The Checkout Flow

The Checkout Flow

This article walks a complete POS sale from first tap to receipt.

1. Build the cart

Tap item tiles, search by name/SKU/barcode, or scan barcodes. Adjust quantities with the − / + buttons on each line.

2. (Optional) Attach a customer

In the cart, use the Customer dropdown (defaults to Walk-in) to link the sale to a customer record. This keeps the sale on their history and lets you email them the receipt.

3. (Optional) Apply a discount

Use the Discount dropdown to pick one of your reusable discounts. Only discounts whose minimum subtotal is met appear in the list. Discounts are cart-level — there's no free-form percent entry or per-line discount at the Register; set discounts up first under Point of Sale → Discounts.

4. Tap Charge

The cart footer shows Subtotal, Discount, Tax, and Total. Tap Charge $X to open the Take payment dialog. The dialog shows "Total due $X" and four tender tabs.

5. Pick a tender

Cash

Type the Cash tendered amount, or tap a suggested denomination button (Exact, $20, $50, $100, and amounts rounded up to the nearest $5/$10/$20). The dialog shows Change in green when enough is tendered, or a "Short $X — collect more cash or add a card split" warning if not.

Card

Run the customer's card on your terminal, then tap Charge to mark the sale paid by card. HandyBook records the sale as a card payment; it doesn't capture the card amount itself unless you've wired up Stripe Terminal (see Point of Sale → Hardware).

Check

Enter the Check number (optional) for your records and tap Charge. The payment is marked received.

Split

Add one row per tender. For each row pick a method (Cash, Card, Check, Other) and enter an amount; tap Add tender for more rows. A status line shows Balanced, Overpaid (change due), or Short. See Split Payments.

Tap Charge $X to finish, or Cancel to go back to the cart.

6. The receipt

After the sale completes, the Receipt dialog opens. It shows the header, line items, totals, payment method, and change. You can:

• Email — enter the customer's email (and optional name) and tap Send
• Print — opens the browser print dialog (or sends to a connected ESC/POS printer if one is enabled)

Close the dialog when done. The cart clears, the customer and discount reset, and you're ready for the next sale.

Tax handling

Tax is calculated automatically. Each item is taxable or not (set on the item). The Register applies your default tax rates; if none are flagged default, it applies all active rates. There's no per-sale tax override at the Register — manage rates under Point of Sale → Tax Rates.

Receipt header and footer

The header line and footer text on receipts come from your POS settings (e.g. "Thank you for your business"). They print on both emailed and ESC/POS receipts.

FAQ

Can I save a cart and come back to it? Not currently — there's no park/hold. Finish or clear the cart.

Can I attach a sale to a job? No — sales attach to a customer, not a job. Use the Customer dropdown.

Is there a tip prompt at checkout? The Register doesn't collect tips in the current build. (Receipts and reports show a tip line only if a tip is present on the sale.)

Can I send a receipt by SMS? No — receipts go out by email or print only.

My card reader failed mid-sale — did I lose the cart? No. Tap Cancel in the payment dialog; the cart is intact. Switch tenders or retry.

Where do completed sales live? Under Point of Sale → Sales, searchable by date range, plus in Reports.