Working offline

Goal

Know what still works on the till when the internet drops, what has to wait for the connection to return, and what to do in between.

Where this happens

• On the till (Retail POS App or Restaurant POS App): offline sales save on the device and upload when the link returns.
• In the back office (Core App): offline settings are at System & Settings → Allow offline invoicing and Max offline hours.

Lyt-ning is built so the till can keep selling when the internet drops. This page tells cashiers and supervisors exactly what still works, what has to wait for the connection to return, and what to do in between.

Problem

The internet at your store has dropped or is unstable, and you need to know whether you can keep serving customers, what to pause, and what to do when the link comes back.

Prerequisites

• You are signed in to your store on the till or the back-office app.
• The device you are using is on and has power — leave the app open and do not clear app data during an outage.
• Your store has finished the normal daily sign-in at least once while the internet was working (so the device has a fresh stock list and the latest store settings).

Two product surfaces, plain language

Lyt-ning has two apps a cashier or supervisor may be using. Both behave differently when the internet drops.

• Till app (the phone or tablet at the counter). Which till app your store uses depends on the business:

  • Retail stores use the Retail POS App.
  • Restaurants use the Restaurant POS App.
  • Pharmacy or wholesale-style stores also use the Retail POS App — pharmacy-specific controls (batches, expiry, suppliers, approved adjustments) live in the back office.

  The till app is designed so the till can keep taking sales even without a connection. Each sale is saved on the device and uploaded automatically when the connection returns. The stock list the cashier scans is also kept on the device, so barcode and search still work without internet.

• Back office (the browser / Core App on a desktop, laptop, or supervisor device). This app shows when the store is offline. A supervisor can use a store setting to allow offline invoicing and to set how long offline selling is allowed. Many back-office and integration screens need the internet and will pause until the connection is back.

What works offline at the till

When the internet drops, a cashier can usually still do the following on the till app (Retail POS App or Restaurant POS App):

• Ring up sales, take cash, and print a receipt on a local printer if one is already set up at the store.
• Look up stock items on the device, including barcode scanning and search by code or description.
• Use a local PIN sign-in if the device was already set up for the cashier.
• Use many of the same day-to-day screens the cashier uses every day, until the connection returns.

The till app keeps the cashier working. Sales are stored safely on the device and upload themselves once the connection returns.

What waits until you are online

Some Lyt-ning work cannot run until the internet is back. While the till can keep taking cash, expect the following to wait:

• Sending or receiving integration updates for SAGE, SAP, SAGE 300, Kazang cloud services, or any other connected business system.
• Franchise HQ pulls and reports that run against the cloud copy of your data.
• Smart Invoice and other tax-cloud submissions may queue on the device and complete once the connection returns. Do not resubmit the same invoice by hand — let the queue finish.
• Printing through a remote cloud print service will be limited until the link returns. Use a local receipt printer if one is already set up at the store.

When something must wait, the till app remembers it. Do not start the same action again from another device — that can cause duplicates.

When the connection returns

• Stay on the app. Do not force-close, swipe away, or restart the device. The till is still finishing the sync.
• Wait for the sync to finish. The app shows a sync status. When the sync has caught up, the offline indicator clears.
• Check the offline sales list if your app shows one. It confirms the queued sales were uploaded and have real invoice numbers from the server.
• Hand the customer receipts only after the sync shows them as uploaded. A receipt printed before the upload still proves the customer was served; the offline list confirms the upload.

The queue matches each sale to the server using a unique reference created on the device, so the same sale is never counted twice when the network returns.

If offline selling is blocked

Sometimes the till app will say that offline selling is not allowed. That is a setting, not a fault.

• Allow offline invoicing. A supervisor opens the store settings (in the back office, under System & Settings) and turns on the Allow offline invoicing option for the till.
• Max offline hours. The same store setting controls how long the till may keep selling without the internet. If the outage is longer than the allowed hours, the till will pause sales to protect the books. A supervisor can extend the allowed hours before the till blocks.
• Sign in once while online at the start of the day so the device gets a fresh stock list and the latest store settings. After that, an outage is normal — the till can sell on its own.

If offline selling is blocked when you expected it to be allowed, ask the supervisor to confirm the store setting before raising a ticket.

Edge cases

• The outage lasts longer than the allowed offline hours. The till will pause new sales to protect the books. A supervisor can extend the allowed hours, or wait for the link to return. Existing queued sales still upload.
• A scanned item is not in the local stock list. The till may not be able to ring it up while offline. Search by description. If it still cannot be found, ask a supervisor to add the item or to refresh the device stock list while online.
• A sale is rung up twice because the cashier thought the first attempt failed. Do not delete either sale. Search the offline sales list and the open sales list, and give Support both reference numbers so they can confirm whether the sale uploaded. Lyt-ning matches each sale to the server using the device reference so the same sale is never counted twice, but Support can still confirm.
• A device was cleared mid-outage. Restart only after the link is back. Clearing app data during an outage removes the local stock list and the queued sales, which Support cannot recover.
• A printer is offline. Print failures never block a sale. The sale still saves on the device and uploads once the link is back. Use the local printer if one is set up.

Related

• Sales at the till
• Troubleshooting
• Support and escalation
• Administration — for the supervisor's offline invoicing setting