This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from the prior Japanese Patent Application No. 2017-029085, filed on Feb. 20, 2017, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
Embodiments to be described here generally relate to a tax-exempt processing apparatus and a tax-exempt processing method.
Recently, a large number of customers from foreign countries (for example, foreign tourists) come to retail stores such as convenience stores, supermarkets, and shopping centers, and the number of opportunities of executing tax-exempt processing when selling products is thus increased. Depending on countries or regions, in such tax-exempt processing, for example, the tax-exempt money amount range is defined depending on the kind of tax-exempt products. So a customer pays attention such that the purchased products falls within the tax-exempt range. However, it is difficult for a customer to calculate the sum of the money amount for each kind of products while purchasing products, and to confirm whether the total price falls within the tax-exempt range or not. In such a situation, when executing product register processing for purchased products at a register, a customer asks a cashier whether the total price of the purchased products falls within the tax-exempt range or not. Every time a customer asks a question, a cashier has to find tax-exempt products out of purchased products, calculate the total price of the tax-exempt products, and confirm whether the calculated total price falls within the tax-exempt amount range or not. In such a situation, a cashier cannot smoothly operate the register for the product register processing, and cannot answer for the customer's question promptly.
In view of the above-mentioned situation, for example, there is known a technique in which a mobile terminal of a customer reads the prices of products to be purchased, and the mobile terminal displays the insufficient amount of the total price insufficient for the tax-exempt range to thereby inform the customer of that.
A foreign customer can confirm that the total price of tax-exempt products falls within the tax-exempt amount range. However, where the total price of tax-exempt products is less than the tax-exempt amount range, it is burdensome for a foreign customer to purchase again tax-exempt products for the insufficient amount.
According to an embodiment, a tax-exempt processing apparatus includes a first input device, a second input device, and a memory device. The first input device inputs information of a customer who purchases a product. The second input device inputs information of the product that the customer purchases. The memory device stores a tax-exempt condition. The output device outputs information of a tax amount of the product that the customer purchases. The processor determines whether the customer is a person-being-exempt-from-paying-tax or not on a basis of the information of the customer input by the first input device. The processor calculates a tax amount of the product that the customer purchases on a basis of the information of the product input by the second input device. The processor determines, in a case where the processor determines that the customer is a person-being-exempt-from-paying-tax, whether the calculated tax amount reaches a predetermined tax-exempt amount or not on a basis of the tax-exempt condition stored in the memory device. Further, the processor causes, in a case where the processor determines that the calculated tax amount is less than the predetermined money amount, the output device to output an insufficient amount of the calculated tax amount insufficient for the predetermined money amount.
The tax-exempt processing apparatus 100a of a first embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, the same reference symbols denote the same or similar parts.
The POS terminal 10 is a terminal that executes accounting processing of products that a customer purchases. Note that
The shop server 4a stores product information of products available at the shop (information of available products), and information necessary for the tax-exempt processing. The shop server 4a determines whether the total price of tax-exempt products or the tax amount of the tax-exempt products is within a tax-exempt range or not for a customer who requires tax-exempt processing. The tax-exempt range indicates a range of a predetermined money amount, i.e., a tax-exempt-permitted money amount. Where the shop server 4a determines that the total price of tax-exempt products or the tax amount of tax-exempt products is not within the tax-exempt range, the shop server 4a selects a recommended product Rm and suggests the selected recommended product Rm to a customer. Note that the shop server 4a is connected to the POS terminal 10 via the communication network 3 such as a LAN (Local Area Network) such that they can communicate with each other.
As shown in
Further, as shown in
Further, peripheral devices are connected to the controller 30 of the POS terminal 10 via the input/output control unit 35. The peripheral devices include the keyboard 13, the cashier display device 15, the customer display device 16, the printer 17, the card R/W 11, the barcode reader 22, the passport reader 23, and the like. The controller 30 controls behaviors of those peripheral devices.
The keyboard 13 has various keys arrayed in blocks. The various keys include, for example, numeric keys (or numeric keypad), a subtotal key, a cash-total key (or accept/cash-total key), a PLU (Price Look-Up) key, an enter key for defining numeric input of numeric keys, a clear key, and the like. The numeric keys receive operations to input product codes, prices, and the like. The subtotal key receives an operation to declare calculation of the sales total price. The cash-total key receives an operation to declare end of cash in sales processing. The PLU (Price Look-Up) key receives operations to specify various products. The enter key receives an operation to define numeric input with the numeric keys. The clear key receives an operation to clear numeric input with the numeric keys. Further, the keyboard includes an operator key such as the tax-exempt declaration key K1 necessary to execute tax-exempt processing. The tax-exempt declaration key K1 is an operator key that declare execution of tax-exempt processing of the transaction. Further, the keyboard 13 includes a section key, a receipt issue key, a check-out key, a product name list output key, and the like.
Further, the POS terminal 10 includes the communication interface (I/F) 24 that sends/receives data to/from the shop server 4a, i.e., the master device, via the communication network 3 in the shop. The communication interface 24 is also connected to the internal bus 34.
Further, the POS terminal 10 includes memory devices. As shown in
The memory 26 stores the control programs P1 such as an operating system and various computer programs, and various data files. Further, the memory 26 stores a tax-exempt condition. Specifically, the memory 26 stores the tax-exempt category table F2 and the tax-exempt range table F3. The shop server 4a transmits the tax-exempt category table F2 and the tax-exempt range table F3 (described later).
Installable or executable files of the control programs P1 to be executed by the POS terminal 10 are recorded in non-transitory computer readable recording media such as a CD-ROM, a flexible disk (FD), a CD-R, and a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc) and supplied.
Note that the control programs P1 may be stored in a computer connected to a network such as the Internet, downloaded via the network, and supplied. Further, the control programs P1 may be supplied or distributed via a network such as the Internet. Further, the control programs P1 may be prestored in the ROM 32 and supplied.
The RAM 43 stores the tax-exempt product price table T, which is used to calculate the total price of tax-exempt products. The tax-exempt product price table T will be described later.
Further, peripheral devices are connected to the shop server 4a via the input/output control unit 46. The peripheral devices include, for example, the keyboard 47 and the display device 48. The controller 40 controls behaviors of those peripheral devices. Further, the shop server 4a includes the communication interface (I/F) 49 that sends/receives data to/from the POS terminal 10 via the communication network 3 in the shop. The communication interface 49 is also connected to the internal bus 44.
Further, the shop server 4a includes memory devices. As shown in
The memory 45 stores the control programs P2 such as an operating system and various computer programs, and various data files. Further, the memory 45 stores a tax-exempt condition. Specifically, the memory 45 stores the product master file F1a, the tax-exempt category table F2, and the tax-exempt range table F3. The files will be described later.
Installable or executable files of the control programs P2 to be executed by the shop server 4a are recorded in non-transitory computer readable recording media such as a CD-ROM, a flexible disk, a CD-R, and a DVD and supplied.
Note that the control programs P2 may be stored in a computer connected to a network such as the Internet, downloaded via the network, and supplied. Further, the control programs P2 may be supplied or distributed via a network such as the Internet. Further, the control programs P2 may be prestored in the ROM 42 and supplied.
Next, tax-exempt processing of the present embodiment will be described. In some countries or regions, where a foreign customer purchases products and satisfies a predetermined tax-exempt condition, the foreign customer is exempt from paying tax, i.e., a so-called tax-exempt action. In this specification, the country or region means a country or region of a shop in which the tax-exempt processing apparatus of the present embodiment is installed.
The predetermined tax-exempt condition is provided for customers who purchase products. Further, in some countries or regions, the predetermined tax-exempt condition is provided for not only customers who purchase products but also products to be purchased. In other words, in order to get a tax-exempt action in Japan, for example, a customer has to have a foreign nationality other than Japan and a short-stay status. Further, the customer has to be a visitor staying in Japan for 6 months or less after arrival. It is possible to determine whether a customer satisfies those conditions by reading information written in a passport of the customer.
Further, in order to get a tax-exempt action in Japan, for example, it is necessary to satisfy a condition that a customer purchases predetermined products (tax-exempt products) within a range of a predetermined money amount. Further, tax-exempt products are categorized into consumables (foods, beverages, cosmetics, and medicines, etc.) and general products (products such as clothes and sundries other than consumables). Further, only where the total price (excluding tax) of consumables purchased at one shop on one day is 5,000 yen or more and 500,000 yen or less or where the total price (excluding tax) of general products is 5,000 yen or more, a tax-exempt action is applied, i.e., the customer is exempt from paying consumption tax in Japan.
In the present embodiment, the aforementioned tax-exempt category table F2 is a table that defines information specifying tax-exempt products, general products, and consumables. Note that, in a country or a region in which the predetermined tax-exempt condition is not applied for products to be purchased, i.e., no category is defined for tax-exempt products, the tax-exempt category table F2 is not required. Further, the tax-exempt range table F3 is a table that defines the range (excluding tax) of a predetermined money amount for the tax-exempt action for each of general products and consumables.
The products registered in the product master file F1a are sorted into groups depending on the category codes C1. The category codes C1 indicate categories of products such as alcoholic beverages, foods, and clothes, for example. In other words, the products registered in the product master file F1a are sorted on a basis of the category codes C1 indicating categories of products such as alcoholic beverages, foods, and clothes, for example.
The tax-exempt category code C5 of each product registered in the product master file F1a is a code defined in the aforementioned tax-exempt category table F2 (see
Note that the product master file F1a has a so-called relational database structure. In other words, it is possible to sort information registered in the product master file F1a on a basis of search conditions set as necessary without difficulty. For example, it is possible to execute a search operation such as “sorting products having the tax-exempt category code C5 “01” in the ascending order of the price C4” without difficulty. Note that, as described above, if there is no tax-exempt product category, it is not necessary to register the tax-exempt category code C5 in the product master file F1a. In other words, the product master file F1a is determined also depending on tax-exempt conditions of a country or a region.
The reading module 50 is an example of a reading means. The reading module 50 causes the barcode reader 22 (see
The determining module 52 is an example of a determining means. The determining module 52 determines whether a customer is a person-being-exempt-from-paying-tax or not on a basis of passport information of the customer read by the passport reader 23 (see
Where the customer is a person-being-exempt-from-paying-tax, the accounting module 54 executes accounting processing including tax-exempt processing for settlement of tax-exempt purchased products. Note that, in some countries or regions, tax-exempt processing is executed at not a shop, at which a customer purchases products, but a predetermined site (for example, airport, etc.). In such countries or regions, even if the customer is a person-being-exempt-from-paying-tax, the accounting module 54 executes general accounting processing without tax-exempt processing. Further, where the customer is a person-being-exempt-from-paying-tax, the accounting module 54 executes general accounting processing for settlement of purchased products.
The display module 56 displays information of a calculation result of the addition module 62 (described later), i.e., information of the total price of tax-exempt purchased products, on the customer display device 16 (see
The data sending/receiving module 58 sends/receives information to/from the POS terminal 10 and the shop server 4a.
The CPU 41 (see
The specifying module 60 is an example of a specifying means. On the condition that the determining module 52 determines that a customer is a person-being-exempt-from-paying-tax, the specifying module 60 specifies tax-exempt products out of purchased products on a basis of a reading result of the reading module 50. Specifically, the specifying module 60 refers to the tax-exempt category code C5 of the product corresponding to the reading result of the reading module 50 in the product master file F1a (see
The addition module 62 is an example of an addition means. The addition module 62 adds the purchased amounts of tax-exempt products for each tax-exempt category, and thereby calculates the total price of the tax-exempt purchased products for each tax-exempt category. As described above, if there is no tax-exempt product category, the addition module 62 calculates the total price of all the purchased products. The calculation result for each tax-exempt category is written in the tax-exempt product price table T in the RAM 43 (see
The comparison module 64 is an example of a comparison means. The comparison module 64 compares the calculation result of the addition module 62 with the tax-exempt range indicating the range of the tax-exempt-permitted money amount for each tax-exempt category in the tax-exempt range table F3. Further, the comparison module 64 determines whether the calculation result of the addition module 62 reaches the tax-exempt range, i.e., within the tax-exempt range, or not.
The selecting module 65a (CPU 41) is an example of a selecting means. On the condition that the calculation result of the addition module 62 (CPU 41) is less than the minimum value of the tax-exempt range under the comparison result of the comparison module 64 (CPU 41), the selecting module 65a selects a recommended product Rm from tax-exempt products, the price of the recommended product Rm satisfying the insufficient amount for the minimum value of the tax-exempt range. A specific method of selecting the recommended product Rm will be described later.
The suggestion module 66 is an example of a suggestion means. The suggestion module 66 suggests the customer to purchase the recommended product Rm selected by the selecting module 65a.
The data sending/receiving module 68 sends/receives information to/from the POS terminal 10 and the shop server 4a as necessary.
The memory module 45a stores the product master file F1a, the file of the tax-exempt category table F2, and the file of the tax-exempt range table F3 in the memory 45.
Note that the functional configuration of
In particular, in a megastore in which a large number of POS terminals 10 are connected to the shop server 4a, preferably, the shop server 4a transmits the files stored by the memory module 45a to the POS terminals 10 and the POS terminals 10 execute tax-exempt processing such that the shop server 4a does not need to execute all the tax-exempt processing. In this case, the aforementioned tax-exempt product price table T is generated in the RAM 33 (see
Next, a method of selecting the recommended product Rm by the selecting module 65a will be described. On the condition that the calculation result of the addition module (total price or tax amount of tax-exempt purchased products) is less than the minimum value of the tax-exempt range, the selecting module 65a accesses the product master file F1a. Note that, before accessing the product master file F1a, the selecting module 65a recognizes the insufficient amount of the total price (calculation result of the addition module 62) for the minimum value of the tax-exempt range and recognizes one of the tax-exempt categories (general products or consumables).
Firstly, the selecting module 65a accesses the field of the tax-exempt category code C5 of the product master file F1a, and refers to the products of the tax-exempt category, the total price or tax amount of the tax-exempt purchased products of this tax-exempt category being insufficient. Further, the selecting module 65a sorts, in the ascending order of the price C4, the products of the tax-exempt category, the total price or tax amount of the tax-exempt purchased products of this tax-exempt category being insufficient, out of the information registered in the product master file F1a. Note that, as described above, if there is no tax-exempt product category, the products are sorted in the ascending order of the price C4 without referring to the products of the tax-exempt category of the product master file F1a.
Further, the selecting module 65a selects a tax-exempt product, the price thereof being the insufficient amount or more of the total price of the purchased products insufficient for the minimum value of the tax-exempt range, such that the total price or tax amount of the purchased products reaches the minimum value of the tax-exempt range (tax-exempt range table of
Further, the suggestion module 66 converts the insufficient amount of the total price for the minimum value of the tax-exempt range and information of the recommended product Rm selected by the selecting module 65a into data format, with which the information can be displayed on the customer display device 16 (
The display module 56 of the POS terminal 10 displays the information of the recommended product Rm received from the shop server 4a on the customer display device 16. A customer watches what is displayed on the customer display device 16, and recognizes that the recommended product Rm is a product, whose price satisfies the insufficient amount for the minimum value of the tax-exempt range. Note that, where the selecting module 65a selects a plurality of products as the recommended products Rm, the suggestion module 66 may display all the plurality of selected recommended products on the customer display device 16 to provide an opportunity to select a product to the customer.
Further, where the minimum value of the tax-exempt range is to be satisfied efficiently by purchasing the plurality of recommended products Rm selected by the selecting module 65a, the suggestion module 66 of the shop server 4a may send information that bulk purchasing is good to the POS terminal 10. In this case, the display module 56 of the POS terminal 10 displays the information of the recommended product Rm and the information of the bulk purchasing together on the customer display device 16.
Each of
Next, with reference to
In Step S10 of
In Step S12, the CPU 31 of the controller 30 detects that the tax-exempt declaration key K1 of the keyboard 13 (see
In Step S14, the reading module 50 (CPU 31) executes product register processing of registering product information read by the barcode reader 22 (see
In Step S16, the specifying module 60 (CPU 41) recognizes whether the purchased products, which are registered in the product register processing, are tax-exempt products or not on a basis of the reading result of the reading module 50 (CPU 31). Where the specifying module 60 recognizes that the purchased products are tax-exempt products (Step S16: Yes), the processing of the tax-exempt processing apparatus 100a proceeds to Step S18. Meanwhile, where the specifying module 60 recognizes that the purchased products are not tax-exempt products (Step S16: No), the processing of the tax-exempt processing apparatus 100a proceeds to Step S40. In Step S40, the addition module 62 (CPU 41) adds the money amounts of tax-non-exempt products. After the money amounts of tax-non-exempt products are added, the processing of the tax-exempt processing apparatus 100a proceeds to Step S22.
In Step S18, the specifying module 60 (CPU 41) recognizes whether the tax-exempt category of the tax-exempt purchased products is consumables or not. Where the specifying module 60 recognizes that tax-exempt purchased products are consumables (Step S18: Yes), the processing of the tax-exempt processing apparatus 100a proceeds to Step S20. In Step S20, the addition module 62 (CPU 41) adds the money amounts of the consumables to thereby calculate the total price of the consumables. After the money amounts of the consumables are added, the processing of the tax-exempt processing apparatus 100a proceeds to Step S22. Meanwhile, where the specifying module 60 recognizes that tax-exempt purchased products are not consumables (Step S18: No), the processing of the tax-exempt processing apparatus 100a proceeds to Step S42. In Step S42, the addition module 62 adds the money amounts of general products to thereby calculate the total price of the general products. After the money amounts of the general products are added, the processing of the tax-exempt processing apparatus 100a proceeds to Step S22. Note that, as described above, if there is no tax-exempt product category, the CPU 41 does not execute the processing of Step S16 and Step S18. After the product register processing of Step S14, instead of the processing of Step S20, Step S42, and Step S40, the CPU 41 calculates the total price of all the purchased products registered in the product register processing.
In Step S22, the accounting module 54 (CPU 31) determines whether the subtotal key is pressed or not. Where the accounting module 54 determines that the subtotal key is pressed (Step S22: Yes), the processing of the tax-exempt processing apparatus 100a proceeds to Step S24. Meanwhile, where the accounting module 54 determines that the subtotal key is not pressed (Step S22: No), the processing of the tax-exempt processing apparatus 100a returns to Step S14.
In Step S24, the comparison module 64 (CPU 41) determines whether the total price of the consumables or the total price of the general products is less than each tax-exempt satisfying amount (the minimum value of the tax-exempt range) or not. Specifically, the comparison module 64 (CPU 41) determines whether at least one of the total price of the consumables and the total price of the general products is less than each tax-exempt satisfying amount (the minimum value of the tax-exempt range) on a basis of the set value of the tax-exempt range table F3. Note that, in
In Step S26, the comparison module 64 (CPU 41) calculates the insufficient amount of the total price of the consumables insufficient for the tax-exempt satisfying amount, or the insufficient amount of the total price of the general products insufficient for the tax-exempt satisfying amount.
Next, in Step S28, the selecting module 65a (CPU 41) selects the recommended product Rm from the product master file F1a.
Next, in Step S30, the suggestion module 66 (CPU 41) causes the customer display device 16 (
Meanwhile, where the comparison module 64 (CPU 41) determines that the total price (or tax amount) of the consumables is the tax-exempt satisfying amount or more, and the total price (or tax amount) of the general products is the tax-exempt satisfying amount or more (Step S24: No), as described above, the processing of the tax-exempt processing apparatus 100a proceeds to Step S44. Further, in Step S44, the comparison module 64 determines whether the total price (or tax amount) of the consumables exceeds the tax-exempt satisfying amount or not. Where the comparison module 64 determines that the total price (or tax amount) of the consumables exceeds the tax-exempt satisfying amount (Step S44: Yes), the processing of the tax-exempt processing apparatus 100a proceeds to Step S46.
In Step S46, the comparison module 64 (CPU 41) calculates the excess amount of the total price of the consumables beyond the tax-exempt satisfying amount (the maximum value of the tax-exempt range).
Next, in Step S48, the suggestion module 66 (CPU 41) causes the customer display device 16 (
Further, in Step S44, where the comparison module 64 (CPU 41) determines that the total price of the consumables does not exceed the tax-exempt satisfying amount (the maximum value of the tax-exempt range) (Step S44: No), the processing of the tax-exempt processing apparatus 100a proceeds to Step S50. In Step S50, the accounting module 54 (CPU 31) of the controller 30 executes accounting processing including tax-exempt processing for settlement of the products purchased by the customer.
Next, in Step S52, the suggestion module 66 (CPU 41) causes the customer display device 16 (see
In Step S10, where the determining module 52 (CPU 31) determines that the customer is a person-being-exempt-from-paying-tax (Step S10: No), the processing of the tax-exempt processing apparatus 100a proceeds to Step S32.
In Step S32, the reading module 50 (CPU 31) executes product register processing including registering product information read by the barcode reader 22 (see
Next, in Step S34, the accounting module 54 (CPU 31) determines whether the subtotal key is pressed or not. Where the accounting module 54 determines that the subtotal key is pressed (Step S34: Yes), the processing of the tax-exempt processing apparatus 100a proceeds to Step S36. Meanwhile, where the accounting module 54 determines that the subtotal key is not pressed (Step S34: No), the processing of the tax-exempt processing apparatus 100a returns to Step S32.
In Step S36, the accounting module 54 (CPU 31) executes general accounting processing without tax-exempt processing. Further, in Step S38, the accounting module 54 causes the customer display device 16 (see
Note that, in the flowchart of
As described in the first embodiment, a method of selecting the recommended product Rm is not limited to a selecting method based on prices of tax-exempt products. Hereinafter, as a second embodiment, the tax-exempt processing apparatus 100b that selects the recommended product Rm on a basis of interest, preference, and the like of a customer will be described.
The hardware configuration of the tax-exempt processing apparatus 100b is the same as the hardware configuration of the tax-exempt processing apparatus 100a of the first embodiment.
The selecting module 65b includes, in relation with the products registered in the product master file Fib, statistical data such as the past sales performance (sales history) and the basket analysis result. The basket analysis is one analysis method for data mining, and a method of analyzing products purchased together. Further, on the condition that the calculation result of the addition module 62 is less than the minimum value of the tax-exempt range under the comparison result of the comparison module 64, the selecting module 65b selects the recommended product Rm, the price thereof satisfying the insufficient amount for the minimum value, from the tax-exempt products registered in the product master file F1b. At this time, firstly, the selecting module 65b calculates the promotion priority Pr of each product on a basis of the information of the purchased products in the product register processing (see Step S14 of
Hereinafter, with reference to the product master file F1b of
Firstly, in Step S60 of
Subsequently, in Step S62, the selecting module 65b (CPU 41) sorts the rows of the product master file Fib of
In Step S64, the selecting module 65b (CPU 41) refers to the result of the promotion priority Pr sorted in the descending order, and selects the product having the highest promotion priority Pr as the recommended product Rm out of the products, the total price of the tax-exempt purchased products reaching the minimum value of the tax-exempt range. For example, in the example of
Note that, when selecting the recommended product Rm, the selecting module 65b (CPU 41) may allow a customer to specify a selection condition for selecting the recommended product Rm. For example, the selecting module 65b may show a customer, for example, a message “if you purchase one more product, you can get a tax-exempt action. Do you prefer foods, clothes, or alcoholic beverages?” or another message to narrow down a product category. The customer inputs an answer to the question by using the touch panel of the customer display device 16 (
As described above, according to the tax-exempt processing apparatus 100a of the first embodiment, the determining module 52 (determining means) determines that the customer is a person-being-exempt-from-paying-tax. Where the determining module 52 determines that the customer is a person-being-exempt-from-paying-tax, the specifying module 60 (specifying means) determines whether the products having product information read by the reading module 50 (reading means) are tax-exempt products or not. Further, the addition module 62 (addition means) calculates the total price of the tax-exempt products. The comparison module 64 (comparison means) compares the calculation result of the addition module (aforementioned total price or tax amount) with the tax-exempt range indicating the range of the tax-exempt-permitted money amount. Further, on the condition that the calculation result (total price or tax amount of tax-exempt product) is less than the minimum value of the tax-exempt range under the comparison result of the comparison module 64, the selecting module 65a (selecting means) selects the recommended product Rm, the price of the recommended product Rm satisfying the insufficient amount for the minimum value, from tax-exempt products. The suggestion module 66 (suggestion means) suggests the selected recommended product Rm to a customer. Therefore, the tax-exempt processing apparatus 100a of the first embodiment can appropriately suggest the recommended product Rm that reaches the tax-exempt amount to the customer.
Further, where there are tax-exempt categories, the addition module 62 (addition means) of the tax-exempt processing apparatus 100a calculates the total price of tax-exempt products for each tax-exempt category. Therefore, even if products of different tax-exempt categories are purchased together, it is possible to select the recommended product Rm for each tax-exempt category.
Further, the selecting module 65a (selecting means) of the tax-exempt processing apparatus 100a selects the recommended product Rm on a basis of the price of a tax-exempt product. Therefore, it is possible to select the recommended product Rm easily and reliably.
Further, the selecting module 65b (selecting means) of the tax-exempt processing apparatus 100b selects the recommended product Rm on a basis of the past sales performance such as the sales history and the basket analysis result. Therefore, it is possible to suggest the recommended product Rm to a customer as accurately as possible.
Further, the selecting module 65b (selecting means) of the tax-exempt processing apparatus 100b selects the recommended product Rm on a basis of the condition specified by a customer. Therefore, it is possible to suggest the recommended product Rm to a customer more accurately.
Further, the tax-exempt processing apparatus 100a may have a suspend function. For example, when the suggestion module 66 suggests the recommended product Rm, or when the suggestion module 66 suggests the recommended product Rm, the tax-exempt processing apparatus 100a temporarily suspends the product register processing. If the tax-exempt processing apparatus 100a includes such a suspend function, a customer can get a satisfactory opportunity to actually purchase the recommended product Rm. Note that the suspend function includes a function of printing identifier data identifying temporarily-suspended transaction data and issuing a receipt. Further, after the customer puts the recommended product Rm in a basket and comes back to the register, the tax-exempt processing apparatus 100a causes the POS terminal 10 to read the identifier data of that receipt. As a result, the POS terminal 10 of the tax-exempt processing apparatus 100a may resume the temporarily-suspended product register processing.
While certain embodiments have been described, these embodiments have been presented by way of example only, and are not intended to limit the scope of the inventions. Indeed, the novel embodiments described herein may be embodied in a variety of other forms; furthermore, various omissions, substitutions and changes in the form of the embodiments described herein may be made without departing from the spirit of the inventions. The accompanying claims and their equivalents are intended to cover such forms or modifications as would fall within the scope and spirit of the inventions.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2017-029085 | Feb 2017 | JP | national |