Set up the Handheld
Use this page as an administrator to switch the app on for a person and a store, and to add and remove a device. Your partner adds the app to your site.
Switching the Handheld on for a person
You do this in iVendNext Desk, on the person's User record.
- Search Desk for the person and open their User record. On the User Details tab, tick Is Desk User and Is POS User.
- On the same tab, set Retail Permission to Handheld Operator, or Handheld Manager for a supervisor. If the person also sells on the till, read Giving Handheld rights to a person who also uses the till.
- On the Roles & Permissions tab, give the person the roles they need. See Which roles a person needs.
- On the Cashier Settings tab, fill Default Shift Profile. The Handheld keeps no shifts, so you can choose any shift profile that exists.
- On the same tab, add a row under Allow Access to Stores for each store the person works in, with that store's POS Profile. The profile must be switched on. If the store has no POS Profile yet, create one first.
- Save the record. If the person is already signed in, they sign in again.
Do not untick Is POS User for someone who uses the Handheld. Unticking it removes every row under Allow Access to Stores, and the person can then work in no store. If this happens, tick it again and add the rows back.
What each permission allows
Every Retail Permission record has a Handheld Permissions tab with five ticks. All five are off on a new record. The app installs two ready-made records, so you only need to choose one.
| Tick | What the person can do | Handheld Operator | Handheld Manager |
|---|---|---|---|
| May Post Stock Documents | All stock work, including raising purchase orders | Yes | Yes |
| May Look Up Stock | Look up items, stock and documents. Everybody needs it | Yes | Yes |
| May Return Goods to a Supplier | Send goods back to a vendor | Yes | Yes |
| May Correct a Posted Document | Correct a document after it posts | No | Yes |
| May Retire a Handheld | Revoke a lost or replaced device | No | Yes |
Only a system administrator can turn on May Retire a Handheld. A person with this tick can see and revoke every device on the site, not only the ones at their own store.
An update of the app never changes these two records once they exist, so your own changes stay. A tick that a later release adds to a ready-made record does not reach your copy, so you add it by hand.
Giving Handheld rights to a person who also uses the till
A person has one Retail Permission. If you point a cashier at Handheld Operator, the cashier loses the till rights on their old record. Keep their record, and tick what they need on its Handheld Permissions tab. These ticks then apply to everybody who shares that record.
Which roles a person needs
A tile on the home menu needs two things: the tick on the Retail Permission, and a role that may create or read that kind of document. Without the role, the tile says your role cannot open it.
| Home menu tile | A role that works |
|---|---|
| Goods Receipt PO, Goods Return to Vendor | Stock User |
| Purchase Order | Purchase User |
| Stock Transfer, Stock management | Stock User |
| Stock Take | Stock Manager |
| Pick · Pack · Deliver | Stock User |
| Item Lookup, Stock Inquiry | Any role that may read items, such as Stock User or Purchase User |
Most people need all three of Stock User, Purchase User and Stock Manager. Stock User alone leaves Purchase Order and Stock Take closed.
A person who delivers orders taken at the till also needs Accounts User, because that delivery creates an invoice. See Delivering an order taken at the till.
If you use your own role, give it beside these roles, not in place of them. A new role has no document rights until you give it some.
Settings for a store
These are all optional, and the app works without them. You set them in iVendNext Desk.
| Where | Setting | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| POS Profile, Handheld section | Handheld: Scan Required for Item Entry | Items go in by scan only. Typing a code and searching by name are refused |
| POS Profile, Handheld section | Handheld: Days a Held Count Stays Valid | How many days a saved count can still post. The default is 7. If your site has stopped stock changes for a shorter period, the shorter limit applies |
| POS Profile, Handheld section | "Handheld: Allow Free-Item Entry in Goods Return" | A vendor return may add items that were not on the receipt |
| Warehouse | Default Label Format | The label stock in this store's printer. If it is empty, the app adds no labels for this store |
| Warehouse | Blind Stock Take By Default | A count starts with the system quantity hidden |
Three site settings also change what people meet on the device.
| Where | Setting | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Retail Setting | Use Inter Store transactions | Turn it on to move stock between stores. When it is off, the app refuses to send stock to another store |
| Retail Setting | Reserve Stock for Orders | Keep it off if your store picks orders on the Handheld. An order with reserved stock cannot be made into a pick list |
| Buying Settings | "Allow Item To Be Added Multiple Times in a Transaction" | Turn it on if a purchase order or a receipt may carry the same item on two lines |
Adding a device
There is nothing to install from a store. A person opens your site's /handheld address in the device's browser and signs in. The app then lists the device under that person's name, and it appears in Handheld Devices.
Each person can have 10 devices listed at one time. At that limit, the app refuses a new device and says "You can enrol 10 devices. Revoke one of your own first." A person without the right to revoke is told to ask a manager.
Removing a device
When a device is lost or replaced, someone with May Retire a Handheld revokes it. They can do it from any device they sign in to, or in Handheld Devices in iVendNext Desk. These are the steps on a device.
- On Me, open Trusted devices and tap Manage.
- Find the device. The list shows the devices out of touch the longest first.
- Tap Revoke. The screen shows what that device had not yet posted when it last reported. If the device has unposted work, ask the person to post it first, because revoking discards it.
- Tap Revoke device.
The app refuses to run on that device from then on. Its saved data is removed the next time it connects. A device that never connects again keeps what it already has, because nothing can reach it. To use a revoked device again, its saved data must be cleared, so ask your IT team, or use another device.
Revoking stops the app, not the person's account. If the sign-in is at risk, disable the user too.
The first time a person opens the app
Give the person your site's /handheld address. They open it on the device and follow Opening the app for the first time. A new release needs nothing from you or from them: the next time the app opens, it is the new one.
Choosing a language
The app's screens come in English, Arabic, French, German, Portuguese and Spanish, where your site has the language switched on. Each person chooses their own language in Preferences, and the app reloads in it. Dates and numbers keep your site's own format.
The language belongs to the person's account. It follows them to any device they sign in to, and it also changes the language they see on the till.
What a manager does
A manager with the Handheld Manager record can do the daily work, and also these jobs:
- Correct a posted document.
- Revoke a device.
- Check who has which pick in Handheld Operations, and assign picks on the Pick List.