Arrange a date and time check before the store opens. Compare the clocks on the server or main computer and on every accounting workstation. Then check the date actually shown on a training document and the reporting period settings.
Record the check in a brief log: device, displayed values, reference time, discrepancy, person responsible, and result of the repeat check. If you find a mismatch, keep the records and pass them to the administrator. Agree on what to do before resuming operations at the affected workstation.
Assign people and prepare the input data
The owner should appoint a technical contact, an employee to perform the check, and a substitute. Agree on the check time and device list. Also decide who will make the call if the clock readings or document date do not match the reference data.
Ask the technical contact to choose a shared source for the reference time and record its time zone. Before calculating a discrepancy, both readings must be expressed in the same time zone. If the time zones differ, send the readings and both time zones to the administrator for comparison. In both illustrative examples below, the clock readings are expressed in the same time zone. Everyone must use that source. For each comparison, record the reference value at the moment of observation so that the readings are compared for the same moment.
Before the training operation, the administrator must prepare a separate training database and confirm that it is isolated from live fiscalization, payments, and other external operations. Until then, limit the check to observing clocks and existing documents.
Compare the clocks at every workstation
In Windows, date, time, time zone, and daylight saving time settings are available in the Settings app. Open them to view and record the displayed values. See the Microsoft help on date and time in Windows for details.
- Record the device name and the employee performing the check.
- Record the displayed date, time, and time zone.
- At the same time, record the date and time on the shared reference clock.
- Calculate the discrepancy. Mark whether the device clock is ahead of or behind the reference clock.
- Report the mismatch to the technical contact and record the agreed action.
Do not change system settings during this walkthrough. The Windows Time service is intended to synchronize computer clocks across a network. Have the administrator check its settings; the service's purpose is described in the Microsoft documentation on Windows Time. Having the service does not replace comparing the actual readings.
Illustrative example of a log entry
The values below are fictional and provided for a training example. The time zone shown here is an observation recorded in the log, not a setting recommendation.
| What to record | Illustrative entry |
|---|---|
| Device | Register-1 |
| Check time according to the reference clock | October 15, 08:55 |
| Displayed time zone | UTC+03:00 |
| Date and time on the computer | October 15, 09:55 |
| Reference date and time | October 15, 08:55 |
| Discrepancy | The computer clock is 60 minutes ahead of the reference clock |
| Person performing the check and responsible person | Cashier performs the check; administrator makes the decision |
| Assigned action | Pass the entry to the administrator; pause recording operations at this workstation until the administrator decides |
| Repeat check result | Pending |
Create separate entries for other devices. If there is no discrepancy at a workstation, still record both values. This gives the owner a list of checked devices and a separate list of unresolved issues.
Training sale and a product report in Torgsoft
After confirming that the training database is isolated, check one document. When the «Реалізація» (Sale) form is opened, Torgsoft automatically creates a new sale document. Before opening it, record the reference time and the computer time. For the illustrative test, use one unit of training merchandise priced at 100 UAH and a cash payment of 100 UAH. For a cash payment, the user enters the amount received, and the program calculates the change. Under these conditions, the expected change is 0 UAH.
After the training operation, record the document number and the date actually displayed. Compare it with the date of the test. Separately check the training merchandise, quantity, and amount against the prepared input data. This record gives the owner the result of a specific check; do not automatically apply it to other workstations or configurations.
To generate a product report for a period in Torgsoft, the user specifies the reporting period and sales time. Select the period based on the recorded date of the training operation and check both parameters. For the first check, include the entire day in question. Record all selected report settings and save the displayed result. For an unambiguous comparison, use a training item with no other operations in the selected period apart from this test sale. Check the item, the quantity sold—1 unit—and the sales amount—100 UAH. If these conditions are not met, first send the report settings and the list of operations involving this item to the administrator for comparison. Also report a missing item or a discrepancy when the conditions are met.
Check the document date at a period boundary
Consider this paper-based scenario separately: the reference clock shows September 30, 23:58, while the computer shows October 1, 00:58. The illustrative difference is 60 minutes, but the displayed calendar dates are already different. For the check, record the date of the actual event, the date on the document, and the selected reporting period.
Use existing training records for the relevant dates. Do not change a live clock to recreate the scenario. Do not determine the document date solely from the Windows display: check which date is actually shown in the specific entry. Comparing these values will help you give the administrator a precise task.
Report an anomaly and record completion
Include the device name, time zone, both time values, training operation number, document date, report settings, and a screenshot of the relevant screen in the message to the administrator. Keep the existing records. Do not make unauthorized changes to posted or closed documents.
After the administrator's actions, compare the clocks again and create a new training operation in the isolated database. Complete the check when a repeat result has been recorded for every device, the training document date matches the test date, and the reporting period settings have been checked. If a mismatch remains, record it, the person responsible, and the next agreed action.
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