Offline mode in Retail POS is a backup function that allows you to continue processing sales if you lose your internet connection during your business day.
The Retail POS app will automatically enter offline mode if your internet connection drops offline for longer than two minutes. This can be noted by the offline status under the store name and outlet/register information in the menu bar.
It is important to note that this is a backup option for when the internet connection is disrupted and is not intended as a complete solution for offline selling.
Retail POS will not operate without an internet connection if you have not completed an initial sync. You also won't be able to use Retail POS in offline mode if you weren't logged into your store before the internet connection was lost.
What you can access in offline mode
-
While offline, you will only have access to the Sell and Status pages on Mac or PC, and the sell screen on iPad. All other sections will be inaccessible until your internet connection is reestablished.
You will not be able to process integrated payments while your internet is down. However, you may be able to use a non-integrated EFTPOS machine to take EFTPOS/credit card sales offline. For more information on taking EFTPOS payments while offline, we recommend getting in touch with your EFTPOS provider.
Sell
On the Sell page, you will be able to add products and customers and process new cash transactions, layby, and on account sales.
You will not be able to edit existing customers, create new customers, redeem/sell gift cards, redeem loyalty, discard or park sales, or view product inventory information.
Status
You can view your unsynced sales on the Status page. These are sales made during offline mode that have been saved in your browser but not yet synced to our servers.
Once your internet is back up, these sales should automatically sync. If there are still sales in the Status page after a few minutes, you can try clicking the Retry errored sales button to sync them manually.
-
While in offline mode, you will only have access to the sell screen on your iPad. All other sections will be inaccessible until your internet connection is reestablished.
You will not be able to process integrated payments while your internet is down. However, you may be able to use a non-integrated EFTPOS machine to take EFTPOS/credit card sales offline. For more information on taking EFTPOS payments while offline, we recommend getting in touch with your EFTPOS provider.
Sell screen
On the sell screen you will be able to add products and customers, and process new cash transactions, layby, and on account sales.
You will not be able to edit existing customers, create new customers, redeem/sell gift cards, redeem loyalty, discard or park sales, or view product inventory information.
Adding products/customers in offline mode
-
You cannot search for products or customers by name while in offline mode (that data is stored on the Retail POS servers). However, you can add products with a barcode scanner or by typing in the product SKUs. Quick keys will also work in offline mode.
To add a customer, you will need to enter the customer code. You can find the customer code on existing loyalty cards, or a receipt.
You will need to know the customer code if you wish to add a customer to a sale in offline mode. When adding a customer by customer code, you may receive the error message "Sorry we were unable to fetch your data". This is because the search function will not work when in offline mode. However, press enter or return on your keyboard and the customer will be added to the sale. If you are using a scanner to scan the customer code, this will add the customer to the sale automatically.
Tips to keep sales smooth when your internet goes down:
- Use your barcode scanner to search for products
- Keep important SKUs and customer IDs written down or in a document
- Keep your most commonly-purchased products in your quick key layout
- When entering a product SKU or customer ID, make sure to click enter after typing it in in order to add this product or customer to the sale.
-
You can search for products and customers as normal in offline mode when using the Retail POS (X-Series) app as this data is stored locally.
You can also add products using a barcode scanner or by typing in SKUs as normal. If you have quick keys, these will also still work in offline mode.
Once the internet connection is restored
-
Retail POS will automatically check your internet connection every two minutes. Once your computer is back online, the offline mode banner will disappear and you will be able to access all sections of Retail POS again.
If you have processed sales while offline, these will automatically sync to our servers once your internet connection is restored. This should occur within a few minutes of your internet connection being reestablished. If some sales have not synced, you will see an error sales icon next to Status in the sidebar. If you see this, head to the Status page and tap the Retry errored sales button.
-
Retail POS will automatically check your internet connection every two minutes. Once your computer is back online, the offline status will disappear from the menu and you will be able to access all sections of Retail POS again.
If you have processed sales while offline, these will automatically sync to our servers once your internet connection is restored. This should occur within a few minutes of your internet connection being reestablished. You can check that all sales have synced by tapping on your store name in the main menu to bring up the Status menu.
If there are still sales on the status page after a few minutes, you can tap Sync all data to manually sync them.
Troubleshooting offline mode on desktop
If you try to access Retail POS on your Mac or PC and you receive the "Unable to load register" screen, it may be because you have not fully loaded your store in this browser before or you were not previously logged into Retail POS when your computer dropped offline.
You won't be able to use Retail POS offline while you have this message. To troubleshoot:
- Check your internet connection by accessing another website outside of Retail POS. If other websites are also offline, your computer may have lost connection to the internet. Check that your router is powered on or contact your internet service provider.
- If your internet is still running normally, click on the link to Retail POS's system status page and check that Retail POS's servers are operational.
- If everything looks good, try and refresh the page to clear this message.
Troubleshooting offline more on the Retail POS (X) app
If you are experiencing issues with the Retail POS (X) app showing offline on your iPad despite being connected to Wi-Fi, there are several steps you can take to troubleshoot:
- Verify the make and model of your iPad to ensure compatibility with the Retail POS app.
- Check that your iPad is running the latest iOS version.
- Confirm that your iPad is connected to Wi-Fi by checking the settings.
- Run a speed test to ensure that your internet connection is stable.
- Uninstall and reinstall the Retail POS (X) app to ensure that it is up-to-date and functioning properly.
- Change your DNS server to 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4 to improve connectivity.
- Reboot your iPad and router to refresh the connection.
- Check that the local network on your iPad is enabled and that any private Wi-Fi network is disabled.
- Reboot your iPad and router once more to ensure that any changes made have taken effect.
By following these troubleshooting steps, you should be able to resolve any issues with the Retail POS (X) app showing offline on your iPad despite being connected to Wi-Fi. If you continue to experience problems, you may need to seek further assistance from our support team.
Once on the app, your float may not ask you for its value and go directly to the Sell screen and at the time of closing, your register may show payment types that should not be listed.
To fix this, make sure Cash management is enabled in all registers by going to Sell > Cash management. If disabled, the Retail POS generates a misleading "You're offline" message when attempting to open the register and other unexpected behavior related to your payment summary.