5 Benefits of Using Technology/Software for Your ATF Compliance

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5 Benefits of Using Technology/Software for Your ATF Compliance As a Federal Firearms Licensee (FFL), you have a lot of responsibilities and obligations to ensure your business operates in accordance with the laws and regulations of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). Managing your firearm compliance can be a daunting and time-consuming task, especially if you rely on manual processes and paper records. Fortunately, there are technology and software solutions that can help you streamline and simplify your ATF compliance, saving you time, money, and hassle. Here are five benefits of using technology/software for your ATF compliance: 1. Automate Record-Keeping and Reporting One of the most important aspects of ATF compliance is maintaining accurate and up-to-date records of all your firearm transactions, acquisitions, dispositions, and inventory. You also need to submit various reports to the ATF, such as multiple sales reports, theft/loss reports, and trace requests. Technology/software can automate these processes, reducing the risk of human errors, omissions, and inconsistencies. You can easily enter, retrieve, and update data using electronic forms and databases, and generate and submit reports with a few clicks. This can save you hours of tedious and repetitive work and ensure that your records and reports are always compliant. 2. Streamline Background Checks Another crucial aspect of ATF compliance is conducting background checks on firearm buyers using the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). This ensures that only eligible individuals can purchase firearms from you and prevents illegal sales and transfers. Technology/software can streamline this process, allowing you to integrate with NICS and perform background checks quickly and easily. You can also store and access the results of background checks and flag any potential issues or discrepancies. This can speed up your transactions, improve your customer service, and reduce your liability. 3. Manage Inventory and Serial Numbers As an FFL, you need to keep track of your firearm inventory and serial numbers and report any changes or discrepancies to the ATF. This can be a challenging and complex task, especially if you have a large or diverse inventory, or multiple locations. Technology/software can help you manage your inventory and serial numbers, by providing you with tools to scan, label, and track your firearms. You can also monitor your inventory levels, perform physical counts, and reconcile any differences. This can help you optimize your inventory management, prevent theft or loss, and comply with inventory requirements. 4. Simplify Audits and Inspections As an FFL, you are subject to periodic audits and inspections by the ATF, to verify your compliance with the laws and regulations. These audits and inspections can be stressful and disruptive, especially if you are not prepared or organized. Technology/software can simplify audits and inspections, by facilitating the retrieval of necessary records and documentation. You can also use technology/software to conduct self-audits and identify and correct any violations or discrepancies before the ATF does. This can help you avoid fines, penalties, or revocation of your license. 5. Enhance Security and Data Protection As an FFL, you handle sensitive and confidential information, such as customer and vendor data, firearm serial numbers, and background check results. You need to protect this information from unauthorized access, use, or disclosure, and comply with the data protection laws and regulations. Technology/software can enhance your security and data protection, by providing you with features such as encryption, password protection, user access control, and backup and recovery. You can also use technology/software to monitor and audit your data activities and detect and prevent any breaches or incidents. This can help you safeguard your data, reputation, and business.   Using technology/software for your ATF compliance can offer you many benefits, such as automation, streamlining, simplification, security, and data protection. Technology/software can help you save time, money, and hassle, and improve your efficiency, accuracy, and customer service. E4473 Technology/software can also help you avoid or minimize the risks and consequences of non-compliance, such as fines, penalties, or revocation of your license.
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E4473 Looks Back on 2021: A Year In Review

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The future of E4473 is bright, complete with new and exciting feature roll-outs in 2022. It’s equally as important, however, for us to look back on our accomplishments over the past year and celebrate and appreciate all that we were able to achieve. Join us on a journey through our 2021 year in review at E4473. What we achieved in 2021 This year, a major focus for E4473 was improving technology, specifically UX, i.e., user experience. In 2021, we launched four new product releases that improved the UX of our digital platform. Nothing is more important to us than having a product that is easy-to-use and provides a seamless, stress-free experience for firearm retailers. One such release was our E4473’s Digital Bypass Option, which allows our users the flexibility of offering digital 4473 forms while also accommodating customers who may still prefer manual, or paper, forms. E4473 also launched a feature called Second Signature, which allows firearm buyers to easily recertify and resign their digital 4473 form. Overall, we couldn’t be happier with what a successful year E4473 has had. Thanks to the incredible clients we have, we’ve completed over 34,000 digital 4473 forms in 2021 through our platform. That means more than 34,000 people had their lives simplified through our digital process at their local firearm retailer. It also means less costly errors and fines, less wasted resources on manual work, less paper waste, and less hassle overall. What’s to come in 2022 The Bravo Store Systems team has been working diligently on some more incredible new features to roll out this year, which include the following: Newly released E4473 Digital Storage E4473 Business Portal (coming soon!) Integration of the FBI NICS E-Check Our number one goal is faster, safer gun transactions. Making this happen for our users is what brings us joy. For this reason, we take every piece of feedback and every survey response from our customers to heart and use it to further develop and improve E4473. We’ll continue to launch major updates and features that are sure to blow you away—and convert you into an E4473 user if you aren’t already. Until then, the E4473 team is incredibly grateful for all of the opportunities and success we’ve had in the past year and looks forward to more to come in 2022. Eager to start 2022 off right? Schedule your E4473 demo today!
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E4473 Now Offers First-Of-Its-Kind Cloud Storage

Launch of E4473 Cloud Storage
Gone are the days of keeping endless boxes of 4473 paperwork in your backrooms and storage units. We are proud to announce our newest solution for the management of firearms transactions: E4473 Cloud Storage. Keep all of your paperwork in a secure, electronic format, including Form 4473. Learn more about how our ATF-compliant cloud storage solution works and how to sign up for it today. What is E4473 Cloud Storage? E4473 Cloud Storage allows you to securely store all of your customers’ 4473 forms online. You can also upload and store any other additional documentation that may be necessary for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), such as a copy of a customer’s concealed carry permit. Why choose E4473 Cloud Storage? Our paperless storage allows FFLs to securely store all 4473 forms and other ATF-required forms in an electronic format in a centralized online location. This online environment is secure, encrypted, and ATF-compliant, as well as updated in real-time. Our first-to-market solution means that firearm retailers will now have a complete, 360° digital solution for firearm transactions, providing a path for profitable growth and scale. There are countless reasons to be excited about E4473 Cloud Storage, but here are a few of our favorites: Paperless storage eliminates thousands of storage boxes and paper documents. This allows for easy and fast retrieval of 4473 forms and other required documents for traces and audits. It also includes 20-year storage of all required forms, in accordance with ATF regulations. The ATF Audit Portal allows agents to seamlessly perform E4473 audits with a restricted-access audit portal built directly into the E4473 Cloud Storage solution. Our Variance Application Assistance equips customers with everything they need to complete the ATF variance application, including an application template with completed answers to ATF questions. Our training resources make it easy for customers and ATF agents to start using E4473 Cloud Storage. These include step-by-step audit guides and videos. It’s important to note that E4473 is not a national registry nor a data marketing service. We don’t sell customer or consumer data to the ATF nor any other third-party services. E4473 has several systems and processes in place to shield your data and keep your information secure 24/7/365. Can the ATF use E4473 Cloud Storage? When and if the ATF does need a document from you, it will no longer disrupt your daily business operations. E4473 Cloud Storage makes it much easier for FFLs to comply with and respond to ATF trace and audit requests in a few different ways: All 4473 forms are legible and organized for easy reading and retrieval by employees and ATF agents. All 4473 forms and other ATF-required documentation are stored in a centralized online location, rather than physical boxes in a storage room. There is a built-in ATF Audit Portal that allows agents to easily perform in-store audits. The ATF portal gives ATF agents access to everything they need to perform the audit without giving access to parts of your Bravo System they don’t need. How can I sign up for paperless storage? It couldn’t be more simple! Let us know you’re interested, and a dedicated representative will reach out to assist you. Your rep can show you a live demo of E4473 Cloud Storage and how it works, as well as help to kick off your variance approval process upon signing up. The sooner you sign up for paperless storage access, the sooner you can start! Ready to go paperless and improve the way you do business? Sign up for E4473 Cloud Storage today.
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9 Ways E4473 Brings Your Business Into the 21st Century

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E4473 is not just another piece of technology. It’s not just for large firearm retailers or e-commerce firearm stores, either. Bringing your business up to speed has never been easier than with our E4473 system, which fully digitizes the process of firearm verification requests and background checks. It’s time to get with the times, so here are nine ways switching to E4473 will bring your business into the 21st century. Upgrades galore: How E4473 will elevate your store 1. Digital signature and submission With digital paperwork, this means no more printing, wet signing, faxing, scanning, mailing, or filing. Digital signatures can be recorded and submitted from any mobile device. 2. Digital storage You no longer have to deal with physical copies of customers’ paperwork nor having to worry about keeping those copies safe. You’ll also save thousands of dollars a year on paper and always be able to access your forms remotely. 3. Developed for businesses of all sizes E4473 works for pawn shops, small gun shops, e-commerce firearm stores, large firearm retailers, and everywhere in between. Our different pricing packages accommodate every type of business and are based on your unique needs. 4. Bulletproof security With round-the-clock security, your data is being kept safe 24/7/365. We also perform ongoing data back-ups to ensure none of your information is ever lost and offer the utmost in customer privacy and verification, including a secure sign-in process and two-factor authentication. 5. Happier customers Being able to fill out the necessary forms in minutes and from their own mobile device means wait times are a thing of the past. This also means customers can get through the entire verification process and go home with their new firearm much more quickly. 6. Easy-entry NICS system Gone are the days of manually filling out forms for the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). Our Easy-Entry NICS system ensures error-free forms, accurate background checks, and automatic compliance updates. 7. Integration with Bravo Platform POS Seamless integration with the Bravo Platform POS means you won’t have to change a thing about the way you operate. This allows you to streamline your in-store and even further improve your customer experience. 8. Faster ATF audits E4473 stays up-to-date on all of the latest releases, regulations, and requirements by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), which means your forms, system, and storage are always 100% compliant with ATF regulations. When it comes time for an audit, digital paperwork is also much quicker and easier to go through, as there is less room for error and issues with legibility. 9. Empowered employees The E4473 system comes with exclusive access to 24/7 online training videos, as well as FAQ and support. Inside the platform, each section of the application also has questions with definitions and exceptions to make everything easy to understand and refer back to. Want to see E4473 in action? Schedule a free demo for your store today!
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What it means to have secure digital storage in 2021

Secure Digital Storage
What is Secure Digital Storage? For anyone who is in business today, data is one of the most important assets. It’s also one that criminals are only too happy to steal. Or try to. Because of that, protecting your data needs to be a high priority. Putting a lock on your storeroom office isn’t enough. Having passwords on employee computers isn’t enough. Having a firewall on your network isn’t enough. And hoping that nobody will be interested in your data is definitely not enough.  So what does secure digital storage look like in 2021? Let’s look at four factors. Security Protocols For Secure Digital Storage For firearms dealers, the customer data collected on Form 4473 needs to be captured and then stored securely. Gun and pawnshop owners need to understand the sensitivity of the information they work with and take responsibility for their role in keeping it safe. If they’re using security protocols that aren’t compliant and stringent, including both document and storage encryption, they are putting their customer data at risk. Stringent security protocols include: Keeping firewalls up-to-date Organizing users by security level Proper key management Continuous monitoring and auditing Thorough staff training that doesn’t create unnecessary roadblocks to doing their work Secure E4473 Online Account Creating a secure E4473 online account is the easiest way to keep your data safe. Our 3-step account setup includes an admin email account verification and remote login security. Our system allows you to have complete control who can access your data at an employee level and protects your data from being accessed locally on office computers and in age-old filing cabinets. Not to mention our system allows for remote secure login from any computer that has internet access so that your account can be monitored even when you’re not in the office.   Strict Password Protocols Few people remember this now, but in 2013 Adobe had a data breach caused by weak password protocols. It was big and embarrassing. Weak passwords are an easy way into your records and therefore are a very important part of overall data security. “According to the Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report, compromised passwords are responsible for 81% of hacking-related breaches.” Among other things, secure passwords are long, but not necessarily complex, and should be protected by hashing before they’re stored. Make sure any system you use has strict password protocols.   Protection From Cyber Attacks Effective protection from cyber-attacks requires continuous monitoring of hacker’s actions and constant upgrades to your security protocols based on this knowledge. Sophisticated protection includes identifying the user’s network, device, and actions. Even the rate at which they are typing can be an important indicator of potential fraud.  E4473 is the first solution on the market to offer ATF-compliant Digital Storage. Our goal is to increase the safety and security around firearm transactions while helping to alleviate errors and time wasted. When you use E4473, you can have confidence that you are using the most up-to-date protocols for secure digital transactions and storage.
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