Weighing scale at the till

Read the weight straight from a scale while billing - on the PC the scale is plugged into, or on a tablet or phone at the same counter. Fruit, vegetables, meat, fish, sweets, dry fruits or anything sold by weight.

When a product is sold by weight, tapping it (or scanning its barcode) on the billing screen opens a weight window. It shows the live weight from the scale, the price per kg and the amount. When the weight settles, the cashier taps Add and the line goes on the bill with the exact weight. No more reading the scale and typing it in.

It works for retail stores and restaurants, in every country, in kg, g, lb or oz.

What you need

• A weighing scale with a USB or serial (RS-232) port. Most counter scales sold for shops have one. A scale with only a display and no port can't send its weight - the cashier can still type the weight (see below).
• The cable that came with the scale. A serial scale on a PC without a serial port needs a USB-to-serial adapter.
• One of these on the device that bills:

Step 1: Switch it on (Admin)

1. Go to Settings › Devices & Printing › Weighing scale.
2. Under At the till, tick Use a weighing scale at the till.

3. Choose the two options you want:

   • Add to the bill by itself once the weight is stable - fastest for busy counters. When it's off, the cashier taps Add.
   • A typed weight needs a manager's PIN - stops guessed weights. It works when the manager PIN is on (see Manager PIN at the till).
4. Click Save.

Step 2: Mark the products sold by weight

1. Go to Menu › Products and open the product (or click + New).
2. Make it a Simple Product.
3. In Unit of Measurement, choose kg (or g, lb, oz).
4. Tick Weigh at the till.
5. Enter the Price per kg (or per the unit you chose). For example, apples at 200 a kg: Price 200, unit kg.
6. Optional: Tare (container) - the weight of the bowl, tray or bag you always weigh this product in, for example 0.05 kg. It's taken off every weighing.
7. Click Save.

Step 3: Set up each billing device

Each device remembers its own setup, so do this on every PC, tablet or phone that bills. Go to Settings › Devices & Printing › Weighing scale, and under This device choose one:

The scale is connected to this PC (Ellibo IoT Box)

1. Install or update the Ellibo IoT Box on this PC: Settings › Printer Setup › Download IoT Box. You need version 2.3 or newer (the version shows at the bottom left of the IoT Box).
2. Plug in the scale and switch it on.

3. In the IoT Box, open the Weighing Scale page:

   • Scale port: pick the scale's COM port. Not sure which one? Unplug the scale, click Refresh, plug it back in, click Refresh again - the new port is the scale.
   • The scale: pick how your scale talks:

   - Sends the weight all the time - most counter scales. - Asks with W - Toledo 8217 and similar scales. - Asks with ENQ - CAS and similar scales. - Custom settings - set the speed, data bits, parity and stop bits from the scale's manual.

   • Weighs in: the unit the scale shows when it doesn't say.
   • Name in Ellibo POS: for example Fruit counter. Tablets see this name.
4. Click Save Settings. Put something on the scale: LIVE WEIGHT should follow the scale's display.
5. Back in Ellibo, choose The scale is connected to this PC, then click Save for this device.

The scale is connected to another PC at this counter

For tablets, iPads, phones and other PCs. The weight comes through Ellibo, about a second behind the scale.

1. Set up the PC with the scale first, as above.
2. Pair that PC with Ellibo, if it isn't yet: Settings › Cloud Printing › Pair a PC. See Cloud printing.
3. On the tablet, choose The scale is connected to another PC at this counter and pick the PC from the list (PC name - scale name).
4. Click Save for this device.

The scale is plugged into this device by USB (no install)

For Chrome, Edge or Opera on Windows, Mac or a Chromebook. Safari, Firefox, iPads and iPhones can't do this - use the IoT Box way.

1. Plug in the scale.
2. Choose The scale is plugged into this device by USB.
3. Click Choose the scale's port and pick the scale in the browser's list. The browser remembers it.
4. Pick how your scale talks, as in the IoT Box above.
5. Click Save for this device.

No scale on this device

The weight window opens straight on Type the weight.

Step 4: Test it

At the bottom of Settings › Devices & Printing › Weighing scale, click Start the test and put something on the scale. The weight on the screen should follow the scale's display and show Stable when it settles. Click Stop the test when you're done.

Billing with the scale

1. Tap the product, or scan its barcode. The weight window opens.

2. Put the item on the scale. The window shows:

   • the live weight, already without the product's tare;
   • Settling... while it moves, and Stable when it stops;
   • the price per kg and the amount.
3. When it shows Stable, tap Add (or press Enter). With Add to the bill by itself on, it's added the moment it's stable.

The bill line shows the weight as its quantity, for example Apples 1.235 × 200 = 247.00. The receipt, the reports and the stock all use that weight. Stock goes down by 1.235 kg.

Tare button: weighing in a container that isn't the product's usual one? Put the empty container on the scale and tap Tare - the window shows 0. Then add the item.

Type the weight: if the scale is off or not set up, tap Type the weight and enter it, for example 0.75. A comma also works (0,75). A typed weight is written in the Audit Trail with the cashier's name, and needs a manager's PIN if you switched that on.

Cancel closes the window and changes nothing.

On the customer display, customers see the product and its weight while it's being weighed.

Problems and fixes

Related

• Units of measure
• Printers and the IoT Box
• Cloud printing
• Manager PIN at the till
• Audit trail
• Supermarkets and large stores