General notes
Follow this list of “to-do’s” to begin your implementation of ProtoBase. More specific information is given in
Pre-install instructions.
1. Contact your processing bank and tell them you’re switching to “high-speed ProtoBase” or let the new processing bank you choose know that you’ll be using high-speed ProtoBase – they may have to create new merchant IDs for this. You’ll need up to three merchant IDs – one for Retail sales, one for F&B and one for E-Commerce sales (MOTO).
2. Once you have the merchant IDs, complete the MVP form twice – once for each merchant ID – and also complete the other two attached documents.
3. Fax all the completed paperwork to Elavon (ProtoBase’s parent company), 727-431-4411.
4. It takes Elavon about ten - twelve business days to build and test your new merchant files.
5. Elavon contacts you to schedule the remote implementation. It takes about two hours and happens over the phone and with VNC.
6. Elavon bills you for their products after the implementation has been completed.
Please observe the following when installing ProtoBase:
1. Always change the default administrative log-in/pw (don’t use pbadmin/pbadmin).
• pbadm32 usually runs on the ProtoBase Server, but you don’t want everyone in the organization running it from there. Use RealVu instead, which runs remotely from other Computers but provides much of the same information.
• What are the typical reasons why totals don’t match in Salesware and pbadm32 (clients should check this when they close out each day)?
• Someone added a transaction in pbadm32
• Salespoint times out – transaction went through but Salespoint thinks it didn’t, so CC is used again. Change the timeout value with the ProtobaseTimeout .INI setting.
2. Any network using ProtoBase is protected by a firewall.
3. The key technology behind ProtoBase is the “soft-trans module,” which interfaces between client networks and the various credit card processors.
4. It is important that your merchant file is correct. The primary merchant types are:
• Retail
• Food Service (allows tipping)
• MOTO – Mail Order Telephone Order (E-Commerce module)
Note: If your merchant type is wrong, you may be paying too much for each transaction.
5. The cost of each transaction ultimately depends on how much risk the credit card companies are taking. The more information collected about the credit card and user, the less risk to the credit card company, so the less they charge for a transaction. If clients have risky practices, they are downgraded, so they pay more per transaction. You definitely need to do address verification in E-Commerce module.
6. When you void a transaction, it prevents it from being settled (versus a refund).