Commodity sales data processing device and program

Abstract

To allow whether the total amount of a purchased commodity falls within a tax exemption range to be checked easily without causing a cashier to perform a complicated operation.SOLUTION: Under the condition that a determination unit (determination means) has determined that a customer is a target of tax exemption processing, an identification unit (identification means) identifies a tax exemption target commodity among commodities that the customer purchases on the basis of a result of reading by a reading unit (reading means). Then, an addition unit (addition means) adds the amount of commodities per tax exemption class, and a comparison unit (comparison means) compares the result of addition by the addition unit and a tax exemption range per tax exemption class. Then, under the condition that the result of addition falls within the tax exemption range as a result of the comparison by the comparison unit, a display unit (display means) causes a cashier display unit to display that the result of addition falls within the tax exemption range. Alternatively, under the condition that the result of addition is insufficient for the lower limit value of the tax exemption range, the display unit causes the cashier display unit to display a short amount for the lower limit value of the tax exemption range.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] An embodiment of the present invention relates to a product sales data processing device and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] With the recent increase in foreign tourists visiting Japan, retailers such as convenience stores and supermarkets are increasingly having to process tax-free orders when selling products.

[0003] In the tax-free process, the range of amounts for which tax-free can be received is stipulated according to the type of tax-free item. Therefore, customers pay attention to completing their shopping so that they can complete their shopping within the range for which tax-free processing can be received, but it is difficult to check whether the total amount for each type of item is within the tax-free range while shopping. Therefore, when registering purchased items at the register, customers ask the cashier whether the purchased items are within the tax-free range. In response to the customer's question, the cashier had to identify tax-free items from among the purchased items, calculate the total amount of the tax-free items, and check whether the total amount is within the tax-free amount range. This hindered the smooth progress of the product registration process at the register and made it difficult to quickly answer the customer's questions.

[0004] In response to these issues, a technology has been proposed in the past in which a mobile terminal given to a customer is used to read the price of the item to be purchased, and the amount that is short of the tax-free limit is displayed on the mobile terminal to inform the customer (for example, Patent Document 1). A technology has also been proposed in which the amount that is short of the tax-free limit is displayed on a POS terminal to inform the cashier (for example, Patent Document 2). However, the display was not necessarily easy to understand so that the cashier could immediately determine the answer. Furthermore, there was no mention of what information would be displayed when tax-free status was established. Therefore, there was a need for an interface that could clearly display both the amount that is short of the tax-free limit and the fact that tax-free status has been established. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] To provide a product sales data processing device and program that can easily check whether the total amount of purchased products is within the tax-free range without requiring a cashier to perform complicated operations. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] A product sales data processing device of an embodiment includes a reading means, a determination means, an identification means, an addition means, a comparison means, and a display means. The reading means reads product information of a product purchased by a customer. The determination means determines whether the customer is eligible for tax-exemption processing. The identification means, on the condition that the determination means has determined that the customer is eligible for tax-exemption processing, identifies products eligible for tax-exemption from the products purchased by the customer based on the reading result of the reading means. The addition means adds the amount of the products eligible for tax-exemption for each tax-exempt category. The comparison means compares the addition result by the addition means with the tax-exempt range for each tax-exempt category. The display means, on the condition that the addition result is within the tax-exempt range as a result of the comparison by the comparison means, displays that the tax-exemption has been established, and, on the condition that the addition result is short of the lower limit of the tax-exempt range, displays the shortfall amount relative to the lower limit of the tax-exempt range. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0007] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is an external view of a POS terminal according to the first embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a hardware block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the POS terminal. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the tax exemption category table. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the tax-free range table. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram showing the functional configuration of the POS terminal. [Figure 6]FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data configuration of a product master file. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen displayed on the cashier display unit of the POS terminal before the tax exemption conditions are met. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen displayed on the cashier display unit of the POS terminal when the tax exemption conditions are met. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen displayed on the cashier display unit of the POS terminal when the tax-free allowance has been exceeded. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing another display example of the display screen shown in FIG. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing performed by the POS terminal of the first embodiment. [Figure 12] FIG. 12 is a functional block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the POS terminal of the second embodiment. [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing performed by the POS terminal of the second embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0008] (First embodiment) A POS (Point Of Sales) terminal, which is an example of a product sales data processing device according to a first embodiment of the present invention, will be described with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 is an external view of a POS terminal 10a according to the first embodiment.

[0009] As shown in Fig. 1, the POS terminal 10a is equipped with a card reader / writer (R / W) 11 and a keyboard 13. The card R / W 11 reads card information and writes information to cards such as credit cards and point cards in order to make payments with those cards. The keyboard 13 has a numeric keypad, department key, subtotal key, deposit / cash total key, receipt issuing key, settlement key, tax exemption declaration key, product list output key, etc. The POS terminal 10a also has a cashier display unit 15 and a customer display unit 16, both of which are liquid crystal displays, as well as a printer 17 that prints sales information on long receipt paper and issues it as a receipt from a receipt issuing port 18.

[0010] The POS terminal 10a further includes a barcode reader 22 and a passport reader 23. The barcode reader 22 reads product information contained in a barcode affixed to a product purchased by the customer C and transmits the information to a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 31 (FIG. 2). The passport reader 23 is a reader device that reads information held in the passport of the customer C. In this embodiment, the passport reader 23 has an optical character recognition (OCR) function that optically reads a character string written on the passport and transmits the information to the CPU 31 (FIG. 2).

[0011] (Explanation of the hardware configuration of the POS terminal) Fig. 2 is a hardware block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the POS terminal 10a. As shown in Fig. 2, the POS terminal 10a includes a computer-configured control unit 30 including a CPU 31, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 32, and a RAM (Random Access Memory) 33. The CPU 31 executes various arithmetic processes and controls each unit. The ROM 32 stores and saves fixed data in a fixed manner. The RAM 33 stores variable data in a rewritable manner and is used as a work area. The CPU 31, the ROM 32, and the RAM 33 are connected via a bus line 34.

[0012] When the POS terminal 10a performs product registration processing, a tax exemption amount table T for tallying up the total amounts of tax exempt products is created in the RAM 33. This will be described in detail later.

[0013] In addition, the POS terminal 10a is connected to peripheral devices such as a keyboard 13, a cashier display unit 15, a customer display unit 16, a printer 17, a card R / W 11, a barcode reader 22, and a passport reader 23 via a controller 35. The operations of these peripheral devices are all controlled by the control unit 30.

[0014] The keyboard 13 has various keys arranged in blocks. The various keys include, for example, quantity keys for inputting a product code and amount, a subtotal key for declaring the calculation of the total sales amount, a running total key for declaring the closing of the sales process with cash, a PLU (Price Look-Up) key for specifying various products, a confirmation key for confirming the quantity input by the quantity keys, a clear key, etc. The keyboard 13 also has operators required for performing tax exemption processing, such as a tax exemption declaration key K1. The tax exemption declaration key K1 is an operator for declaring that tax exemption processing will be performed for the transaction.

[0015] Furthermore, the POS terminal 10a includes a communication interface (I / F) 24 for data communication with a store server 4, which is a higher-level device, via a network 3 provided in the store. This communication interface 24 is also connected to the bus line 34.

[0016] In addition, the control unit 30 is connected to a memory unit 26, which is a storage device, via a bus line 34. The memory unit 26 is composed of a HDD (Hard Disc Drive), a flash memory, or the like, and maintains the stored contents even when the power is cut off.

[0017] The memory unit 26 stores an operating system, a control program 27 such as various computer programs, and various data files. The data files include a product master file F1, a tax-free category table F2, and a tax-free range table F3, etc., which are distributed from the store server 4. The contents of each will be described later.

[0018] The control program 27 executed by the POS terminal 10a of the embodiment is provided in an installable or executable format file recorded on a computer-readable recording medium such as a CD-ROM, a flexible disk (FD), a CD-R, or a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc).

[0019] The control program 27 executed by the POS terminal 10a of the embodiment may be stored in a computer connected to a network such as the Internet and provided by being downloaded via the network. The control program 27 executed by the POS terminal 10a of the embodiment may be provided or distributed via a network such as the Internet.

[0020] The control program 27 executed by the POS terminal 10a of the embodiment may be provided by being pre-installed in the ROM 32.

[0021] (Explanation of tax exemption process) Next, the tax exemption process, which is a feature of this embodiment, will be briefly described. When a person of foreign nationality makes a purchase in Japan, if certain conditions are met, he or she is exempt from paying taxes, i.e., eligible for a so-called tax exemption measure.

[0022] Specific conditions are set for customer C who makes a purchase and for the products that are the subject of the purchase. For example, to receive tax exemption in Japan, customer C must have a foreign nationality other than Japanese, and must have a short-term stay visa and be within six months of landing in Japan. Whether or not these conditions are met can be determined by reading the information on the passport held by customer C.

[0023] Furthermore, when shopping in Japan, you must purchase predetermined products (tax-free products) within a certain price range. Tax-free products are further divided into consumables (food, beverages, cosmetics, medicines, etc.) and general goods (non-consumable products such as clothing and miscellaneous goods). Only when the total amount (excluding tax) of consumables purchased at the same store on the same day is between 5,000 and 500,000 yen, or when the total amount (excluding tax) of general goods is 5,000 yen or more, you can receive tax-free exemption measures that exempt you from paying consumption tax (tax-free) or exempt you from paying consumption tax, customs duty, tobacco tax, and liquor tax (duty-free).

[0024] In this embodiment, the tax-free category table F2 is a table that defines information for identifying whether a product is tax-free, whether it is a general product, or whether it is a consumable product. The tax-free range table F3 is a table that defines the price range (excluding tax) for which tax-free measures can be applied to general products and consumable products.

[0025] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the tax-free category table F2. As shown in FIG. 3, in the tax-free category table F2, tax-free category names are defined in association with tax-free category codes. The tax-free category names are "consumables," "general goods," and "non-tax-free." "Consumables" are goods such as food, beverages, medicines, and cosmetics among the tax-free goods. "General goods" are goods used in daily life other than consumables among the tax-free goods. "Non-tax-free" are goods that are not tax-free and are not tax-free. The tax-free category code for "consumables" is "01." The tax-free category code for "general goods" is "02." The tax-free category code for "non-tax-free" is "03." These tax-free category codes are assigned to each product registered in the product master file F1 described later.

[0026] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the tax-free range table F3. As shown in FIG. 4, in the tax-free range table F3, a set value indicating the tax-free range is defined in association with the tax-free range code. The set value indicates the range of amounts for which tax-free measures can be applied in each category. In the example shown in FIG. 4, the tax-free range code "01" defines that the tax-free range for consumables is 5,000 yen or more and 500,000 yen or less, excluding tax. Also, the tax-free range code "02" defines that the tax-free range for general goods is 5,000 yen or more, excluding tax.

[0027] (Description of the functional configuration of a POS terminal) Fig. 5 is a functional block diagram showing the functional configuration of the POS terminal 10a. The CPU 31 of the POS terminal 10a operates according to the control program 27 to function as the reading unit 40, the determination unit 42, the recognition unit 44, the addition unit 46, the comparison unit 48, the display unit 50, and the accounting unit 52 shown in Fig. 5.

[0028] The reading unit 40, which is an example of a reading means, causes the barcode reader 22 (FIG. 2) to read the product information of the product that the customer C purchases.

[0029] The determination unit 42, which is an example of a determination means, determines whether or not the customer C is eligible for tax exemption processing based on the passport information of the customer C read by the passport reader 23 (FIG. 2).

[0030] The identification unit 44, which is an example of an identification means, identifies tax-exempt products from among the products purchased by customer C based on the reading result of the reading unit 40, on the condition that the determination unit 42 has determined that customer C is a person eligible for tax-exempt processing. Specifically, the identification unit 44 refers to the tax-exempt category code C2 of the product corresponding to the reading result of the reading unit 40 in the product master file F1. Then, based on the tax-exempt category code C2, it identifies whether the product purchased by customer C is a tax-exempt product.

[0031] The adding unit 46, which is an example of an adding means, adds up the amounts of tax-exempt products for each tax-exempt category. The results of the addition are written into a tax-exempt amount table T formed in the RAM 33 (FIG. 2) for each tax-exempt category.

[0032] A comparison unit 48, which is an example of a comparison means, compares the result of the addition by the addition unit 46 with the tax-free range for each tax-free category contained in the tax-free range table F3.

[0033] The display unit 50, which is an example of a display means, performs an addition result display process that causes the cashier display unit 15 to display that the addition result by the addition unit 46 is within the tax-free range, or the amount by which the addition result is short of the lower limit of the tax-free range, or the amount by which the addition result is in excess of the upper limit of the tax-free range.

[0034] The accounting unit 52 performs a tax exemption process to settle the payment for the products purchased by the customer C. If the customer C is not eligible for tax exemption, the accounting unit 52 performs an accounting process to settle the payment for the products purchased by the customer C.

[0035] (Description of product master configuration) Fig. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the data configuration of the product master file F1. As shown in Fig. 6, in the product master file F1, product information such as the product name, product price (unit price), classification code (classification 1 code, classification 2 code), tax-free category code C2, etc. are set in association with the product code C1 of each product to be registered for sale.

[0036] Products are classified by multiple classification codes, and these classifications are structured hierarchically. That is, as shown in Figure 6, products are classified into multiple categories by Classification 1 (higher classification), which is a broad classification. Furthermore, each Classification 1 is further classified into Classification 2 (lower classification), which is a finer classification.

[0037] The tax-free category code C2 given to each product is a code defined in the tax-free category table F2 described above.

[0038] (Explanation of the addition result display process) Next, the addition result display process performed by the display unit 50 will be described with reference to Fig. 7 to Fig. 10. Fig. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen M1 displayed by the display unit 50 on the cashier display unit 15 (Fig. 2) in a state before the tax exemption conditions are met. The display screen M1 shows a state in which one item A to be purchased by customer C has been registered.

[0039] As shown in Fig. 7, the display screen M1 has a serial number column E1 that displays registered product information, a product name column E2, a unit price column E3, a quantity column E4, and an amount column E5. The display unit 50 displays the serial number assigned to the registered product in the serial number column E1. The product name column E2 displays the registered product name of product A. The unit price column E3 displays the unit price (tax included) of product A. The quantity column E4 displays the registered quantity of product A. And the amount column E5 displays the integrated value (tax included) of the unit price and quantity of product A.

[0040] Furthermore, the display screen M1 has a tax-excluded total amount field N1, a tax-inclusive total amount field N2, and a tax-exemption achievement status display field N3. The display unit 50 displays the tax-excluded total amount of the registered products in the tax-excluded total amount field N1. The display unit 50 also reads out the amount (including tax) of the tax-exempt products added by the addition unit 46 from the tax-exemption amount table T and displays it in the tax-inclusive total amount field N2. Furthermore, the comparison unit 48 compares the addition result by the addition unit 46 with the tax-exemption range for each tax-exempt category in the tax-exemption range table F3. The display unit 50 then displays the comparison result of the comparison unit 48 in the tax-exemption achievement status display field N3. That is, the tax-exemption achievement status display field N3 displays the determination result as to whether the total amount of the registered products is within the tax-exemption range.

[0041] The display screen M1 shows in the tax-free status display field N3 that the total price of the registered products is 4,760 yen (including tax) short of the lower limit of the tax-free range. This tax-free status display field N3 is updated every time another product is registered.

[0042] 8 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen M2 when the tax exemption conditions are met, which is displayed on the cashier display unit 15 by the display unit 50. The display screen M2 has the same configuration as the display screen M1.

[0043] Display screen M2 shows the state in which customer C has registered 10 items to purchase. The total purchase amount is 5,926 yen, as shown in the tax-excluded total amount column N1. All of the 10 items to be purchased are tax-exempt items (consumables).

[0044] At this time, since the total amount of the products purchased by customer C is within the tax-free range for consumables, "tax-free achieved" is displayed in the tax-free achievement status display field N3 as shown in Fig. 8. At this time, the display unit 50 may color the background of the tax-free achievement status display field N3 to emphasize that tax-free achievement has been achieved. The cashier may then inform customer C that tax-free achievement has been achieved.

[0045] 9 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen M3 displayed on the cashier display unit 15 by the display unit 50 when the tax-free limit is exceeded. The display screen M3 has the same configuration as the display screen M1.

[0046] Display screen M3 shows the state in which customer C has registered 39 items to purchase. The total purchase amount is 502,930 yen, as shown in the tax-excluded total amount column N1. All 39 items to be purchased are tax-exempt items (consumables).

[0047] At this time, since the total amount of the products purchased by customer C exceeds the tax-free range for consumables, the tax-free achievement status display field N3 displays that the total amount exceeds the upper limit of the tax-free range by 2930 yen (including tax), as shown in Fig. 9. At this time, the display unit 50 may color the background of the tax-free achievement status display field N3 to emphasize that the tax-free range has been exceeded. The cashier may then inform customer C that the tax-free range has been exceeded.

[0048] Next, Fig. 10 is a diagram showing an example of another display screen M4 displayed by the display unit 50 on the cashier display unit 15. As shown in Fig. 10, the display screen M4 is an example in which the tax-free achievement status display field N3 displays the achievement status of the tax-free range for each tax-free category by dividing the tax-free eligible products into consumables and general goods.

[0049] 10 is a diagram showing the state in which customer C has registered nine items to purchase. The total purchase amount is 2,890 yen, as shown in the tax-excluded total amount column N1. Of the nine items to be purchased, 1,540 yen (tax-excluded) is consumables, and the remaining 1,350 yen (tax-excluded) is general goods.

[0050] At this time, the adding unit 46 adds the amount of the tax-free item for each consumable item and for each general item. The comparing unit 48 then compares the sum of the consumable items and the sum of the general items with the tax-free range for each tax-free category in the tax-free range table F3. The display unit 50 then displays the tax-free achievement status in the tax-free achievement status display field N3, dividing the tax-free achievement status into consumable items and general items. In the example of FIG. 10, the tax-free achievement status display field N3 displays that the consumable items are 3,737 yen (tax included) short of the lower limit of the tax-free range, and the general items are 3,942 yen (tax included) short of the lower limit of the tax-free range.

[0051] (Explanation of the process flow performed by the POS terminal) Next, the flow of the process performed by the POS terminal 10a will be described with reference to Fig. 11. Fig. 11 is a flow chart showing the flow of the process performed by the POS terminal 10a. The contents of the process will be described below for each step.

[0052] The determination unit 42 (FIG. 5) determines whether the customer C is eligible for tax exemption processing (step S10). Specifically, the determination unit 42 determines whether the customer C is eligible for tax exemption processing based on the passport information of the customer C read by the passport reader 23 (FIG. 2). If the customer C is eligible for tax exemption processing (step S10: Yes), the process proceeds to step S12.

[0053] The control unit 30 (FIG. 2) detects the cashier pressing the tax exemption declaration key K1 on the keyboard 13 (FIG. 2) and thereby declares tax exemption registration (step S12).

[0054] The reading unit 40 (FIG. 5) performs a product registration process to register the product information read by the barcode reader 22 (FIG. 2) (step S14).

[0055] The recognition unit 44 (FIG. 5) recognizes whether the product purchased by the customer C is a tax-exempt product based on the reading result of the reading unit 40 (step S16). If the product purchased by the customer C is a tax-exempt product (step S16: Yes), the process proceeds to step S18.

[0056] Furthermore, the identification unit 44 identifies whether the product purchased by the customer C is a consumable product (step S18). If the product purchased by the customer C is a consumable product (step S18: Yes), the process proceeds to step S20.

[0057] The adding unit 46 (FIG. 5) adds the amount of the consumables purchased by the customer C (step S20).

[0058] The comparison unit 48 (FIG. 5) judges whether the total amount of the consumables purchased by the customer C exceeds the lower limit of the tax exemption amount (step S22). If it is judged that the total amount exceeds the lower limit of the tax exemption amount (step S22: Yes), the process proceeds to step S24.

[0059] Furthermore, the comparison unit 48 judges whether the total price of the consumables purchased by the customer C exceeds the upper limit of the tax-free range (step S24). If it is judged that the total price exceeds the upper limit of the tax-free range (step S24: Yes), the process proceeds to step S26.

[0060] The display unit 50 (FIG. 5) displays the excess amount in the tax exemption achievement status display field N3 on a display screen (eg, display screen M3) displayed on the cashier display unit 15 (FIG. 2) (step S26).

[0061] The cashier determines whether there is a next product to be purchased by customer C (step S28). If there is a next product (step S28: Yes), the process returns to step S14, and otherwise (step S28: No), the process proceeds to step S30.

[0062] The accounting section 52 (FIG. 5) performs a tax exemption process to settle the payment for the products purchased by the customer C (step S30). Then, the POS terminal 10a ends the process of FIG.

[0063] In step S10, if the customer C is not eligible for tax exemption processing (step S10: No), the reading unit 40 performs a product registration process to register the product information read by the barcode reader 22 (step S32).

[0064] The cashier determines whether there is a next product to be purchased by customer C (step S33). If there is a next product (step S33: Yes), the process returns to step S32; otherwise (step S33: No), the process proceeds to step S35.

[0065] In step S33, if there is no next product for customer C to purchase (step S33: No), the accounting section 52 performs accounting processing to settle the product purchased by customer C (step S35). Then, the POS terminal 10a ends the processing in FIG.

[0066] In step S16, if the product purchased by customer C is not a tax-free product (step S16: No), the process proceeds to step S28.

[0067] In step S18, if the product purchased by customer C is not a consumable item (step S18: No), that is, if the product purchased by customer C is a general item, the addition unit 46 adds the amount of the general item purchased by customer C (step S34).

[0068] The comparison unit 48 determines whether the total amount of the general goods purchased by the customer C exceeds the lower limit of the tax exemption amount (step S36). If it is determined that the total amount exceeds the lower limit of the tax exemption amount (step S36: Yes), the process proceeds to step S38.

[0069] The display unit 50 displays that the tax exemption has been achieved in the tax exemption achievement status display field N3 on the display screen (for example, the display screen M2) displayed on the cashier display unit 15 (step S38). After that, the process proceeds to step S28.

[0070] In step S36, if the total amount of the general goods purchased by the customer C does not exceed the lower limit of the tax exemption amount (step S36: No), the display unit 50 displays the shortfall amount against the lower limit of the tax exemption amount in the tax exemption achievement status display field N3 on the display screen (for example, display screen M1) displayed on the cashier display unit 15 (step S40). Then, proceed to step S28.

[0071] In step S22, if the total amount of consumables purchased by customer C does not exceed the lower limit of the tax exemption amount (step S22: No), the display unit 50 displays the shortfall amount against the lower limit of the tax exemption amount in the tax exemption achievement status display field N3 of the display screen (for example, display screen M1) displayed on the cashier display unit 15 (step S44). Then, proceed to step S28.

[0072] In step S24, if the total amount of consumables purchased by customer C does not exceed the upper limit of the tax exemption range (step S24: No), the display unit 50 displays that tax exemption has been achieved in the tax exemption achievement status display field N3 on the display screen (e.g., display screen M2) displayed on the cashier display unit 15 (step S42). Then, the process proceeds to step S28.

[0073] In the first embodiment, the display unit 50 displays the tax-free achievement status on the cashier display unit 15, but the same content may be displayed on the customer display unit 16 (FIG. 2). This allows the customer C to immediately know the tax-free achievement status.

[0074] Second Embodiment Next, a POS terminal 10b, which is an example of a product sales data processing device according to the second embodiment of the present invention, will be described. The POS terminal 10b is a terminal that adds a hold function that allows the product registration process to be temporarily held midway to the POS terminal 10a described in the first embodiment. The POS terminal 10b has the same hardware configuration as the POS terminal 10a.

[0075] First, the functional configuration of the POS terminal 10b will be described with reference to Fig. 12. Fig. 12 is a functional block diagram showing the functional configuration of the POS terminal 10b. As shown in Fig. 12, the POS terminal 10b has a functional configuration in which a reserve unit 54 is added to the POS terminal 10a.

[0076] The holding unit 54, which is an example of a holding means, temporarily holds the product registration process for the product purchased by customer C. The holding unit 54 also issues a receipt on which identification data for identifying the temporarily held transaction data is printed. The holding unit 54 also resumes the product registration process that was temporarily held. Specifically, the holding unit 54 is realized by a hold key and a resume key (both not shown) that are provided on the keyboard 13 (FIG. 2).

[0077] The functions other than the reservation unit 54 shown in FIG. 12 are the same as those of the POS terminal 10a described above, and therefore will not be described here.

[0078] (Explanation of the process flow performed by the POS terminal) Next, the flow of the process performed by the POS terminal 10b will be described with reference to FIG. 13. FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the flow of the process performed by the POS terminal 10b. The contents of the process will be described below for each step. In order to simplify the explanation, in the flowchart of FIG. 13, the explanation of the process of determining whether the customer C is eligible for tax exemption and the process of identifying whether the product purchased by the customer C is eligible for tax exemption will be omitted. Furthermore, the explanation of the process in the case where the customer C is not eligible for tax exemption will be omitted. Each of the omitted processes is executed in the same manner as explained in FIG. 11.

[0079] The reading unit 40 (FIG. 12) performs a product registration process to register product information of the tax-exempt product read by the barcode reader 22 (FIG. 2) (step S50).

[0080] The display unit 50 (Fig. 12) displays the shortfall or excess amount against the tax exemption range, or the fact that tax exemption has been achieved, in the tax exemption achievement status display field N3 of the display screen (e.g., display screens M1, M2, M3, M4) displayed on the cashier display unit 15 (Fig. 2) (step S52). Note that the specific processing performed in step S52 is the same as the processing in steps S26, S38, S40, S42, and S44 described in Fig. 11.

[0081] The control unit 30 (FIG. 2) of the POS terminal 10b judges whether the reservation unit 54 (FIG. 12) has instructed to reserve the product registration (step S54). If the reservation of the product registration has been instructed (step S54: Yes), the process proceeds to step S56. At this time, the cashier informs the customer C of the shortfall in the tax-free allowance and asks whether he / she wishes to purchase an additional product.

[0082] The reservation unit 54 causes the POS terminal 10b to temporarily reserve the product registration process (step S56). At this time, the reservation unit 54 issues to customer C a receipt on which identification data for identifying the temporarily reserved transaction data is printed. The cashier hands the issued receipt to customer C. Customer C returns to the store and purchases additional products to make up for the shortfall in the tax-free allowance. After the reservation unit 54 has temporarily reserved the product registration process for customer C, the POS terminal 10b can carry out product registration and accounting processes for another customer.

[0083] The control unit 30 of the POS terminal 10b judges whether the holding unit 54 has instructed the product registration to be released from the hold (step S58). If it is judged that the holding unit 54 has instructed the product registration to be released from the hold (step S58: Yes), the process proceeds to step S60, and otherwise (step S58: No), the process returns to step S56.

[0084] The reservation unit 54 causes the POS terminal 10b to release the temporary reservation of the product registration process (step S60).

[0085] The cashier determines whether there is a next product to be purchased by customer C (step S62). If there is a next product (step S62: Yes), the process returns to step S50; otherwise (step S62: No), the process proceeds to step S64.

[0086] In step S62, if there is no next product (step S62: No), the accounting section 52 (FIG. 12) performs a tax exemption process to settle the payment for the product purchased by the customer C (step S64). Then, the POS terminal 10b ends the process in FIG.

[0087] In addition, in step S54, if suspension of product registration is not instructed (step S54: No), the process proceeds to step S62.

[0088] In this way, according to the POS terminal 10a of the first embodiment, on the condition that the determination unit 42 (determination means) determines that the customer C is a person eligible for tax exemption processing, the identification unit 44 (identification means) identifies tax-exempt items from among the items purchased by the customer C based on the reading result of the reading unit 40 (reading means). Then, the addition unit 46 (addition means) adds up the amounts of the tax-exempt items for each tax exemption category, and the comparison unit 48 (comparison means) compares the addition result by the addition unit 46 with the tax exemption range for each tax exemption category. Then, on the condition that the addition result is within the tax exemption range as a result of the comparison by the comparison unit 48, the display unit 50 (display means) displays on the cashier display unit 15 that the addition result is within the tax exemption range. Alternatively, on the condition that the addition result is short of the lower limit of the tax exemption range, the display unit 50 displays on the cashier display unit 15 the shortfall amount relative to the lower limit of the tax exemption range. Therefore, it is possible to easily check whether the total amount of the purchased items is within the tax-free range without making the cashier perform complicated operations.

[0089] Furthermore, according to the POS terminal 10a of the first embodiment, if the comparison result by the comparison unit 48 indicates that the sum exceeds the upper limit of the tax-free range, the display unit 50 displays the excess amount over the upper limit of the tax-free range on the cashier display unit 15. Therefore, the cashier can easily confirm that the upper limit of the tax-free range has been exceeded.

[0090] According to the POS terminal 10a of the first embodiment, the display unit 50 displays the summation results by tax exemption category on the cashier display unit 15. Therefore, the cashier can easily check the achievement status of the tax exemption range for each tax exemption category.

[0091] Furthermore, according to the POS terminal 10a of the first embodiment, the display unit 50 displays the result of the addition on the customer display unit 16 for the customer C. Therefore, the customer C can confirm for himself the achievement status of the tax-free range.

[0092] In addition, in the POS terminal 10b of the second embodiment, the reservation unit 54 (reservation means) reserves the product registration process of the product purchased by customer C, and when the product registration process is reserved, executes the product registration process for customers other than customer C. Therefore, when the total amount of the purchased products does not reach the lower limit of the tax-free range, customer C can return to the sales floor to purchase additional tax-free products and can continue the product registration process for another customer.

[0093] Although several embodiments of the present invention have been described, these embodiments are merely examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These novel embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. These embodiments and their modifications are included in the scope and spirit of the invention, and are included in the scope of the invention and its equivalents described in the claims. [Explanation of symbols]

[0094] 10a, 10b POS terminal (product sales data processing device) 40 Reading unit (reading means) 42 Judgment unit (judgment means) 44 Identification unit (identification means) 46 Addition unit (addition means) 48 Comparison section (comparison means) 50 Display section (display means) 52 Accounting Department 54 Reservation section (retention means) F1 Product Master File F2 Tax-free classification table F3 Tax-free Range Table [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0095] [Patent Document 1] JP 2016-99787 A [Patent Document 2] JP 2016-66353 A

Claims

1. A reading means for reading product information of a product purchased by a customer; A determination means for determining whether the customer is eligible for tax exemption processing; an identification means for identifying a tax-exempt commodity among the commodities purchased by the customer based on the reading result of the reading means, on condition that the determination means has determined that the customer is a person eligible for tax-exemption processing; an adding means for adding up the prices of the tax-free products for each tax-free category; A comparison means for comparing the result of the addition by the addition means with the tax-free range for each tax-free category; display means for displaying that the tax exemption has been granted on condition that the result of the comparison by the comparison means is within the tax exemption range, and for displaying the shortfall amount relative to the lower limit of the tax exemption range on condition that the result of the addition is short of the lower limit of the tax exemption range; A product sales data processing device comprising:

2. The display means further displays the excess amount relative to the upper limit of the tax-free range on condition that the sum exceeds the upper limit of the tax-free range as a result of the comparison by the comparison means.

2. The product sales data processing device according to claim 1.

3. The display means displays the sum result for each tax-free category.

3. The product sales data processing device according to claim 1 or 2.

4. The display means displays the result of the addition to the customer.

4. The product sales data processing device according to claim 1,

5. The system further includes a reservation unit for suspending a product registration process for a product to be purchased by a customer and, when the product registration process is suspended, for executing a product registration process for a customer other than the customer.

5. The product sales data processing device according to claim 1,

6. For computers, A reading means for reading product information of a product purchased by a customer; A determination means for determining whether the customer is eligible for tax exemption processing; an identification means for identifying a tax-exempt commodity among the commodities purchased by the customer based on the reading result of the reading means, on condition that the determination means has determined that the customer is a person eligible for tax-exemption processing; an adding means for adding up the prices of the tax-free products for each tax-free category; A comparison means for comparing the result of the addition by the addition means with the tax-free range for each tax-free category; display means for displaying that the tax exemption has been granted on condition that the result of the comparison by the comparison means is within the tax exemption range, and for displaying the shortfall amount relative to the lower limit of the tax exemption range on condition that the result of the addition reaches the lower limit of the tax exemption range and is insufficient; A program for executing the above.

Images