Skip to main content
This guide walks you through the day-to-day flow of running the Sailia point of sale — from opening a terminal to closing the till. For configuration and permissions, see the POS overview.

​
Opening the POS

1

Open the POS

Go to POS in the Sailia navigation.
2

Select your terminal

Choose the terminal you’re working on. Terminals are tied to a location and an optional card reader.
3

Open a cash drawer (if you take cash)

Enter your opening float (for example, £100) and select Open Drawer.
Sailia now knows how much cash you started with and how much should be in the drawer at any point during the shift.

​
Adding items to a sale

There are three ways to add items, in roughly increasing complexity:

​
1. Item grid (fastest)

The grid is designed for speed — tap a tile to add the item instantly. Use it for cafés, retail, popular courses, and anything you sell repeatedly. You can:
  • Rearrange tiles
  • Group tiles into folders (Drinks, Merch, Courses)
  • Put your most popular items front and centre
See POS overview → grid layout for the tile types and customisation options. Use the Library to find anything in Sailia — activities, products, memberships, gift cards, and passes. Search, select, add to basket.

​
3. Custom amounts

For one-off or ad-hoc charges, enter an amount and add it to the order. Useful for miscellaneous charges, damage fees, or manual adjustments. See custom pricing for products with editable prices.

​
Selling activities, memberships, and passes

When you add an activity, course, membership, or activity pass, the POS prompts you to select or create a customer (these items can’t be sold as walk-ins). Sailia then walks you through:
  • Who’s attending
  • Dates or sessions
  • Any required details (waivers, qualifications, etc.)
Once complete, the item is added to the basket like any other.

​
Walk-in sales

For simple sales — food, drinks, retail — no customer account is needed. Add items, charge, done. This makes the POS fast enough for queues and busy days. See walk-in sales for the items that support this.

​
Taking payment

Once the basket is ready, select Charge and pick a payment method: For details on each method, see POS overview → payment methods.

​
Closing the cash drawer

At the end of the day or shift:
1

Open the cash drawer

Select the cash drawer from the POS.
2

Count the physical cash

Count what’s actually in the drawer.
3

Enter the actual amount

Sailia compares this to the expected amount and shows any variance.
4

Add notes (optional)

Record any context — staff handover, cash drops, refunds outside the system.
5

Close the drawer

The shift is closed and added to your till history for auditing.
You can view past cash drawers at any time from the POS for reconciliation or audit.

​
What you can sell through the POS

The Sailia POS brings everything you sell into one place:
  • Activities and courses
  • Shop products (with variants)
  • Memberships
  • Gift cards
  • Activity passes
  • One-off / custom payments
  • Cash, card, invoice, and payment links
If you can sell it in Sailia, you can sell it through the POS.

​
When to use the POS

Use the POS when:
  • A customer walks up to the desk
  • You’re selling food, drinks, or retail
  • You need to take a quick payment
  • You’re booking someone onto a course in person
  • You want a single till for the whole operation

POS overview

Terminal setup, grid customisation, and permissions.

Card readers

Pair and manage a Stripe card reader.

Product variants

Sell sizes, colours, and other variations.

Custom pricing

Override prices at the till.