FFL Software That Keeps Working When the Internet Doesn't
What runs on your own PC, what still needs a connection, and what ATF Ruling 2016-1 asks of you either way.
FFL Command Center runs on a Windows PC in your shop, with the database on that PC. The A&D bound book, Form 4473 records, inventory and point of sale keep working with no internet connection. Background checks, card payments, the website feed and off-site backup still need one.
What keeps working offline
- A&D bound book entries, corrections and searches
- Form 4473 records
- Inventory
- Point of sale for anything that doesn't need a card processor
- A second register on your shop network, working the same set of records
What still needs a connection
| Task | Why |
|---|---|
| Background check | FBI NICS E-Check and state point-of-contact systems are online. FFL Command Center opens the right portal but does not run the check, and it will not complete a Form 4473 without an NTN. No software, cloud or local, lets a transfer skip the check. |
| Card payments | The card processor is an online service. |
| Dealer website | Your website lives on your web host, so publishing changes to it needs a connection. |
| Off-site backup | Uploading the encrypted off-site copy needs a connection. |
Where your records live
The database is a file on the shop PC, not on a vendor's server. Backups are made on that PC, and if you set up off-site backup, an encrypted copy goes to a Backblaze B2 storage account you configure in the software. Your records are not held on our servers.
What ATF Ruling 2016-1 asks either way
Ruling 2016-1 lets a licensee keep the A&D record electronically without a variance, as long as the system and practices meet every one of its conditions. One condition is downloading the records to a storage device at your premises, unencrypted, at least every six months (daily if a host facility holds them), and at the other times the ruling lists.
With local software the live records are already at your premises, but the live database is not the download. You still run and keep the downloads the ruling calls for. The Ruling 2016-1 and 2022-01 checklist goes through every condition. For Forms 4473 kept electronically, Ruling 2022-01 sets its own conditions, including an unencrypted copy on a device at your premises; see electronic 4473.
The honest trade-off
Cloud software's strengths are real: you can reach it from anywhere, the vendor runs the servers and backups, and a stolen PC doesn't take your only copy. Local software hands those jobs to you. You keep the PC secure, make sure backups run, and keep the downloads. If you don't want that job, a cloud product may suit you better. If you want the counter to keep working when the connection drops, and your records on hardware you control, local is the way to get it.
FAQ
Does FFL Command Center work without internet?
Can I complete a background check while the internet is down?
Is local FFL software ATF approved?
What happens if the shop PC fails?
Dana Fales holds an active Federal Firearms License and operates Fales Guns, a licensed dealership in Coral Springs, Florida. A U.S. Army veteran who served as a Blackhawk crew chief, with more than 30 years of firearm ownership, Dana built FFL Command Center after keeping these records by hand, and tested it in an operating gun shop before selling it to anyone else. More about Dana.
See It Run on a Shop PC
Ask for a walkthrough and pull the network cable during it if you like.