FooodPosWiki

Pair a POS terminal

Get a one-time pairing code in the back office and type it on the Windows or Android POS, so the device becomes your POS. Every step, every button and every message, explained.

Who uses it:OwnerManagerWhere:Back officeWindows POSAndroid POS
On this page

Pairing joins one device, a Windows PC or an Android tablet or phone, to one POS terminal of your outlet. You do it once for each device. It takes two minutes:

  1. In the back office, get a pairing code for the POS.
  2. On the device, type the code on the Set up this POS screen.

From then on the device is that POS: it knows its outlet, its menu, its printers and what it is allowed to do.

Before you start

  • The FooodPos app is installed on the device. See Download and install the POS app.
  • The device is on the internet. Pairing needs it once; after that the POS also works offline.
  • You are signed in to the back office as the owner or a manager. Only they can add or pair a POS.
  • You know which POS this device will be. A new restaurant starts with one POS, T01, the Main POS of the outlet HQ. The first device you pair is normally T01.

Part 1: get a pairing code in the back office

Open the POS terminals tab

  1. In the back office's menu, under MASTERS, click Outlet, then Outlets.
  2. Click Edit at the end of your outlet's row (for a new restaurant, HQ).
  3. In the window that opens, click the POS terminals tab.
Outlets, then Edit beside the outlet, then the POS terminals tab.
  1. Outlets: under MASTERS, in the Outlet category of the menu.
  2. POS terminals: the tab that lists every POS of this outlet. The other tab, Outlet, holds the outlet's own details.
  3. + Terminal: adds a new POS to this outlet. See B below.
  4. Status: Not paired (amber) means no device holds this POS yet. Online (green) means a device holds it and was heard from just now; Offline (grey) means a device holds it but has not been heard from lately.
  5. ⋯: the row's own menu: Pair (or Re-pair), Reload, Unpair code and, for a Main POS, Replace this Main POS. Edit beside it opens the POS's settings.

Now get the code in one of two ways: A for a POS that is already in the list, such as T01, or B for a new POS.

A. A POS already in the list (such as T01)

  1. Click ⋯ at the end of the POS's row.
  2. Click Pair. If the POS was paired before, the menu says Re-pair instead, and the back office asks first: Issue a new pairing code for T01? This signs the current device out immediately. Click OK only if you mean to move this POS to another device.
  3. If nobody has chosen yet what this POS runs on, the window Pair T01 asks: What does T01 run on? A pairing code is made once this is chosen. Click Windows or Android, then Get pairing code.
  4. The Pairing code window opens with the code. Go on to The pairing code.
Pair, for a POS whose platform is not chosen yet: choose Windows or Android first.
  1. Windows: this POS will be a Windows PC.
  2. Android: this POS will be an Android tablet or phone.
  3. Get pairing code: makes the code for the platform you chose.

B. A new POS

Add a POS for each extra device: a second till, a waiter's tablet, a kitchen display, an order board or a kiosk.

  1. Click + Terminal. The window New terminal opens on its General tab.
  2. Under This POS, type a Code (up to 20 characters, such as T02) and a Name (such as Bar till). Both are needed.
  3. Click the Operation tab. Choose Platform: Windows or Android.
  4. Choose Operation mode: what this device will do. The line under the box explains the mode you pick (see the table below).
  5. A Sub terminal or a Waiter belongs to a Main POS. If your outlet has more than one Main POS, choose it under Linked main terminal.
  6. The other tabs, Orders & payments, Kitchen and Shift & day end, start with sensible settings. You can change them later.
  7. Click Create & get code. The POS is added and the Pairing code window opens.
A new POS: its code and name on General, its platform and job on Operation.
  1. Operation: the tab where the platform and the job are chosen. General holds the code and the name.
  2. Platform: Windows or Android. The pairing code only works on this kind of device.
  3. Operation mode: the job this device does. See the table below.
  4. Create & get code: saves the new POS and shows its pairing code at once.
Operation modeWhat the device does
Main terminalFull POS. Runs day end, serves the other POS on your network, and prints QR orders and back office reprints.
Sub terminalFull POS, linked to a main terminal.
WaiterOrder taking only: no payment, no cash drawer.
Kitchen displayShows the tickets for its stations; cooks tap them done.
KioskA self-order screen for guests. They order on it and pay at the counter or by card. Set it up on its Kiosk tab.
Order boardA screen for guests: their orders under Preparing, then Ready. Set it up on its Order board tab.

The pairing code

The pairing code. Type it on the device, then press Done.
  1. Which POS: the code pairs the device as this POS (here T01).
  2. The code: six letters and digits. There is no letter O or I and no digit 0 or 1, so nobody can mistake one for another, even on the phone.
  3. What it becomes: the operation mode and the platform. The device does not ask for them: it takes them from the code.
  4. Single use, 24 hours: the code works once, and only for 24 hours. After that, get a new one.
  5. Done: closes the window. The code stays in the POS's row, in a small blue box, until it is used or runs out.

Part 2: type the code on the POS

The first time the FooodPos app opens on a device that is not paired, it shows Set up this POS. There is nothing else to choose: no mode, no server address.

On Windows
  1. Open FooodPos on the PC, from the Start menu or the desktop. It opens full screen on Set up this POS.
  2. Click in Pairing code and type the code. Letters turn into capitals by themselves.
  3. Click Pair this POS, or press Enter. The button says Pairing… while it works.
Set up this POS on Windows.
  1. Pairing code: type the code from the back office here. Before you type, it shows ABC123 in grey as an example.
  2. The hint: where the code comes from.
  3. Pair this POS: grey until at least four characters are typed. Pressing Enter in the box does the same.
On Android
  1. Open FooodPos on the tablet or phone. It opens on Set up this POS, with the line Enter the pairing code for this POS.
  2. Tap Pairing code and type the code. Only letters and digits go in, at most eight, and they turn into capitals.
  3. Tap Pair this POS, or Done on the keyboard. A small circle turns on the button while it works.
Set up this POS on Android.
  1. The line under the title: what to do on this screen.
  2. Pairing code: the code from the back office.
  3. The hint: where the code comes from.
  4. Pair this POS: works from four characters.

Part 3: what happens next

The device asks the cloud, and the cloud answers with what this POS is. Then:

  • A Main terminal, Sub terminal or Waiter shows Sign in.
  • A Kitchen display opens straight on the kitchen screen. Nobody signs in on it.
  • An Order board and a Kiosk open straight on their own screens.
  • A Sub or Waiter whose Main POS works On your own network only first shows Connect to the Main POS, and finds it on your network. See Connect to the Main POS.

In the back office, the POS's row now says Online, with the device's model and the app's version. If the How to start your POS guide is open, it says Paired! T01 is connected to HQ. Sign in on the POS to start.

Sign in for the first time

On a new restaurant, sign in as the owner:

  1. In Staff code, type owner.
  2. If the screen shows a PIN pad, press Use a password instead.
  3. In Password, type the password from your welcome email. It is the same password as the back office's.
  4. Press Sign in.
The first sign-in: staff code owner and your password.
  1. Staff code: owner for the owner of a new restaurant. Your staff have their own codes (back office: POS users).
  2. Password: the first time, a password needs the internet. After one sign-in it works offline too.
  3. Sign in: opens the POS.
  4. Use a PIN instead / Use a password instead: switches between the PIN pad and the password box. A PIN works offline from the start.

Then ring a practice bill. See Ring your first bill.

What if…

Good to know

  • One code, one device, 24 hours. A code that is used or runs out cannot be used again.
  • The POS takes its job from the back office. The device never asks whether it is a Main, Sub or Waiter POS: you choose that before the code is made.
  • There is no Unpair button on the POS. Unpairing needs a one-time code from the back office, so nobody at the counter can unpair a till by accident.