Step-by-step POS guides
Practical guides to setting up and running a point of sale, written for owners and managers. Each one explains the job in general terms first, then shows how to do it in SeroPOS.
Restaurant opening POS checklist
The POS touches every part of opening night: the menu, the kitchen, the card terminal and the staff. Work through it in this order, two to three weeks before you open, and finish with a full test service.
Retail store launch POS checklist
A retail POS is only as good as the product data in it. Get the catalogue, barcodes and opening stock right first, then taxes, payments and staff, and test a full day of trading before the doors open.
How to set up your menu in a POS
A POS menu is not the printed menu. It is built so staff can ring an order in a few taps and the kitchen gets exactly what to cook. Plan the structure on paper, then build categories, items, sizes and add-ons in that order.
How to price menu items with recipe costing
Guessing menu prices from the competition leaves money on the table or drives guests away. Pricing from a costed recipe tells you what each plate really costs, so you can set a price that hits your food cost target and still sells.
How to design a restaurant floor plan for your POS
A good dining room layout seats the right number of guests, gives staff clear paths and matches what the till shows, table for table. Plan the room on paper, number tables in a pattern staff can learn, then draw the same plan in your POS.
How to route kitchen tickets by station
When every ticket prints in one place, cooks waste time sorting what is theirs. Routing sends each item to the station that makes it, so the grill, fryer, cold line and bar each see only their own work.
How to set up GST, PST and HST in your POS
Canadian sales tax depends on your province: GST alone, HST, or GST plus a provincial tax. Set up the right rates once, group them where two taxes apply, mark exempt items, and the POS will charge and report each tax correctly.
How to set up US sales tax in your POS
US sales tax is built from layers: state, county, city and sometimes special districts. Find the combined rate for each store, decide what is exempt, set the rates up in the POS, and check a few receipts before you open.
How to import products from a spreadsheet
Importing products saves days of typing, but only if the spreadsheet is clean. Tidy the data, match it to the POS template, test a handful of rows, then import the rest and spot-check at the till.
How to run a points loyalty program
A points program rewards customers for coming back, but every point is a future discount. Choose an earn rate and a reward value that customers notice and you can afford, set sensible limits, and track what it costs.
How to set up QR menu ordering
QR ordering lets guests open your menu on their phone and send the order straight to the till. It works when the online menu matches the real one, staff notice new orders straight away, and the codes are easy to find.
How to set up a self-order kiosk
A self-order kiosk adds an extra ordering point without adding a cashier. It needs the right hardware, a menu built for strangers rather than staff, and a spot in the room where the queue naturally forms.
How to run several tills on one network
With two or more tills, every till has to see the same tables, held orders and kitchen tickets. A local server till shares one database across the shop's network, so tills stay in step even when the internet is slow or down.
How to connect a card terminal to your POS
An integrated card terminal takes the amount from the POS, so nobody re-keys totals and every card payment is matched to its sale. Choose how it connects, get it on the network, enter the processor's details in the POS, and test every kind of payment before you go live.
How to connect your POS to QuickBooks Desktop
QuickBooks Desktop runs on a PC, so a POS reaches it through Intuit's Web Connector. Plan how sales should land in the books, map accounts, items and taxes once, then let the connector send data on a schedule and check its health each week.
How to track lots and expiry dates
Lot and expiry tracking means knowing, for each batch on your shelves, how much is left, when it expires and who bought it. Record it when stock arrives, sell the oldest first, act on short-dated stock every week, and you are ready for a recall.
How to barcode and label your products
Barcodes make checkout fast and stock counts accurate, but only if every product has one that scans. Use the manufacturer's code where it exists, print your own for everything else, and label stock as it arrives.
How to control staff permissions in your POS
Most till losses come from refunds, voids and discounts that nobody had to justify. Give every person their own login, build roles around real jobs, lock the sensitive actions behind a manager, and check the activity log.
How to close the register and balance cash
Balancing the till means proving that the cash in the drawer matches what the POS says you took. Count it the same way every night, take out the float, account for pay-outs, and investigate any difference before you go home.
How to set up a repair shop workflow
A repair shop runs on one record per job: what came in, what is wrong, who is fixing it and where it is now. Standardise intake, use a short list of statuses, keep customers informed at each step, and make pickup and payment a single, quick hand-off.
From opening day to closing time
The guides follow the jobs you actually do: an opening checklist for a restaurant or a shop, setting up your menu, pricing dishes with recipe costing, designing the floor plan, routing kitchen tickets by station, setting up Canadian or US sales tax, importing products from a spreadsheet, and closing the register and balancing the cash.
Others cover running a points loyalty program, QR menu ordering, a self-order kiosk, several tills on one network, connecting a card terminal or QuickBooks Desktop, tracking lots and expiry dates, barcoding and labelling, staff permissions and a repair shop workflow.
Frequently asked questions
How do I set up a POS system for a new restaurant?
Start with the restaurant opening checklist. In short: set up taxes and categories, build the menu with variations and modifiers, design the floor plan, route kitchen tickets to the right printers, connect the card terminal and receipt printer, create staff roles, then practise on demo data. Each step has its own guide with the SeroPOS screens.
How long does it take to set up SeroPOS?
A small café or shop with a tidy product list can usually be set up in an afternoon: taxes, categories, products, a printer and a test sale. A full-service restaurant with a floor plan, several kitchen stations and a card terminal takes longer. The 14-day free trial leaves time to set up and train before you pay.
Are the guides only for SeroPOS users?
No. Each guide starts with the general approach, such as how to price a menu item from its recipe or how to balance a cash drawer, which applies to any point of sale. The second half shows how to do it in SeroPOS, step by step, with the exact screens and settings you will use.
Where are the step-by-step articles for each screen?
In the help centre. Guides explain a whole job from start to finish, while help articles cover one screen or task at a time, with the exact menu path, buttons and fields. Use a guide to plan the job, then open the matching help articles when you sit down to do each step.