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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.

October 20, 2026·7 min read
  1. Clean your product list Put every product in one spreadsheet with a name, category, SKU, barcode, cost, price and tax. Remove duplicates and decide which products come in sizes or colours.
  2. Import products Import a few rows first, check them in the POS, then import the rest.
  3. Barcode and label stock Use the manufacturer's UPC or EAN where there is one, and print your own Code 128 labels for everything else.
  4. Enter opening stock Count what is on the shelf and enter it at cost per location, so stock levels and the stock value start correct.
  5. Set up taxes Add your sales tax rates, mark exempt items, and check a few receipts by hand.
  6. Connect hardware and payments Connect the scanner, receipt printer, cash drawer and card terminal, and run a sale, a return and a batch close.
  7. Create staff logins Give each person a login with a role. Limit refunds, price changes and discounts to managers.
  8. Run a practice day Ring a day's worth of sales, returns and exchanges, then close the register and check the report.

Product data comes first

Most retail launch problems trace back to the product list. Before touching the POS, build one spreadsheet with a row per product, or per size and colour if you sell variations. Each row needs a name a customer would recognise, a category, your SKU, the barcode if there is one, the cost, the selling price and the tax. Sort by name and look for duplicates; the same item entered twice will split its stock and sales.

Decide early which products have variations. A shirt in three sizes and two colours is one product with six variations, each with its own SKU and stock. Setting it up as six unrelated products works at the till but makes reports and reordering harder.

Import, then barcode

Do not type hundreds of products by hand. Use the POS's import template, fill it from your spreadsheet, and import ten rows first. Check those ten at the till: right price, right tax, right category, barcode scans. Then import the rest. If the import goes wrong, it is much easier to fix ten rows than a thousand.

Anything that came from a supplier usually has a UPC or EAN already. Scan a few to make sure the barcode in your data matches the one on the box. For items with no barcode, print your own labels from the SKU as Code 128. Label stock as it is received, not on launch morning.

Opening stock and taxes

Opening stock is the count of what is on the shelf on day one, entered at cost. It sets the starting stock level for every product and the starting value of your inventory, which feeds cost of goods sold and profit. Count carefully, by location if you have more than one, and enter it before the first sale.

Taxes need a manual check. Ring up one item from each tax situation (fully taxed, exempt, reduced rate) and compare the receipt with what you expect. A wrong default tax on a category is easy to miss and expensive to fix after a quarter of filings.

Payments, staff and a practice day

Connect the card terminal and run a debit sale, a credit sale, a return to card and a batch close. Then set up staff. Cashiers need to sell and take payment; managers need refunds, price overrides and the end-of-day report. A login per person is what makes the activity log useful.

Finish with a practice day. Ring a realistic mix of sales, returns, exchanges, discounts and cash pay-outs, then close the register and compare the count with the report. Clear the practice sales, or use demo data, before you open.

Doing it in SeroPOS

SeroPOS has a Retail Mode in the app that uses shop wording and hides restaurant screens such as tables and kitchen tickets, with a single New Sale button on the Home screen. The catalogue and stock work lives mostly in the web back office.

  • Back office, Products, then Import Products: upload the spreadsheet template; Import Opening Stock loads counts by location.
  • Products, then Add Product: barcode type (Code 128, EAN-13, UPC-A and others), SKU, unit, category, brand and variations.
  • Products, then Print Labels: print barcode labels on sheets or rolls sized in Barcode Settings.
  • Settings, then Tax Rates and Tax Groups: rates, groups and 0% for exempt items.
  • In the app: Settings, then Retail Mode; then connect your scanner, printer, drawer and card terminal.
  • User Management, then Roles: set what each role can do, including the maximum discount a user may give.

Frequently asked questions

Should I import products or type them in?

Import them. Build a clean spreadsheet, import ten rows to test, check them at the till, then import the rest. Typing is fine for a handful of items, but for a full store it is slower and more error-prone. SeroPOS imports products from an Excel template in both the app and the back office.

Do I need GS1 barcodes for my store?

Only for products you make and sell through other retailers. For use inside your own shop, print your SKU as a Code 128 barcode. Products from suppliers usually already carry a UPC or EAN, which you can enter as the product's barcode.

When should I enter opening stock?

After the products are imported and before the first sale. Count each location, enter quantities at cost, and do not sell until it is done, otherwise the first day's sales will push stock negative and the stock value will start wrong.

Can SeroPOS hide restaurant features for a shop?

Yes. Retail Mode in the app's Settings switches to shop wording and hides tables, service types, kitchen tickets, kiosk, kitchen display and floor plan, leaving a single New Sale button on the Home screen.

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