Several tills sharing one database

When you need it

With standard cloud sync, each till uploads to your account and checks for changes on a timer. That suits a single counter or tills that work independently. A busy restaurant is different: a server starts an order on one tablet, the bar adds drinks on another and the cashier settles the bill at the counter. Every till needs to see the same order at the same moment.

Server and client mode gives you that. All tills share one database on the server till, so a hold made anywhere is on every screen straight away, and the kitchen display sees every order. No till has to wait for a timer, and nobody has to ask another station what is on a table.

Setting it up

In the SeroPOS app, open Admin, then Tools, then Server / Client Mode. Database Settings has three modes. Standalone is the default: the till keeps its own local database. Server shares this till's database with others; it needs a Windows computer and the Pro plan. Client connects to a server till and works on any platform SeroPOS runs on.

On the server, the screen shows its address and an access token. On each client, enter the server's IP or URL, port 19091 and the access token, then Test Connection. Clients can also find the server by themselves on the local network. Run Test Connection on each client before service, so you know every till can reach the server.

• Admin, then Tools, then Server / Client Mode
• Set one Windows till to Server
• Set the other tills to Client
• Enter the server address, port 19091 and token
• Test Connection

Security on your network

When you turn on Server mode, a 24-hour setup window opens so new tills can join. Once your tills are connected, Lock Down Now closes the window early, so no unknown device can join later. Clients also need the access token to connect. Lock it down as soon as your tills are connected.

The server restarts by itself when the Windows computer boots, so a power cut overnight does not leave the tills disconnected in the morning. On client tills, a status bar shows the live status of the connection, with Start Server or Connect when needed. Staff can see straight away when a client has lost the server.

What is shared and what is not

Client tills store their sales in the server's database. The floor plan, held orders and the kitchen display are shared, so table status and tickets are the same on every screen. Each till can still have its own card terminal, set under Card Terminal for This Till, so every station charges on its own device.

The server till uploads to your SeroPOS account as normal when the internet is available, so the back office and reports stay up to date. If the internet drops, the tills keep working together locally and catch up later. That combination suits restaurants where internet drops during busy service. Nothing is lost locally.