How the POS hardware connects at your counter

A POS counter has five pieces of hardware and one internet connection. Apart from power, there are only two cables: the printer's LAN cable and the cash drawer's cable. Everything else talks over the internet.

What you need

Internet: Wi-Fi at the counter, and a spare LAN port on the router for the printer.
An EFTPOS terminal from your bank, with Linkly Cloud turned on, and your Linkly username and password. For a Tyro terminal, see With a Tyro terminal below.
A tablet (10 inches or larger, used in landscape) or a PC, with Chrome.
A Star CloudPRNT printer, with paper and a LAN cable. An Epson with ePOS-Print works too, printed straight from the POS, but it prints online orders only while the POS is open: see Set up an Epson receipt printer.
A cash drawer, with its cable.
Optional: a barcode scanner that reads QR codes (a "2D" scanner), USB or Bluetooth, to scan customers' loyalty cards. A hands-free one in a stand lets customers scan their own card. The tablet's camera can scan them too, more slowly. See Choose and set up a barcode scanner for loyalty cards.

What plugs into what

Wiring at a POS counter: the router connects to the internet; the tablet and the EFTPOS terminal are on its Wi-Fi; the printer has a LAN cable to the router; the cash drawer's cable goes into the printer

The printer: a LAN cable to the router. Cloud printing doesn't work over USB.
The cash drawer: its cable goes into the printer's drawer port (Cash Drawer / Buzzer on the Star mC-Print3 and MCP30, DK on some other models). The printer opens the drawer, and only while it has paper.
The tablet: on your staff Wi-Fi. Nothing plugs into it.
The EFTPOS terminal: on the same Wi-Fi, or its own 4G if your bank set it up that way.
A barcode scanner (optional): USB into a PC, or paired with the tablet over Bluetooth. Set it to work as a keyboard (often called HID or keyboard mode, usually how it comes), and to send Enter after each scan. It types what it reads, and the POS picks out a loyalty card wherever you are on the menu or checkout. See Choose and set up a barcode scanner for loyalty cards.

Everything also needs power.

How a sale travels

A card sale goes from the POS through Linkly Cloud to the EFTPOS terminal and back. A docket goes from the POS to mypreorder; the printer collects it and opens the drawer for cash

The tablet, the terminal and the printer never talk to each other directly. They reach each other through the internet, so each one needs its own working connection.

A card sale: the POS sends the amount to Linkly Cloud, which asks your EFTPOS terminal for the card. Approved or declined comes back to the POS.
A docket: the POS sends the order to mypreorder, and the printer collects it at its polling time. Set that to 5 seconds on a counter printer. For a cash sale, the printer opens the drawer as the docket prints.

Online orders from your app and website print on the same printer.

Set it up, in this order

Ask your bank to turn on Linkly Cloud on the terminal, and for your Linkly username and password. Do this first: banks can take a few days.
Set up the printer. See Set up a Star CloudPRNT docket or label printer.
Plug in the cash drawer and tick Cash drawer on the printer. See Connect a cash drawer to the POS.
Add the POS device's login. See Add a POS or Kiosk device.
Add its pinpad. See Connect a Linkly EFTPOS pinpad to a POS or Kiosk.
Set up the tablet. See Set up a tablet or PC for the POS.
Sign in and pair the terminal. See Sign in a POS or Kiosk and pair the EFTPOS terminal.

Optional: Give staff their own PIN for the POS and Kiosk, and Turn on the till (cash management) for your POS.

With a Tyro terminal

Card payments go through Tyro instead of Linkly Cloud, and there's no Linkly username, password or pair code. Everything else connects the same way. See Set up a Tyro terminal for a POS or Kiosk.

If something is not right

What you see	What to do
One device stops working	Check that device's internet first: the printer's LAN cable, the tablet's Wi-Fi, the terminal's Wi-Fi or 4G.
Dockets don't print	See Order dockets are not printing.
The drawer doesn't open	Check the printer has paper. Then see The cash drawer doesn't open, or the till won't print.
The POS opens in a browser tab	Install it as an app. See Set up a tablet or PC for the POS.
A barcode scanner types into the search box instead of adding the customer	Check it reads QR codes (a 2D scanner: a 1D one reads only stripes), and that it's in keyboard mode with no prefix of its own. Scanners come with setup barcodes in their manual. See Choose and set up a barcode scanner for loyalty cards.
The tablet's on-screen keyboard stops appearing after you pair a scanner	The tablet treats the scanner as a keyboard. See Choose and set up a barcode scanner for loyalty cards.