Power cuts and a weak connection are part of running a shop. ARC OS is built so the till keeps selling when the internet is gone, and nothing is lost when the power goes.
When the internet drops
- Keep selling. Each sale is saved on the computer first, with an offline receipt number, and the receipt prints as normal.
- The chip at the top of the till shows how many sales are waiting. They upload in order when the connection comes back.
- Staff who signed in with their PIN on this computer while it was online can sign in offline for 72 hours.
- Gift vouchers, store credit, selling on credit and paying with points need the server, so the till turns them off until the connection is back. Holding a sale also needs the internet.
When the power goes
ARC OS writes everything to the computer's disk as it happens. When Windows shuts down or sleeps, ARC OS saves its local store first. After the power comes back, open ARC OS and carry on: waiting sales upload, and receipts that did not print are tried again.
- Put the computer, the internet router and the receipt printer on a UPS.
- Connect the UPS to the computer with its USB cable. Windows then knows when it is on battery, and so does ARC OS.
- If you use a mobile dongle, turn on the data saver in Settings, Offline and sync. Sales still upload at once; photos and large updates wait.
When the printer stops
A receipt that did not print because the printer was off or out of paper waits in the print queue and is tried again, oldest first, as soon as the printer is ready. A retry never opens the cash drawer.
Antivirus programs can lock ARC OS's local database on slow computers. Add the ARC OS folders as exclusions, as the install guide shows.