Cash drawers are connected to a receipt printer via an RJ12 or CD-101A connector cable. The cash drawer will open when a cash or cheque sale is processed in Retail POS and the receipt is printed. The setup process is specific to the device platform you use Retail POS on (Windows, Mac, or iPad) and your printer's brand (Epson or Star).

You must use an RJ12 or a CD-101A cable for your cash drawer to work. Othe cable types are not supported.

What you'll need

Epson printer

• Setting up your cash drawer for Windows 

  To set up the cash drawer with an Epson printer:

  1. Plug the RJ12 or CD-101A connector cable from the cash drawer into the receipt printer.
  

  2. Turn the key to the unlock position.
  

  3. Go to Devices and Printers on Windows.

  4. Right-click on your receipt printer and select Printing Preferences > Peripherals.

  5. Select Cash Drawer from the Peripherals drop-down menu.

  6. Click End of Document and select Open under Cash Drawer #1 and Cash Drawer #2.

  If you want your cash drawer to fire before the receipt prints you can select the 'Start of Document' option instead.

  7. Click Apply to save these settings and perform a test print from the Sales history (Sell > Sales history).

  Your cash drawer should now be all set! You can test it by printing a receipt from the Sales history (Sell > Sales history) to fire the draw.

• Setting up your cash drawer for Mac

  To set up the cash drawer with an Epson printer:

  1. Plug the RJ12 or CD-101A connector cable from the cash drawer into the receipt printer.

  2. Turn the key to the unlock position.

  3. Go to the following URL: http://localhost:631/printers/. This will take you to CUPS, a network printing service used by Mac computers. It allows you to set up your printers on a network, and customize options such as cash drawer setup. At this point, your browser will prompt you to log in, using the username and password you use to log in to this computer.

  To double-check what your Username is, go to System Preferences > Users & Groups.

   Receive this screen? Click here to learn how to enable CUPS for your computer.

  4. Once in CUPS, select your printer model from the list.

  

  5. Select Set Default Options from the drop-down menu. 

  

  6. Click Cash Drawer Control and select Open after printing from the Cash Drawer #1 and Cash Drawer #2 drop-down menus.

  

  7. Click Set Default Options.

  Your cash drawer should now be all set! You can test it by printing a receipt from the Sales history (Sell > Sales history) to fire the draw.

• Setting up your cash drawer for iPad

  To set up the cash drawer, open up the Retail POS app and follow the instructions below:

  1. Tap the Menu icon (☰) to open the sidebar.

  2. Tap Settings and choose Hardware.

  3. Select the printer you want to attach the cash drawer to.

  4. Plug the RJ12 or CD-101A connector cable from the cash drawer into the receipt printer.

  5. Turn the key to the unlock position.

  6. On the printer settings page, toggle the Enable cash drawer setting to On.

  7. Toggle the Open after cash sale setting to On.

  Your cash drawer should now be all set! You can test it by printing a receipt from the Sales history (Sell > Sales history) to fire the draw.

Star printer

• Setting up your cash drawer for Windows 

  To set up the cash drawer with a Star printer:

  1. Plug the RJ12 or CD-101A connector cable from the cash drawer into the receipt printer.
  

  2. Turn the key to the unlock position.

  3. Go to Devices and Printers on Windows.

  4. Right-click on your receipt printer, and select Printer Properties > Device Settings.

  5. Select Cash Drawer from the Peripheral Unit Type drop-down menu and set the Peripheral Unit 1 and Peripheral Unit 2 to Document Bottom.

  

  If you want your cash drawer to fire before the receipt prints you can set the Peripheral Unit 1 and Peripheral Unit 2 options to Document Top.

  6. Click Apply to save these settings and print a receipt from the Sales history (Sell > Sales history) to test the draw.

  Your cash drawer should now be all set! You can test it by printing a receipt from the Sales history (Sell > Sales history) to fire the draw.

• Setting up your cash drawer for Mac

  To set up the cash drawer with a Star printer:

  1. Plug the RJ12 or CD-101A connector cable from the cash drawer into the receipt printer.
  

  2. Turn the key to the unlock position.

  3. Go to the following URL: http://localhost:631/printers/. This will take you to CUPS, a network printing service used by Mac computers. It allows you to set up your printers on a network, and customize options such as cash drawer setup. At this point, your browser will prompt you to log in, using the username and password you use to log in to this computer. To confirm what your username is, go to System Preferences > Users & Groups.

  Receive this screen? Click here to learn how to enable CUPS for your computer.

  4. Once in CUPS, select your printer model from the list.

  

  5. Select Set Default Options from the drop-down menu. 

  

  6. Click Cash Drawer Control and select Open Drawers 1 and 2 from the Cash Drawer drop-down menu.

  

  7. Click Set Default Options.

  Your cash drawer should now be all set! You can test this by printing a receipt from the Sales history (Sell > Sales history) to fire the draw.

• Setting up your cash drawer for iPad

  To set up the cash drawer, open up the Retail POS app and follow the instructions below:

  1. Tap the Menu icon (☰) to open the sidebar.

  2. Tap Settings and choose Hardware.

  3. Select the printer you want to attach the cash drawer to.

  4. Plug the RJ12 or CD-101A connector cable from the cash drawer into the receipt printer.
  

  5. Turn the key to the unlock position.

  6. On the printer settings page, toggle the Enable cash drawer setting to On.

  7. Toggle the Open after cash sale setting to On.

  Your cash drawer should now be all set! You can test it by printing a receipt from the Sales history (Sell > Sales history) to fire the draw.

Troubleshooting your cash drawer

Here are a few things to check if you are having some trouble with your cash drawer:

• If your cash drawer and printer are not connected:
  • Ensure the RJ12 or CD-101A cable connected to your printer and your cash drawer is securely plugged into each device and its correct port. 
  • Ensure the correct end of the cable is connected to the printer and the cash drawer. 
• Your cash drawer is locked. 
  • Ensure your cash drawer is unlocked by turning the key to the unlock position.
• The cable is physically damaged. 
  • If you have completed all the steps above, your cable may be physically damaged. 

What's next?