The morning rush: tap, tap, done
Nimal, at the counter of Perera Stores (sample business). Quick keys for what sells most, the basket adds itself up, and cash or credit closes the sale.
The morning rush: tap, tap, done: guided tour, 4 steps
Step 1 of 4: One tap per item. Bread, eggs and tea are quick keys. No customer to choose for a walk-in sale.
Quick sale on the phone · sample data← → to move · Esc for the whole screen
07:10Step 1 of 4
One tap per item
Bread, eggs and tea are quick keys. No customer to choose for a walk-in sale.
The tour, written down
The morning rush on a phone till: tap, tap, done
Tap a quick key once for each item: bread, eggs and tea sit on the first screen. Anything else is scanned or found by typing part of its name. The basket adds itself up under To pay, and the sale closes with Cash, or with On credit to a regular customer's account in the credit book.
Ten past seven at Perera Stores (a sample grocery), and the whole lane wants something before the office buses leave. A mother wants two loaves and half a dozen eggs. A clerk wants a packet of tea. The three-wheel driver from the stand wants biscuits and will pay at the end of the week. Nimal, behind the counter, has one phone and no patience for menus.
This tour shows how a sale is made on the phone till in small shop mode, and why it is laid out the way it is.
What is on the quick sale screen?
From the top down: the shop's name, the till bar showing it has been open since 06:30, a Scan or search box, nine quick keys, the basket and two big buttons at the bottom, Cash and On credit. Everything a morning sale needs fits on one screen without scrolling.
The quick keys in the sample are the things a small grocery sells all day:
| Quick key | Price in the sample |
|---|---|
| Bread loaf | Rs 160 |
| Eggs (each) | Rs 55 |
| Tea 100g | Rs 220 |
| Sugar 1kg | Rs 290 |
| Soap bar | Rs 150 |
| Biscuits | Rs 260 |
| Milk packet | Rs 120 |
| Dhal 1kg | Rs 420 |
| Sweets | Rs 50 |
Step by step
- Start with no customer. The first customer is a walk-in. Nimal does not pick a name or open an account; he just starts tapping. Most sales in a corner grocery are like this, so the till does not ask.
- Tap a quick key once per item. Bread loaf twice, Eggs six times, Tea 100g once. Each key shows its picture, name and price, so even a helper on the first day knows which one is which.
- Watch the basket fill. Under the keys, the basket lists Bread loaf ×2 at Rs 320, Eggs (each) ×6 at Rs 330 and Tea 100g ×1 at Rs 220. Each line already carries its own total.
- Read To pay. The bottom line of the basket reads To pay Rs 870. Nimal says the figure out loud, the customer hands over a thousand-rupee note, and nobody has reached for a calculator.
- Scan or search for anything without a key. The next customer wants a tin of fish that is not on a quick key. Nimal scans the barcode, or types "fish" in Scan or search and taps the right one. The quick keys are for speed; the search box is for everything else.
- Close a cash sale with Cash. For a walk-in, Cash closes the sale. The money goes in the drawer and the cash sale is counted in tonight's summary.
- Close a regular's sale with On credit. The three-wheel driver's biscuits go on his account. Nimal taps On credit, picks the customer, and the amount goes into the credit book against that name. The label on the button in the tour says it plainly: it goes to the credit book.
- Move on to the next customer. The basket clears and the till is ready again. The till bar at the top still shows the day is open, with the day menu one tap away.
Why quick keys instead of a product list?
Because in a small grocery, a handful of products make most of the sales. Bread, eggs, tea, sugar, milk and dhal are bought every day by nearly every customer. Searching for each one costs seconds, and seconds add up to a queue that walks out to the next shop.
A good set of quick keys follows a few rules:
- Bestsellers only. Nine keys is plenty. More keys mean more looking.
- Same place every day. Bread always top left. Hands learn positions faster than eyes read names.
- Sold by the unit you sell. Eggs are sold each in the sample, so six eggs is six taps, and the price per egg is never in doubt.
Cash or credit: which button?
Cash is for anyone paying now. On credit is for regulars who have an account and a limit. Keeping the two as separate, equal-sized buttons at the bottom stops the common paper-book problem of credit sales written down later from memory, or not at all. Every credit sale goes straight to the right name at the moment it happens, and the customer's limit is checked.
For the thinking behind who gets credit and how much, customer credit for wholesalers applies to shops too: set a limit, keep terms short, and watch the age of what is owed.
Tips for a faster counter
- Price quick keys at round shelf prices. Rs 160 bread and Rs 55 eggs make change easy. See how to price products for working out a fair margin.
- Keep the search box for slow sellers. Spices, stationery and cleaning items can live in search. They do not need a key.
- Let helpers use the same screen. The layout is identical for everyone, so a son or niece covering the counter does not need training.
- Check To pay out loud. Saying the total helps the customer have the right note ready and avoids arguments over change.
Common mistakes
- Putting a credit sale through as cash. It closes the sale but leaves the drawer over at night and the customer's account short. Use On credit from the start.
- Too many quick keys. If the screen needs scrolling, the keys stop being quick.
- Selling an item under the wrong key. Tapping Sugar 1kg for a 500g pack charges the wrong price. Give the smaller pack its own product or scan its barcode.
- Leaving a basket half-finished. If a customer walks off mid-sale, clear the basket before the next person, or the next total will be wrong.
What to do next
Some of the morning's goods will be scanned rather than tapped. Scan to sell at the till shows how a new barcode scanner is tested and what happens when a code is unknown. If a regular takes goods without a basket at all, rice and dhal on the book shows the amount-only credit entry.
Still choosing a till? How to choose a POS system explains what matters for a one-counter shop.
Questions people ask
What are quick keys on a till?
Quick keys are buttons for the products you sell most, each with its name and price. One tap adds one to the basket, so the bestsellers never need searching or scanning.
Do I have to choose a customer for every sale?
No. A walk-in sale needs no customer. You only pick a name when the sale goes on credit, so it lands on the right account.
How do I sell something that has no quick key?
Scan its barcode, or type part of its name in the Scan or search box at the top and tap it in the results.
What does On credit do at the end of a sale?
It puts the whole basket on a regular customer's account instead of taking cash. The amount goes into the credit book against that person, and is checked against the limit you set for them.
Can the till run on an ordinary smartphone?
Yes. The quick sale screen in the tour is a phone screen. A tablet or desktop works too if the counter has one.
