A day on the POS

Use this for a day at the counter, a show or an event. You open the register with the cash in the drawer, ring up sales, handle a return if one comes up, then count the drawer and close. Every sale becomes a regular order that takes stock and shows in your reports.

Before you start

POS is on every plan. Its settings are at Settings → POS: your store's state and ZIP for tax, which payment methods to allow, receipts, tips, your Venmo handle and the Square button. See Point of Sale.
Taking cards on a reader? Register it at Settings → Card Readers first. See Card reader.
Owners and admins: set your Refund approval PIN on Settings → POS, so you can approve voids and refunds for staff.

The flow

Start
The drawer has its float and you're ready to sell
1
Open Sales → POS Terminal
2
Enter the float, then tap Start Selling
3
Add items: tap them, search, scan or use 📷 Camera
Tip
$ Manual adds a custom charge; % Discount takes money off
4
Tap PAY $… and take the payment
How are they paying?
Cash
1. Enter the cash handed over and tap Take Cash
Card
1. Tap Card Reader, then Charge $… on reader
2. Or tap Manual Card, type the card and tap Charge
Venmo
1. Show the QR code, then tap Payment Received
Square
1. Tap Open Square and take the card there, or charge in Square and tap Payment received
Tip
Paying two ways? Take part one way, then the rest; it's done when Remaining is $0.00
5
Offer a receipt: Email, Print or No receipt
6
Use Cash In or Cash Out for cash that isn't a sale
7
To undo a sale, open Recent sales, then Void sale or Refund…
Tip
Staff need an owner or admin to type their approval PIN
8
At closing, tap Close Register and type the cash you counted
9
Tap Close Session
10
Check the day in Sales → POS Sessions
Done
The drawer is counted and the day's sales are in your reports

Step by step

1. Open the register

Open Sales → POS Terminal on the device you're selling from. It opens full-screen in a new tab. Selling outdoors? Light mode in the register menu (the ☰ menu on a phone) is easier to read in daylight.

2. Count in the float

Under Open Register, type the cash in the drawer on the number pad. Give the device a name if you use more than one register (for example Booth). Tap Start Selling.

The session is yours until you close it. You can leave the page and come back to it.

The Open Register screen The Open Register screen

3. Ring up the sale

Tap a product in the grid, or filter by category. Products with variants ask which one.
Search by name, or scan a barcode with a USB or Bluetooth scanner into the search box.
📷 Camera scans barcodes with the phone or tablet camera.
$ Manual adds a charge that isn't a product: an amount and an optional description.
% Discount takes a percentage or a fixed amount off a line or the whole cart, with a reason.

Tax is added from your tax rates for the store's location.

The register with a cart and the PAY button The register with a cart and the PAY button

4. Take payment

Tap PAY $…. The payment screen shows Total, Paid and Remaining.

Cash: enter what the customer handed you, or tap a quick amount. The register shows the Change Due. Tap Take Cash.
Card Reader: the first time on this device, pick the reader at this register. Check the amount and tap Charge $… on reader. The customer taps, inserts or swipes, and adds a tip on the reader if tips are on.
Manual Card: type the card details and tap Charge.
Venmo: the customer scans the QR code with their phone's camera. When you see the payment arrive, tap Payment Received.
Square: tap Open Square and take the card in the Square app; the sale finishes when you come back. If it doesn't, or you're on a computer, charge in Square and tap Payment received.

Splitting: take part with one method (for cash, enter less than the total; for a card or Venmo, change the amount), then pick the next method for the rest. The sale completes when Remaining reaches $0.00. Once a payment is taken the cart is locked.

Changed your mind mid-payment? Cancel Sale gives back what was taken: cards are refunded automatically, and the register tells you how much cash to hand back.

The payment screen The payment screen

5. Offer a receipt

The register asks Would you like a receipt? Turn the screen to the customer:

Email: they type their email and tap Send receipt.
Print: prints on your receipt printer, or through the browser.
No receipt: straight on to the next sale.

Skip — next sale lets you move on without asking.

6. Cash in and out

When cash goes in or out of the drawer for something other than a sale (change from the bank, paying for supplies), tap Cash In or Cash Out in the top bar. Enter the amount and a reason. Both count toward what the drawer should hold at close.

7. Void or refund a sale

Tap Recent sales and tap the sale. To find an older one, type its receipt number, order number or the customer's email and tap Find.

Void sale undoes a sale from this session completely, today, if nothing's been refunded yet. Pick a reason and tap Void sale. Every item goes back in stock.
Refund… is for anything else: an earlier sale, or part of one. Use − and + to pick what's coming back. Untick Put back in stock for anything damaged. Or type an amount instead. Pick a reason, tap Review refund, check where the money goes, and tap Refund.

Money goes back to the card first, then Venmo or Square, then cash from this drawer. Do what the register says: hand back the cash, send Venmo back yourself, or refund in the Square app.

Staff see Owner or admin approval: an owner or admin types their approval PIN and taps Approve.

8. Close the register

At the end of the day, tap Close Register (in the ☰ menu on a phone). Count the cash in the drawer and type the total. Add a note if something needs explaining.

You can't close while a sale is part-paid: finish it or Cancel Sale first.

9. Close the session

Tap Close Session. The register compares your count with what it expected (float, plus cash sales and cash in, minus cash out and cash handed back) and records the difference as over or short.

10. Check the day

Open Sales → POS Sessions and the session. It shows the cashier, Total Sales, Transactions, Refunds and Cash Over/Short, the Payment Breakdown by method, every sale, Voids & Refunds with who did and approved each, and the Cash Movements.

If something goes wrong

A barcode doesn't ring up: the register matches the product's part number, a variant's SKU, or the UPC/EAN on the product or variant. Add the code to the product (see Products), or search by name.
The card is declined: tap Try again for another card, or Cancel to take another method.
A card refund fails: the register stops and says which payments were refunded. Nothing else changes. Fix the problem (often a low Stripe balance) and tap Retry. A card is never refunded twice.
Over or short at close: check the session's Cash Movements and Voids & Refunds for cash that wasn't entered.