Keep selling when the internet drops
When the internet goes down, SeroPOS keeps ringing up sales. Each sale is saved on the device, kitchen tickets keep printing, and everything uploads by itself once the connection is back. Sales that cannot upload are kept and retried, never thrown away.
Offline mode in SeroPOS
Sales saved on the device
Every sale is stored locally first with a token unique to the till, then uploaded.
Automatic upload
Uploads run every 20 seconds and back off up to 30 minutes while the connection is down.
Never dropped
After repeated failures a sale is parked and kept on the device, not deleted.
Kitchen tickets offline
KOT printing works without internet, so the kitchen keeps cooking.
Card charge safety
Approved card charges are written to an outbox before the sale is saved, so an approved charge is not lost if the sale fails to save.
Online indicator
The app bar shows online or offline, and the app warns about sales not yet on the server.
What keeps working offline
The SeroPOS app keeps a local copy of your catalogue, customers and printers, so taking an order does not depend on the internet. Staff can search products, add modifiers, hold and resume orders, take payment and print receipts and kitchen tickets as usual. Nothing changes for staff when the connection drops.
For card payments, the terminal needs its own connection to the processor. If the terminal can still reach its network, card sales go through; if not, take cash or another method until it is back. Many terminals have their own connection, so check how yours connects before an outage happens.
- Ringing up sales
- Holding and resuming orders
- Printing receipts and kitchen tickets
- Taking cash and other non-card payments
- Card payments when the terminal has a connection
How sales catch up
Each sale is saved on the device with a token unique to that till, so it can never be confused with a sale from another till. The app tries to upload every 20 seconds. While the connection is down it waits longer between tries, up to 30 minutes, so it does not drain the battery or slow the till.
When the connection returns, pending sales upload in the background. If a sale fails eight times, it is parked: kept safely on the device and never dropped. Recent Transactions has Resend to server for any sale that has not uploaded. Check Recent Transactions after a long outage to make sure everything has uploaded.
Card payments and the outbox
The riskiest moment in any POS is a card that was charged but a sale that was not saved. SeroPOS writes each approved card charge to an outbox before saving the sale. If the sale is not recorded, the charge is replayed after 90 seconds, so an approved card payment is not lost between the terminal and the books.
A duplicate-charge guard warns staff if the same card was just charged the same amount, and Check on Terminal reads the terminal's batch to confirm whether a card went through. The app warns clearly when newer sales are not on the server, so nobody rings them again. Staff do not have to guess.
What needs the internet
A few screens read live from the server and need a connection: the DSR daily sales report, Recent Transactions, staff clock-in, looking up a barcode SKU that is not on the device, and printing a hold bill with BILL. They come back as soon as the till is online. Plan to run reports after the outage.
If you have several tills and want held orders, tables and the kitchen display shared between them even with no internet at all, use server and client mode on the Pro plan. One Windows till holds the shared database on your local network. It suits busy restaurants with patchy internet.
Frequently asked questions
Does SeroPOS work without internet?
Yes. The app keeps selling, holding orders and printing receipts and kitchen tickets offline. Sales are saved on the device and uploaded automatically when the connection returns. A few reporting and lookup screens need internet. Most staff will not notice anything has changed, apart from the offline indicator in the app bar.
Will I lose sales if the internet is down all day?
No. Sales are stored on the device and retried with increasing gaps of up to 30 minutes. A sale that keeps failing is parked and kept, never deleted. Everything uploads once the connection is back. Leave the till running so the upload can finish once the internet returns.
Can I take card payments offline?
Card payments depend on the terminal reaching its processor. If the terminal still has a connection, card sales work. If not, take cash or another method until it is restored. Keep a backup payment method ready for long outages, and tell staff what to do before it happens.
How do I know if sales have not uploaded?
The app bar shows whether the till is online, and the app warns when sales have not reached the server. Recent Transactions has Resend to server for any sale still waiting. Check it after any long outage, before closing the register.
Which screens need internet?
The DSR daily sales report, Recent Transactions, staff clock-in, barcode SKU lookups for items not on the device, and BILL printing of hold bills. Everything needed to sell keeps working offline. They return as soon as the connection does, with no extra steps for staff.