Best Practice: Multi-Store Portals
What Information Is Shared?
Stores connected through a Multi-Store Portal share a central database, meaning certain product information is shared between locations.
Shared information includes:
- Primary CSPC
- Primary UPC
- Product Name
- Size
- Category
- Deposit
- Units per Pack
- Units per Case
- Country
- Varietal
Because these fields are shared, stores should not maintain different versions of this information locally in POS Manager.
If a shared field is changed locally, synchronization may replace the change with the information stored in the Portal.
Best Practice
If you want a shared product change to remain, make the change in the Portal.
The Portal should be treated as the primary source for shared product information.
Use Head Office for Group-Level Maintenance
Some information, including certain Category settings and attributes, can only be maintained through Head Office.
Managers responsible for maintaining shared products, categories, vendors, or other group-level information should therefore have appropriate access to:
- Their individual store; and
- Head Office
Head Office access is managed through Staff Maintenance from Head Office.
Keep Product Names Consistent
Product names should be standardized across all stores in a Multi-Store group.
A product name changed locally in POS Manager may not immediately change back during regular synchronization. However, the Portal version can be sent to stores if the product is later opened and saved in the Portal or if synchronization needs to be restarted or refreshed.
For this reason, individual stores should not create different product names for the same shared product.
Make product-name changes through the Portal so that the information remains consistent across the group.
Manage Vendors Through Portal
Individual stores can use different vendors for the same product. However, the vendor records themselves are shared.
Shared vendor information can include:
- Vendor ID
- Vendor Name
- Vendor Group
- Order by Case or Unit settings
- Email addresses
- Other vendor attributes
Vendor maintenance and cleanup should therefore be completed through the Portal, preferably from Head Office.
If synchronization is operating correctly, shared vendor records should be available to all stores.
Duplicate or Missing Vendors
Unexpected duplicate or missing vendors can sometimes indicate a synchronization problem.
Possible causes include:
- Outdated Barnet software
- Internet or network interruptions
- Power outages
- Windows updates
- Antivirus or security software
- POS Service being stopped or blocked
If you notice unexpected duplicate vendors or other synchronization issues, contact Barnet Support before completing significant vendor cleanup.
