Internet down? Keep selling.
Power cuts and patchy internet are part of business in many places. The poso till is built so the queue never stops: sales are saved on the device and sync when the connection returns.
Yes, poso works offline at the till. Once the point of sale has been opened while online, it keeps scanning, pricing and taking payments during an internet outage, stores each sale on the device, and sends them to poso automatically when the connection comes back. Back-office work such as purchasing, reports and accounting needs a connection.
How offline mode works
- Open the till onlineWhen a cashier opens the till, poso loads products, prices, customers and payment methods onto the device.
- The internet dropsThe till carries on: scan, search, discount and take cash or mobile money as usual. A small indicator shows you are offline.
- Sales queue on the deviceEach sale is saved in the browser on that device, in order, with its payment.
- The connection returnsQueued sales sync automatically. Stock, batches and accounts update as if the sales had happened online.
What works offline, and what doesn't
| Task | Offline? |
|---|---|
| Scanning and selling products already loaded | Yes |
| Cash, mobile money and card payments (recorded) | Yes |
| Printing receipts on a connected printer | Yes |
| Discounts and returns of sales made on that device | Yes |
| Price or product changes made elsewhere | Arrive when back online |
| Live stock levels from other tills or branches | Update when back online |
| Closing the till session | Needs a connection |
| Purchasing, receiving, reports and accounting | Need a connection |
Tips for shops with unreliable internet
- Open the till at the start of the day while the connection is up.
- Keep a small UPS on the router and the till computer so a power cut doesn't end the session.
- Use a mobile data hotspot as a backup connection for syncing and back-office work.
- Don't clear the browser's data on the till device while sales are waiting to sync.
- Close the session once you are back online so cash counts reconcile.
Why not desktop software?
Desktop systems work without internet but tie your data to one computer, which can fail, be stolen or catch a virus, and they make multi-branch reporting hard. poso gives you the resilience of offline selling with the safety and reach of the cloud. Compare the two in cloud vs desktop pharmacy software.
Offline questions
Does poso work without internet?
The till does. You can keep selling during an outage and the sales sync later. Purchasing, reports and accounting need a connection.
How long can the till stay offline?
There is no fixed limit while the till stays open on the same device. Sync as soon as you can so stock levels and reports stay current, especially with several tills.
What happens if two tills sell the last item while offline?
Both sales are kept. When they sync, stock may show a negative quantity for that product, which tells you to check the shelf and correct the count.
Will I lose sales if the computer is switched off while offline?
Queued sales are stored in the browser's storage on that device and survive a restart. They are lost only if the browser data is cleared or the device is wiped before syncing.
Does offline mode work on tablets?
Yes, as long as the till was opened online in that browser first.
Last updated by the poso team.