'Works offline' is a promise everyone makes and few keep. Here is what it should concretely mean for a till.
Almost every vendor advertises an 'offline mode'. For a shop owner the real question is precise: if the network is down for two days, can I still take payments, print, check stock and close my till? The answer depends on where your data is stored.
Degraded mode versus true local operation
A degraded mode keeps a few sales in memory and sends them later. It often cannot show up-to-date stock or produce a full invoice. Truly local software writes everything to your computer: sales, stock, customers, invoices. The Internet never takes part in a sale.
What you must be able to do without a network
- Open and close a cash session with its report
- Sell by name, reference or barcode
- Print the thermal receipt or an A4 invoice
- See stock alerts and stock-outs
- Record a payment on a credit customer's account
- Check today's dashboard
Several workstations without Internet: the local network
Offline doesn't mean a single computer. With one server workstation and client workstations linked by cable or local Wi-Fi, the till, the stockroom and the manager's office share one database. The shop's own network is enough; the Internet is not needed.
Synchronisation, when you decide
Cloud synchronisation is a convenience: remote backup, access from another device. It should happen when the connection is there, and never block a sale. If software must be synchronised to work, it isn't offline software.
The trade-off: backups
If the data is with you, so is its protection. Plan an automatic daily backup and a copy outside the premises: USB key, external drive, or cloud sync. Have the vendor show you how to restore a backup before you buy, not after a disk failure.
A simple test: unplug the router, ring up ten sales, close the till. Everything should work as usual.
Key takeaway
Logesco works 100% without Internet, on one workstation or on a local network, with optional cloud sync. You can run the unplugged-router test during the 7-day free trial.