Offline sales
When the connection drops, you can keep recording simple cash sales on a terminal that is already unlocked. The sales are saved on the device and sent to TillPoint when the connection returns. Go to Offline cash sales.
This page is available on a registered terminal to staff who can take payment.
What works offline
Section titled “What works offline”Offline sales are deliberately limited:
- Cash only, for the exact amount of the sale. M-Pesa, card and customer credit are not available.
- Direct-issue products only, such as bottled drinks. Products that are prepared in the kitchen, or sold by weight, are not available.
- No discounts.
None of these can be done offline: refunds, split payments, waiter orders, kitchen tickets or closing a shift.
Getting ready while you are online
Section titled “Getting ready while you are online”Prepare each terminal before you need it. You need an open shift.
- Go to Offline cash sales.
- Choose the Stock section you sell from.
- Select Refresh offline catalogue.
TillPoint saves the product list, prices, a stock allowance, the section and your shift on the device. The page shows when the snapshot was taken.
The snapshot lasts 24 hours. After that the page shows Snapshot unavailable or older than 24 hours and you cannot record sales until you refresh it while online.
Offline mode supports at most 200 direct-issue products. If the section has more, the catalogue cannot be prepared.
Recording an offline sale
Section titled “Recording an offline sale”Keep the browser open and unlocked during an outage. Saved sales survive a page reload, but unlocking the terminal again needs a connection. The terminal still locks itself after the usual idle time.
- Type in Search cached products to find an item by name or SKU.
- Tap the product to add one. Tap again to add more.
- To take a product off, select Remove.
- Collect the amount shown as Exact cash.
- Tick I counted and received this exact cash amount.
- Select Record provisional cash sale.
TillPoint confirms the sale is saved on the device. If you see Sale was not recorded, the sale was not saved — do not treat it as made.
You cannot sell more of a product than its cached stock allowance, counting sales already waiting to sync. Other terminals may sell the same stock during the outage, so stock is only certain once the sales sync.
The device queue
Section titled “The device queue”Device queue shows how many sales are waiting and how many have conflicts. Each sale shows its amount, its state and its section.
| State | Meaning |
|---|---|
| QUEUED | Saved on the device, waiting to sync. |
| APPLIED | Synced. The server sale reference is shown. |
| CONFLICT | TillPoint refused the sale. The reason is shown. |
The queue belongs to you on this terminal. Another member of staff sees only their own sales.
Syncing
Section titled “Syncing”When the connection returns, TillPoint syncs the queued sales for the selected section by itself. You can also select Sync queued sales (the button shows how many are waiting).
Sync works one section at a time. If the page says sales are queued in other sections, choose that section and sync again.
If sync stops part way, the sales that have not synced stay safely on the device. Try again once the connection is steady.
Sales must be synced within seven days of being recorded.
Conflicts
Section titled “Conflicts”When a sale syncs, TillPoint checks it against the current price, stock, product and shift. If something no longer matches — for example, the shift has closed or the price has changed — the sale becomes a CONFLICT and is not retried.
Do not record the sale again. Tell a manager, who will check the cash and stock and put things right.