Setting up a POS terminal in Vendra takes about ten minutes once you know what to configure. These steps cover a fresh terminal setup. If you are editing an existing terminal, the same screens apply — just open the existing configuration instead of clicking New.
Steps to set up your POS
Open POS configuration
Go to Point of Sale from the left sidebar. In the top navigation bar, click Configuration → Point of Sale. You see a list of all configured terminals. Click New to create a new terminal, or click the name of an existing terminal to edit its settings.
Give the terminal a clear name — for example Shop, Front Counter or Till 1. This name appears in session reports and helps you distinguish terminals if you have more than one.
Add payment methods
In the terminal settings, find the Payment section. Click Add a Line to add each payment method you want to accept on this terminal. The standard options are Cash, Bank Transfer, M-Pesa (manual confirmation) and M-Pesa STK Push (automatic confirmation via Daraja API).
Each payment method is linked to an accounting journal. Cash links to the Cash journal. M-Pesa STK Push links to the M-Pesa journal. If you accept card payments via a hardware terminal, add the card payment method and configure the payment terminal connection in the Payment Terminals section.
Configure receipt settings
Go to the Bills & Receipts section of the terminal settings. Enter your company name and VAT registration number — these appear on every receipt. Add footer text for any information you want on receipts: bank details, a return policy note, a thank-you message or a contact number.
Enable Automatic Receipt Printing if a receipt printer is connected and you want receipts to print without the cashier having to click Print. Upload your company logo if you want it displayed on printed receipts. Set the receipt number format if you want a custom sequence.
Set up cashier accounts and access controls
Go to Employees in the left sidebar. Open each employee who will use the POS terminal. Click the HR Settings tab and set a PIN code (4 to 6 digits) in the POS PIN field. This is the PIN the cashier enters to log in to the terminal.
Back in POS settings, enable the POS HR feature (pos_financial_security) under the Connected Devices or Employees section. With this enabled, the terminal requires an employee PIN login before each session or transaction. This also activates role-based restrictions — you can set different discount limits and void permissions per employee role, preventing unauthorized discounting without blocking normal cashier operations.
Role-based discount restrictions work through the Security section of POS settings. Set a maximum discount percentage that standard cashiers can apply. Supervisors with higher access rights can override this limit. This prevents margin erosion from unauthorized discounting without creating friction at the till.
Configure product categories
Go to Point of Sale → Configuration → PoS Product Categories. Create categories that match how you want products organized on the POS screen — for example Beverages, Dairy, Snacks, Household or by department. Categories appear as filter buttons or tabs in the POS interface, making it faster for cashiers to find products without searching.
Assign each product to the appropriate POS category by opening the product record and setting the POS Category field. Products without a category still appear in the POS but are harder to navigate without scrolling through the full list.
Set opening cash amount
In the terminal settings under the Payment section, set a default opening cash amount. This is the float that cashiers start each shift with in the cash drawer. When a cashier opens a session, they are prompted to confirm the opening cash — the default value pre-fills this field.
If you use different floats per shift, leave the default at zero and have cashiers enter the actual float each time they open a session. The session report records the opening amount entered at the start of the shift for reconciliation at close.
Test-open a session
Save the terminal configuration and go back to the POS Dashboard. Click Open on your terminal. Confirm the opening cash amount. The POS screen opens — verify that your product categories are visible, tap a product to confirm it adds to the order correctly, and test each payment method with a small dummy sale.
If a receipt printer is connected, confirm a test receipt prints. Once everything works as expected, close the test session from the POS hamburger menu → Close. Review the session closing summary to make sure the payment totals and cash count are displayed correctly. Your terminal is ready for live use.