Now is the time to knock off your first New Year's resolution. It's time to finish off those upgrades for ADA, PCI and EMV (for those in Canada). Planning now to meet the pending deadlines or liability changes will help everyone.

How so, you might ask?

It starts with the manufacturer. Planning for adequate stocking levels takes time. Getting materials in place to handle order volumes is a never-ending symphony between sales, purchasing and manufacturing. Waiting until the end makes it very difficult to meet demands. Lead times from suppliers can really throw a wrench into keeping kits flowing out into the field. Paying expedite fees to get components in from suppliers equates into higher kit prices. Do your part to sit down and plan the next six months of needs.

Field service personnel are typically swamped in normal conditions. Now, we'll be adding to the workload with the addition of speech kits, keypads and card reader swaps, etc. Once again, plan, plan, and plan.

End users: Before you promise to get your customers upgraded in time, make sure you can get your hands on product. Check with your vendor(s) and get your orders in early. Otherwise, you will have some explaining to do. In addition, with so much information and misinformation flowing on requirements, waivers, grandfathering, etc., it's important to stay informed on the latest happenings in the industry.

ISO / VAR: Yes, the ISOs and VARs are faced with spending more money on compliance updates that typically have little to no ROI. Waiting until the end does not make the issue go away. It can be a bitter pill to swallow, but one that is required.

There are certain guarantees in life besides death and taxes. Waiting until the last minute typically will cost you more money and will usually disappoint someone in the transaction. The ADA deadline is set for March 2012 here in the U.S. For Canadian EMV, liability shift increases from $100 - $500 for non-compliance starting January 1.

Take care of your "Ps." Prior Planning Prevents Poor Performance. That will give you more time to work on those other resolutions you have been putting off for some time now!

Checklist:

1. Do a proper machine survey to determine upgrade needs.

• Is my machine supported for ADA and PCI upgrades?
• Obtain model number and serial number.
• Are there any other items that need to be addressed when on-site?
• Are the necessary stickers/logos in place?
• Is overall appearance acceptable? (Lighting, screen burn-in, broken plastics?)

2. Contact the manufacturer directly, or visit their website, to determine upgrade path and cost. In addition, find out how much field time is involved with the upgrade that will be performed.

3. Most upgrades involve updated software. Determine what software versions are compatible with your hardware, if applicable.

4. Field service: Make sure your technicians have instructions and are trained properly

5. Cash-in-Transit involved? Make sure to keep them in the loop to coordinate visits.

6. Make sure the merchant/owner or staff at the location understands why the machine requires an upgrade. Avoid any confusion by being proactive with information.

7. Do the network / processor need to be involved? If performing a number of upgrades at one time, coordination with field service, CIT and the processor will help to minimize down time.

8. Once the work has been performed, does it actually work? If ADA speech has been installed, try a transaction to verify.

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