Guides · Point of sale
Offline POS: keep selling when the internet or power goes
· 6 min read
In much of East Africa the internet drops, the power goes and the bundle runs out, usually when the shop is busiest. A point of sale that stops working without internet stops your sales with it. An offline POS keeps selling and catches up by itself when the connection comes back. Here is how it works and what to look for.
What an offline POS should keep doing
- Ring up sales: scan, search or tap the items, and apply discounts.
- Take payment, including part payments and sales on credit.
- Print or reprint the receipt.
- Take the items off your stock.
- Record expenses paid from the till.
- Show clearly whether it is online, and how many sales are waiting to be sent.
How it catches up
Every sale made offline is kept safely on the device and queued. When the connection comes back, the queue is sent to the office automatically, in order, without anyone pressing a button. A sale is never sent twice, even if the connection drops halfway.
Stock is updated by adding or taking away quantities, not by overwriting the total, so two tills that sold the same product while offline both count correctly.
Receipt numbers that never clash
If two tills are offline at the same time, they cannot ask the office for the next receipt number. A good offline POS gives each device its own series, so receipts stay unique and in order across all your tills.
What still needs internet
The till works offline; the office does not have to. Reports across branches, the online store, adding a new staff login and changing settings all need a connection, and they show the offline sales as soon as those have synced.
Tips for shops with weak internet
- Open the till once while online each morning, so the latest products and prices are on the device.
- Use a device with a good battery: a laptop, a tablet or an Android phone keeps selling through a power cut, with a battery-powered receipt printer.
- Never clear the browser's data or reinstall while sales are still waiting to be sent.
- Let the till sync before closing for the day, so the owner sees the day's sales from home.
What to check before you choose a POS
- Turn off the Wi-Fi and data and make three sales. Do they print? Is the stock right after you reconnect?
- Make sales on two devices while both are offline, then reconnect. Do the receipt numbers clash?
- Does it show how many sales are still waiting to be sent?
- Does it work on the devices you already have?
Questions
Does Kaydro's point of sale work without internet?
Yes. It keeps selling, printing receipts, taking stock off and recording credit sales with no connection, and sends everything to the office when the connection is back.
What happens to sales made offline?
They are kept on the device and sent automatically, in order and only once, when the internet returns. The till shows how many are still waiting.
Which devices does it run on?
A computer, a tablet or an Android phone, in a browser or the app, with a receipt printer if you want printed receipts.
Can two tills work offline at the same time?
Yes. Each device has its own receipt series, and stock is counted by adding and taking away, so both tills stay correct after they sync.