The new We-b-Videos Point Of Sale Terminal (POST) system mimics the functionality of the old POST system and is also adaptable for use over the internet. The system facilitates renting and returning videos by allowing the cashier to scan the customer's membership id and the selected videos. The system monitors inventory and account late fees by creating rental transactions that track when and under what account individual videos are checked out. When a customer has late fees, the system notifies the cashier and the cashier notifies the customer. Rental transactions are closed once the videos have been returned and the late fees have been paid.
The customer may use the system to search the store inventory for specific selections and to see if those selections are in stock. New membership accounts can also be created from the in-store terminals available to the customer. Though currently the customer may directly use the system only for these two functions, the system will eventually be expanded to allow the customer to rent videos and pay late fees over the internet. It is assumed that a downloadable video format would simple expire after the rental duration and thus late fees would not be necessary. As such, all late fees functionality will proceed through the cashier and will be used only for hard-copy (video cassettes, DVD, etc.) transactions.
The system allows the customer or cashier to cancel any operation at any time. An operation may be canceled by clicking the cancel button or by beginning another operation.