Preparing Infrastructure for BakeSmart

BakeSmart Requirements 

Networking and Hardware

Note: If any nitty-gritty tech stuff in the below article is over your head... please do not worry! The nerds on our team will walk you and your team through it all! 

INTRODUCTION

This document outlines the networking and hardware requirements for BakeSmart. It guides users, bakery owners, and IT administrators on the infrastructure necessary to ensure optimal performance and reliability of the software.

SOFTWARE OVERVIEW

BakeSmart is a bakery management platform. BakeSmart collects and manages orders from retail and wholesale customers both in-store and on the web, manages back-of-house operations, and runs front-of-house point-of-sale and customer kiosks.

NETWORK REQUIREMENTS

Internet Connection

• While BakeSmart can keep your store up and running when your internet goes down, a high-speed internet connection is required to access BakeSmart and its cloud-based services like e-commerce and kiosk.
• Minimum recommended bandwidth: 25Mbs Up/Down. If operating BakeSmart across multiple locations we recommend at least 50Mbs Up/Down at each location.

Firewall and Network Security

• Ensure that network firewalls and security measures allow access to BakeSmart servers and services. This will require Port 5003 to be open for TCP and UDP both incoming and outgoing traffic. This can usually be accomplished by using the Allow An App Through the Firewall feature in Windows to grant access to FileMaker Pro and FileMaker Server.
• Whitelist the necessary domains, IP addresses, and ports required for communication with the software's servers.

NAVIGATING NETWORK ISSUES

• If BakeSmart cannot connect to your server because of network issues or problems with the server, BakeSmart’s Stand-Alone Mode will allow the bakery to continue making sales and taking orders. Once the server or network is available again BakeSmart will upload all data to the server.
• Credit Card Processing requires an active internet connection. If your internet is down BakeSmart will be unable to process credit card payments.

ACCESSING BAKESMART REMOTELY

• BakeSmart support uses AnyDesk to resolve any issues that may occur while using the software. Customers are provided with a secure link to download the AnyDesk client and can install the client with a few clicks.
• If customers want to access their stations from outside the business BakeSmart will provide the customer with access to their computers at no additional cost.

VPN CONSIDERATIONS

• BakeSmart can be used over a VPN. As long as the client computer can communicate with the server BakeSmart can communicate with the server.

HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS

Client Devices

BakeSmart is accessible from various client devices, including desktop computers, laptops, and Windows-based tablets. Please ensure that client devices meet the following minimum requirements:

• Operating System: Windows 10Pro or newer/macOS 10.15 & up
• Processor: Current generation Intel Core i3 or equivalent
• Memory (RAM): 8GB RAM
• Storage: 128GB
• Screen Resolution: 1024x768

Server Computer

BakeSmart can operate in a peer-to-peer environment, but we recommend a server-client configuration where the BakeSmart data files are hosted on the server. Please ensure that server devices meet the following minimum requirements:

• Operating System: Windows 10 or 11 Pro or MacOS Catalina (10.15) and newer
• Processor: Current generation Intel Core i3 or equivalent / Apple M1 or above
• Memory (RAM): 8GB RAM
• Storage: 128GB
• Screen Resolution: 1024x768

We recommend that the Server have a static IP address. This will allow faster performance of BakeSmart on client machines.

ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS

Backup and Disaster Recovery

BakeSmart automatically keeps 7 days' worth of backups of your data. Those backups are typically on the same drive as the live databases so we suggest you have an additional backup plan in place. We recommend iDrive for cloud-based backups but other services like Dropbox or Backblaze work as well. Additionally, you could simply have an external hard drive attached to the server computer.

If you sign up for iDrive with our referral link BakeSmart support will set up the backups for you.

Credit Card Readers

The credit card readers that work with BakeSmart are supplied by our processing partner CloverConnect. When ordering credit card machines we need to know if the location you plan to put the credit card reader will have access to a wired or wireless network connection.

SUPPORT AND RESOURCES

For assistance with networking and hardware setup, please contact BakeSmart support team at [email protected] or visit our website at bakesmart.com.