If the internet goes down
Bina keeps selling with no internet — but only some things. Here's exactly what still works, what needs the connection back, and what those pills at the top of your screen mean.
The 20-second version
When the internet drops, follow the till’s checkout status. An already configured, unlocked till may allow takeaway or delivery sales to be saved locally: cash, and card payments taken on your own card machine. Do not bypass a cashier, register or payment warning. A locally saved sale is not yet confirmed on the server; it sends itself when the connection returns. Everything else on this page — dine-in, splits, refunds, promo codes, loyalty, gift cards, the kitchen screen — needs the connection back.
Do not close the tab and do not restart the till just because it says Offline. It is designed to keep working. Restarting is only for when something else is actually broken, and never while sales are still waiting to sync. Never clear browser data, sign out or reinstall to try to fix an offline till.
What still works with no internet
| You want to… | Works offline? | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Ring a cash or card sale (takeaway / delivery) | ✅ Yes | Where the till permits it, the original sale is saved on this device and queued for the server. A card sale is saved the same way, but only after your own card machine approved it (see About card payments). Local printing and drawer actions depend on your configured hardware. After reconnection, check Sell → Orders and any review warning before assuming the sale and payment are confirmed. Do not take payment a second time. |
| Print a receipt or kitchen ticket, open the drawer | ✅ Yes | Configured local printing may work while the internet is down, but the till must still reach its helper and printer over USB or the shop network. A local-network outage can stop printing too. An unknown print outcome is not permission to resend it repeatedly. |
| Scan, search or tap to add items to the cart | ✅ Yes | Your menu is already loaded on the till. Building the sale never needs a live connection. |
| Park a sale, then bring it back | ✅ Yes | Park saves it on the till itself, not the server. |
| Automatic promos that were active at start of day (happy hour, %-off) | ✅ Yes | The till uses its last-synced pricing and supports only the promotions it can calculate locally. The server rechecks the sale on reconnection. A changed price or refused promotion can require manager review; do not assume the drawer and server total match until checked. |
| Stock-out protection | ✅ Yes, against last-synced counts | The till still warns when an item would sell out (based on the last stock sync minus what this till already sold offline) and asks for a manager PIN — the PIN is checked by the server when the sale syncs, and the override is logged. |
| Send a takeaway/delivery order to the kitchen | 🟡 Queues, but the kitchen screen won’t see it yet | It saves the same way a cash sale does and shows up on the Kitchen screen once the connection is back — not the instant you send it. Tell the kitchen verbally during an outage. |
| Reopen the till after a reboot or power blip | 🟡 Reconnect to reopen securely | Saved sales and setup remain on the device, but the current startup checks need a connection to reopen checkout—even if the till was already signed in. Keep an operating till open during an outage. After a restart, reconnect and retry; do not clear data, reinstall or re-enter saved sales. |
What needs the connection back
| You want to… | Works offline? | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Start a new dine-in order (pick a table) | ❌ No | Bina needs the server to open a table before it can take the order. You’ll see “Could not open the table tab.” Switch to Takeaway, or wait. |
| Split a bill between two or more people | ❌ No | Splitting only works once the order is saved on the server — that saving step needs the connection. |
| Refund a sale | ❌ No | Refunds always talk to the server directly. |
| Void an order | ❌ No | Same as refunds — always needs the connection. |
| ⚠ Collect payment on an order you sent earlier | ❌ No — even for cash | This one surprises people: even though the customer is handing you cash right now, this specific action always talks to the server. It will not work until you’re back online. |
| Apply a promo code or redeem loyalty points | ❌ No | The server has to check and price these before you can quote the customer a total. (Automatic start-of-day promos like happy hour still apply on their own — see above.) |
| Email or WhatsApp a receipt | ❌ No | Receipts are sent by the server. Hand over the printed receipt — you can resend the digital one from Orders once you’re back online. |
| Apply a manager-PIN discount | ❌ No | The PIN has to be checked by the server before the discount is allowed through. |
| See or update anything on the Kitchen screen | ❌ No | The kitchen tablet is a separate device — it checks the server for tickets every few seconds and shows nothing new until it’s back online. |
| Look at Orders, Reports, Z-Report, Inventory, Team, Settings | ❌ No | Every other page in Bina needs to fetch live data from the server to show anything useful. |
The QR-ordering trap during an outage
If your shop uses QR table ordering, watch out: the customer app talks to the server directly, over the customer’s own mobile data. So while your shop’s internet is down, customers can keep placing QR orders that your kitchen screen and till cannot see until the connection returns.
During an outage, either take the QR table tents off the tables, or have a manager watch Sell → Orders from a phone on mobile data and relay orders to the kitchen.
About card payments
Your bank’s card terminal is separate from Bina. Bina does not charge the card; you take the payment on your own card machine, then record Card in Bina (with the slip reference if you have it). A card sale recorded this way is saved on the till and queued like a cash sale, so it can be recorded while Bina has no internet.
Only record Card after the machine has approved the payment. Bina cannot check this for you. If the machine cannot connect or declines, do not record Card: ask for cash or another way to pay. If a customer genuinely cannot pay, note the order on paper and settle it properly once the connection returns.
Card terminals need their own connection (their own SIM or the shop network). Your machine may be down at the same time as the internet. That is a bank-terminal problem, not something Bina can work around.
What not to do while offline
- Do not clear browser or site data. Waiting sales live in the browser’s storage on this till.
- Do not sign out while sales are waiting.
- Do not reinstall or reset the till. Never clear browser data or reinstall to hide a warning.
- Do not close or restart the till while sales are waiting. After a restart the till may need the internet to open again.
- Do not ring a sale or take payment again because it still shows as waiting. Do not re-ring or take payment again unless a manager has checked the original sale.
Before you close the day or hand over the till, wait for the status at the top to say Online, with no sales waiting.
What the status at the top means
| Status | Meaning | Do this |
|---|---|---|
| 🟢 Online · synced 14:05 | The till can reach Bina and nothing is waiting. The time is when this till last sent sales (Dubai time). | Nothing. Tap it any time to read the offline help. |
| 🟡 Checking connection… | A check just failed. The till is making sure before it calls itself offline. | Keep working. It turns Online again, or Offline, within a few seconds. |
| 🔴 Offline · N queued | No internet right now. Cash sales, and card sales taken on your own card machine, are being saved and will send themselves later. The line underneath reminds you to keep selling. | Nothing — keep working normally. Tap the ? for this guide, which works with no internet. |
| 🟠 Syncing N orders… | Internet is back and your queued sales are being sent to the server. | Wait a few seconds — it clears itself. Don’t close the tab mid-sync. |
| 🟠 Sync problem · N waiting | The till is online but the last attempt to send sales failed. The sales are safe on this till. | Tap Retry, or wait — it also tries again by itself. If it keeps failing, tell a manager. Do not clear browser data and do not ring the sales again. |
| 🔴 N sale(s) need review | The original outcome needs checking. A refused or lost response does not prove that there is no order, payment or stock movement. Cash may already have been taken. | Tap the pill, keep the original sale reference, and ask a manager to check the original order, payment and drawer. Do not re-ring or take payment again. Cashier/register holds and unverified older sales keep Retry and Discard paused; changing cashier does not resolve them. For an ordinary refusal, a manager may use Retry now only when the original outcome and cause have been checked; it keeps the same request and reference. Discard is only for a reconciled sale and requires a verified recovery copy. Never clear browser data or reinstall to hide a review warning. Contact support when the outcome cannot be established. |
Testing it yourself before you rely on it
Use a designated test till and test order, not a busy live checkout:
- With support, simulate loss of internet while keeping the local printer network available. Do not unplug a cable used by the printer or your remote-support connection.
- If the till permits offline checkout, ring one labelled cash test sale and confirm it is locally queued. Check the receipt and drawer separately. If checkout is blocked, stop; do not change cashier or register merely to get around the warning.
- Restore the internet connection. Watch for Syncing… and any sale needing review.
- Check Sell → Orders — confirm the original reference appears exactly once, with the correct payment, tender and change. An empty queue alone is not a complete check.
If anything looks different from that — the sale is missing, duplicated, or you see the red "failed to record" pill — stop and get help before trusting the till on a busy shift.
Can’t find it? Ask Bina — the assistant inside your dashboard answers questions about your own store.