CORE POS Offsite Troubleshooting Tips

Review this topic in preparation for your first few off-site events, so that you can anticipate and correct potential issues. You can also use this section as a reference to identify and resolve specific issues as they arise.

• All CORE POS users scheduled for the offsite event must be logged into the laptop or register, when the device is connected to the store network.
  IF NOT: User will not be able to log into the laptop or register using their credentials when off the network.
• Test connectivity to Zcaler while connected to the network to confirm that Zscaler access is available.
  IF NOT: Offsite laptop/register cannot function in Offsite—Online mode.
  Troubleshooting: If Zscaler login fails during test, contact the Follett Support Center immediately for assistance.
• Laptops and offsite registers must be connected to the store network overnight to receive the latest updates and sync data. The sync completes around 5 a.m. local store time.
  IF NOT: CORE POS can be launched in offline mode, but it will not have any updates from the previous night. Troubleshooting: If CORE POS does not launch in online mode, disconnect the WiFi and launch in offline mode. Once CORE POS launches, then enable the WIFi, log into Zscaler, and select F3/POS once online to ensure a till can be opened.
• The store, registers, and tills must be opened. CORE POS must be launched and F3/POS selected, and logged into the application to ensure the data syncs before taking the laptop/register to the offsite event.
  Note: Complete the insert till process in POS while online, whether in the store or offsite.
  IF NOT: If the F3/POS button is not selected when CORE POS is in online mode, the store open and register open status is not recognized by the POS application and will not allow you to proceed.
  Troubleshooting: Connect the application in online mode and log into the POS once.

• Confirm the laptop is connected to a WiFi network with a good strength so that Zscaler login works.
  IF NOT: Zscaler cannot be logged into and CORE POS will only function in offline mode.
• Once logged into Zscaler, it takes about 10 to 20 seconds to get the register onto the network.
  Tip: Hover the mouse over the network bars at the bottom right of the screen to check whether follett.lan is displaying. The best way to check is to launch the CORE Back Office URL to confirm the laptop/register is on the network.
• Ensure printer and PIN Pad are connected to the correct port.
  IF NOT: Incorrectly connected devices do not work.
  Troubleshooting: Reconnect to the correct ports and restart the PC.
• A restart is required to make the PIN Pad work for credit and debit transactions, if it disconnected accidentally or during transport to the offsite location.
  IF NOT: The PIN Pad will not work and could lead to a Credit Authorization error on the POS. Also, the items added on the POS will not be available on the PIN Pad.
  Troubleshooting: Restart the laptop/register.
• Run the PeripheralSetupUtility to setup the printer or cash drawer if models changed from what was previously configured.
  IF NOT: Devices will not function until reconfigured.
  Note: If after execution of the PeripheralSetupUtility, if there is a screen at the end asking you to select an option between Install Using Compatibility or Installed Correctly, select Installed Correctly to complete the setup.
• Zscaler needs authentication every 12 hours. If you observe that CORE POS switched to offline mode, when it is supposed to be online, launch Zscaler from the Windows search bar or from the notification tray at the bottom of the screen. Then, re-login to Zscaler.
  IF NOT: CORE POS will switch to offline mode if the Zscaler authentication expires.
  Tip: Re-authenticate Zscaler in between events or when business slows down. You don’t have to wait 12 hours before re-authenticating. You may have to close Zscaler and re-launch to re-authenticate.
  Troubleshooting: Re-authenticate Zscaler.
• If CORE POS switches from online to offline mode in the middle of a transaction, it causes a delay of about 35—40 seconds to switch over. This slows transaction time during the switch from online to offline.
  Troubleshooting: If you assess that the WiFi signal strength is not optimum, disconnect from the WiFi and run CORE POS in offline mode. You can reconnect when there is good connectivity to sync transaction data back to the store and complete end of day operations.
• To switch from online mode to offline mode with Zscaler, turn off the WiFi connection or enable Airplane mode on the laptop. Troubleshooting: Restart the laptop/register to fix the issue.
• After switching to online mode, if CORE POS still shows offline, restart the laptop register.
• Close the till only in online mode.
  IF NOT: Reconciliation issues will occur, which also impacts closing the store and home office reconciliation. If the till is closed in offline mode and cashier attempts to log into POS and perform transaction, it will continue, but with issues.
• When the laptop is brought back to the store and connected to the laptop to sync up data and other end of day tasks, make sure to turn off the WiFi connection or enable Airplane mode.
  IF NOT: IP conflicts may occur between the WiFi and network connection.
• Team members signing onto multiple laptops is not recommended. Each unique team member ID and Zscaler login should log into a specific laptop. If possible, once a team member finishes their shift on the laptop, ensure they log off Zscaler and the laptop.
• Credit card transactions must be performed once in online mode on each laptop before taking to an event. This is a one-time activity and not needed for every offsite event, but for a new laptop being used for the first time.
  IF NOT: When offsite, offline credit transactions will not redirect to the manual authorization screen.
• If you are unable to log into Zscaler over WiFi, online transactions will fail.

  Troubleshooting:
  

  Launch Internet Explorer. Select Tools (ALT+X). Select Internet options (or click o). Go to the Connections tab. Select LAN Settings. Uncheck the Proxy server option, if it is checked. Select OK. Try again to log into Zscaler.

• All scanners must be configured.
  IF NOT: Scanning will not work or you need to manually press Enter after scanning each item.
  Tip: If the scanner needs to be programmed, you can access the Scanner Programming Sheet file saved to the desktop.
• There is a limit to the number of logins a PC will cache. For example, if you login 50 users from a domain, and then take it offline, by default the first 40 won’t work as it only saves the last 10.
  All users will not be able to log into the laptop/register offsite.

Offsite Start of Day/End of Day

Ideally, if you open the store, registers, and tills when online (connected to the network), these features are not needed. However, functionality is available in CORE POS to minimize errors when performing start of day, register open , and till open from the POS when in offline mode. See the Offline Store Operations topic for additional details.

Start of Day: Business Date Confirmation

When processing Start of Day at the POS in offline mode, if the business date entered is later than the current business date, a warning message is displayed. If necessary, confirm the business date with the store before proceeding.

Select Yes to re-enter the business date; select No to continue with the date entered.

Register Open: Business Date Confirmation

If the register is opened with the wrong business date, the following message displays: Till, Register, or Store Not Open.

Note: This scenario occurs when the store is opened from Back Office on a particular date. Then the register is taken offline and Register Open is performed from the POS, and a different date is selected than the one on which the store was opened in Back Office.

You now have the opportunity to confirm the date or re-enter the correct date.

• If you select Yes, the store is opened.
• If you select No, you are returned to the previous screen to re-enter the Business Date.

Till Open: Business Date Confirmation

If you proceed with opening the store and register, the Open Till While Offline screen displays when you attempt to open the till.

At this point, you have one last opportunity to select Cancel and perform start of day with the corrected business date.

Close Old Tills

An additional feature displays to Close Old Tills, which is included with the existing Till Options. Click Close Old Tills to display a list of tills in Open status with a business date earlier than the current business date. This could occur when a till was not closed on the original date it was opened or a register/till were not reconnected to the network and reconciled on the original business date. This feature is enabled only if the register is online and the store is open.

Important: After reconnecting to the network, leave the register powered on and connected to the PIN Pad for a minimum of 30 minutes before closing the till to allow credit cards to process.

See Reconcile old tills in CORE Back Office.

Select the Close Old Tills button to display a list of open tills with previous business dates.

Note: If there are no open tills for a previous business date, a No Open Tills Error message displays to inform you.

Highlight the till, then select Close to close the till; select Done to exit the screen.

When you select the till and click Close, the transaction queue on the register is checked. If there are any transactions in the queue, the till cannot be closed until the queue is cleared. In this case, a Transaction Sync in progress message displays.

Select Enter to exit the screen. Wait for a short period of time to allow the transaction sync to complete and then re-attempt to close old tills. The message displays again if the transaction sync is still in progress.

If there are no transactions in the transaction queue, the till is closed and the updated till status displays on the screen.