinked for administration by the headquarters of the business operation.


title: Point of sale

text: POS vendors of such cloud based systems should also have a strong contingency plan for the breakdown of their remote server such as represented by fail-over server support. Sometimes a major data center can fail completely, such as in a fire. On-premises installations are therefore sometimes seen alongside cloud-based implementation to preempt such incidents, especially for businesses with high traffic. The on-premises installations may not have the most up-to-date inventory and membership information.


title: Point of sale

text: For such contingency, a more innovative though highly complex approach for the developer is to have a trimmed down version of the POS system installed on the cashier computer at the outlet. On a daily basis the latest inventory and membership information from the remote server is automatically updated into the local database. Thus should the remote server fail, the cashier can switch over to the local sale window without disrupting sales. When the remote server is restored and the cashier switches over to the cloud system, the locally processed sale records are then automatically submitted to the remote system, thus maintaining the integrity of the remote database.


title: Point of sale

text: Although cloud-based POS systems save the end-user startup cost and technical challenges in maintaining an otherwise on-premises installation, there is a risk that if the cloud-based vendor closes down it may result in more immediate termination of services for the end-user compared to the case of a traditional full on-premises POS system where it can still run without the vendor.


title: Point of sale

text: Another consideration is that a cloud-based POS system actually exposes business data to service providers - the hosting service company and the POS vendor which have access to both the application and database. The importance of securing critical business information such as supplier names, top selling items, customer relationship processes cannot be underestimated given that sometimes the few key success factors or trade secrets of a business are actually accessible through the POS system. This security and privacy concern is an ongoing issue in cloud computing.


title: Point of sale

text: The retail industry is one of the predominant users of POS terminals. A retail point of sale system typically includes a cash register (which in recent times comprises a computer, monitor, cash drawer, receipt printer, customer display and a barcode scanner) and the majority of retail POS systems also include a debit/credit card reader. It can also include a conveyor belt, checkout divider, weight scale, integrated credit card processing system, a signature capture device and a customer pin pad device. While the system may include a keyboard and mouse, more and more POS monitors use touch-screen technology for ease of use, and a computer is built into the monitor chassis for what is referred to as an all-in-one unit. All-in-one POS units liberate counter space for the retailer. The POS system software can typically handle a myriad of customer based functions such as sales, returns, exchanges, layaways, gift cards, gift registries, customer loyalty programs, promotions, discounts and much more. POS software can also allow for functions such as pre-planned promotional sales, manufacturer coupon validation, foreign currency handling and multiple payment types.


title: Point of sale

text: The POS unit handles the sales to the consumer but it is only one part of the entire POS system used in a retail business. "Back-office" computers typically handle other functions of the POS system such as inventory control, purchasing, receiving and transferring of products to and from other locations. Other typical functions of a POS system are: store sales information for enabling customer returns, reporting purposes, sales trends and cost/price/profit analysis. Customer information may be stored for receivables management, marketing purposes and specific buying analysis. Many retail POS systems include an accounting interface that "feeds" sales and cost of goods information to independent accounting applications.


title: Point of sale

text: A multiple point of sale system used by big retailers like supermarkets and department stores has a far more demanding database and software architecture than that of a single station seen in small retail outlets. A supermarket with high traffic cannot afford a systemic failure, hence each point of sale station should not only be very robust both in terms of software, database and hardware specifications but also designed in such a way as to prevent causing a systemic failure - such as may happen through the use of a single central database for operations.


title: Point of sale

text: At the same time updating between multiple stations and the back end administrative computer should be capable of being efficiently performed, so that on one hand either at the start of the day or at any time each station will have the latest inventory to process all items for sale, while on the other hand at the end of the day the back end administrative computer can be updated in terms of all sale records.


title: Point of sale

text: This gets even more complicated when there is a membership system requiring real-time two-way updating of membership points between sale stations and the back end administrative computer.


title: Point of sale

text: Retail operations such as hardware stores, lumber yards, electronics stores and so-called multifaceted superstores need specialized additional features compared to other stores. POS software in these cases handles special orders, purchase orders, repair orders, service and rental programs as well as typical point of sale functions. Rugged hardware is required for point of sale systems used in outdoor environments. Wireless devices, battery powered devices, all-in-one units, and Internet-ready machines are typical in this industry.


title: Point of sale

text: Recently new applications have been introduced, enabling POS transactions to be conducted using mobile phones and tablets. According to a recent study, mobile POS (mPOS) terminals are expected to replace the contemporary payment techniques because of various features including mobility, upfront low cost investment and better user experience.


title: Point of sale

text: In the mid-2000s, the blind community in the United States engaged in structured negotiations to ensure that retail point of sale devices had tactile keypads. Without keys that can be felt, a blind person cannot independently enter her or his PIN. In the mid-2000s retailers began using "flat screen" or "signature capture" devices that eliminated tactile keypads. Blind people were forced to share their confidential PIN with store clerks to use their debit and other PIN-based cards. The blind community reached agreement with Walmart, Target, CVS and eight other retailers that required real physical keys so blind people could use the devices.


title: Point of sale

text: Early stores typically kept merchandise behind a counter. Staff would fetch items for customers to prevent the opportunity for theft and sales would be made at the same counter. Self-service grocery stores such as Piggly Wiggly, beginning in 1916, allowed customers to fetch their own items and pass the point of sale enroute to the exit.


title: Point of sale

text: Many stores have a number of checkout stations. Some stations may have an automated cashier (self-checkout). Express lanes might limit the type of payment, or number or type of goods, to expedite service. If each checkout station has a separate queue, customers have to guess which line will move the fastest, to minimize their wait times. They are often frustrated to be wrong or be stuck behind another customer who encounters a problem or who takes excessive time to check out. Some stores use a single, much longer but faster-moving line, that is served by multiple registers, which produces the same average wait time, but reduces the frustration and variance in wait time from person to person. Regardless of the configuration, checkout lines usually pass by impulse buy items to grab the attention of otherwise idle customers.


title: Point of sale

text: Hospitality point of sale systems are computerized systems incorporating registers, computers and peripheral equipment, usually on a computer network to be used in restaurants, hair salons or hotels. Like other point of sale systems, these systems track sales, labor, payroll and can generate records used in accounting and bookkeeping. They may be accessed remotely by restaurant corporate offices, troubleshooters and other authorized parties.


title: Point of sale

text: Point of sale systems have revolutionized the restaurant industry, particularly in the fast food sector. In the most recent technologies, registers are computers, sometimes with touch screens. The registers connect to a server, often referred to as a "store controller" or a "central control unit". Printers and monitors are also found on the network. Additionally, remote servers can connect to store networks and monitor sales and other store data.


title: Point of sale

text: Typical restaurant POS software is able to create and print guest checks, print orders to kitchens and bars for preparation, process credit cards and other payment cards, and run reports. In addition, some systems implement wireless pagers and electronic signature-capture devices.


title: Point of sale

text: In the fast food industry, displays may be at the front counter, or configured for drive-through or walk-through cashiering and order taking. Front counter registers allow taking and serving orders at the same terminal, while drive-through registers allow orders to be taken at one or more drive-through windows, to be cashiered and served at another. In addition to registers, drive-through and kitchen displays are used to view orders. Once orders appear they may be deleted or recalled by the touch interface or by bump bars. Drive-through systems are often enhanced by the use of drive-through wireless (or headset) intercoms. The efficiency of such systems allows decreased service times and increased efficiency of orders.


title: Point of sale

text: Another innovation in technology for the restaurant industry is wireless POS. Many restaurants with high volume use wireless handheld POS to collect orders which are sent to a server. The server sends required information to the kitchen in real time. Wireless systems consist of drive-through microphones and speakers (often one speaker will serve both purposes), which are wired to a "base station" or "center module." This, in turn, will broadcast to headsets. Headsets may be an all-in-one headset, or one connected to a belt pack.


title: Point of sale

text: With the development of the mobile technology, Cloud-based POS system are also put forward to increase the efficiency of some restaurants, integrated with some latest software services such as scan QR code to order by customers themselves. It leads to a new style of offline restaurants dine-in.


title: Point of sale

text: In hotels, POS software allows for transfer of meal charges from dining room to guest room with a button or two. It may also need to be integrated with property management software.


title: Point of sale

text: Newer, more sophisticated systems are departing from the central database "file server" type system and going to what is called a "cluster database". This eliminates any crashing or system downtime that can be associated with the back office file server. This technology allows 100% of the information to not only be stored, but also pulled from the local terminal, thus eliminating the need to rely on a separate server for the system to operate.


title: Point of sale

text: Tablet POS systems popular for retail solutions are now available for the restaurant industry. Initially these systems were not sophisticated and many of the early systems did not support a remote printer in the kitchen. Tablet systems today are being used in all types of restaurants including table service operations. Most tablet systems upload all information to the Internet so managers and owners can view reports from anywhere with a password and Internet connection. Smartphone Internet access has made alerts and reports from the POS very accessible. Tablets have helped create the Mobile POS system, and Mobile POS applications also include payments, loyalty, online ordering, table side ordering by staff and table top ordering by customers. Regarding the payments, mobile POS can accept all kinds of payment methods from contactless cards, EMV chip-enabled cards, and mobile NFC enabled cards. Mobile POS (AKA mPOS) is growing quickly with new developers entering the market almost on a daily basis.


title: Point of sale

text: With the proliferation of low-priced touchscreen tablet computers, more restaurants have implemented self-ordering through a tablet POS placed permanently on every table. Customers can browse through the menu on the tablet and place their orders which are then sent to the kitchen. Most restaurants that have iPad self-order menus include photos of the dishes so guests can easily choose what they want to order. This apparently improves service and saves manpower on the part of the restaurant. However this depends on how intelligently the system has been programmed to be.


title: Point of sale

text: As a case in point, some self-ordering systems not requiring staff assistance may not properly recognize a subsequent order from the same customer at a table. As a result, the customer is left waiting and wondering why his second order of food and drink is not being served.


title: Point of sale

text: Another example of how intelligent the system can be, is whether an order that has been placed but not yet been processed by the kitchen can be modified by the customer through the tablet POS. For such an unprocessed order the customer should be given the option to easily retrieve the order and modify it on the tablet POS. When the order is being processed this function should be automatically disabled.


title: Point of sale

text: Self-ordering systems are not always free completely from intervention by the staff and for some good reasons. For example, some restaurants require that items selected by the customers be attended to and can only be placed by the waiter who has the password required to do so. This prevents fake orders - such as may be entered by playful kids - and subsequent dispute on the items ordered. If alcoholic beverages are ordered, it is necessary for the waiter to verify the customer's age before sending the order.


title: Point of sale

text: The technical specifications for implementing such self-ordering system are more demanding than a single cashier-controlled POS station. On the software and hardware side each tablet on a customer table has to be networked to the cashier POS station and the kitchen computer so that both are continually updated on orders placed. The common database that serves this network must also be capable of serving many concurrent users - cashier, customers, kitchen and perhaps a drink bar.


title: Point of sale

text: It is to be noted by developers that some databases such as popularly-used Microsoft Access may have the specifications that it is capable of usage by multiple concurrent users. However, under the stress of a POS system, they can fail miserably resulting in constant errors and corruption of data.


title: Point of sale

text: POS systems are often designed for a variety of clients, and can be programmed by the end users to suit their needs. Some large clients write their own specifications for vendors to implement. In some cases, POS systems are sold and supported by third-party distributors, while in other cases they are sold and supported directly by the vendor.


title: Point of sale

text: The selection of a restaurant POS system is critical to the restaurant's daily operation and is a major investment that the restaurant's management and staff must endure for many years. The restaurant POS system interfaces with all phases of the restaurant operation, and with everyone that is involved with the restaurant including guests, suppliers, employees, managers and owners. The selection of a restaurant POS system is a complex process that should be undertaken by the restaurant owner and not delegated to an employee. The purchase process can be summarized in three steps: Design, Compare and Negotiate. The Design step requires research to determine which restaurant POS features are needed for the restaurant operation. With this information the restaurant owner or manager can Compare various restaurant POS solutions to determine which POS systems meet their requirements. The final step is to Negotiate the price, payment terms, included training, initial warranty and ongoing support costs.


title: Point of sale

text: POS systems record sales for business and tax purposes. Illegal software dubbed "zappers" can be used on POS devices to falsify these records with a view to evading the payment of taxes.


title: Point of sale

text: In some countries, legislation is being introduced to make cash register systems more secure. For example, the French treasury is estimated to be failing to collect approximately €14 billion of VAT revenue each year. The Finance Bill of 2016 was intended to address some of this loss by making it compulsory for taxpayers to operate on “secure systems”. Therefore, from 1 January 2018, all retail businesses in France are required to record customer payments using certified secure accounting software or cash register systems.


title: Point of sale

text: A certified cash register system must provide for the (i) incommutable, (ii) security and (iii) storage and archiving of data. All businesses required to comply must obtain a certificate from the cash register system provider which certifies that the system meets these requirements. This is because VAT taxpayers may need to provide a certificate to the tax authorities showing that their cash management system fulfills the new requirements.


title: Point of sale

text: If the business cannot provide this certificate to the tax authorities, they may be fined. And, if the tax authorities can demonstrate fraudulent use of the system, both the business and the software provider can face tax penalties, fines, and criminal sanctions. Certification can be obtained either from: a body accredited by the French Accreditation Committee (Comité français d’accréditation or COFRAC) or the software provider of the cash register system.


title: Point of sale

text: Despite the more advanced technology of a POS system as compared to a simple cash register, the POS system is still vulnerable to employee theft through the sales window. A dishonest cashier at a retail outlet can collude with a friend who pretends to be an ordinary customer. During checkout, the cashier can bypass scanning certain items or enter a lower quantity for some items thus profiting from the "free" goods.


title: Point of sale

text: The ability of a POS system to void a closed sale receipt for refund purpose without needing a password from an authorized superior also represents a security loophole. Even a function to issue a receipt with a negative amount which can be useful under certain circumstances, can be exploited by a cashier to easily lift money from the cash drawer.


title: Point of sale

text: To prevent such employee theft, it is crucial for a POS system to provide an admin window for the supervisor or administrator to generate and inspect a daily list of sale receipts, especially pertaining to the frequency of cancelled receipts before completion, refunded receipts and negative receipts. This is one effective way to alert the company to any suspicious activity - such as a high number of cancelled sales by a certain cashier - that may be occurring, and to take monitoring action.


title: Point of sale

text: To further deter employee theft, the sales counter should also be equipped with a closed-circuit television camera pointed at the POS system to monitor and record all activities.


title: Point of sale

text: At the back end, price and other changes like discounts to inventory items through the administration module should be secured with passwords provided to trusted administrators. Any changes made should also be logged and capable of being subsequently retrieved for inspection.


title: Point of sale

text: The sale records and inventory are important to the business because they provide useful information to the company in terms of customer preferences, customer membership particulars, what are the top selling products, who are the vendors and what margins the company is getting from them, the company monthly total revenue and cost, among others.


title: Point of sale

text: It is important that reports on these matters generated at the administrative back end be restricted to trusted personnel. The database from which these reports are generated should be secured via passwords or via encryption of data stored in the database to prevent copying or tampering.


title: Point of sale

text: Despite all such precautions, the POS system can never be entirely watertight in security from internal misuse if a clever, dishonest employee knows how to exploit many of its otherwise useful capabilities.