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hurricane-earth-satellite-tracking-71116The peak of hurricane and tropical storm season is approaching, and experts warn that this year may have "above normal" activity. In the past many SpeedLine customers have found their restaurants in the path of an oncoming flood or storm. From the SpeedLine Knowledge Base, here's a reminder of what to do to protect your SpeedLine point of sale system, and its valuable customer and sales data.

Be Prepared

You don't have to wait until disaster looms: start preparing now.

Back Up Data 

The customer, employee, and transaction data in your SpeedLine POS is invaluable, and creating a backup strategy for it is cheap insurance. Being able to restore data from a backup will help your business get up and running faster after a disruption. 

Your POS data is vulnerable to disasters like flood, theft, and fire, unless you store a copy off-site. For tips on creating a regular off-site backup, read Protecting your POS Data: Creating a Backup Strategy

Have a USB Drive on Hand

You don't want to be searching for a USB drive when the storm's on its way. Purchase a drive ahead of time, and keep it in a safe place just for emergency backup purposes. To see how big the USB drive needs to be, on the secondary station (usually station 2) right-click the SpeedLine> Backup folder, and click Properties. If you use Monetra or kitchen displays, leave about 1 GB of extra space to back up data files for those programs as well. 

Assess your Level of Preparedness

By going to http://www.readyrating.org your business can go through the Red Cross Small Business Preparedness Program and complete a self-assessment of your level of preparedness.

During an Emergency

If a storm is approaching, ensure the safety of yourself, your employees, and customers first, but if time allows, follow the steps below to save critical POS data.

Remove Computers If You Can

If you only have time or space to take one computer, make it the Primary server (usually Station 1).

  1. Exit Terminal.
  2. Shut down and unplug the computer.
  3. Take the computer with you as you evacuate to a secure location.

Minimize Water Damage

If in a hurricane- or flood-prone area, stock plastic sheeting, weather-proof plastic storage bins, tarps, duct tape, and any other material you might need to protect computers or other electronics.

If a storm or flood is on the way and you can't move all the computers, back up the data:

  1. Exit Terminal.
  2. On the secondary station (usually station 2) copy the files from the SpeedLine> Backup folder and paste them onto a USB drive (or upload to the cloud, if you have set this up ahead of time).
  3. Once the backup is complete, shut down all computers and unplug them.
  4. Shut off any battery backup (UPS) units and unplug them.
  5. Wrap the computers, monitors, and any other electronics in plastic, and put it in weather-proof storage bins if you have them.
  6. Move all computers and electronics as high as you can off the floor.

Close the Store to Online Orders

Once you have evacuated to a safe location, inform your online ordering provider that you are not accepting orders, or if using SpeedDine, log into SpeedDine Admin and change the store hours, or add special days to indicate you are closed.

After the Dust Settles

Once the danger is over and your store is operational, contact SpeedLine Support and they will help you restore your backup data. 


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