Many gold shop programs are still installed on one computer in the shop: a copy on every machine, an update that needs a technician's visit, and a backup on a USB stick that can go missing. Cloud software works in the browser instead: its data sits on protected servers, and its updates reach every device at once. This guide explains what that means for a gold shop, and how a stock-count app on the phone completes it.
What does it mean for the software to run in the browser?
- Nothing to install on each device: you open the software in the browser and sign in.
- One update for everyone: every improvement reaches all branches and devices at the same time, with no visit and no reinstall.
- Your data in a database of its own: each company has its own database on protected servers, with automatic backups.
- An encrypted connection: everything between the shop and the server is encrypted.
- All branches together: the owner sees every branch's balances and sales from any branch or from the office.
Registered devices: security without a guard
Working in the browser does not mean any device can get in. In good software each device is registered once with the company code and its administrator's password, within the number of devices in your licence. So no device your administrator has not registered can open the software, even if someone knows a user name and password.
Printers and readers from the browser
A browser on its own cannot reach a printer or a card reader. So a small agent is installed on the cashier's computer to connect the browser to the devices: the invoice printer, the tag printer and the Civil ID card reader. Barcode and RFID readers type as a keyboard does, so they work without any extra software.
The stock-count app on the phone
A stock count is shared between several staff, and a computer does not move between the shelves. That is where the stock-count app on the phone comes in:
- Installed from the browser: a web app added to the phone's home screen that opens as an app of its own, with no app store.
- Paired by QR code: the web screen shows a code valid for one minute and for one use; the phone scans it and is linked to your company.
- Joins the count session by its code: the session is opened on the web, and phones join it by scanning its code, so several staff count at the same time.
- Reads with a Bluetooth reader: a barcode or RFID reader connects to the phone, and reads come from the reader only, not from typing by hand.
- Works offline: if the network drops in the stockroom, reads are kept on the phone and sent when the network returns, without any read counted twice.
- Live progress: how much has been counted, and a list of what has not been counted yet.
- Locked by fingerprint or PIN: so only its owner opens the app. If the phone is lost, you unpair it from the web screen and it loses access, and unpairing wipes its data.
The phone collects, the web decides
Phones collect the reads; the decision belongs on the web screen: closing the count, reviewing the differences, a written reason for every difference, and approving the minutes. So no count is closed from a phone in an employee's pocket. The count steps are explained in How to run a gold shop stock count with barcodes and RFID, and pairing tags with pieces in RFID for gold shops: how to pair tags with pieces.
Questions to ask any vendor
- Does the software run in the browser, or does it need installing on every device?
- Where is my data kept, and is my database separate from other companies'?
- How is an unregistered device kept out, and how do I disable a device that is lost?
- How do printers and the card reader work from the browser?
- Is there a phone app for stock counts, and does it work offline?
- Who closes the count and approves its differences: the phone or the management?
How ZMZMGold works on the web and the phone
| Area | In ZMZMGold |
|---|---|
| The software | Runs in the browser, with an Arabic and an English interface each user chooses, and each company has its own database with automatic backups. |
| Devices | Each device is registered with the company code and its administrator's password within the licence's device count, and no unregistered device gets in. |
| Peripherals | A device agent downloaded from inside the software for the invoice printer, the tag printer and the Civil ID card reader; readers work as a keyboard. |
| The phone app | “ZMZM Inventory”: installed from the browser, paired by a QR code valid for one minute and one use, joins the count session by its code, and reads with a Bluetooth reader. |
| Offline | Reads are kept on the phone and sent when the network returns, without duplicates. |
| Security | A fingerprint or PIN lock; a lost phone is unpaired from the web screen and loses access, and unpairing wipes its data. |
| The decision | Closing the count, reviewing its differences and approving its minutes on the web screen. |
Details on the gold and jewellery shop management software page.
In short
Cloud software takes installation, updates and backups off a gold shop's hands, and keeps its data in a database of its own that only a registered device can enter. The stock-count app on the phone spreads the counting across staff between the shelves, even when the network drops, and then leaves the decision to the management screen.