Getting Started

Welcome to CouchPOS! Follow these steps to set up your shop:

POS Terminal

Making a Sale

1. Open a POS session (you'll be prompted if one isn't open)
2. Search for products by name, barcode, or equipment compatibility
3. Click a product to add it to the cart, adjust quantity with +/- buttons
4. (Optional) Search and attach a customer — credit balance is shown if any
5. Apply discounts if needed (percentage or fixed amount)
6. Click Pay (F8), select payment method, enter amount
7. Receipt prints automatically and can be shared via WhatsApp

Customer Selection

Type a name or phone in the customer field at the top of the cart. Live results show their credit balance — pick one to attach the sale. The × button reverts to walk-in.

Tax in Cart

If your shop has taxes configured (Settings → Manage Taxes), each tax line appears in the cart totals so the cashier sees the breakdown live before payment.

Defect Sales

Click the Defect Items button in the product area to see items marked as defective. These sell at reduced prices set when the defect was reported.

Offline Mode

If you lose internet, the POS continues working. Sales are queued and automatically synced when connection is restored.

Hold Sales Pro+

Pause a sale to serve another customer, then resume it later. The cart, customer, discount, and sale mode are all preserved.

1. With items in the cart, click the pause icon in the cart header (or press F4)
2. Optionally tag it with a label (e.g. customer name)
3. The cart clears — you're ready for the next customer
4. Click the collection icon to view held sales — a red badge shows the count
5. Click Resume to load it back, or Discard to remove

Held sales never decrement stock — only completion does.

Retail / Wholesale Mode Pro+

Switch the entire POS terminal between retail and wholesale prices. Only the shop owner can toggle the mode.

• Set Wholesale Price and MOQ (Minimum Order Quantity) on each product
• Owner toggles Retail / Wholesale in the POS top bar
• In wholesale mode: only products with a wholesale price appear; quantities respect MOQ
• The mode is recorded on the sale and shown on the invoice + receipt

Sale Returns

Process partial or full returns against any sale. Stock is automatically restored.

1. Go to Sales → Invoices
2. Click the yellow ↻ icon on the row of the sale being returned
3. Set the return quantity for each item (capped to "Available", which excludes already-returned items)
4. Choose a refund method:
   • Cash — refund as cash from the till
   • Credit Note — reduce the customer's outstanding credit balance (or create store credit if zero)
   • Original Method — back to the original payment instrument
5. Add a reason and click Process Return

If the original sale was on credit, you must use Credit Note. The system tracks all returns under Sale Returns in the sidebar.

Products & Inventory

Adding Products

Go to Products → Add Product. Fill in name, prices (cost / selling / wholesale / MOQ), category, and stock quantity. Barcodes are auto-generated if not provided.

Bulk Import from Excel Pro+

Go to Products → Import Excel. Download the sample template, fill in your products, and upload. The system auto-detects column headers (Name, Quantity, Cost, Selling Price, Wholesale, MOQ, SKU, Expiry Date). Each Excel sheet becomes a product category.

Stock Management

• Stock Adjustments — Manual adjustments for inventory counts, damage, etc.
• Stock Movements — Full audit trail of every stock change (sales, returns, adjustments, transfers)
• Low Stock Alerts — Products below minimum stock level appear on the dashboard

Equipment & Parts Compatibility Pro+

Define equipment (vehicles, machinery, printers, appliances — anything) under Equipment & Parts. When adding a product, select which equipment it's compatible with. Customers can then search by equipment to find matching parts.

Demand Forecast Pro+

The forecast page analyzes historical sales to predict future stock needs and recommend reorder quantities, helping you avoid stockouts.

Stock Transfers Enterprise

Move stock between branches or warehouses. Both stock counts update in one transaction with a full audit trail.

1. Go to Stock Transfers → New Transfer
2. Pick the source and destination locations
3. Search and add products with quantities (capped to what's actually available at source)
4. Add an optional note and submit
5. Stock decrements at source, increments at destination, and two stock movements (transfer_out + transfer_in) are recorded

Add additional locations under Settings → Locations.

Customers & Credit Book

Manage your customer database with contact info, credit limits, and purchase history.

Credit Sales

At POS checkout, choose Credit Sale as payment. The total is added to the customer's outstanding balance.

Credit Book Dashboard

Go to Customers → Credit Book to see every customer with an outstanding balance, days overdue, total receivables, and aging breakdown. Each row has a green $ button to record a payment, and a WhatsApp icon to send a reminder.

Recording a Payment

1. Click the Record Payment button on the customer profile or in the credit book
2. Enter date, amount (capped at the outstanding balance), payment method, and an optional reference / note
3. Click "Pay full balance" to auto-fill the exact amount
4. The system reduces the customer's credit balance and logs the payment in their history

Each customer's profile has a Payment History tab showing every payment received with method, reference, and who recorded it.

Bulk Import Pro+

Import customers from Excel (name, phone, email, address, city, company).

Expense Tracking Pro+

Record day-to-day shop expenses without the complexity of full accounting.

1. Go to Expenses → Record Expense
2. Pick a category (Rent, Utilities, Salaries, Fuel, Supplies, Repairs, Marketing, etc.)
3. Enter date, amount, payment method (cash / card / momo / bank), reference, description
4. Submit — the expense is logged with the user who recorded it

The Expenses dashboard shows totals by date range and a breakdown by category, so you can see where your money goes at a glance.

Suppliers & Purchasing

Purchase Orders

1. Go to Purchase Orders > Create
2. Select supplier, add line items (product, quantity, unit price)
3. Submit the PO
4. When goods arrive, go to the PO and click Receive Goods
5. Stock is automatically updated and an accounting entry is created

Accounting

CouchPOS uses double-entry bookkeeping. Most entries are created automatically from sales and purchases. You can also record manual entries.

Available Reports

• Chart of Accounts — All your accounts with balances. Add custom accounts here.
• Profit & Loss — Revenue vs expenses for any date range.
• Balance Sheet — Assets = Liabilities + Equity as of any date.
• Trial Balance — Verify all debits equal all credits.
• General Ledger — Drill into any account's transactions with running balance.
• Income & Expenses — Simple form to log daily expenses (rent, fuel, utilities) and other income.
• Financial KPIs — Current ratio, debt-to-equity, profit margin, and more.
• Year-End Closing — Transfer net profit to retained earnings at year end.

Recording Daily Expenses

Go to Accounting > Income & Expenses > New Entry. Select Expense or Income, pick a category (Rent, Utilities, Fuel, etc.), enter the amount and date. The system creates the proper journal entry automatically.

Reports & Export

• Sales Report — All sales with date filter. Shows tax collected.
• Inventory Report — Current stock levels and values.
• Financial Report Pro+ — Revenue, COGS, tax collected, and gross profit.

Export

• CSV Export Pro+ — Download report data as CSV.
• PDF Export Enterprise — Generate a printable PDF report.

Taxes

Go to Settings > Manage Taxes to configure your tax rates. Default Ghana taxes are pre-loaded:

• NHIL — 2.5% (on subtotal)
• GETFund — 2.5% (on subtotal)
• COVID-19 Levy — 1% (on subtotal)
• VAT — 15% (compound: on subtotal + levies)

Enable/disable tax in Settings > Shop Settings. Tax breakdown is shown on all receipts.

Defects & Expiry

Reporting a Defect

1. Go to Defects > Report Defect
2. Select the product, quantity, defect type, and reason
3. Optionally set a reduced defect price if it can still be sold
4. Stock is automatically deducted from main inventory
5. Defects with a price appear in the POS under "Defect Items"

Expiry Tracking

When adding or editing a product, check "Expirable Product" and set the expiry date. The Expiry Tracker page shows products expiring in 7, 14, and 30 days, plus already expired items.

Settings

• Shop Settings — Business name, phone, address, currency, tax toggle, receipt footer, SMS alerts.
• Users & Roles — Add staff with specific permissions (cashier, manager, inventory manager, accountant).
• Locations — Multi-location support for stock tracking.
• Language — Switch between English, French, Spanish, and Chinese using the globe icon in the top bar.
• Dark Mode — Toggle the moon/sun icon in the top bar.
• Factory Reset — Erase all shop data (owner only). Preserves your account and settings.

Support Tickets

Built-in ticketing system to report issues directly to the CouchPOS team. Available to every user on every plan.

1. Click Support in the sidebar
2. Click New Ticket
3. Pick a category (Bug, Feature Request, Billing, Technical, Other) and priority
4. Describe the issue clearly — include what you did, what you expected, and what happened
5. Submit. You'll get a ticket number (TKT-…) and the admin team will respond

Your tickets show a chat-style conversation. Replying to a resolved ticket reopens it. Click Close Ticket when your issue is fully resolved.

Subscription & Plans

Plans at a Glance

• Basic — POS, Inventory, Customers, Suppliers, Sale Returns, Credit Book, Basic Reports.
• Pro — Everything in Basic plus Purchase Orders, Wholesale Mode, Hold Sales, Bulk Import, Equipment Compatibility, Demand Forecast, Expiry Tracker, Expense Tracking, Advanced Reports, CSV Export, API Access.
• Enterprise — Everything in Pro plus Full Accounting, Multi-Location, Stock Transfers, PDF Export.

Payment Methods

• Pay Online (Paystack) — Card or mobile money. Subscription activates instantly after payment.
• Manual Payment — MoMo, bank transfer, or cash. Submit your reference and the admin verifies before activation.

Invoices

Go to Settings → Subscription → View Invoices to see and print your subscription payment invoices.

Keyboard Shortcuts (POS)

FAQ