Setting up and signing in to the POS

Opening the POS on a counter computer or tablet, telling it which counter it is, signing it in for the day and saying who is serving.

What the POS is

Needs the permission Use the POS.

The POS is the screen you use at the shop counter. You sell from it, take returns, hand over click and collect orders and look after the cash drawer. It runs in a web browser on the counter computer or on a tablet, at its own address, separate from this dashboard.

It uses the same staff accounts as the dashboard. There is no separate POS password.

• Your shop needs the POS add-on: on Add-ons, click Add an add-on and add POS.
• Each counter needs a POS register. Add POS registers in Locations: open the shop, then use the Point of sale card. Name each one after the counter it stands at, for example "Front desk".
• Everybody who will serve needs a role with the Use the POS permission. Set this in Roles.

Tip: A shop with two counters has two POS registers. Each one keeps its own cash drawer, so the cash can be counted counter by counter.

Open the POS in a browser

Needs the permission Use the POS.

From the dashboard: when your shop has the POS add-on and your role has Use the POS, an Open the POS button (a small screen icon) sits at the top of every dashboard page, beside the bell. It opens the POS in a new tab.

On the counter computer, go to the POS’s own address in the browser and save it as a bookmark or a desktop shortcut, so it is one click every morning. If you do not know the address, ask whoever set up the shop’s server.

Tip: Use Firefox, Chrome or Edge on the counter computer. They can be set up to print receipts without asking each time; Safari cannot. See Offline, printers and the customer screen.

Sign the POS in for the day

Needs the permission Use the POS.

The first screen is Open the POS. Whoever opens up in the morning signs it in once. Staff who serve during the day do not type a password; they say who they are on the next screen.

1. Type your Email and Password.
2. Tap Open the POS.
3. If your account uses two-factor authentication, enter your code (see the next section).
4. The first time on a new computer or tablet, the POS asks Which POS register is this?. After that it goes straight to Who is serving?.

The POS stays signed in for 12 hours from the moment it was opened, or until somebody taps Sign the POS out. After that it shows Open the POS again and somebody signs it in again.

If it will not let you in, the message says why:

• Email or password is incorrect. Check both. For safety the POS does not say which one is wrong.
• That account is not set up to use the POS. An owner can allow it on its role. The password was right, but the role does not have Use the POS. Add it in Roles.
• That account cannot sign in at this time of day. or That account cannot sign in from here. The role limits the hours or the places it can sign in from. These limits are also set in Roles.
• Too many attempts. Wait the number of minutes it gives, then try again.

Take care: The account that signs the POS in is not the name put on sales. Every sale, refund and drawer entry is recorded against the person who said they are serving. A manager who opens up at nine is not blamed for a sale somebody else made at four.

Two-factor codes at the POS

Needs the permission Use the POS.

If your account uses two-factor authentication, the POS asks for a code after your password. The screen says Enter your code.

1. Open your authenticator app on your phone.
2. Type the six-digit code into Authentication code.
3. Tap Open the POS.

• No phone to hand? One of your recovery codes works in the same box.
• A wrong code shows That code is not right. and how many attempts are left.
• After too many wrong codes, or after five minutes, the attempt expires. Tap Start again and enter your password again.

Take care: If your role requires two-factor and you have not set it up yet, the POS refuses with Your role needs two-factor authentication. Set it up by signing in to the dashboard first, then open the POS again. Setting it up cannot be done at the counter. Sign in to the dashboard on your own device, set up two-factor on your Profile, then come back and open the POS.

Tell a new device which POS register it is

Needs the permission Use the POS.

The first time a computer or tablet is used, the POS asks Which POS register is this?. The answer decides which shop’s stock it sells, which shop each sale belongs to, which cash drawer it uses and which click and collect orders it lists. It is asked once; the device remembers it.

1. Sign the POS in.
2. On Which POS register is this?, find the name of your shop.
3. Tap the POS register for the counter you are standing at.
4. The POS confirms which POS register and shop it now is, and moves on to Who is serving?.

The thin bar along the top of every POS screen always shows who signed the POS in, the POS register’s name and the shop. Look there whenever you are not sure which counter a screen is set up as.

Moved a screen to a different counter? Tap the POS register’s name in the top bar. It takes you back to Which POS register is this? so you can pick the right one.

• No POS registers have been set up: nobody has added a POS register yet. Add one in Locations, on the shop’s page under Point of sale.
• This terminal is pinned by its configuration: this device has been fixed to one POS register and it cannot be changed from the screen. Ask whoever set up the shop’s server.
• If a POS register is taken out of service in the dashboard (its In service switch is turned off), any device set up as that POS register stops selling straight away and asks which POS register it is again.

Take care: Picking the wrong POS register sells stock off the wrong shelves and puts cash in the wrong drawer. If the name in the top bar is not your counter, fix it before you sell anything.

Say who is serving

Needs the permission Use the POS.

Once the POS is signed in it shows Who is serving?. Nothing can be sold until somebody says who they are. That person’s name goes on every sale, refund and drawer entry until they finish, and what they may do (refunds, discounts, paying money out) is what their role allows. So after the name comes their own till PIN.

There are two ways to say who you are:

• Scan your badge: hold your staff badge under the barcode scanner. Or type your employee number into the box and tap Sign on (or press Enter).
• Or tap your name: tap your name in the list underneath.

Then type your till PIN and tap Sign on. Tap Not me if the wrong name was chosen. The POS opens the Sell screen, and your name appears under Serving at the top.

Everyone sets their own till PIN in the dashboard: sign in as yourself, open Security, and use the Till PIN card. It is four to six digits, and not an easy one like 1234. Forgotten it? Set a new one the same way.

• That badge was not recognised. The number is not anybody’s badge number, or that person is not allowed on the POS.
• You have no till PIN yet. Set one in the dashboard, under Security, then sign on.
• That PIN is not right. It says how many tries are left. After five wrong tries in a row the PIN waits 15 minutes.
• Nobody is set up to serve yet. No staff member has a role with Use the POS. Add staff in Staff and give their role the permission in Roles.
• This POS register takes badges only. If you have not got yours, ask a manager. The POS has been set to Badge scan only in the dashboard, so the list of names is hidden.

Tip: A badge number is the person’s employee number. Open the person in Staff and use the Badge number card: Issue a badge number gives them one, Show reveals it, and Issue a new one replaces a lost badge (the old number stops working at once).

Tip: To keep the list of names off the screen altogether, turn on Badge scan only for the POS register in Locations, under Point of sale. Then everyone needs a badge number, and someone who forgets their badge has to ask a manager.

You stay as the person serving for up to 12 hours. After that the POS asks who is serving again.

Hand the POS to somebody else

Needs the permission Use the POS.

1. Finish the sale you are on, or void its lines.
2. Tap Done serving at the top right of any POS screen.
3. The POS goes back to Who is serving?.
4. The next person scans their badge or taps their name.

Take care: Done serving empties the basket. A half-finished sale is not passed on to the next person.

Done serving does not sign the POS itself out, so the next person does not need an email or password. Sign the POS out is different: it is for closing time, and afterwards nobody can sell until somebody signs the POS in again.

Tip: Tap Done serving every time you step away from the counter, so nobody else’s sales or refunds are recorded under your name.

Leaving the POS at the end of the day

Needs the permission Use the POS.

At closing time:

1. Count and close the cash drawer (see Cash, the drawer and end of day).
2. Check the day on End of day, in the row of buttons under Serving.
3. Tap Sign the POS out at the right of the thin bar along the top of the screen.
4. The POS asks Sign the POS out?. Tap Sign the POS out to confirm, or Keep it signed in to go back.
5. The POS goes back to Open the POS. The basket is emptied and nobody is left serving.

The next morning, whoever opens up signs it in again with their email and password.

Take care: Closing the browser does not sign the POS out. Until its 12 hours are up, anyone at the counter could open it again and say they are serving. Use Sign the POS out before you leave, and lock the counter computer if the public can reach it.

Tip: Sign the POS out too when a counter computer or tablet is being moved, lent or left somewhere nobody is watching it.

Tip: The brightness buttons are on the Open the POS screen too, so a POS register left on overnight can be dimmed. See Offline, printers and the customer screen.

Who can use the POS

Needs the permission Use the POS.

Only staff whose role includes Use the POS can sign a POS register in or be chosen as the person serving. Give or take away the permission in Roles. A change takes effect straight away, even on a POS register that is already open: somebody whose role loses it disappears from the names on Who is serving? and their badge stops working.

What somebody may do at the POS is decided by the role of the person serving, not the account that signed the POS in. A manager who opens up in the morning does not lend their permissions to everybody who serves after them.

• Staff who are deactivated in Staff can no longer serve, straight away.
• Anybody serving can sell, hand over click and collect orders, look orders up, and pay cash in and out of the drawer.
• Changing the price of a line and giving a discount on the whole sale need Change prices and give discounts at the POS. Without it the Price and Discount buttons do not appear.
• Refunds need Refund orders, the same permission as refunds in the dashboard. Without it the Return screen says so at the top and the refund button stays greyed out.
• Marking a click and collect order as ready needs Fulfil orders. Without it the screen says so where the button would be.
• Every one of these is recorded with the name of the person serving.

When the person serving is not allowed to do something, the POS says who and what, for example Maria Georgiou can't give refunds. Ask somebody who can to take over the POS. Somebody who can taps Done serving, says who they are, does it, and hands back the same way.

Take care: The built-in Shop floor role can change prices and give discounts, but it cannot give refunds. If you want floor staff to take returns and give money back, give their role Refund orders in Roles — and only give it to people you trust with the drawer.

Tip: More about roles and permissions: Staff and access.