Using AskBiz POS When the Internet Goes Down
What happens to your AskBiz till when connectivity drops — how offline mode works, which features remain available, and how data syncs when you reconnect.
Key Takeaways
- AskBiz POS continues processing cash sales in offline mode — your till never fully stops.
- M-Pesa and card payments require an internet connection and are unavailable offline.
- All offline transactions are queued and sync automatically when connectivity is restored.
- The Overview dashboard and Reports require connectivity — check the AskBiz status indicator.
How AskBiz handles loss of connectivity
Modern retail can't afford downtime every time the internet hiccups. AskBiz POS is built with an offline-first architecture for core functions: when connectivity drops, the till continues operating for cash sales. Products and prices are cached locally on the till device, so cashiers can search, add to basket, apply cash discounts, and complete sales without interruption. The dashboard overview shows your last-known data with a connectivity indicator showing you're working offline.
Which features work offline
In offline mode these features remain fully functional: product search by name, barcode scanning (for barcodes in the cached catalogue), quick-keys, cash payments, cash discounts, receipts (printed only — digital receipts queue for later delivery), and the opening/closing float process. These cover the vast majority of a typical retail transaction. Your cashiers can keep trading without knowing there's a connectivity issue at all — as long as they're taking cash.
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Start for free →Which features require connectivity
Features that need a live internet connection: M-Pesa payments (payment confirmation requires real-time Safaricom API access), card payments (same reason), sending digital receipts by SMS or WhatsApp, the Ask AI feature, viewing real-time dashboard updates, and syncing stock adjustments made on another device. If M-Pesa is a significant payment method for you, consider a mobile data backup connection (a phone hotspot) for the till so you can maintain digital payment capability during broadband outages.
How offline transactions sync on reconnection
When connectivity is restored, AskBiz automatically syncs all queued offline transactions to the server within seconds. Sales, stock level updates, and cashier events all upload in chronological order. Your dashboard immediately refreshes to reflect the complete picture. The Audit trail records these transactions with their actual timestamp — not the reconnection time — so your sales data is accurate even if you were offline for an hour. No manual re-entry is required.
Best practices for offline resilience
Before a busy trading day, make sure your till device has recently synced to pull the latest product catalogue and prices to its local cache. If you know a connectivity-challenged period is coming (an outdoor market, a rural pop-up), open the till while you have a connection to ensure the cache is fresh. Keep a mobile data SIM or hotspot device available as a backup. Train cashiers to communicate to customers that M-Pesa is temporarily unavailable rather than attempting a payment that will fail.