Guide
10 questions to ask before choosing a POS that works offline
"Works offline" does not mean the same thing for every system. Some only let you take orders, some put payments on hold, and some lose records in a power cut. These 10 questions let you see the difference before you buy.
1. Can payments be taken offline?
A system that only lets you enter orders cannot close a table during an outage. Make sure cash, card and house-account payments can be taken offline.
2. Do kitchen tickets print?
If orders do not reach the kitchen, the dining room grinds to a halt. Ask whether printers keep printing over the local network without internet.
3. What happens to records if the power goes out too?
If offline transactions are only held in memory, they disappear when the computer shuts down. Make sure records are written permanently to disk.
4. Are records sent automatically when the internet returns?
Systems where the cashier must press "send" end up with forgotten records. Ask whether syncing is automatic and in order.
5. Can the same transaction be recorded twice?
While the connection flickers, the same payment may be sent twice. Check that the system records each transaction only once (double-charge protection).
6. What if another device changes the same table during the outage?
A good system detects the conflict and shows it to the cashier; it does not silently overwrite one record with another.
7. Does the screen reload and lose the cashier's work?
Going offline and coming back should not wipe out half-finished work. Ask whether the switch happens without reloading the screen.
8. How many tills can work offline?
If several tills work offline without knowing about each other, different records can be written to the same table. Ask what rule prevents this.
9. Is there a time limit on offline mode?
For security, the till may need to connect to the server at regular intervals. Find out the limit and the reason for it.
10. Can you show it to me in a demo?
The best proof is to try it. In the demo, unplug the internet, open a table and take a payment, plug it back in and check that the record arrives exactly once.
Digigarson's answers
In Digigarson, while offline the main till takes payments by every method, prints kitchen tickets on local network printers, writes transactions to a local ledger that survives power cuts, sends them in order and exactly once when the connection returns, shows conflicts to the cashier, and never reloads the screen during the switch. One main till per branch works offline, and the till must have connected to the internet at least once in the last 48 hours.