Multiple tills and devices at one location

The main till by the entrance, a terrace tablet and a waiter’s phone can work with the same cenaly.ge location. You do not need a separate fiscal register or printer for every screen: commands can go to the computer that has the equipment.

Keep four things separate when setting up: the employee’s device, the computer running the bridge, the cash shift and the sales warehouse. Each has its own settings and scope.

What you need to get started#

• Owner or manager access to configure the location’s hardware; employees need access to their app and operations.
• The same location selected on the tills and in the waiter app.
• A PC running Cenaly Hardware Bridge, with a fiscal register and printers connected.
• Fiscalization configured for the location’s country; an ordinary printer does not replace a fiscal device.
• Internet access for cloud commands and a running PC to receive them.

Install the bridge and check the devices using Hardware Bridge. App sign-in by code is covered in Device codes.

Assign devices around the venue#

First decide where the equipment is physically connected and where staff only enter orders. For example, the fiscal register is connected to the main till, the kitchen printer to the kitchen PC, and a tablet serves the terrace.

Web POS tries the local bridge first. If there is no local bridge or fiscal device, it uses the cloud relay. If the fiscal register returns a specific error, the cashier sees it: the command is not rerouted to another register to bypass the error.

One fiscal register for several tills#

Task: issue receipts from a tablet and phone on the main till’s fiscal register.

1. Connect the fiscal register to the bridge on the main PC and check it using Fiscalization.
2. Open Hardware in the panel, select the location and find POS terminals.
3. Find the computer connected to the fiscal register. If there are several bridges, click Make default on the required one.
4. Check that it has the default badge.
5. Use the same location on the other devices. Cloud commands without an explicitly selected destination go to this bridge.

Result: a cashier on the tablet sends a fiscal command to the main till, and its connected fiscal register issues the receipt. The default applies to cloud routing; it does not redirect commands from a working local bridge.

If two bridges are connected and the destination cannot be resolved, you see “It is unclear which register to print on”. Return to POS terminals, select the main terminal and retry issuing the receipt.

If the bridge is on another PC. Use code pairing: in Hardware, click Link a bridge on another PC to get a code. On the computer where the bridge is installed, open its local page http://127.0.0.1:9100 and click Link by code. The code is single-use and expires in 15 minutes. See Hardware Bridge for obtaining and entering the code. A terminal appearing in the list means it is registered, not that the computer is online now.

A shared printer and kitchen station printing#

Task: let several workstations use one printer without moving the printer.

1. Configure the printer on the bridge of the PC it is connected to.
2. In Hardware, choose Print from another PC on the printer and select the computer that needs access. Both PCs’ bridges must serve a shared location.
3. Keep the printer’s host PC running and online: jobs reach it through the cloud.

Result: the printer stays with its host computer while another workstation can print to it. If no paper comes out, first check the printer and its host bridge, then the connection on both computers.

For the kitchen, open Stations in KDS and configure each station: select Printed by first, then Printer and optionally Backup printer. This lets you send dishes to the kitchen and drinks to the bar, for example.

Dish routing, backup devices and the queue are covered in Kitchen printing. A kitchen ticket or guest bill does not replace the guest’s fiscal receipt.

POS appearance on this device#

Task: make the till comfortable on a tablet while keeping the main PC’s familiar screen. These steps apply to web POS; its appearance preferences should not be treated as Android app settings.

1. Open POS appearance on the device you want to configure.
2. Under Save screen settings for, select This device.
3. Adjust Layout, Interface scale, the column count and ticket position to suit the screen.
4. To set a shared version for the location, select All tills of the location before changing screen settings.

Result: local screen preferences override the location’s shared appearance. Other devices retain their own overrides if any were set.

Reset this device removes local screen overrides and restores the location’s appearance. It does not reset the location’s shared settings.

If a change disappears after reloading the page, check the save message: the browser may not allow local settings to be stored. Configure the browser and profile the employee will actually use.

Locking the till and moving between devices#

Task: step away from a shared till or hand the screen to another employee.

1. Click Lock register before leaving.
2. To resume work, the employee enters their own PIN on the lock screen.
3. Use Switch cashier when handing over, and check who is now selected.
4. When moving to another screen, select the same location and your cashier identity; check the open shift before taking payment.

Result: operations do not silently remain under the previous employee’s name. A cash shift belongs to the cashier at the location, not to a tablet or PC. Moving to another screen does not itself create a separate shift.

To have the register lock itself, open POS appearance and pick 🔐 Auto-lock when idle: Off (the default) or 2, 5, 10, 15 or 30 minutes. If nobody touches the screen, mouse or keyboard of this device for that long, the same Register locked screen appears as with manual locking. You can save it for This device only — for example, on for the shared floor tablet and off for the register in the back office.

Opening, closing, cash movements and reports are covered in Cash shift. If the shift is not visible on the second device, first check the location, selected cashier and connection.

The location’s sales warehouse#

Task: deduct sales from the main till and tablet from one selected warehouse.

1. Open Inventory → Warehouses.
2. In Manage warehouses, find the location and warehouse.
3. Click Set as sales.
4. Check the Sales badge on that warehouse.

Result: the location has one warehouse selected for sales deductions; the previous warehouse loses the badge. Bar and terrace tills at the same location do not get separate sales warehouses simply because the devices stand in different places.

If the button is missing, check your permission to configure the section. Warehouse settings require the appropriate access. Stock levels, incoming goods and transfers are covered in Inventory.

Guest online payments and receipts#

Task: issue a fiscal receipt for an order the guest paid online.

1. Find the order in Orders and check its payment details.
2. Use Receipt on the order card or issue the receipt at POS.
3. Check the fiscalization result: a received payment and an issued fiscal receipt are separate outcomes.

For integrating your own website or business system in Russia, cenaly.ru offers Cash register server. This is a separate API workflow; connecting it does not mean all cenaly.ge guest orders are fiscalized automatically.

Weak Wi-Fi and device logs#

Weak Wi-Fi. The register on Android, Windows and Ubuntu watches the Wi-Fi signal level. If the signal stays weak for more than 20 seconds, an amber “📶 Weak Wi-Fi” badge appears in the order screen header — the network is still there, but payments and order sync may start dropping. Tap the badge for advice: move the register closer to the router or plug in a cable. When the signal recovers, the badge disappears by itself. If the connection does drop, the badge is replaced by the red “Offline” badge and sales go to the offline queue. A computer register connected by cable does not show the badge: the Wi-Fi signal does not matter for it.

Device logs. So that support can figure out why “the register is slow or crashes” without a site visit:

1. Open Hardware and pick the location.
2. In the “Device logs” card, turn on “Send device logs”.
3. Choose how often: every 15 minutes, every hour (default), every 4 hours or once a day.

Registers at this location on Android, Windows and Ubuntu, as well as Android kitchen displays (KDS) and the waiter app, pick the setting up the next time they read the location settings and start sending their technical log. A kitchen display or waiter device serving several locations sends its log at the most frequent of the enabled frequencies. Personal data is cut out on the device before sending: phone numbers, e-mail addresses, card numbers, passwords and tokens. Without a connection the log waits in a queue and goes out when the connection is back. Up to about 300 KB is sent at a time. When you contact support, give them the location support code — they will find the right register’s log by it. Turn the switch off and the register stops collecting the log and deletes what it has accumulated.

Reading a log yourself. Below the card is the “Received logs” block: your account’s devices (register, model, app version, whose login) and their latest logs for today, 3 or 7 days. “View” shows the log lines, “Download” saves it as a .log file — for example, to send to your technician. “incomplete” means not every part of the send reached the cloud (the register was offline). Logs are kept for 14 days. The block is visible to the owner and to staff who can edit the Hardware section.

Limitations#

• Cloud relay needs internet access. A web device without a local bridge cannot issue a receipt through the location’s PC when offline.
• The bridge PC and equipment must be running; an entry in the terminal list does not confirm availability.
• A default terminal does not replace printer and kitchen station configuration.
• Local web POS appearance is stored in the browser and does not automatically move to another browser or the Android app.
• Theme, colours, tile size and features are shared by the location. There is not yet a separate complete set of settings for each screen.
• Auto-lock only counts touches, mouse and keyboard on this device; the register is reopened with a staff PIN or by signing out.
• There is one sales warehouse per location; automatic fiscalization of online orders is not available yet.

Troubleshooting#

FAQ#

Does every tablet need its own fiscal register?#

No. Fiscal commands can go to the bridge of a shared fiscal register. Cloud routing requires a connection and a running bridge PC.

If I name a terminal “Bar”, does it get its own warehouse and shift?#

No. The name helps identify the bridge; the sales warehouse belongs to the location, and the shift belongs to the cashier.

Why did the tablet keep its layout after a shared change?#

Local settings override the shared appearance. Use Reset this device on the tablet to apply the location’s appearance again.

Can I switch off the main PC and keep just the phones?#

Not if the fiscal register and printer are reached through that PC’s bridge: phones cannot replace the computer controlling the equipment.

Where can I see a register’s log?#

Turn on “Device logs” on the Hardware page — received logs appear below it in the “Received logs” block, where you can view them or download them as a file. Cenaly support sees them too — give support the location support code.

Related sections#

• Hardware Bridge — installation, code pairing and shared printers.
• Kitchen printing — stations, backup printer and queue.
• Fiscalization — fiscal device setup.
• Device codes — app connection.
• Cash shift — cashiers and cash operations.
• Inventory — location warehouses and stock movements.
• Cash register server — internet receipt API on cenaly.ru.
• Waiter app — working with orders on a phone.
• Customer display — a second screen with the ticket at the checkout.
• Shift manager tasks at the register — revenue, stop list, refunds and hardware checks.
• Cenaly team apps — what to install on each role’s devices.
• System requirements — devices and browsers Cenaly runs on.
• Remote help using a support code — getting support help with setup.