SawaPOS Documentation

SawaPOS is a cloud point-of-sale system built for retail shops, restaurants, supermarkets, pharmacies and service businesses. This guide walks new business owners through first-time setup — from creating an account to processing your first sale.

1. Create your account

1. 1Visit the SawaPOS homepage and click "Get Started" or "Sign Up".
2. 2Register with your email and a secure password (or continue with Google).
3. 3Verify your email with the OTP code we send to your inbox.
4. 4You'll be guided through Business Setup automatically on first login.

2. Complete Business Setup

1. 1Enter your business name — this appears on receipts and your store URL.
2. 2Pick your business type (Retail, Restaurant, Pharmacy, Supermarket, Service, etc).
3. 3Choose your country and currency — this controls tax defaults, payment methods, and compliance.
4. 4Add your phone, address and (optional) logo for receipt branding.
5. 5Save — your unique store URL is generated for your shop.

3. Activate your access

SawaPOS has exactly one plan: a single one-off payment that unlocks every feature for 4 full years. No tiers, no monthly fees and nothing to upgrade later:

• Full POS, inventory, offline mode and unlimited staff accounts & branches.
• Live public shopfront with online orders, loyalty, CRM and quotations.
• Every report and analytics dashboard, plus priority WhatsApp & email support.
• All future updates included for the whole 4-year window.

Pay once with M-Pesa (Kenya), Card via Stripe (worldwide) or Flutterwave (most of Africa). Want to look around first? Try the live demo — it runs the real POS on a demo account.

After login, business admins land on the Admin Dashboard. It gives you a real-time pulse of your shop without digging through reports.

What you'll find here

• Today's Sales: total revenue and number of transactions for today.
• Today's Profit: revenue minus buying cost — instant margin visibility.
• Revenue Trend Chart: 7-day sales trend so you can spot good and bad days.
• Top Products: your best-selling items this week.
• Low Stock Alerts: products below their minimum threshold — restock before you run out.
• Subscription Status: days remaining on your plan with a one-click renewal.

Use the left sidebar to jump to any module. On mobile, tap the menu icon in the top-left corner to open the same navigation. A bottom bar gives you quick access to the four most-used screens.

The POS Terminal is where 90% of your daily work happens. It's designed for speed — touch a product, tap a payment method, print or send a receipt. Works on any phone, tablet or laptop and stays usable even when the internet drops.

Ringing up a sale

1. 1Open POS Terminal from the sidebar (or sign in via your store URL as an attendant).
2. 2Search by product name or barcode, OR tap a category and pick the item.
3. 3Adjust quantity with the +/- buttons. Items show stock, price and any discount.
4. 4Pick a payment method: Cash, M-Pesa, Card, KopoKopo, etc.
5. 5Confirm payment → receipt is auto-printed (and emailed / SMS'd if customer details are added).

Payment options at the POS

• Cash: enter cash received → system calculates change automatically.
• M-Pesa STK Push: type the customer's phone, they get a prompt on their phone.
• M-Pesa Paybill / Till: show the customer your number, system auto-detects the payment.
• KopoKopo: till-based mobile money with same auto-detect flow.
• Card: external card terminal — just record the transaction.
• Split payment: allow part-cash, part-M-Pesa on one bill.

Helpful POS features

• Park a sale: save an unfinished cart and resume later — perfect when a customer steps away.
• Order types (restaurants): tag orders as Dine-in / Table, Parcel, or Normal.
• Kitchen Display (KDS): orders fire to a kitchen screen so cooks see what to prepare.
• Customer Display (CFD): second screen showing the customer their cart and total.
• Reprint receipt: reprint with a reason — fully logged for audit.
• Returns: scan original receipt, pick items to return, restock automatically.
• Quotations: generate quotes that convert to sales in one click when approved.

Manage every item you sell from the Products screen — set prices, track stock, attach barcodes, manage variants (size/colour) and group items into categories.

Adding a single product

1. 1Go to Products → click "Add Product".
2. 2Enter name, optional SKU, and barcode (scan or type).
3. 3Set the buying price (cost) and selling price — profit is calculated automatically.
4. 4Set opening stock quantity and a low-stock threshold so you get alerts.
5. 5Pick a category (or create one inline) and upload an image if you like.
6. 6Save — the product is live on the POS immediately.

Bulk import & mass-add

Have hundreds of items? Use Bulk Import to upload an Excel/CSV file, or Mass Add to quickly type a list and save them all at once.

Advanced product features

• Variants: same product, different size/colour with their own stock and prices.
• Dispensable items: fuel, oils, juices — sell by portion from a bulk volume.
• Discounts: percentage or fixed-amount discounts on individual products.
• Flash sales / Best sellers: flag items for promotional display.
• Barcode generation: auto-generate and download printable barcode labels.
• Image gallery: add multiple product photos for clearer identification.

Categories

Create categories like Beverages, Snacks, Vegetables. Categories speed up the POS (one tap shows all items in a group) and unlock category-level reporting. Optionally set a commission rate per category for staff incentives.

Stock History

Every stock change — sales, returns, manual restocks, adjustments — is logged. Open Stock History to audit any product's movement and answer "where did my stock go?"

SawaPOS supports unlimited staff with role-based access. Each team member signs in with a 4-digit PIN on your store URL — no separate emails needed.

Available staff roles

• Admin (you): full access — sales, products, staff, reports, settings, payments.
• Manager: everything except sensitive settings (no payment gateway keys, no plan changes).
• Cashier / Attendant: POS only — sells, prints receipts, sees their own sales history.
• Accountant: read-only access to sales, reports, customers and quotations.
• Kitchen Staff: Kitchen Display only — sees and marks orders ready.

Adding an attendant

1. 1Open Attendants from the sidebar → click "Add Attendant".
2. 2Enter full name, phone, nickname (shows on receipts) and role.
3. 3Set monthly salary (optional, used for payroll deductions).
4. 4System generates a 4-digit PIN — share it with the staff member.
5. 5They sign in by visiting your store URL and entering the PIN.

Day-to-day staff features

• PIN reset / change: staff can request a new PIN; admin approves on the PIN Approvals screen.
• Cart item removals: require an authorising PIN before items can be removed from a cart (anti-fraud).
• Tasks: assign daily tasks (e.g. restock fridge, clean counters) and track completion.
• Profile completion: staff add their own ID and bank details on first login.
• Suspend / Block: temporarily disable a staff PIN without deleting their history.

Shifts & cash-up

Every cashier opens a shift when they start (declaring their opening cash float) and closes it at end of day. The system calculates expected vs declared cash and flags any variance. Admins review on the Shift Reports screen and decide whether to top up, deduct from salary, or waive small differences.

How branches work

• Every business starts with a Main Branch. It's created automatically when you register, and all your existing products, sales and stock belong to it. It can't be deleted.
• Branches are fully independent. A product, price change, stock count or sale in Nairobi never shows up in Juja. Reports, shifts and cash-ups are per branch too.
• One account, one subscription. You don't create a second SawaPOS account for a second shop — you add a branch.
• Adding a branch needs the Extra Branch add-on. Buy one unit per additional shop from the Add-ons page.

Switching branches

A branch switcher sits at the top of the left sidebar, right under your business name. It shows the branch you're currently working in — everything on screen (POS, products, sales, reports) belongs to that branch. Click it to switch, to open All Branches (a consolidated, read-only roll-up for owners), to Add new branch, or to open Manage branches.

Adding a branch

1. Open the branch switcher in the sidebar and click Add new branch.
2. If your allowance is already used up, you'll land on the Add-ons page — buy an Extra Branch unit, then come back.
3. Give the branch a name (e.g. "Westlands Branch"), a short code for receipts, and its address and phone.
4. Save. The new branch starts completely empty — no products, no stock, no sales.
5. Add products directly, or use Import from another branch on the Products page to copy your catalogue over.

Importing products between branches

On the Products page, Import from branch copies selected products into the branch you're currently in. The copies are independent: changing the price or stock of an imported item in one branch has no effect on the branch you copied it from. This is deliberate — different locations often price and stock differently.

Staff and branch access

• You (the owner/admin) reach every branch. No assignment needed.
• Staff only reach the branches you assign them to. Open Branches and tick the branches each attendant, cashier or manager may work in.
• Tick several branches to let one person (e.g. a supervisor) move between shops — they'll get the same branch switcher you use, showing only their branches.
• Staff with no branch ticked see nothing. They can sign in but get a "no branch assigned yet" message until you assign them, so nobody ever lands in a branch they don't belong to.

Reporting across branches

Pick All Branches in the switcher to see the whole business rolled up — total revenue, profit and a branch-by-branch comparison so you can tell which shop is pulling its weight. Switch back to a single branch to act on its data.

Common questions

"Do I pay a second subscription for a second shop?"

No. Your plan covers the business. Each additional branch needs one Extra Branch add-on unit — much cheaper than a second account.

"Can two branches use different currencies?"

No — currency and country are set once for the business, and every branch trades in it. Each record stores the currency it was transacted in, so past sales stay accurate if you ever change it.

"Can a cashier see another branch's sales?"

Never, unless you tick that branch for them on the Branches page.

"Can I close a branch?"

Set it to inactive on the Branches page. Its history is kept for reporting; the Main Branch can't be removed.

SawaPOS supports the major payment methods used by African and global SMEs. Configure each gateway once in Settings → Payment Methods and they appear as payment options in the POS automatically.

One central Payment Engine

All payment methods now live in a single place — Settings → Payments. Every surface (the POS, your online shopfront and your SawaPOS subscription checkout) reads from that one configuration, so a method is either on everywhere or off everywhere. No more setting the same gateway up twice.

• Simple ON / OFF: switch a method on and it appears at checkout instantly; switch it off and it disappears.
• Platform or your own gateway: for each gateway choose SawaPOS's account (we handle the setup and pay you out) or your own credentials (the provider pays you directly).
• Branch aware: keep one configuration for the whole business, or give a specific branch its own overrides.
• Stamped on every sale: each sale records the method, the gateway and whether it went through the platform or your own account — so reconciliation and payouts are never guesswork.

What your customers can pay with

SawaPOS suggests the methods that are normal for your country the moment you pick it at registration — mobile money wallets (M-Pesa, MTN MoMo, Airtel Money, Orange Money, Wave…), cards and wallets (Visa, Mastercard, Apple Pay, Google Pay), bank transfer, pay-on-pickup, cash on delivery and cash. Your country's landing page lists exactly what is available locally. Suggestions are guidance only — you can enable anything you like.

Every supported method

Each method below lets your customers pay you in a different way. For gateway methods you can run on the SawaPOS platform account (nothing to set up — we collect and pay you out) or, with the Own Payment Channel add-on, plug in your own credentials so money lands straight in your account with no payout waiting.

💵Cash·Notes and coins taken at the counter

Take physical notes and coins at the counter. No gateway, no fees — the cashier simply records the sale and closes it.

M-Pesa Paybill·STK push prompt straight to the customer's phone

Let your customers pay you through your own M-Pesa paybill. SawaPOS pushes a payment prompt to their phone — they enter their PIN and the sale is confirmed automatically. Use the SawaPOS platform shortcode to start instantly, or activate the Own Payment Channel add-on to plug in your own shortcode and passkey so money lands straight in your account.

Own credentials: Paybill Shortcode, Passkey, Consumer Key, Consumer Secret.

M-Pesa Till (Buy Goods)·Customers pay into your Buy Goods till

Let your customers pay you into your own M-Pesa Buy Goods till. SawaPOS pushes a prompt to their phone and auto-detects the payment landing in your till. Activate the Own Payment Channel add-on to use your own till number and passkey.

Own credentials: Till Number, Passkey, Consumer Key, Consumer Secret.

Card·Visa, Mastercard & Amex via Stripe

Accept Visa, Mastercard and Amex cards through Stripe. Use the SawaPOS platform account (we collect and pay you out) or connect your own Stripe keys with the Own Payment Channel add-on so funds settle straight into your bank account.

Own credentials: Publishable Key, Secret Key.

Paystack·Cards, bank & mobile money across Africa

Accept cards, bank transfer, USSD and mobile money across Africa through Paystack. Use the SawaPOS platform account or connect your own Paystack keys with the Own Payment Channel add-on — Paystack then settles directly into your bank account.

Own credentials: Public Key, Secret Key.

KopoKopo Till·Mobile money collections via the KopoKopo API

Let your customers pay you through your own KopoKopo till. SawaPOS pushes a payment prompt to their phone and auto-confirms when the money lands. Activate the Own Payment Channel add-on to register your own KopoKopo till and credentials.

Own credentials: Till Number, Client ID, Client Secret, API Key.

Flutterwave·Cards, mobile money & bank transfers

Accept cards, mobile money and bank transfers across Africa (Nigeria, Ghana, Uganda, Rwanda, South Africa and more) through Flutterwave. Use the SawaPOS platform account or connect your own Flutterwave keys with the Own Payment Channel add-on.

Own credentials: Public Key, Secret Key, Encryption Key.

Vodacom M-Pesa (Tanzania)·STK push straight to the customer's Vodacom line

Let your Tanzanian customers pay you through Vodacom M-Pesa. SawaPOS pushes a payment prompt to their phone — they enter their M-Pesa PIN and the sale is confirmed automatically. Use the SawaPOS platform Vodacom account to start instantly, or activate the Own Payment Channel add-on to plug in your own Vodacom shortcode and API keys so money lands straight in your account.

Own credentials: Service Provider Code, API Key, Public Key.

PayPal·PayPal balance & international cards

Accept PayPal balance and international cards. PayPal always settles into your own merchant account — connect your PayPal credentials with the Own Payment Channel add-on.

Own credentials: Merchant Email, Client ID, Client Secret.

🏛️Bank Transfer·Customer transfers to your bank account, confirmed manually

Let customers transfer directly into your business bank account. No gateway is involved — the cashier confirms the transfer manually and closes the sale. Add your bank details under Settings → Payments.

Setup: Bank Name, Account Name, Account Number.

M-Pesa STK Push (Lipa na M-Pesa)

Push a payment prompt straight to the customer's phone. Best for paybill / till numbers already registered with Safaricom.

1. 1In Settings → Payment Methods, enable M-Pesa.
2. 2Enter your Paybill or Till number (shortcode).
3. 3Enter the Passkey supplied by Safaricom when you registered for Daraja API.
4. 4Pick environment: Sandbox (testing) or Production (live money).
5. 5Save → test by running a small sale on the POS.

M-Pesa Paybill / Till — auto-detect

For shops that don't want STK push: show the customer your paybill / till, they pay manually, and SawaPOS automatically detects the payment landing in your account and closes the sale. Configure the same paybill/till credentials as above.

KopoKopo

1. 1Sign up at app.kopokopo.com and get your Client ID + Client Secret.
2. 2In Settings, enable KopoKopo and paste your credentials.
3. 3Add your till number.
4. 4KopoKopo will appear at checkout — customers pay via STK or buy goods, you see it auto-confirmed.

Viewing payments

• Payments screen: every sale, subscription payment and refund in one searchable list.
• M-Pesa Paybill viewer: see every M-Pesa transaction landing in your paybill — match unidentified payments to sales.
• Till payments viewer: same view but for till-based KopoKopo / M-Pesa.

SawaPOS has two plans, and both include every feature — there are no feature tiers and nothing is locked behind a bigger package.

The two plans

• One-Off: A single payment that unlocks everything for 4 years. No monthly bills and no renewals during that time.
• Monthly: Exactly the same product, billed once a month for one store. It renews on the same date each month, and you can stop any time by simply not paying.

Both plans include the POS terminal, products & inventory, offline mode, your online shopfront, customers & loyalty, quotations, staff accounts, every report, and all future updates. Prices are shown in your own currency on the pricing page before you pay.

Power Pack add-ons

Add-ons are optional extras you switch on when you need them. They sit on top of your plan and never depend on a plan level:

• Extra branch: one per additional shop location, each with its own products, stock, staff and reports. Your plan includes your first branch.
• Your own till / paybill: collect customer payments into your own mobile money or gateway account instead of the SawaPOS channel.
• Custom shop domain: run your online shopfront on your own domain instead of the SawaPOS address.
• White-label receipts: show only your own logo and details on printed and emailed receipts.

On the one-off plan an add-on is a one-off fee. On the monthly plan it is half that fee, charged every month, renewing on the same date as your plan.

How paying works

1. 1Pick your plan, or pick the add-on you want to activate.
2. 2Enter a coupon code if you have one — the discount is applied before you pay.
3. 3Choose how you want to pay from the payment methods available to you.
4. 4Complete the payment (an M-Pesa prompt on your phone, or a secure checkout page).
5. 5We confirm the payment, then your plan or add-on activates automatically.

Coupon codes

There are two completely separate kinds of coupon, and they never mix:

• SawaPOS promo codes: issued by us for plans and add-ons. Enter one at checkout and you pay the discounted amount.
• Your own coupon codes: created by you in Coupon Codes for discounts on your own sales at your counter or shopfront. They apply to your customers' carts only — never to your SawaPOS plan or add-ons, and never at another business.

After a successful payment

• Immediate access: your plan goes active straight away and your public shopfront goes live.
• Receipt & record: the payment is recorded with its date, time, amount, currency, method and reference — see it any time under Billing.
• Add-ons switch on: an activated add-on appears in Add-ons and the feature it unlocks becomes available immediately.

Managing your plan

Open My Subscription to see your current plan, when it expires, your credit balances and your payment history. From there you can renew, switch between the monthly and one-off plan, and retry any payment that did not go through. Billing lists every payment you have made to SawaPOS.

Add-ons are one-time (or monthly) extras you switch on when your shop needs them. They are not a higher plan level — every business runs the same SawaPOS, and an add-on simply unlocks one extra capability. You can buy an add-on at any time from the Add-ons page in your dashboard.

How add-on billing works

The price you pay depends on which plan you are on:

• On the one-off plan: each add-on is a single one-off payment that lasts for the full 4 years of your plan — no monthly renewals.
• On the monthly plan: each add-on is half the one-off fee, charged every month and renewing on the same date as your plan. If you stop your plan, the add-on stops too.

Prices are shown in your own currency on the Add-ons page before you pay, and a coupon code (if you have one) is applied before checkout.

The available add-ons

How to buy an add-on

1. 1Open the Add-ons page from your dashboard sidebar.
2. 2Pick the add-on you want (for Extra branch, choose how many branches).
3. 3Enter a coupon code if you have one to apply a discount.
4. 4Choose a payment method and complete the payment.
5. 5Once your payment is confirmed, the add-on activates immediately — no waiting.

Managing your add-ons

The Add-ons page shows every add-on, its status (active / pending / failed), the amount you paid, and when a monthly add-on renews. For monthly add-ons, the add-on only counts while its current month is still running — once it expires, the feature it unlocked turns off until you renew.

Frequently asked

• Do I lose my data if an add-on expires?: No. Your branches, products and settings stay intact. The extra capability is simply switched off until you renew — nothing is deleted.
• Can I get a refund on an add-on?: Add-ons are only activated after a verified successful payment. If a payment fails it is never activated, so there is nothing to refund. For other cases, contact support.
• Can I use my own gateway AND the platform channel?: Yes. You can run some payment methods on your own account and others on the SawaPOS platform account at the same time — configure each in Settings → Payments.

Every cashier works in a shift. Opening a shift records the cash float they start with; closing a shift reconciles what they took in against what the system expected. This is the single most important anti-fraud control in your shop.

Opening a shift

1. 1Cashier signs in on the store URL with their PIN.
2. 2POS prompts them to open a shift — enter opening cash float (e.g. KES 2,000).
3. 3Shift is now active; every sale is tagged to this shift.

Closing a shift (cash-up)

1. 1Cashier hits "Close Shift" at end of day.
2. 2System shows expected totals: cash, M-Pesa, card.
3. 3Cashier counts the till and enters declared cash / M-Pesa / card.
4. 4Variance is calculated automatically. Cashier adds a note if there's a difference.
5. 5Shift is sent to admin for review.

Admin review (Shift Reports)

Open Shift Reports to see every shift with system vs declared, variance, cashier notes. Mark deficits as:

• Topped up: cashier paid the difference in cash.
• Salary deducted: amount added to their deductions for next payroll.
• Waived: small forgivable difference (e.g. < KES 50).
• Other: with a free-text resolution note.

SawaPOS turns every sale into actionable insight. Open the Reports screen to filter by date range, cashier, category or payment method.

Available reports

• Sales Report: every transaction in a date range — receipt #, attendant, items, total, payment method.
• Profit &amp; Loss: revenue minus cost of goods sold — daily, weekly, monthly views.
• Top Products: best- and worst-selling items by quantity and revenue.
• Cashier Performance: sales by attendant — see who's pulling their weight.
• Category Breakdown: revenue per category to find your most profitable segment.
• Payment Methods: how much came in via cash vs M-Pesa vs card.
• Stock Valuation: current inventory value at cost and at selling price.
• Shift Reports: open / closed shifts with declared vs system cash and any variance.

Exporting

Every report can be exported to PDF or Excel for your accountant, lender or auditor. Use the date filter to generate VAT-period or monthly-financial reports.

SawaPOS is built for businesses in 60+ countries, so tax is never hard-coded to one market. You pick your country once and SawaPOS loads that country's tax name (VAT, GST, Sales Tax, IVA, TVA…), the standard rate, whether prices normally include or exclude tax, and the exact registration fields your tax authority expects — SARS in South Africa, HMRC in the UK, IRS in the United States, FIRS in Nigeria, GST Council in India, and so on.

Step 1 — Choose your country

1. 1Open Settings → Tax & Compliance.
2. 2Pick your country from the dropdown. The badge at the top updates to show your tax authority and tax name (e.g. SARS · VAT).
3. 3SawaPOS pre-fills your country's standard rate and whether tax is inclusive or exclusive.
4. 4Adjust anything you like — the defaults are a starting point, not a lock. Use "Use country default" to snap back.
5. 5Fill in the registration fields shown for your country (they change per country — VAT number, EIN, GSTIN, TIN, ABN, CNPJ, RUC…).
6. 6Save — every receipt and report now uses your country's tax rules and shows your registration details.

Step 2 — Connect your tax authority

Some countries require sales to be transmitted electronically to the tax authority. Where that applies, SawaPOS shows a dedicated integration panel right below the tax settings the moment you select that country — you only ever see the integration that is relevant to you.

Kenya — KRA eTIMS (live)

eTIMS is mandatory for VAT-registered businesses in Kenya. SawaPOS supports both OSCU (Online Sales Control Unit) and VSCU (Virtual SCU).

1. 1Select Kenya as your country — the eTIMS panel appears automatically.
2. 2Toggle eTIMS on and pick OSCU or VSCU based on your KRA registration.
3. 3Enter your KRA PIN, branch ID (00 for HQ) and device serial number.
4. 4Choose Sandbox to test, Production once KRA approves you.
5. 5Paste the API URL and API key issued by KRA, then save.
6. 6SawaPOS now transmits every sale to KRA in real time and stores the invoice reference on the sale.

Automatic filing in other countries

eTIMS is not special any more — SawaPOS now ships the same real-time filing connector for every country that runs one, under that country's own name: EFRIS (Uganda, URA), EBM (Rwanda, RRA), VFD (Tanzania, TRA), Smart Invoice (Zambia, ZRA), FDMS (Zimbabwe, ZIMRA), e-Invoice (Nigeria, FIRS), e-Receipt (Egypt, ETA), MyInvois (Malaysia, LHDN), CFDI (Mexico, SAT), ZATCA Fatoora (Saudi Arabia) and more.

1. 1Pick your country in Settings → Tax & Compliance — your authority's panel appears automatically.
2. 2Enter the credentials that authority issued you (tax number, branch code, API key, device serial).
3. 3Link the terminal, then save. The badge turns green when the authority accepts the connection.
4. 4From then on every sale is submitted at the moment of payment, and the authority's invoice reference is stored on the sale and printed on the customer receipt.
5. 5If a submission is rejected, the sale still completes and the reason is stored against it so nothing is silently lost.

• Live today — the authority's system is operational and filing starts as soon as you link your credentials.
• Connector ready — the country has legislated the system with a phased start. Save your details now and filing begins the day your mandate does — nothing to re-enter.
• Manual filing — countries with no real-time system (UK, US, Canada, Australia, most of the EU): receipts are compliant and reports export in a format your accountant or filing portal accepts.

Country defaults at a glance

These are the values SawaPOS pre-fills. Your own rate always wins if you change it.

Receipts & record-keeping

Every receipt includes your business name, address, tax registration number, itemised lines with the tax amount per line, the total tax, and the cashier's name — labelled with your country's tax name rather than a generic "VAT". Customers can request an email copy, and every reprint is logged with a reason for audit.

Multi-country businesses

Tax settings live on the business, so if you operate in more than one country, run a separate SawaPOS workspace per country. Each one keeps its own currency, tax rules, authority integration and receipts, while your staff can be members of both.

The Customers module turns walk-ins into known customers. Every saved customer tracks lifetime spend, last visit and accumulated loyalty points.

Customer features

• Saved profiles: name, phone, email, address — searchable at the POS.
• Purchase history: every receipt this customer has ever paid.
• Loyalty points: earn points per shilling spent, redeem for KES off future purchases.
• Customer notes: track preferences, allergies, credit terms.

Loyalty Program

Set your earn rate (e.g. 1 point per KES 1), redeem value (e.g. 1 point = KES 0.01) and a minimum redemption threshold (e.g. 100 points). The system handles the rest — points are awarded automatically on every sale and customers see their balance on every receipt.

Coupon Codes

Create one-off or recurring discount codes (e.g. JULY10 = 10% off). Apply at checkout, track redemption count, set expiry dates.

Quotations

For B2B sales — generate a professional quotation with itemised pricing and VAT, send to your customer, and convert to a sale in one click once they approve. Quotations have a validity date and full status tracking (Draft → Sent → Confirmed → Sale).

Run a restaurant, café, fast-food joint or food court? Switch SawaPOS into restaurant mode for kitchen routing, table service and customer order pickup.

Order types

• Dine-in / Table: tag the order with a table number — staff know where to serve.
• Parcel / Takeaway: customer collects from counter; receipt prints with a pickup ticket number.
• Normal: quick-service — no table, no waiting.

Kitchen Display System (KDS)

1. 1Open Settings → Order Queue and enable Kitchen Display.
2. 2Configure kitchen stations (e.g. Grill, Cold Bar, Drinks) if you split prep.
3. 3Open /KitchenDisplay on a tablet or screen in the kitchen.
4. 4New orders appear in real time. Cooks tap to mark Preparing → Ready → Picked Up.
5. 5The Customer Display (CFD) reflects ready orders so customers know when to collect.

Customer Display (CFD)

Open /CustomerDisplay on a second monitor facing the customer. They see their cart building live, the total, and (after checkout) a queue of ready orders by ticket number. Optional voice announcements call ticket numbers when orders are ready.

SawaPOS is browser-based so it works with almost any device. Here's how to connect the most common shop hardware.

Receipt printers

• Bluetooth thermal printers: pair with your phone/tablet via Bluetooth then pick it as the default printer in your browser.
• USB / wired thermal printers: plug into a laptop's USB port — works as a standard printer.
• Wi-Fi printers: share the same Wi-Fi as your POS device; print from any cashier.
• PDF / email receipts: no printer? Email or SMS the receipt straight to the customer.

Auto-print rules

Open Settings → Auto Print to control when receipts print automatically (every sale, only cash sales, only over a certain amount, etc) and to skip the browser print dialog so cashiers save 2 seconds per sale.

Reprints (audit-safe)

1. 1Open the sale from Sales History.
2. 2Click "Reprint" — enter a reason (e.g. "customer lost receipt").
3. 3System logs reprint count, who did it, when and why.
4. 4Admin reviews reprints under Reports to spot unusual patterns.

Barcode scanners

Any USB or Bluetooth scanner works — they act like a keyboard. Click the search box on the POS and scan; the product is added instantly. Use the Products screen to generate and print barcode labels for products that don't have one.

Cash drawers

Cash drawers that connect to a thermal printer open automatically when the receipt prints — no extra config in SawaPOS.

Power outages, ISP issues, slow data, dead zones — SawaPOS is built to keep working through all of them. Offline mode is automatic and silent: there is nothing to switch on, no setting to toggle, and no button your cashier ever has to press. The moment your connection drops, SawaPOS keeps running; the moment it returns, everything catches up.

This is what makes SawaPOS the #1 offline point of sale for shops, restaurants, pharmacies and supermarkets across Africa and worldwide — places where the internet is unreliable by default. Read the full guide at our Offline POS page.

How it works — step by step

1. 1Online: every sale saves to the cloud instantly and stock updates in real time across all devices and branches.
2. 2Connection drops: an orange offline banner appears and SawaPOS silently switches to offline mode — sales keep ringing up with zero interruption.
3. 3Offline: each sale is encrypted and saved in your browser's secure local storage. Receipts print, cash and till payments are recorded — surviving refresh and reboot.
4. 4Reconnect: queued sales upload to the cloud in the background. A unique idempotency key on every sale guarantees nothing is ever duplicated.

Why SawaPOS is the #1 offline POS

• Instant, automatic switching: no toggle or setup — offline mode activates and recovers on its own.
• Receipts still print: thermal printers keep working offline, so every customer leaves with a receipt even during a blackout.
• Works on any device: phone, tablet, laptop or dedicated POS terminal — offline mode runs on whatever hardware you already own.
• Duplicate-proof sync: every queued sale carries a unique idempotency key, so reconnecting never creates a double charge or double entry.
• Survives power loss: queued sales persist through browser restarts and device reboots — lose power, lose internet, never lose a sale.
• Jumps between connections: pair your device with Wi-Fi and a mobile hotspot and SawaPOS automatically uses whichever connection is alive.

What works offline vs. what needs internet

What's limited offline

STK Push M-Pesa needs internet (to reach Safaricom). Stock levels reflect the last synced snapshot. Cards via Stripe / Flutterwave require connectivity. Cash, paybill / till manual entry and printing all keep working.

Why use it?

• Keep your own books. Your sales data lives in a Google Sheet you own. SawaPOS keeps a copy too, but if you ever stop using us, you walk away with a full history.
• Share with your accountant. One link, view-only access, no exports to email each month.
• Build your own analytics. Pivot tables, Google Looker Studio dashboards, formulas — do whatever you want with your data.
• Audit-ready. Daily tabs make it easy to spot odd days or reconcile against M-Pesa statements.

How it works in plain English

1. You connect your Google account once (under Settings → Google Sheets Export).
2. The first time we export, SawaPOS creates one spreadsheet in your Drive named "<Your Business Name> — Daily Sales".
3. Every day after that, yesterday's transactions are written to a brand-new tab inside that same file. Tabs are named with the date, e.g. 2026-06-13.
4. POS sales and shopfront orders appear together, with a Source column telling them apart.
5. The export runs automatically the first time you open your dashboard each day. You can also trigger it on demand anytime.

Step-by-step: connecting your Google account

1. Sign in to SawaPOS as the business admin.
2. Open Settings from the left sidebar.
3. Click the Google Sheets Export section.
4. Click the green Connect Google Sheets button.
5. A new tab opens with Google's sign-in screen. Pick the account you want to use.
6. Google asks you to grant SawaPOS permission to "see, edit, create and delete only the specific Google Drive files you use with this app". Click Allow.
7. The tab closes automatically. SawaPOS shows a green Connected badge.

Doing your first export

After connecting, click Export yesterday's sales now. SawaPOS will create the spreadsheet, add a tab for yesterday's date, and fill it with every POS sale and shopfront order from that day. Then click Open in Google Sheets to verify everything looks right.

What the daily tab looks like

Each row in the daily tab contains:

• Date / Time — when the transaction happened (UTC).
• Source — POS for in-store sales, Shopfront for online orders.
• Reference — receipt number or order number.
• Customer / Phone — captured at checkout when available.
• Items — a compact list like Soda×2, Bread×1.
• Subtotal / Fees / Total — money columns in your business currency.
• Payment Method / Status — cash, M-Pesa, card, paid, awaiting payment, etc.
• Fulfillment — delivery, pickup, table service, parcel…
• Attendant / Channel — who rang the sale or where it came in.

The last row of every tab shows the TOTAL for the day at a glance.

Sharing with your accountant

1. Open the spreadsheet from the SawaPOS panel.
2. Click the blue Share button at the top right of Google Sheets.
3. Add your accountant's email. Choose Viewer (read-only) or Commenter.
4. Click Send. They now see every new day automatically.

Common questions

"Will this slow down my POS?"

No. The export runs in the background once a day and only takes a few seconds. Your POS is never blocked.

"What if I forget to open my dashboard for a few days?"

The next time you open the dashboard, the automatic export will catch up on the most recent missed day. You can also manually trigger exports for older dates by re-running and selecting the date in your spreadsheet's URL.

"Can different shops have different spreadsheets?"

Yes — every SawaPOS business has its own connection and its own spreadsheet. Each shop owner connects their own Google account, so the data goes wherever they want it.

"How do I disconnect?"

Click the Disconnect button on the Google Sheets Export panel. Future automatic exports stop immediately. Your existing spreadsheet stays in your Drive — SawaPOS can't touch it after you disconnect.

"Is my data safe?"

Yes. SawaPOS uses Google's drive.file scope, which means we can only access the one spreadsheet we create on your behalf. We cannot read any of your other Drive files, even if we wanted to. The OAuth connection is stored securely on Base44's infrastructure and never exposed to the SawaPOS frontend.

"Can I export to Excel instead?"

Inside Google Sheets, use File → Download → Microsoft Excel (.xlsx) on any tab. You can also use the SawaPOS Reports page for built-in Excel and PDF exports.

Why use marketing integrations?

• Reach customers where they are. Push every new shopfront product to your existing social audience without copy-pasting links.
• Save hours every week. Slack and Discord webhooks announce drops to your team automatically.
• Look organised. Schedule meetings with customers, suppliers and staff via a reusable Google Meet link.
• Consistent branding. Same product description, image and shopfront link across every channel.

What's included

Every channel — TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google Meet, Slack and Discord — is included in the single SawaPOS one-off plan. Nothing here is gated or sold separately.

Where to find it

Sign in as the business admin and open Marketing Integrations from the left sidebar (right below Online Shopfront). You'll see a card for every supported channel and whether it's connected.

Connecting a social channel (TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn)

1. Click Connect on the channel card.
2. Enter your public handle (e.g. @yourshop).
3. Paste your full profile or page URL.
4. Pick whether to auto-share new products and/or auto-share offers.
5. Click Save. The card turns green with a Connected badge.

From then on, every product you add to your shopfront is queued for sharing on that channel. You can pause auto-share or disconnect anytime from the same card.

Connecting Google Meet

1. Go to meet.google.com and create a reusable meeting link.
2. Back in SawaPOS, click Connect on the Google Meet card.
3. Enter a workspace/display name (e.g. "Your Shop Team").
4. Paste the Meet link you created.
5. Click Save. The link is now ready to be shared with customers, suppliers and staff for video meetings.

Connecting Slack

1. In Slack, open Apps → Incoming Webhooks and click Add to channel.
2. Pick the channel where you want product alerts (e.g. #marketing).
3. Copy the generated Webhook URL.
4. In SawaPOS, click Connect on the Slack card.
5. Paste the webhook URL and (optionally) the channel name.
6. Click Save. New products will now post to that Slack channel automatically.

Connecting Discord

1. In Discord, open Server Settings → Integrations → Webhooks and click New Webhook.
2. Pick a channel and copy the Webhook URL.
3. In SawaPOS, click Connect on the Discord card.
4. Paste the URL and (optionally) name the channel (e.g. #drops).
5. Click Save. Product drops will appear in your Discord channel automatically.

Managing or disconnecting a channel

Click Manage on any connected card to update handles, webhook URLs or toggle auto-share. Click Disconnect to stop sharing immediately — your existing posts stay where they are.

Common questions

"Will old products be back-posted?"

No. Auto-share only fires on new products created after the channel was connected, so your audience isn't spammed with your existing catalog.

"Can I post manually?"

Yes — Slack and Discord webhooks fire instantly for every new product. For TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn, posts are queued for your review before going out so you can polish copy or add a custom image.

"Do I need to pay extra for Google Meet?"

No. Every channel is included in your one-off payment.

"What if my Slack/Discord webhook stops working?"

The channel card will show a warning. Regenerate the webhook in Slack or Discord, click Manage, paste the new URL and save.

Business Settings

• Business profile: name, logo, address, phone, receipt footer.
• Tax & compliance: VAT/GST rate, mode, tax number and country-specific fields.
• Payment methods: enable / disable cash, M-Pesa, card, KopoKopo per shop.
• POS Mode (NEW): pick Cashier Shift mode (one cashier per shift — supermarkets, retail) or Shared Terminal mode (POS stays open, every sale needs the waiter's 4-digit PIN — restaurants, cafés, bars).
• Hardware: auto-print rules, printer settings, customer display theme.
• Order queue (restaurants): configure kitchen stations, ticket numbering and prep times.
• Cart removal authorisation: require a supervisor PIN before items can be removed.
• Shift close rules: force end-of-day cash-up, variance thresholds.

POS Operating Modes

SawaPOS supports two terminal workflows. Switch any time in Settings → POS Mode:

• Cashier Shift Mode (default): Each cashier logs in with their PIN and opens a cash float at the start of their shift. Every sale is auto-attributed to them. Best for supermarkets, retail shops, pharmacies, hardware stores.
• Shared Terminal Mode: A manager opens the terminal once with the day's cash float — then the POS stays open all day. When any staff member rings up a sale, they enter their own 4-digit PIN and the sale is attributed to them. Best for restaurants, cafés, bars and food trucks where waiters share one screen.

Notifications

The bell icon at the top of every page shows unread alerts — low stock, pending PIN approvals, payment confirmations, daily summaries. Open the Notificationsscreen to see your full history and clear read items.

My Subscription

Track your plan, expiry date, marketing & voice credit balances, and payment history. Switch between the monthly and one-off plan any time — see Plans, Add-ons & Payments for the full detail.

Online Shopfront

Every business can design and preview their public online shop from the Shopfront screen — add a banner, tagline, delivery/pickup options and the payment methods customers can use. Your live public shop URL goes live as soon as your payment is confirmed. Until then you'll see a "preview only" banner on the Shopfront screen.

Help & Support

Stuck? Open the Help & Support screen. Start with our built-in AI assistant — it answers most questions instantly. Not resolved? Escalate to a human and a SawaPOS support agent picks up the ticket. Every conversation is saved against your business for future reference.