Getting Started

Getting Started with C-Store Office™™

You can be up and running with your own C-Store Office™ back office system in just days.  Unlike the weeks of preparation required with some back office systems, there are just a few simple steps you need to complete your C-Store Office™ installation.  Here are the steps you need to take:

Give us your information

In order to set up your own, private C-Store Office™ site; we’ll need to gather some information about your company.  Start by going to the registration section of the site.  There, you can fill out a form that will give us the basic information we need to get started on your site.  Information we need includes:

1. What are your gasoline and store brands?
2. What kind of cash registers do you have? 
3. What are the addresses and phone numbers of your stores? 
4. What versions of cash register software are you running?
5. Do you have PCs in your stores?
6. Do you have broadband–or dial-up–connections in your stores?

Once we have that information, we’ll e-mail you a few other forms concerning cash register departments, EDI Vendors, if any, and web site access levels you’d like to set for your employees (store employee, store manager, corporate officer, etc.)  With this information, we can structure your C-Store Office™ site. 

Roll-out plan

Once we’ve got your information in place, we can develop a roll-out plan for your C-Store Office™ launch.  We set a schedule for when a Petrosoft technician will install your connections and train your staff.  The schedule is always subject to your approval.    

1. NOTE:  If you do not currently have scanners, we’ll schedule your hook-up after you’ve installed them.  (C-Store office works with all major brands, which usually cost between 400 and 600 dollars.)  To take full advantage of C-Store Office™ and really drill down into your inventory, having a scanner is a must.  We really recommend them.  
2. HOWEVER, if you don’t have or plan to purchase scanners, you can still use C-Store Office™.  Cash registers can be set to have just two departments and PLUs can be entered manually. 
   
   
   
   

Web site set-up

Prior to the roll-out we will set up your C-Store Office™ web site with user names, passwords, permissions already in place.  Your own internal administrator will have control over users, passwords and permissions after that. 

We’ll also set up connections to your vendors that are currently using EDI.  Once you become a C-Store Office™ subscriber, we become, in effect, your EDI service supplier.  So even if you haven’t done EDI until now, we can bring that level of automation to your business. 

Hook up the cash registers

We will send a Petrosoft-approved technician to your sites to hook up your cash registers.  Most new registers, like Nucleus, Passport and Sapphire plug into the system with virtually no problem, because they come equipped with an IP (internet) address from the initial set-up.  Some older Gilbarco and Ruby Supersystem machines require a little more work, but can still be hooked up in less than one day. 

The technician will also set-up the registers, if necessary.  We prefer that customers use our department model; however, C-Store Office™ is flexible and can be modified if the customer prefers to use their own department/category scheme.    Your C-Store Office™ subscription starts the day your cash register is hooked up to our servers. 
 

Information collection from the register

If you already have a price book, we will upload it, and swap your pricing into the your personal version of the centralized C-Store Office™ price book.  This includes swapping in your prices for the items already in our book, plus adding your special items that are not in our price book. The end result–you’ll keep all your pricing in place, and still have the advantage of C-Store Office™’s 13,000 PLU price book for any new items you might want to add. 

Training for your staff

Once your web site and cash registers are set-up, we can begin training your staff.  A Petrosoft trainer will spend one day with your staff reviewing everything they need to know to get the most out of C-Store Office™. 

Normally, we travel to your location if there are four or more people requiring training, and request that you attend a training session at our headquarters in Philadelphia, PA, if there are three or fewer trainees.  However, we can always make accommodations for smaller groups at your location, if desired.