The internet went down at the store - what still works in Invu POS and how to keep selling offline

Applies to Invu POS 6.10.6 on iPad, Android and Windows. Labels are shown as they appear when the POS is in English.

The most important points:

• You can keep selling without internet: open orders, send kitchen tickets, print and take cash. Everything is saved on the device and uploads by itself when the connection returns.
• Without internet each device works on its own: what you do on one device does not show on the others until the internet returns. Charge each order on the device where it was opened.
• The electronic invoice stays pending and you have to retry it by hand later.
• Do not uninstall the app, log out or clear its data while there is no internet: anything not uploaded yet is lost.

1. How to tell the POS has no internet

• Red top bar: the device has no internet. The POS checks when the network changes and every minute, so the bar can take up to a minute to turn red or back to normal.
• Purple cloud: the device lost sync with the other devices. It reconnects by itself when the internet returns. If it stays purple with internet, tap it.
• Troubleshoot (press and hold the Invu logo > Troubleshoot): if Invu Cloud Services shows Offline, the device cannot reach the Invu server.

If the bar is not red but the cloud stays purple, the device has internet but cannot reach the Invu server (for example, the network blocks that connection). For that case, read "Invu POS froze, hangs, went blank or will not open - what to do without losing orders".

2. What works and what does not without internet

To keep kitchen tickets and the fiscal printer working, the store router or Wi-Fi must stay on even without internet: the POS talks to the printers over that network.

3. Card payments without internet

• Some terminals talk to the POS over the store network and others over the internet. Those that use the internet do not respond during the outage.
• Even if the terminal talks to the POS over the local network, the terminal still needs its own connection for the bank to approve the payment.
• If the terminal does not respond, do not charge twice: check on the terminal whether the payment went through before trying again.
• Meanwhile, offer cash or another payment method that does not depend on the internet.

4. How to keep working while the internet is down

1. Do not close or reinstall the app. If it hangs, force close it and open it again: the data stays on the device.
2. Work each table on one device only. Other devices do not see new orders; if a server opens the same table on another device, you end up with two separate orders.
3. Charge each order on the device where it was opened.
4. Write down the orders with a pending electronic invoice if your customer needs the invoice: you must retry them when the internet returns.
5. Do not make changes in the Admin Panel (prices, products) expecting to see them on the POS: they will not arrive until the connection returns.

Can I use my phone's data (hotspot)?

Yes, the POS accepts mobile data as internet. But if you switch the tablet's Wi-Fi to the phone's hotspot, the tablet leaves the store network and can no longer reach network printers, a local KDS or the Raspberry. Use it only briefly to upload pending data or retry invoices, then go back to the store Wi-Fi. If you want everything to keep working, connect the store router to the internet, not the tablet.

5. What happens when the internet returns

• Sync reconnects by itself and the cloud turns white again.
• Closed orders upload within about 1 minute, and open orders every 10 minutes.
• Orders from the other devices start to show. If you see "Order … changed on another device. Refresh it and try again." when opening an order, leave the order and open it again.
• The electronic invoice is not sent by itself. Retry the pending ones: System Reports > Close Day Report > Retry Print on the not-invoiced orders card. The full steps are in the article about pending or rejected electronic invoices ("Mi factura electrónica quedó pendiente o fue rechazada - cómo reintentarla y corregirla").
• Clau or e-commerce orders: if the outage lasted more than an hour, on the delivery register press and hold the Invu logo and tap Sync Up Ecommerce Orders (it brings the orders from the last 24 hours).

To confirm an order is already on the server, tap its header: Saved in Invu: Yes. Closed orders also show Close in Invu: Yes.

6. Closing the register and reports without internet

• You can close the register and print reports without internet, but each device only counts the sales it has. If the store has several devices, the sales they made during the outage are not on the others yet.
• Before the report, the POS tries to upload closed orders (Recovering closed orders). Without internet they show as "failed" and the report prints anyway.
• If you have several devices, wait for the internet to return and for every cloud to be white before the Close Turn or the end-of-day close.

7. How long can data stay on the device?

• Pending data is not deleted over time: it stays saved until the device uploads it.
• But until it uploads, it only exists on that device. If the device breaks, gets lost, is reinstalled or has its data cleared, those sales are lost.
• That is why you should get the internet back as soon as possible, even briefly.
• Do not use Sync Problems? (press and hold the cloud) or Log Out: the first deletes the device data, and the second will not let you out while there are orders not uploaded (Orders without save).

When to contact support

Contact us if:

• the internet is back and after 10 minutes the cloud is still purple or orders still do not show Saved in Invu: Yes;
• pending invoices fail when you retry them with internet;
• a device with sales not uploaded is broken or has to be reinstalled.

Send:

• the version (tap the Invu logo once);
• a photo of Troubleshoot;
• the time the internet went down and came back, and how many devices the store uses;
• the numbers of the affected orders.