hi everyone! i’m trying to figure out how to set up the software so that i can run it the way i want. i don’t have any experience in pos systems but have just acquired a takeaway for burgers. i read on the internet that your software was one of the best out there and it was free so for me as a startup i would really like to understand how to set up sambapos so that it comes up with the menu as a front screen. when i downloaded the software without the sample datai couldn’t figure out how to do it. i then re installed it with the sampleand i cannot seem to configure the products list to what i want as its fixed. if you have instructions or a video for a starter then that would be great! i tried going through the documents page but they were far advanced from what i wanted to start doing. any help would be great ! many thanks in advance for all your help, if there is a template that i could work from then that would be great also.
Omar
I have also been very surprised the software itself it so powerful but it lacks in the documentation and help. Any how I learnt the software by myself. If you want to go through the complete setup then you have to learn the basics of F&B Systems. If you’re newbie just start from the very basics:
Or I can teach you what I have learnt from the system so far.
I hope I would be helpful for you to start from the very basic till we both learn something.
We have some documentation here, under sambapos.org and v2.sambapos.org websites. I know this is a little confusing but as SambaPOS quickly evolves keeping documentation up to date is a hard task. For now progressing with little steps is the best solution. As @iwaqasi suggested just ask your question and we’ll answer them by new tutorials or short videos. As we answer more questions we’ll have better documentation. For the future we also have some plans for more professional approach to documentation.
Hi Waqas, Emire,
i really don’t know much about this at all and as you can understand when you’re trying to start a business there is so much to do already making it more difficult to try to figure out the system so any help would be greatly appreciated!
i need to set up my takeaway menu without using tables or customers which i seem to notice pop up when i click on POS. i saw that on the main website there were menu buttons which is what i’m looking for, ie to setup breakfast, lunch and main buttons with each having a set menu.
then i would like to enter my recipes for each of the menu items so that they system can calculate for me cost per item/per day/per any period as well as stock levels.
then to be able to enter all invoices and receipts into the system so that i can print out my accounts any time to give to my accountant or tax man.
finally to be able to enter discounts and special offers when i run them at the store. i also have loyalty cards but i don’t know if this system is capable of calculating this as well. it looks to be powerful but i don’t know its limitations or basics to be honest… so any help would be extremely appreciated!!!
many thanks for all your help
Omar
Ok guys i’ve figured out how to create categories and entered all my menu items into the system. i’m stuck right now at getting the pos to open up as buttons because its immediately opening up into a search for customers and table and i need to have it open to menu buttons. Please help if you can.
It looks like u dont want tables and go straight to taking orders. As i asked only few days ago theres a solution in the forum already. Just follow this link Remove table system
Amd also there are many things i learned by searching for already asked questions in the forum. If u got a question just search away.
Thanks everyone for the support but i’m afraid it looks like i have to call it quits because there seems to be so much to learn and try to find that i cant open my store to operate as planned. Maybe thats why these system cost money so you focus on the business itself… In any case i wish emre you would charge even something to get the necessary documents or videos in place. I can see a lot of material but most of it is in turkish and although im half turkish i dont speak a word unfortunately… Hope you can improve on it to become more international and setup friendly in the future but i think i have to start searching for a paid version. Take care all…Omar
@omarziada Thank you very much for the valuable feedback. I’ll do whatever possible for better documentation and support but unfortunately that takes time. At the beginning I tried to do everything by myself, than I tried to support the community and until summer I’m forcing all possible options to form a dedicated team. Hard to do without receiving anything back but I hope I’ll be able to solve this.
I’m sorry you are quiting but I’m sure you’ll miss SambaPOS Hope to see you again soon…
Dear @omarziada,I am one of the latests members here. I tried hundreds of POS, free pos, payed pos, open source pos, and I have to say that the flexibility, easy to use, user experience and interface if FAR MOST THE BEST in Sambapos.
Its true that its difficult at the begining, but in one month I installed, configured and started using sambapos without problems, and inone week i had it running with sql and a central database. NONE of the commercial products gave me that chance.
I hope you make up your mind and give one more chance, since a lot of people here is helping out and trying to answer as fast as possible. And the best thing is that they do this because they beleive in (even toe we did not met) friendship, becuase, i dont have any other name for a 5 minutes delay response to solve a problem, or to find out that I was doing something wrong.
And beleive me when I say that Documentationis the most difficult taks in a project, and the most time consuming task also. But fortunately there is a LOT of info in the forum, just have totake your time and search.
We all hope to see you again here… trying a little bit harder!!!
I also tried a lot of different POS systems and none of them are close to being as good as SambaPOS. You do need to have some know how and patience to train yourself and experiment to get the software to work for you. It can never be a out of the box solution as every business is unique and has different requirements. I trained myself in SambaPOS and have been using it since v2 and can’t ever imagine going back to a cash register as it has made everything so easy.
If you lack the time to create your POS then you should seek a professional to do this for you.
Here is a screenshot of how great you can make your SambaPOS look:
wow guys i’m really impressed with the feedback although i did ask questions before and got little response but i think after seeing your feedback i’ll try one more time to get this up and running. i unfortunately don’t have any experience in setting up a pos and i was learning and reading a lot of material but as you all said it is time consuming and when you’re trying to focus on running a business it becomes more difficult to spend time learning about the pos. Isaac i really like the way you’ve done the pos and this is what i need as well.
do i need an sql and was it installed with the sambapos software or is this something i have to install separately?
my needs might be simple, that is, i need my menu on the pos without tables, i would like to add inventory and costs so that the pos can calculate cost and profit when i run reports. i’m happy to reinstall sambapos again and try it out one more time. everyone is saying its great and i believe it. maybe if i start fresh and document everything they i can share it with everyone else and you can add more to it and we get the community working on that so that Emre isn’t alone doing this. i’ll try my best once again and start the documentation from my side if i get your help too.
Omar as @Emre stated read up on the Database configurations, basically there is 2 types you should consider, 1 is the Compact SQL database which you have a option to install when installing SambaPOS or 2. is a SQL Server hosted database, for this you will have to install SQL Server, you only need to use this option if your are planning on using more than one terminal.
thanks Isaac, i’m currently using one terminal for my first store but if in future i start the second store then i’m presuming i would need a server hosted database to consolidate all reports and information?
thanks Morshed1 i actually tried to set this up as you had illustrated but the software installation stopped at the Shared Feature Directory saying it was invalid and i couldn’t get any further so i cancelled it. at the moment i’ve installed the sql that comes with sabapos so i’m presuming this is sufficient for the time being.
Hope to see you again soon…
