Getting started with BooksPOS

BooksPOS is billing, stock and khata software for book depots, bookshops and stationery shops in Pakistan. A Windows program runs the till, a store server on the shop's main PC keeps the shop's records, and the optional BooksPOS Cloud portal lets the owner see each branch's sales, stock and khata from anywhere, in a browser or in the Owner app for Android. This guide explains how the pieces fit together, where everything is in the menu, and what to do on your first day.

Getting BooksPOS. The Windows installer is offered on the Download page once a release is published there; while that page says there is no public installer, the BooksPOS team sets the Windows app up on your store PC with you. Every feature described in this help centre works in the current build and is covered by automated tests.

How BooksPOS is put together

Billing, returns, purchases, khata payments, the day book and printing all run on the store PC with no internet. When the store is paired with BooksPOS Cloud, its records are sent up in the background whenever the internet answers; billing never waits for it.

Your first-day checklist

A good first bill is a real one: two exercise books and a pen for a walk-in customer, paid in cash. It proves the till, the printer and the drawer in one go.

Signing in

Every person signs in with their own username and password on the Welcome back screen. The screen also shows which store server the PC is talking to. Every bill, payment and stock change records who made it.

• After five wrong passwords in a row, that account is locked for five minutes: "Too many attempts. Try again after 5 minute(s)."
• A sign-in lasts 12 hours. After that, BooksPOS asks you to sign in again.
• To sign out, use the arrow button next to your name at the bottom of the menu. Sign out before someone else uses the till, so their bills carry their own name.

Nothing ships with a default password. The owner's sign-in is created on the setup screen, and the owner adds everyone else.

Where things are in the menu

The menu shows the screens a person's role can use: a cashier does not see the Dashboard, Suppliers, Purchases, Expenses or the Audit log, for example. The store server checks the role again on every screen, so hiding a screen is a convenience, not the protection. A small number beside a screen counts what is waiting there: customer orders still open beside Pending deliveries, bills not with FBR yet beside Sales, changes from BooksPOS Cloud needing a decision beside Sync & FBR, goods from another branch to count in beside Stock, and returns to publishers not credited yet beside Publisher returns. The numbers refresh every half minute. The bell at the top of every screen lists what needs your attention, each item opening its screen. See The notifications bell.

After signing in, a cashier starts on Point of sale; owners, managers, accountants, auditors and warehouse staff start on the Dashboard.

The dashboard

The Dashboard is the owner's day at a glance. Sales today against yesterday, the day's bills and average bill, profit today (for those who may see reports) and this month; a chart of net sales and profit for the last 30 days; how customers paid today; the top titles this month; what needs attention; where the money is (cash in the drawers, bank and wallets from the books, what customers owe and what you owe suppliers); the getting started steps; and the recent activity from the audit log. Click a row, a card or a step to open the screen that deals with it. The figures are the daily sales report's, so the two always agree. See Reports for the owner.

Dashboard. Today's sales, bills and profit, the last 30 days, how customers paid, and what needs attention. Screenshot of the current build (28 Sep 2026), synthetic demo data.

The bar across the top of every screen

At the far left, the menu button folds the menu to icons or opens it again; this PC remembers the choice. Point of sale keeps the menu folded, to leave room for the bill, until you open it there. After you have moved from one screen to another, the arrow beside it (or Alt+←) goes back to the screen before, as you left it: from a bill back to the list of bills, for example.

Next to the page title, BooksPOS always shows where you stand:

• This PC's counter and shift, for example Counter 1 · Shift 2 open or No open shift.
• The cloud: Cloud not connected, Cloud synced 2 min ago, Cloud last synced …, Cloud sync problem, or Store server offline when this PC cannot reach the store PC. A number such as · 12 waiting counts records not yet sent.
• FBR: FBR not configured while FBR POS integration is off, which is how BooksPOS starts. Once it is on, FBR sandbox or FBR POS, with how many invoices are not with FBR yet. See FBR POS integration.
• The licence, only when it needs attention: Licence: reconnect soon, Licence ran out or Licence suspended. See Your BooksPOS licence.
• The business name and business date.

Rules worth knowing

• One store PC per branch. Only the store server writes to the shop's records. Other PCs bill through it, so two counters can never both sell the last copy.
• Posted records are never edited. A wrong bill is corrected with a return, a wrong stock figure with an adjustment, a wrong opening balance with a correction. Each keeps a reason and a name.
• Money is in rupees with two decimals, dates are Pakistan dates, and the business day follows Pakistan time.
• Keep the store's database on the store PC's own disk. Never on a shared folder, OneDrive or Google Drive.

Common questions

Can I download BooksPOS and install it myself?

Once a release is published on the Download page, yes: run it on the store PC first, then on any extra tills. See Installing BooksPOS and setting up the store. While that page says there is no public installer, sign up on the website and the BooksPOS team sets the Windows app up on your store PC with you.

Does BooksPOS need the internet?

No, not for billing. The store PC keeps working without internet, and records go to BooksPOS Cloud when the connection is back. Tills on other PCs need the shop network and the store PC, not the internet.

Can I see my shop from my phone?

Yes, on the Cloud edition. The read-only BooksPOS Owner app for Android shows each branch's sales, bills, stock, khata, and purchases and expenses, each with the time the branch last reported; the owner portal works in any phone's browser too. See The BooksPOS Owner app.

How much does BooksPOS cost?

See the pricing page: Single Counter, Standard and Multi-Branch, as a Cloud subscription (monthly or yearly) or an Offline lifetime licence, paid once (Single Counter Rs 24,999, Standard Rs 34,999). Plans, invoices and payments are under Plan & billing in the owner portal.

Related guides

• Installing BooksPOS and setting up the store
• Billing at the till
• Staff, roles and counters
• Importing items, customers and suppliers from Excel or CSV