In 2013, the average American drank nearly 28 gallons of beer, according to the Beer Institute. A local paper in Austin, Texas reported that last June, the city’s local bars, restaurants and hotels sold $43.6 million worth of age-restricted beverages. That’s a lot of wine, liquor and beer sold every year—and a lot of risk.

Federal regulations stipulate that employees at liquor stores, bars, nightclubs, and restaurants check IDs to verify the customer is of legal age before completing their purchase or order. Doing this job manually is not only time-consuming, but provides opportunity for a large margin of error.

The stakes are higher than ever. Penalties for selling age-restricted items like beer, liquor and cigarettes to underage buyers are costly and potentially devastating for businesses. They can include fines as well as the risk of losing their liquor license if they are caught selling alcohol or beer to minors. Business owners should ensure that every sale is legal by automating their age verification process. One such way is Easy DL™, Honeywell’s age verification scanning software, which is included in pcAmerica’s Cash Register Express™ and Restaurant Pro Express™ software.

When an age-restricted product is scanned using an Easy DL-enabled Honeywell scanner such as the Xenon 1900, the software will prompt the cashier to scan the customer’s ID. The monitor will clearly display an ID ACCEPTED or ID REJECTED message, depending upon the customer’s date of birth. CRE and RPE prevent the sale of an age-restricted product to a purchaser with an ID REJECTED status, ensuring regulatory compliance. The automated processing saves employees a lot of time, increases productivity and indirectly boosts profitability.

Honeywell’s Xenon 1900 is the company’s sixth-generation of area-imaging technology. The hand-held scanner features a custom image sensor that is optimized for barcode scanning. The area imager has image processing software with advanced editing features and the ability to load and link multiple applications on the scanner. The Xenon 1900 is perfect for high-traffic locations like convenience stores and is durable enough to withstand harsh environments and chemicals.

For more information about how you can implement Honeywell’s age verification application in your business, call pcAmerica at 1-800-722-6374.