If the internet goes down, your POS must continue functioning and capture sales. Thankfully, many hybrid POS systems offer an offline transaction mode which saves data locally before uploading back when connection is restored.
Mobile businesses who sell at events and fairs where wifi signals may be weak may especially find this feature beneficial.
1. Log in to the POS
POS systems with offline mode capabilities allow merchants to continue accepting payments when internet connectivity issues arise, such as remote restaurants or farmers markets. Some solutions will automatically sync data once back online, while others require merchants to manually reenter sales orders and inventory details when reconnecting to the internet.
Merchants using an offline POS must log into the app using either their PIN, username and password or both to gain access. If they become disconnected, their POS may display an error message that states “The POS has been logged out” or “The server connection is unavailable”.
Some POS apps can double as WiFi hotspots to allow POS staff members to use the software while on the move. Although this might be more costly for merchants with limited data plans, it provides them with a way to take POS with them and process card payments should there be any sort of Internet outage or disaster situation.
If you know you will be offline for an extended period, such as when your internet goes out at 1 pm but you plan on opening at 9 am, it is advisable to change your store opening time accordingly in the back office. Credit cards swiped while offline may not be honored once connectivity has returned – thus merchants must ensure not accepting payments while operating offline mode.
2. Go to Options
If you would like to enable credit card payments in offline mode (with an integrated setup with a payment processing service), click the Offline Payments icon and choose options that best meet your needs. For instance, if you require customer information each time an offline credit card payment is taken off-line, check the box labeled ‘Request customer data when accepting offline payment’.
Your status bar at the top of your POS will turn red when you are offline; once internet connectivity is restored, your POS will revert back to online mode automatically. If an order from Status remains unsynced with back office systems, click Sync To Server button manually send it over.
An offline POS can provide peace of mind during an Internet outage and is also beneficial when selling at remote or rural locations such as farmer’s markets, food trucks or other outdoor venues. Once back online, sales will sync to your database instantly; other POS functions such as searching customers or products and taking cash payments may still work even when in offline mode; it just might take longer for these orders to sync back up later on.
3. Select Offline Mode
Retail businesses located in areas with spotty or unstable Internet access need a point-of-sale (POS) system that supports offline mode in order to keep customers shopping while you troubleshoot any temporary outages that arise. An offline mode POS enables your store to still process payments during an outage and sync them automatically when your internet returns – thus keeping customers comfortable!
Once offline mode has been selected, your POS will display a banner reading “You Are in Offline Mode.” Throughout a sale transaction, it will check its internet connection every two minutes and if still offline at that point will display a message notifying that transaction can’t take place.
If a gateway outage persists, you can force offline processing by activating this option in the POS settings under Payments. Remember to deactivate it once internet connectivity returns unless advised otherwise by CAKE Support. This feature is especially beneficial when selling from mobile locations like food trucks and farmer’s markets with poor or nonexistent connections; accepting credit card payments regardless of network speed at these venues.
4. Click Save
An offline POS can protect you from losing customers who do not wish to wait while your internet reconnects, and also increases its reliability in places with intermittent or unstable connectivity, such as food trucks, fairs or farmer’s markets.
Your business can benefit from additional configurations that help optimize business operations. You can set the amount of time (between 1-10 seconds) after cash payments for which an amount paid notification remains visible on the totals screen after cash payment. Furthermore, employees cannot print receipts until after POS prints their order invoice – something especially helpful in restaurants which process refunds or workflows that involve deposit returns for glass bottles.
Your can also select the option to combine orders with various production instructions into one line, saving time and effort if your staff frequently adds drinks before sending everything off for preparation before collecting payment. Furthermore, tags associated with certain POS configurations allow for better insight into your business operations – you can even require managers to use their PIN when logging in so they do not log out with orders still open!