POS for grocery stores

A checkout lane that keeps up

Most grocery baskets are scanned, not tapped. Plug a USB or keyboard-wedge scanner into the Windows PC, Mac or tablet running SeroPOS and scan into the search field. An exact SKU match adds the item to the cart, and scanning it again raises the quantity. Phones and tablets can use the camera instead, which suits a second till you only open on Saturdays.

Products carry the barcode type your suppliers use, including EAN-13, UPC-A and Code 128. If an item arrives without a usable barcode, generate a SKU and print shelf or item labels from the back office on the sticker size you set up. Retail Mode on the till swaps restaurant wording for shop wording and hides tables and kitchen screens, so cashiers only see what a grocery lane needs.

Produce, bulk and anything sold by weight

Tick Enable Weight on a product and give it a price per kilogram or pound. When the cashier adds it, SeroPOS reads the weight from a connected scale: USB and serial scales on Windows and Mac, USB scales on Android, or a network scale bound to one till. If the scale is off or there isn't one, a keypad asks for the weight, and decimal quantities print on the receipt.

For pre-packed items weighed in the back room, plan on weighing at the till or typing the weight printed on the pack. The web back office has weighing-scale barcode settings for label formats, but the SeroPOS app does not scan scale-printed labels. Prices per kilogram can sit in a selling price group too, if you charge restaurants a different rate.

• Price per kg or lb on any product
• USB, serial or network scales
• Manual weight entry as a fallback
• Decimal quantities on the receipt

Dates, lots and short-dated stock

Turn on product expiry in Business Settings and every purchase line can carry a lot number, a manufacturing date and an expiry date. The setting On product expiry gives you a choice: keep selling, or stop selling a set number of days before the date. Pick stop selling for dairy and meat and the till won't sell a pack you should have pulled.

The Stock Expiry Report lists what is left in each lot with its expiry date, and expired units are written off with a stock adjustment, so shrink is recorded rather than quietly written off. The dashboard's Stock Expiry Alert shows the batches due in the window you choose, which makes a good morning check before the shelves are faced.

Buying, pricing and margins

Record supplier deliveries as purchases with unit cost, lot and expiry, and update selling prices from the purchase screen when costs move. Units and sub-units keep case buying and single selling straight: set Case as 24 of Each and receive by the case while the till sells singles. The Stock Report shows closing stock at cost and at selling price, plus potential profit by category.

Automatic discount rules handle weekly specials by product, brand or category, with start and end dates, so the flyer price turns itself on and off. The Profit / Loss Report breaks profit down by product, category and day, which tells you whether the specials paid their way. Stock adjustments with a reason record breakage and spoilage.

Closing the day

Each cashier opens a register with the float and closes it with the counted cash. The DSR on the till prints the day's gross and net sales, discounts, returns, payouts and payments by method, and the back office can email a daily sales PDF to whoever you choose after closing time.

Card payments run on integrated terminals from Global Payments, Moneris or Gravity Payments, so the amount is sent to the terminal rather than keyed twice. If you want a lower processing rate, send us a recent statement and we'll quote one. Tips, card surcharges and cash pay-outs each get their own line on the DSR, so the closing count matches the drawer.