Point of sale (POS) terminals

A POS terminal in Complaia is a shared work station on the shop floor or in the warehouse. It is not a till. It is a computer or a tablet that runs the Complaia POS app in a web browser. Workers use it instead of the full application: to start production orders, to reserve and pack goods, to hand shipments to a courier, to load routes and to take back returned boxes. This page explains how to set up terminals in the main application and what happens on the device: pairing, choosing a terminal and checking in.

Where to find it: Settings → POS terminals

When you'll use it

• You put a new computer or tablet on the shop floor or in the warehouse.
• A terminal should offer different modules, show different workstations, or start in a different warehouse.
• A worker cannot check in on a kiosk, or has no PIN yet.
• A kiosk says it has no terminals, shows Terminal turned off, or opens the pairing screen again.
• A device should move to another area, or should stop working for your company.
• A terminal is no longer needed.

Key concepts

• Terminal — the record you create in the main application. It has a name, the modules it offers, an area, and optionally workstations and a default warehouse.

• Kiosk — the physical computer or tablet that runs the Complaia POS app. The main application calls it a device. One kiosk works as one terminal at a time.

• Modules — the tiles a kiosk shows on its home screen. You choose them for each terminal. A kiosk shows only the modules that are turned on for its terminal.

  Module	What workers do there	Described in
  Production	Start production orders, report the pieces they made, print product labels, and put finished goods into the warehouse.	Shop-floor execution
  Warehouse	Receive goods into stock, issue goods from stock and move stock between warehouses, by scanning labels.	Goods receipt · Goods issue · Stock transfer
  Stock reservation	Reserve available stock for the lines of customer orders.	Stock reservation
  Packing	Scan products into cartons and print the box labels.	Order packing
  Shipment handover	Scan the boxes that a courier takes. The goods then leave stock.	Shipment handover
  Loading	Choose a delivery route and scan each package onto it.	Loading
  Route returns	Take back boxes that came back from a failed delivery.	Route returns

  Stocktaking has no tile. A kiosk opens the counting screen while a stocktaking session is running.

• Area — every terminal belongs to exactly one production area. A kiosk is paired with an area, and it offers the active terminals of that area. If your company has several sites, the area also decides the terminal's site. You do not save the site on the terminal.

• Workstations — the workstations whose orders the Production module shows. You choose them only when the terminal has the Production module. A workstation can be on one terminal only.

• Default warehouse — the warehouse and segment that the kiosk starts with. You can set it only when the warehouse works in advanced mode and the terminal has the Warehouse module. The Warehouse, Stock reservation and Packing modules use it. Without a default warehouse, the worker chooses a warehouse on the kiosk, and the kiosk remembers the choice.

• Pairing — the step that links a kiosk to your company and to one area. You do it once for each device. After that, nobody signs in as an administrator on that device. A kiosk in use renews its pairing by itself. A kiosk that is not used for more than 90 days must be paired again.

• Checking in — a kiosk keeps its modules closed until at least one person is checked in on its terminal. Checking in needs no permission, only an active account in your company. After checking in, a person can join a workstation in the Production module. On the kiosk, the list of checked-in people is called Signed in.

• The person working now — one of the checked-in people can be the person who works at the kiosk right now. The kiosk records warehouse work, for example closed boxes and handovers, under this person's name. Stock reservation and Packing need such a person. The list marks this person with Working now.

• PIN — a personal code of 4 to 6 digits. With a PIN you can check in without a phone and take over the terminal. On the kiosk, a PIN also confirms production reports and goods returned to the warehouse. You set your PIN on a kiosk or in the Complaia mobile app. The main application has no screen for it.

The screens

In the main application

The list shows one row per terminal. A dot at the start of the row is green for an active terminal and red for a turned-off one. The columns are Terminal, Area, Modules (an icon for each module and how many of all modules are on), Default warehouse, Segment and Updated. When no default warehouse is set, the column says Worker chooses. The filter panel can show active or inactive terminals only. New POS in the header creates a terminal.

A terminal's page is for reading only. It has four tabs:

Tab	What it shows
Basic data	The name, the status and the description
Modules	The modules the kiosk shows
Area and workstations	The area, the workstations (only with the Production module) and the default warehouse. Click a workstation to open it. Without the Production module, the tab is called Area.
Connect a device	The pairing code and step-by-step instructions for the person at the device

Edit in the header opens the form.

The form for a new terminal and for editing has the same steps: Basic information, Modules, Area and workstations (or Area) and Warehouse. The Warehouse step appears only when the terminal has the Warehouse module and the warehouse works in advanced mode.

• In a new terminal, you go through the steps with Next. You cannot skip a step. Create terminal is on the last step.
• In the editor, you can open any step. Save is available on every step.

📷 Screenshot to add: a terminal's page on the Connect a device tab, with a generated code, the Copy code and Copy message with instructions buttons, and the instructions below

On the kiosk

Screen	When you see it
Pair this POS terminal	The first time the POS app is opened on a device, and whenever the device must be paired again
Select terminal	After pairing, and after Change terminal. If the area has only one terminal, the kiosk chooses it for you.
Nobody is checked in	The terminal is locked. The screen shows a QR code for the mobile app and a No phone with me button.
The home screen	The module tiles, the Signed in button with the number of checked-in people, Change terminal, and Settings
Settings	The app language, push notifications, the terminal name, the app version, and installing the POS app on the device

Two notices can cover the whole kiosk:

• Stocktake in progress — a stocktaking session has frozen the warehouse. The modules are closed, and only the counting screen is open. Go to counting opens it.
• Terminal turned off — somebody turned the terminal off in the main application. Choose a terminal opens the terminal list. Check again checks whether the terminal is on again. The notice also disappears by itself about a minute after the terminal is turned on.

📷 Screenshot to add: the kiosk lock screen "Nobody is checked in", with the QR code and the No phone with me button

Common tasks

Create a terminal

Create the production area first. A terminal cannot exist without one.

1. Go to Settings → POS terminals and click New POS.
2. On Basic information, type a Name that workers will recognise in the list on the device, for example "Packing station 1". The name must be different from the names of your other terminals. Description is optional. Click Next.
3. On Modules, turn on each module the kiosk should offer. No module is on at the start. Click Next.
4. On Area and workstations:
   • If your company has several sites, choose the Site first. The area list then shows the areas of that site only.
   • Choose the Area.
   • If you turned on Production, choose the workstations in Workstations on this terminal. The list offers the workstations of the area and the workstations that have no area yet. A workstation without an area joins the terminal's area when you save. A workstation that is already on another terminal is marked as taken by that terminal. If you choose it, it moves to this terminal.
5. If the Warehouse step appears, optionally choose the default Warehouse and Segment. Leave them empty to let the worker choose on the kiosk.
6. Click Create terminal.

The terminal's page opens on the Connect a device tab, and a pairing code is already there. A new terminal is always active.

If the company has no areas yet, or the area has no workstations yet, the form offers a button to create one, when your role may create it. The button opens a new browser tab, so you do not lose what you typed.

Pair a kiosk

Open the Complaia POS app in the web browser of the device. The Connect a device tab shows the address. A device that is not paired opens on Pair this POS terminal. There are two ways to pair it.

With a pairing code — nobody signs in on the device:

1. In the main application, open the terminal and go to the Connect a device tab.
2. Click Generate pairing code. A QR code appears, with the code as text and the date until which it is valid.
3. On the device, click I have a pairing code.
4. Type or paste the code into Pairing code. If the device has a barcode reader, you can scan the QR code instead.
5. Click Pair device.
6. On Select terminal, tap the terminal. If the area has only one terminal, the kiosk opens it straight away.

If you are not at the device, click Copy message with instructions and send the message to the person on the shop floor, for example by e-mail or chat. The message contains the address, the code and the same steps.

About the code:

• One code pairs one device and works for 7 days.
• New code makes a new code. The previous unused codes of this terminal stop working at once. Devices that are already paired keep working.
• The code pairs the device with the terminal's area, not with the terminal itself. If the area has several terminals, the person at the device chooses the terminal.
• Do not share the code with people outside your company. Whoever uses it connects their device to your company.

By signing in as an administrator on the device:

1. On the device, enter your Administrator login and Password and tap Continue.
2. Under Select area, choose the area. Optionally type a Device name (optional), for example "Packing 1".
3. Tap Pair device.
4. On Select terminal, tap the terminal.

After pairing, the administrator is signed out of the device. Workers then check in with their own accounts.

Check in on a kiosk

A locked kiosk shows Nobody is checked in. Check in in one of these ways.

With your phone

1. Open the Complaia mobile app and tap the scan button at the top of the home screen.
2. Scan the QR code on the kiosk's screen. The code changes every two minutes, so a photo of it does not work.
3. In the app, choose the workstation you work at. See Sign in at a workstation.

Without a phone, with your PIN

1. Tap No phone with me.
2. Choose Login and PIN.
3. Enter your login (or e-mail address) and your PIN, and tap Check in.

This checks you in, but it does not make you the person working now. See Take over the terminal.

Without a phone, with your password

1. Tap No phone with me and choose Login and password.
2. Enter the login and password that you use for Complaia, and tap Log in.

This checks you in and makes you the person working now. If you have no PIN yet, the kiosk asks you to set one straight away.

If you have no PIN yet

1. Tap No phone with me, choose Login and PIN, then tap No PIN yet?.
2. Enter your login and password, and tap Log in and set a PIN.
3. Enter a new PIN of 4 to 6 digits twice, and tap Save PIN and check in.

When the kiosk is already open, more people check in the same way: open Signed in and scan the QR code shown there, or tap Sign in at the bottom of the list and enter your login.

Set or change your PIN

• On a kiosk: check in with No phone with me → Login and PIN → No PIN yet?, as described above.

• In the mobile app:

  1. Open Settings in the bottom bar.
  2. Under Sign-in and security, tap POS PIN.
  3. Choose 4 or 6 digits, enter the new PIN, and repeat it. The app saves it as soon as both entries match.

  To change an existing PIN, the app first asks for your current PIN. If you do not remember it, tap the link under the field and confirm with your account password instead.

The mobile app shows POS PIN only to people whose role has the Production: Reporting permission.

Take over the terminal or check somebody out

1. On the kiosk's home screen, tap Signed in. The list shows everyone checked in on this terminal.
2. To become the person working now, tap your name, enter your PIN and tap Take over. From then on, the kiosk records warehouse work under your name.
3. To check somebody out, tap the × next to the name and confirm with Check out. The person leaves the terminal and their workstation. To work again, they must check in again.

If you are the person working now, the Log out button on the welcome card checks you out and signs you out. If you are the last person on the terminal, the kiosk locks.

Move a kiosk to another terminal

1. On the kiosk, tap Change terminal.
2. Confirm, if the kiosk asks.
3. Choose another terminal of the same area.

The person working now is signed out. People who are checked in stay on the old terminal and on their workstations. If they are finishing work, check them out first.

Move a kiosk to another area, or disconnect it

To pair the kiosk with a different area:

1. Open Select terminal. On the home screen, tap Change terminal to get there.
2. Tap Device at the top of the screen.
3. Pair the kiosk again, with a new pairing code or by signing in as an administrator. Until you finish, the kiosk keeps working with the old area. Back to terminals cancels.

To disconnect the kiosk from your company:

1. Tap Device on Select terminal and sign in as an administrator.
2. On the next step, tap Forget this device and confirm.

The kiosk forgets its area, its terminal and the checked-in people, and its pairing stops working. Warehouse operations that the kiosk has not sent yet are lost. The confirmation says how many there are.

Edit, turn off or delete a terminal

1. Open the terminal and click Edit.
2. Change what you need and click Save.

Saving asks for confirmation when the change has an effect on the shop floor. The window says what will change:

• workstations that will leave the terminal, so their orders will no longer show on the kiosk;
• devices paired with the old area that will no longer see the terminal, when you change the area.

To stop a terminal without deleting it, switch Active off on Basic information and save. The terminal disappears from the list on devices. A kiosk that works as this terminal shows Terminal turned off.

To delete a terminal:

1. Open the terminal, click Edit, then Delete in the header.
2. Confirm.

The terminal is deleted permanently, and its workstations are released. Paired devices stay in the area and keep showing the area's other terminals.

When it doesn't work

What you see	Why	What to do
A terminal named "…" already exists…	Another terminal has the same name.	Choose a different name, so that workers can tell the terminals apart.
A terminal serves areas of one production site, but the selected areas belong to different sites…	The area and the workstations belong to different sites.	Choose an area and workstations of one site.
The Connect a device tab asks you to assign an area	The terminal has no area, and a pairing code is always made for an area.	Click Assign an area, choose the area and save.
Generate pairing code is greyed out	The terminal is turned off.	Switch Active on in the editor, then generate the code.
The Connect a device tab has no button and asks you to get a code from someone else	Your role cannot create or edit POS terminals.	Ask a person with that permission for a code.
This pairing code no longer works…	The code was used, is older than 7 days, or somebody made a new one.	Generate a new code.
No areas in your system. Add an area in the panel first.	You are pairing by administrator sign-in, and the company has no area.	Create an area.
There are no terminals in this area. Contact your administrator.	No active terminal belongs to the kiosk's area.	Give a terminal this area, or switch one on.
After Change terminal, the kiosk says the area has only this terminal	The kiosk can show only terminals of its own area.	Create another terminal in the area, or pair the kiosk with another area with the Device button. The message mentions settings, but the option is not there.
Terminal turned off covers the kiosk	The terminal was switched off in the main application.	Switch it on again, or tap Choose a terminal and work as another terminal.
The kiosk shows a notice that the terminal has no modules	No module is turned on for the terminal.	Edit the terminal and turn on at least one module.
The kiosk opens on Pair this POS terminal again	The kiosk was not used for more than 90 days, somebody disconnected it, or the browser deleted its saved data.	Pair it again. Installing the POS app from the kiosk's Settings makes the browser delete its data less often.
The login or PIN is incorrect…	The login or the PIN is wrong. After five wrong PINs, the PIN is also blocked for five minutes, and the kiosk shows the same message.	Check the login, wait five minutes, or check in with Login and password.
You don't have a PIN yet. Sign in with your password…	You chose Login and PIN without a PIN.	Continue with your password and set a PIN.
No connection to the server on the locked kiosk	The kiosk cannot check who is checked in, so the modules stay closed.	Restore the internet connection.
Stock reservation or Packing asks you to sign in	Nobody is working at the kiosk now. These modules need a named person.	Check in with Login and password, or take over the terminal with your PIN. Checking in with Login and PIN alone is not enough.
The Production module shows no workstations	No workstation is on this terminal.	Choose workstations on the terminal's Area and workstations step, or on the workstation.
On the kiosk, tapping a person on a workstation does not take them off	The person working now does not have the Workstations: Edit permission, or nobody works at the kiosk now.	Ask somebody with that permission to take over the terminal, or check the person out in Signed in.

Permissions

To do this	You need
See the list and open a terminal	POS terminals: View
Create a terminal	POS terminals: Create
Change a terminal, including turning it off	POS terminals: Edit
Delete a terminal	POS terminals: Delete
Generate a pairing code, or pair a kiosk by signing in on it	POS terminals: Create or POS terminals: Edit
Forget a device on the kiosk	POS terminals: Edit
Open a workstation from the terminal's page	Workstations: View
See POS PIN in the mobile app	Production: Reporting
Take somebody off a workstation on the kiosk	Workstations: Edit, for the person working now

Checking in on a kiosk needs no permission, only an active account in the company the kiosk is paired with. When somebody works at the kiosk now, that person's role decides what they may do inside a module. For example, Shipment handover then needs Warehouse: Stock movements.

Related

• Shop-floor execution — what workers do in the Production module
• Workstations · Production areas · Sites — what a terminal shows and what a kiosk is paired with
• Stock reservation · Order packing · Shipment handover · Loading · Route returns — the warehouse modules on a kiosk
• Stocktaking — why a kiosk can be locked during a count
• Roles & permissions — giving people the permissions above