Welcome to POSHelpNow

Our POS team has been notified that Windows XP® will reach its "end of life" in April 2014. This immediately affects any store that is running Windows XP and takes credit cards via high speed Internet connectivity (regardless of whether the store processes credit cards on an external terminal or integrated in the POS system). It has the potential to also affect any store that is running Windows XP and takes credit cards via dial-up connection. PCI compliance rules and regulations require all Windows® updates are current, and after April 8, 2014, Microsoft® updates will no longer be available. This makes Windows XP non-PCI compliant as of April 8, 2014.

The majority of our stores are affected by this and must upgrade to Windows 7. Microsoft is discontinuing the sale of Windows 7 in April 2014 as well, and after that time, stores will have no other option but to replace the entire POS system. Though Microsoft will discontinue the sale of Windows 7 in April 2014, they will provide support and do security updates until 2020.

Important Notes:
·Panasonic® SMP does not currently, nor will it ever, work with Windows 8 or higher, so stores must upgrade to Windows 7 before the sale of the program is discontinued.

·You cannot upgrade to Windows 7 on your own, as it will perform a fresh install of Windows 7 and will remove your current programs such as SMP, which will prevent your POS from functioning.

·Although immediate action is required by stores that process credit cards via high-speed Internet connectivity, stores that process credit cards via dial-up connection could still be affected. If your store processes credit cards via dial-up connection and you choose not to upgrade to Windows 7, and your computer stops functioning properly and needs to be replaced after April 2014, you will not have an option to purchase a new computer with Windows 7, as it will no longer be available. At that time, your only option would be to purchase a new FOCUS™ POS system.