Setup guide, permissions and daily workflows
Read this before installing Kit POS Desktop on a till. It covers the exact role permissions needed to log in, how location, table and PIN settings behave, the selling flows your cashier can run offline, and how sales get back to Kit.
1. Requirements
Device
- Windows 10 or Windows 11, 64-bit. Release 3.4.2 ships a Windows installer only; the web till at pos.kit.africa runs on any other machine.
- 4 GB RAM minimum; 8 GB recommended for busy restaurants or multi-user tills.
- 500 MB free disk space plus room for offline sale history.
Network
- Internet is required for the first username or email login.
- After setup, selling continues offline and syncs when the connection returns.
- Keep the server URL pointed to
https://pos.kit.africafor production.
Printing
- Receipt and restaurant section token printing use the same Kit printing flow as the web POS.
- Install QZ Tray when using ESC/POS receipt printers.
- Under Token printers, choose a printer for every restaurant section configured in Kit.
2. Permissions required to log in
Assign these in Kit under User Management, Roles & Permissions. The same roles apply on the web, the phone apps and the till.
| Permission area | Permission | Why it is required |
|---|---|---|
| POS Desktop | Login on a new device (pos_desktop.login_new_device) | Lets the user register this till and pull the business data needed for offline use. |
| Products | View products (product.view) | Lets the desktop app show products, variations, prices, lots and stock. |
| Sell | Sell products (sell.create) | Lets the cashier create sales, quotations and suspended token orders. |
If any required permission is missing, Kit POS Desktop stops the login and shows User permissions are insufficient. Add the missing role permission, then sign in again.
3. First login: connect a business to the till
1. Install
- Download the installer from the Downloads page and run it.
- Open Kit POS Desktop and confirm the server is
https://pos.kit.africa. - Use a Kit username or email and password for the first login.
2. Choose a location
- If the user has more than one location, choose the till location.
- The app downloads products, customers, staff, settings, taxes and payment accounts.
- The logged-in user becomes the user shown in the sale's Added by.
3. Staff login mode
- If staff PINs are enabled, eligible staff can use the PIN pad after setup.
- If service staff PINs are disabled, those users do not get PIN pad access.
- If the business has no tables module, staff go straight to POS and sell directly.
4. Logging out (new in 3.4.2)
The Open register window now has a Log out button. Use it to hand the till to another Kit user, or to sign out at the end of the day, without uninstalling or clearing the app.
- Logging out keeps the till's local data: products, settings and any sales still waiting to sync stay on the device and sync once the next user with the right permissions signs in and the connection is available.
- The next login needs the same three permissions above; staff PINs work again once a Kit user has opened the register.
- Release 3.4.2 also makes the till quieter: health checks run on demand and background polls back off when the server is slow, so a weak connection does not slow the counter.
5. Daily selling workflows
Cash sale
- Open POS, add products, quantities and discounts.
- Choose cash or express checkout.
- Finalise. Fully paid sales sync to Kit as paid.
Credit sale
- Select or add the customer before checkout.
- Finalise with no payment or a partial payment.
- The due balance appears on the customer ledger after sync.
Quotation
- Add products in POS.
- Use the quotation action instead of a final sale.
- No stock is deducted until the quotation is converted to a sale.
Token or suspended sale
- Add items, and the table or waiter where enabled.
- Suspend the sale to create a token.
- Resume the token later and finalise payment.
Kit Pay mobile money
- Choose Kit Pay or mobile money in checkout.
- Enter the phone number and amount using the visible numpad.
- Confirm once the payment status succeeds.
Invoice numbering
Desktop sale invoice and order numbers use uppercase KOD-{login count}-{invoice no}, for example KOD-7-23, so a till's sales are easy to tell apart from web sales in reports.
6. Sync, deleted records and recovery
| Situation | What to do |
|---|---|
| Sales are pending | Keep selling. They remain queued locally and retry automatically when the server is reachable. The office can see each till's pending count in Kit. |
| A sale was deleted in Kit | Ask an admin to open Reports › Deleted Documents, restore the sale, then sync the desktop app. |
| A paid sale shows partial | Sync again and check the sale payment lines. Fully paid desktop sales should show as paid in Kit. |
| User attribution looks wrong | Log out and sign back in as the cashier who is selling. Desktop sales use that user as Added by. |
7. Updates
- The current release is 3.4.2 (stable, 1 October 2026), a Windows x64 installer of about 189 MB. The previous release was 1.0.0 (8 July 2026).
- Install a new version over the existing one from the Downloads page; existing local data is retained. Sync any pending sales first if you can.
- Windows may ask for confirmation on first install of a new version. Release notes are published with each installer.
8. Troubleshooting
User permissions are insufficient
Add pos_desktop.login_new_device, product.view and sell.create to the user's role or override, then try again.
No tables screen
This is correct when the tables module is not enabled for the business. The app logs straight into POS and sells as takeaway or direct sales.
No PIN pad access
Confirm staff PINs are enabled and the user is allowed to use a PIN. Businesses with service staff PINs disabled do not show those staff on the PIN pad.
Still stuck?
WhatsApp or call +256 326 901 600 or email support@kit.africa with your business name and the app version shown in the Open register window.