The Eats365 POS, its Modules, and online services rely on an internet connection to smoothly perform their functions properly. A stable internet connection also ensures that data synchronization can happen in real-time across multiple devices and services. In rare cases, you may encounter internet connectivity issues, such as a network outages, that may impact your restaurant operations. 

In this article, you’ll gain an understanding of the Offline Mode functionality during network outages, learn about the features that become unavailable, and discover how to activate Local Sync.

Overview

Offline Mode is a built-in feature on the Eats365 POS that allows you to continue processing orders and cash payments, and send print requests without an internet connection. This functionality becomes available automatically as soon as the POS loses its internet connection.

Indicators

To identify if a POS is offline, check the network status at the top right of the Table Map screen or the order-taking screen. 

If the network status shows that it’s Online, but is unable to process any orders or payments, contact the Eats365 ServiceDesk Team through WhatsApp. 

Recommended actions

When a POS goes offline, the device can’t sync the information to the cloud server. Once the POS app re-establishes the connection, all past transactions during the time the POS was offline gets synced to the cloud server. To prevent syncing issues or losing the information recorded during Offline Mode, avoid performing the following:

• Turning off the iPad
• Uninstalling the POS app
• Force closing the POS app
• Clearing the app’s cache and data
• (Wi-Fi only) Connecting to a different wireless network
  Note: Connecting to a different Wi-Fi network may prevent the POS app from re-connecting immediately to its original Wi-Fi connection.

Single and multiple devices offline

Troubleshooting and resolving network issues can be tied directly to the number of affected devices.

Single offline device

When a single POS is offline, it may be the device, app, or the method through which the POS is connected to the modem or router that could be the cause of the loss in connectivity. For more information on how to troubleshoot network issues for a single POS device, refer to POS shows offline.

Multiple offline devices

When multiple POS terminals, Modules, and Printers become offline, it may be due to an outage from the Internet Service Provider (ISP), a faulty modem or router device, or an Eats365 server outage. For more information on how to troubleshoot network issues for multiple devices, refer to All devices offline.

Enable Local Syncing 

Eats365 has made running your restaurant during a network outage easier with Local Syncing. Turning on Local Syncing allows a multi-POS environment to connect with each other in a peer-to-peer setup. This setup enables multiple POS terminals to continue sending real-time information between themselves to provide more functionality even without an internet connection.

To enable Local Syncing, follow the steps below:

Offline features

By default, when the entire network goes offline, the following features become unavailable:

• Credit Card Payments
• Eats365 and third-party CRM functions
  • Member management
  • Associating members onto orders
  • Spending points
  • Earning points
  • Credit top-up
• Gift Cards and Discount Vouchers
• Table Management (Split, Share, or Link)
  Note: Managing tables work if Local Synchronization is enabled.
• Order Lock
  Note: Order Lock work if Local Synchronization is enabled.
• Online orders
  Note: The Branded Web server constantly checks if the POS is online. If the POS is offline, it won’t be able to communicate back to the server that it’s ready to continue receiving orders. If the POS is unable to communicate back to the server after 15 minutes, the Online Order feature becomes temporarily disabled.
• Modules
  • mPOS
  • PhotoMenu
  • Self Order Kiosk
  • Pay Station
  • Ticket Kiosk
  • eSignage
  • Expedite Display
  • Digital Menu

Note: The Kitchen Display System (KDS) and the Customer Facing Display (CFD) don’t rely on being connected to the internet to function. As long as they remain connected to the POS via Bluetooth, both Modules’ functions remain normal.