Troubleshooting

I forgot the owner password

Chachi POS works offline, so there is no "forgot password" email.

If the store has a second owner account

1. The other owner signs in and opens Admin → Users.
2. They click Edit on your account, type a New password (at least 10 characters) and click Save.

If you are the only owner

Use the recovery code you wrote down during setup (four groups of letters and numbers, such as K7QM-3XPD-9WTR-HN4B).

1. On the sign-in screen, click Forgot the owner password?
2. Type the Owner username, the Recovery code (small or capital letters both work), and a New password of at least 10 characters twice.
3. Click Reset the password. Password reset appears with a new recovery code: the one you used no longer works.
4. Write the new code down, tick I have written the new code down. and click Sign in. Sign in with the new password.

This is for the owner's password only. Other users' passwords are reset by the owner, as below.

Important: if the owner password and the recovery code are both lost, nobody can get into the owner account. Wrong recovery codes also count as failed sign-ins and lock the account (see below).

Tip: a second owner account for a trusted family member means one forgotten password never locks the store out. See Add a user.

A user forgot their password or PIN

Who fixes it: Owner. Managers cannot change other people's passwords.

Forgotten password

1. Sign in as the owner and open Admin → Users.
2. Click Edit on the person's row.
3. Type a New password of at least 10 characters and click Save. You see Saved.
4. Tell the person their new password in private.

A new password also removes a lock on the account straight away. More in Reset a password or PIN.

Forgotten PIN

The PIN only unlocks the screen during an open shift, and signing in with the password always works instead. On the lock screen, press Different user and sign in with the username and password. Their cart is kept and comes back when the same person signs in on the same shift. See When the screen locks.

To set a new PIN, sign in with your password, click your username at the bottom of the menu and choose Change PIN (see Change your own password or PIN). The owner can also set it: Edit on the user, six digits in PIN, then Save. A PIN cannot be all one digit (111111) or a run (123456).

"Incorrect username or password"

This same message appears for a wrong username, a wrong password, and an account that has been deactivated. Check the spelling of the username first. The owner can see deactivated users by ticking Show deactivated in Admin → Users.

"This account is locked"

After 5 wrong tries in a row (passwords, PINs, or the owner's recovery code, all counted together) the account is locked for 15 minutes. The sign-in screen says, for example, This account is locked for 12 more minutes after too many failed attempts. Closing and opening the app does not remove the lock.

• Wait for the minutes shown, then sign in carefully.
• Or the owner unlocks it at once by giving the person a new password (above). In Admin → Users a locked account shows locked 12 min. Setting a new PIN alone does not unlock it.
• If the owner is locked out, wait, or have a second owner give you a new password.

Important: the count of wrong tries only goes back to zero after a successful sign-in. When the lock ends, one more wrong try locks the account again for another 15 minutes.

The number of tries and the minutes are owner settings under Admin → Settings → Security and sessions (Change a setting).

Not the same thing: after 15 minutes without use, the screen locks by itself (Screen locked). That is not a locked account. Sign in again with your password; see When the screen locks.

"The approval has expired or was not given"

When a manager or owner approves something at the counter (a void, a big discount, a return, a delivery over the order), their approval is good for 5 minutes and for that one action. You see this message when:

• more than 5 minutes passed between the approval and pressing the final button, for example while the customer looked for their GCash reference;
• the same approval was used for an action that is already done, since each void or override needs its own approval.

Ask the manager or owner to approve again. Nothing was saved by the refused attempt. If an action is refused for another reason, such as a missing reason, the approval is still good and you can try again.

A wrong password at the approval panel counts toward that manager's or owner's lock-out, the same as at the sign-in screen (see above). It does not sign you out.

The receipt printer does not print

The sale is saved even if the receipt does not print. Under the receipt preview the screen says why, for example The receipt did not print: the printer is not connected — check its cable and that it is switched on., or for a network printer …the printer did not answer — check it is switched on and on the network (192.168.1.50:9100). Do not ring the sale up again.

Check the printer

1. Is it switched on, with the cover closed and no error light?
2. Is there paper, the right way round? Thermal paper prints on one side only.
3. Is the cable firmly in at both ends: USB to the computer, or the network cable to the router?

Check the printer settings

Sign in as the owner and open Admin → Settings. The printer is in the Sales and the till group (more in Receipt printer).

• How the receipt printer is connected: NONE, USB or LAN. NONE means no printer is set up; every receipt then says No receipt printer is configured.
• USB (Windows): the Windows printer must be shared, and USB printer device or share the bridge writes to holds its share path, written \\COMPUTER-NAME\SHARE-NAME. If it is empty you see No USB printer device is set.
• LAN (network printer): LAN printer address is the printer's IP address, for example 192.168.1.50, and the port is 9100. Most receipt printers print their IP address on a self-test page (see the printer's manual). The computer and the printer must be on the same network. A network printer that is off or unreachable is reported after a few seconds as the printer did not answer. If your router gives the printer a new address after a restart, set the new address here, or give the printer a fixed address.
• Receipt width: 32 columns for 58 mm paper, 48 for 80 mm. If peso amounts break onto two lines, the width is wrong.

Print a test page

1. After changing a setting, click Save this section.
2. Click Print a test page.
3. Look at the paper, not only the screen. A test page went to the printer. Check the paper. means the printer took it; a printer that did not answer is named on screen. Paper that comes out blank means it is loaded the wrong way round.

When it works again

If you are still on the sale's receipt screen, click Print it: the customer gets the receipt without a REPRINT mark. Later, or after the app was closed, open Receipts, open the sale and click Reprint; that copy is marked REPRINT. See Returns, voids and reprints.

On Android: use a network (LAN or Wi-Fi) receipt printer and set the connection to LAN. USB and Bluetooth printers do not work from the tablet.

The cash drawer does not open

The drawer is plugged into the receipt printer (a small phone-type cable), not into the computer. The printer tells it to open.

• It opens only when cash moves: a sale paid fully or partly in cash, a cash payment on a customer's account, a cash refund, a voided cash sale, or a cash in or cash out. A GCash, QR Ph or credit sale does not open it.
• If the printer is not printing, the drawer will not open either. Fix the printer first (above).
• Check the drawer cable is pushed into the drawer port on the printer, and that the drawer is not locked with its key.

There is no button in the app to open the drawer on its own. Use the drawer's key if you must open it. The sale is saved whether or not the drawer opens.

The scanner types nothing, or the wrong thing

A barcode scanner works like a keyboard: it types the numbers and presses Enter. Any USB scanner works, and on Android a USB or Bluetooth scanner in keyboard mode.

1. Open Notepad (or any place you can type) and scan a product.
2. Nothing appears: check the cable, or pair the Bluetooth scanner again. The scanner should beep. Check it is set to keyboard (HID) mode in its manual.
3. The number appears but the cursor does not move to a new line: the scanner is not sending Enter. Scan the "add Enter/CR suffix" setup barcode in its manual. Without Enter, the POS treats the scan as typing.
4. Wrong letters or symbols appear: set the scanner's keyboard language to US using its manual, and make sure Caps Lock is off.

Scans add items only on the POS screen. There a scan always goes into Scan or search, even if you clicked somewhere else, except when a box is open (for example quantity or discount). Then the code goes into that box. Close the box first.

If the code appears in the search box with a list of matches instead of adding the item, the scanner is sending the digits slowly. Pick the product from the list, and set the scanner to its fastest speed if it has one.

"… is not in the catalogue" when you scan

The POS shows 4800123456789 is not in the catalogue. with Attach 4800123456789 to a product and Dismiss. The product may be in the catalogue without this barcode, or not in the catalogue at all.

1. Click Dismiss, type the product's name in Scan or search and add it to the sale as usual.
2. After the customer has gone, an Owner, Manager or Inventory user opens the product in Products and adds the barcode, so the next scan works. See Products and prices.

Other messages you may see:

• This is a weight-embedded barcode — the kind a scale prints… These labels cannot be read. Search for the product by name.
• A barcode is at least 4 characters. or A barcode is letters, digits, dot, dash or underscore. The scan was misread. Scan again, or check the scanner's settings (above).

Subscription warnings

The subscription is checked online. The POS does this by itself once a day whenever the internet is on, and it must reach the licence server at least once every 30 days. Selling does not need the internet otherwise. The state shows on the dashboard and under Admin → Subscription.

The message says which of two reasons applies:

• …the subscription is paid until then or (not paid): pay your subscription (by GCash or bank transfer) and tell Chachi's at ChachiSoftware@gmail.com. When the payment has been recorded, press Check now.
• …this POS has not reached the licence server since …; connect it to the internet to renew or (not renewed online): connect the computer or tablet to the internet, then the owner opens Admin → Subscription and presses Check now. It should say Checked with the licence server.

If you see The licence server could not be reached. Check the internet connection and try again., open any website to check the internet, then try again.

Not linked

The owner presses Link this POS under Admin → Subscription and approves the code at pos.chachisoftware.store/link, signed in with the Google account that owns the store. Step by step: Link your subscription. If the code runs out first (The code expired before it was approved. Start again.), press Link this POS again. The licence on this POS is not valid for it. Link it to the store again. is fixed the same way, with Link again.

Only the owner can link or check the subscription.

Chachi POS will not start

On Windows, if Chachi POS cannot start it may close without showing a message. Try these in order:

1. Wait a minute after double-clicking Chachi Pharmacy POS. The first start after an update takes longer.
2. Restart the computer and try again.
3. Plug in the backup drive. Before an update changes your data, it first makes a backup in your backup folder. If that folder is on a USB drive or another drive that is not connected, or the disk is full, the update stops and the app does not open. Your data is not touched. Connect the drive or free some disk space, then start again.
4. If you installed an older version over a newer one, install the newer version again. The older one refuses to open data written by a newer one, to protect it.
5. Reinstalling Chachi POS keeps your data. It is not deleted when you uninstall.

Important: never delete the ChachiPharmacyPOS folder inside the computer's AppData\Local folder. It holds the store's database.

On Android: the app shows The store could not start with the reason. Close the app and open it again. If it happens again, email support with the reason shown.

If none of this helps, email support with the version number and what happened (How to get help).

The power went off in the middle of a sale

• Completed sales are kept. A sale is saved whole or not at all, never half.
• The cart you were ringing up is kept. It is saved as you add items.
• Your shift is still open, with its cash figures.

1. When the power is back, open Chachi POS and sign in with your password (the same user as before).
2. Open Receipts and look for the last sale.
3. If it is there, it was completed. Click Reprint if the customer needs the receipt.
4. If it is not there, it was not completed. Click POS: the cart comes back. Take payment and finish the sale. If the customer had already paid by GCash or QR Ph, do not charge them again; record the payment with the reference from their phone.

Tip: a small UPS (battery backup) for the computer and printer gives you time to finish the sale and shut down properly.

Moving to a new computer

Who: Owner

Move the store with a backup. The new computer gets everything as it was when the backup was taken: products, stock, customers, sales, users and their passwords, settings and the subscription. If you are unsure about any step, contact us at ChachiSoftware@gmail.com before you move.

On the old computer, if it still works

1. Close every open shift.
2. Open Admin → Backups and click Back up now. Wait for … verified.
3. Copy the newest file in the backup folder to a USB stick. It is named chachipos_backup_…zip, with the date in the name.
4. Stop selling on the old computer. Anything sold on it after that backup does not move.

If the old computer is broken, use the newest backup on your USB stick. What was sold after it is not in it; enter those sales again from the receipts.

On the new computer

1. Install Chachi POS (Getting started). The setup wizard opens.
2. At the top of step 1, beside Moving from another computer?, click Restore a backup.
3. In Backup file, choose the backup on the USB stick. In Backup folder on this computer, keep the suggested folder or type another. It is where this computer keeps the store's backups from now on.
4. Click Restore. The file is checked first. A file that is not a backup, or one made by a newer version of Chachi POS, is refused and nothing changes. When it is done you see Your store is on this computer, with the store's name and number of sales.
5. Click Go to sign-in and sign in with the same username and password as on the old computer. Everyone's passwords and PINs came with the backup, and the owner's recovery code still works.
6. If a shift was open when the backup was taken, it is still open. Close it from Shift and count the drawer before selling.
7. The settings came with the backup, including the printer. A new computer may name its printer differently, so check it in Admin → Settings, then make a test sale and print a receipt before you open for the day.
8. The subscription came with the backup too. If the app says The licence on this POS is not valid for it, press Link again under Admin → Subscription.

On Android: Backup file opens the tablet's file picker. Copy the backup to the tablet first (for example into Downloads), or choose it on a USB stick connected with an adapter.

Already set up the new computer as a new store? You can still bring the old one over: open Admin → Backups, click Restore from a file…, choose the backup and follow Restore a backup. It replaces the new store, and afterwards you sign in with a username from the old one.

To bring only some records into a store that is already trading, use Export / import instead (Export and Import).

The date or time on receipts is wrong

Chachi POS takes the date and time from the computer's (or tablet's) clock and always shows Philippine time.

1. On Windows, open Settings → Time & language → Date & time. Turn on Set time automatically and choose a (UTC+08:00) time zone.
2. On Android, open Settings → Date & time and turn on the automatic date and time.
3. Close Chachi POS and open it again.

If the clock is behind the last sale, the dashboard shows an alert that begins This machine's clock reads …. Selling continues, but new sales and other records get the wrong date until the clock is fixed. Records already saved keep the date they were saved with.

Important: if the clock was ever set to a future date, even for a moment, the subscription may show as ended, and correcting the clock does not change that. Email support.

How to get help

Email ChachiSoftware@gmail.com. To get an answer quickly, include:

• Your store name, your name and a phone number.
• Windows computer or Android tablet, and the version number. It is at the bottom of the sign-in screen (Version …) and under Admin → Health → Application version.
• What you were doing, step by step, and when it happened.
• The exact message, word for word, including the code in brackets such as (SEC-3) or (PO-205). A photo of the screen is best.
• The receipt, order or delivery number if it is about one.

Important: never send a password, a PIN or the recovery code. Do not send a backup or export file unless you are asked to: it holds every price, customer and peso of your store.