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How to use a POS system offline in an internet outage
Jan 29, 2025 | 5 min read
The right POS system can ensure offline payment processing and keep your business running, even during an internet outage.
It’s the middle of a busy day, you have a huge line at the register and suddenly you’re facing an internet outage. Your POS solution will determine if you have a good or a bad sales day. These situations can be stressful for both staff and customers. With a modern POS system and a bit of preparedness, you can de-escalate these situations and keep operations moving.
While some business functions can work without the internet, taking care of customers can become more difficult – from completing orders to providing top-tier service. During an internet outage, your offline POS system still needs to be able to execute the following tasks to avoid losses in revenue and customer loyalty:
- Taking orders: You’ll need the ability to ring up items and access your catalog of products; you may also need the ability to create and save open orders, too.
- Accepting payments: Your customers expect safe and accurate payment acceptance.
- Tracking inventory: Any products sold during an internet outage should still be counted against your inventory.
- Maintaining customer relationships: Most importantly, you’ll want the customer experience largely unchanged, especially concerning checkout time.
Thankfully, modern point-of-sale (POS) solutions are no longer limited by local information storage or lack of offline functionality. Due to the widespread adoption of cloud storage for business data, many POS solutions allow you to access transaction information anytime, anywhere and ensure heightened levels of security and resilience. Additionally, modern POS solutions have offline functionalities that will help your small business through a tough day:
Accept payments while disconnected from the internet
Modern POS systems use a data caching process to accept payments online and offline. This process occurs during all transactions but is particularly helpful during internet outages. When you process a digital payment, data points (customer name, card number, etc.) are captured and temporarily stored in the local POS system and sent to the payment processor using internet access.
During situations like an internet outage, the POS system blocks the data transfer process and stores the data securely until internet connectivity restores. As soon as access resumes, the POS system sends the data to the payment processor. With the data caching process, your POS system ensures a smooth and reliable experience, even during internet interruptions.
Enable local pre-authorization during internet outages
When connected to the internet, payments are authorized upon approval from the payment processing software. If that connection is missing during an internet outage, your POS system still needs the ability to process offline transactions until the cache (temporary system memory) can be cleared. With modern POS technology, you can choose to turn off this validation step and proceed with the order. As soon as internet is restored, your payments are authorized if the customer has available funds.
This is a great solution for keeping register lines moving – however, it should be made available with some precautions. If the customer doesn’t have funds, you risk closing a transaction when your internet access is restored. Accepting credit card payments from the POS machine (without internet) and setting a maximum purchase limit during outage minimizes the risk. You can also keep customer-signed receipts, SMS confirmations, and key details such as transaction ID, cardholders’ information, proof of goods and services handy to help you raise disputes if your payment is not authorized after internet is restored.
Keep accurate inventory tracking even while offline
Whether you operate a restaurant, retail store, or service-based business, you need to keep close track of inventory – especially on a day with connectivity issues. Modern POS solutions allow you to log inventory changes while you are disconnected from the internet and will then reconcile those changes with your cloud-based data once you’re online again. This will help your staff get through tough days without losing track of stock levels or creating additional manual work.
When you’re offline, POS systems can complete a wide variety of functions but will have limitations as well. Keep in mind that these functions are generally not available when the internet drops:
- Gift card creation and application
- Refunds or exchanges
- Catalog or menu editing
- Order synching between terminals
Therefore, it is important to choose a POS solution that offers robust offline features, and seamless mobile POS options. Keeping a mobile device with your payment processing app loaded can get you through a crisis and allow you to use the full suite of functions you need to provide top-tier customer experiences. Smartphones use 4G and 5G data to communicate with the payment processing software, removing your reliance on Wi-Fi or ethernet connections.
You can accept and receive payment and process transactions from a data-connected device. Having your register software accessible on a mobile device that uses cellular data, like an iPad, makes it easy for staff to access the tools they need to continue working.
When choosing a POS provider, it is essential to ensure your business can operate smoothly during internet outages. Ask about the POS system's offline capabilities to maintain seamless transactions without an internet connection. Plus, be sure to choose a service provider with 24/7 support. This ensures that you’ll get timely assistance to resolve errors, offline payment processing or transaction-related issues on any day of the week.
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