Multi-Store POS Buying Checklist: 30 Questions to Ask Before You Sign

In short

01Judge a multi-store POS on what happens between stores: transfers, shared customers, consolidated reports and one set of books.
02Ask every vendor to show, not tell: a sale taken offline, a transfer received short, a cashier trying to sell below cost.
03Offline selling has limits. Some card processors cap how long offline payments can wait, and the seller carries the risk of declines.
04Check what the system doesn't do as carefully as what it does, and price in the tools you'll need beside it.

On this page

In short
How should you use this checklist?
Offline and reliability: what happens when the internet drops?
Stock across stores
Transfers between locations
Purchasing and suppliers
Pricing and margin control
Accounting and money
Control, audit and the long term
Which scenarios should you ask to see in the demo?
Where does Momentum fit, and where doesn't it?
Questions people ask

The best way to choose a POS for several stores is to test it on the jobs a single-store POS never has to do: keeping stock right across locations, moving it between them, controlling prices and permissions centrally, and closing one set of books. Use the 30 questions below with every vendor on your shortlist, and ask each one to demonstrate the answer live, with your own products, rather than describe it.

How should you use this checklist?

Send the questions to vendors before the demo, then spend the demo watching the answers happen. Score each area from 0 to 3 (0: can't do it, 3: does it cleanly without workarounds) and weight the areas that matter most to your business. A pharmacy chain will weight batches and expiry; a hardware distributor will weight customer credit and purchasing.

Offline and reliability: what happens when the internet drops?

Ask this first, because it decides whether you can trade at all on a bad day. Card payments are a separate question from the POS itself: Square, for example, tells sellers that offline payments on some devices must be uploaded within 72 hours (24 is recommended) and that the seller is responsible for any expired, declined or disputed payments accepted offline. Find out what your processor allows.

Question: Can every till keep selling, printing receipts and taking cash with no internet?
A good answer sounds like: Yes, with nothing to switch on in advance

Question: What happens to stock and customer balances while offline?
A good answer sounds like: Sales reduce stock on the device and sync later; you can see what hasn't synced

Question: If a sale is sent twice when the connection returns, do we get two sales?
A good answer sounds like: No: each sale carries its own ID and duplicates are rejected

Question: How do card payments work offline, and who carries the risk?
A good answer sounds like: A straight answer naming the processor's limits

Question: What does a till show staff when it is offline or behind?
A good answer sounds like: A clear status, and a queue of what is waiting to sync

#	Question	A good answer sounds like
1	Can every till keep selling, printing receipts and taking cash with no internet?	Yes, with nothing to switch on in advance
2	What happens to stock and customer balances while offline?	Sales reduce stock on the device and sync later; you can see what hasn't synced
3	If a sale is sent twice when the connection returns, do we get two sales?	No: each sale carries its own ID and duplicates are rejected
4	How do card payments work offline, and who carries the risk?	A straight answer naming the processor's limits
5	What does a till show staff when it is offline or behind?	A clear status, and a queue of what is waiting to sync

Stock across stores

Question: Can staff at one store see stock at every other store?
A good answer sounds like: Yes, by location, on the product screen

Question: Is stock tracked in base units with packs and cases converted?
A good answer sounds like: Yes: selling a case removes 12 units, not 1

Question: Can we track batches or lots and expiry dates?
A good answer sounds like: Yes, captured at receiving and carried through sales and transfers

Question: How does a stock count work with several people?
A good answer sounds like: Several people count at once; differences are valued and named

Question: Which reports show stock value and shrink by location?
A good answer sounds like: Named reports you can run yourself, with no export needed

#	Question	A good answer sounds like
6	Can staff at one store see stock at every other store?	Yes, by location, on the product screen
7	Is stock tracked in base units with packs and cases converted?	Yes: selling a case removes 12 units, not 1
8	Can we track batches or lots and expiry dates?	Yes, captured at receiving and carried through sales and transfers
9	How does a stock count work with several people?	Several people count at once; differences are valued and named
10	Which reports show stock value and shrink by location?	Named reports you can run yourself, with no export needed

Transfers between locations

Question: Walk us through a transfer from request to receipt.
A good answer sounds like: Request, approval, dispatch, receipt, each recorded

Question: Where is stock while it's on the road?
A good answer sounds like: In transit: sellable at neither store

Question: What happens if the receiver counts fewer units than were sent?
A good answer sounds like: Each missing unit must be returned or written off before the transfer closes

Question: How are transfers priced between stores?
A good answer sounds like: A rule you choose: cost, landed cost or markup

#	Question	A good answer sounds like
11	Walk us through a transfer from request to receipt.	Request, approval, dispatch, receipt, each recorded
12	Where is stock while it's on the road?	In transit: sellable at neither store
13	What happens if the receiver counts fewer units than were sent?	Each missing unit must be returned or written off before the transfer closes
14	How are transfers priced between stores?	A rule you choose: cost, landed cost or markup

Purchasing and suppliers

Question: Can a purchase order be received in several deliveries?
A good answer sounds like: Yes: partial receipts against one PO

Question: How are freight and duty added to product cost?
A good answer sounds like: Landed cost on the receipt, split by value or quantity

Question: How are suggested order quantities worked out?
A good answer sounds like: A rule you can check, from what each store sold, less stock on hand and on order

Question: Can each branch have its own preferred supplier?
A good answer sounds like: Yes, per branch

#	Question	A good answer sounds like
15	Can a purchase order be received in several deliveries?	Yes: partial receipts against one PO
16	How are freight and duty added to product cost?	Landed cost on the receipt, split by value or quantity
17	How are suggested order quantities worked out?	A rule you can check, from what each store sold, less stock on hand and on order
18	Can each branch have its own preferred supplier?	Yes, per branch

Pricing and margin control

Question: Can a cashier sell below cost or override a price?
A good answer sounds like: Only with a permission, and it is recorded

Question: Can we run offers at one branch only?
A good answer sounds like: Yes, including buy-X-get-Y offers

Question: Who can see product cost?
A good answer sounds like: Only roles you allow

Question: Are customer credit limits enforced at the till and on invoices?
A good answer sounds like: Yes, at both, before the sale completes

#	Question	A good answer sounds like
19	Can a cashier sell below cost or override a price?	Only with a permission, and it is recorded
20	Can we run offers at one branch only?	Yes, including buy-X-get-Y offers
21	Who can see product cost?	Only roles you allow
22	Are customer credit limits enforced at the till and on invoices?	Yes, at both, before the sale completes

Accounting and money

Question: Does a sale post to the general ledger without a sync or export?
A good answer sounds like: Yes: double-entry, in the same system

Question: Which costing methods are supported?
A good answer sounds like: FIFO, LIFO or weighted average, applied consistently

Question: How is cash tracked per store: floats, deposits, transfers?
A good answer sounds like: Cash and bank accounts per location, with transfers confirmed by the receiver

Question: Can we buy or sell in more than one currency?
A good answer sounds like: Yes, at exchange rates you set and can see

#	Question	A good answer sounds like
23	Does a sale post to the general ledger without a sync or export?	Yes: double-entry, in the same system
24	Which costing methods are supported?	FIFO, LIFO or weighted average, applied consistently
25	How is cash tracked per store: floats, deposits, transfers?	Cash and bank accounts per location, with transfers confirmed by the receiver
26	Can we buy or sell in more than one currency?	Yes, at exchange rates you set and can see

Control, audit and the long term

Question: Can permissions be set per action, not just per screen?
A good answer sounds like: Yes: refund, void, discount and price override separately

Question: Can a posted record be changed without trace?
A good answer sounds like: No: changes are logged and the log is tamper-evident

Question: How do we get our data out if we leave?
A good answer sounds like: Exports of products, customers and transactions, at any time

Question: What does the product not do, and what would we need beside it?
A good answer sounds like: A candid list

#	Question	A good answer sounds like
27	Can permissions be set per action, not just per screen?	Yes: refund, void, discount and price override separately
28	Can a posted record be changed without trace?	No: changes are logged and the log is tamper-evident
29	How do we get our data out if we leave?	Exports of products, customers and transactions, at any time
30	What does the product not do, and what would we need beside it?	A candid list

Which scenarios should you ask to see in the demo?

Descriptions are cheap. Ask the vendor to perform these, live, with a few of your products:

1Take a sale with the till offline, bring it back online, and show the sale once, not twice.
2Send a transfer of 20 units, receive 18, and show where the 2 missing units end up.
3Receive a purchase order in two deliveries, with a freight bill, and show the new unit cost.
4Log in as a cashier and try to sell an item below cost.
5Put a customer over their credit limit at the till and on an invoice.
6Run a stock count with two people and post the differences.
7Show the ledger entries behind one day's sales at one store.

Where does Momentum fit, and where doesn't it?

Momentum by Ltiora is built for businesses with several stores, a warehouse, or both: offline POS with background sync and no duplicate sales on retry, stock and batches by location, transfers that can't close short, purchasing with landed cost, double-entry accounting, per-action permissions, a hash-chained audit trail and 270+ reports. Book a demo and we'll work through this checklist with you, live.

It is also fair to say what Momentum doesn't do today: it has no e-commerce storefront, loyalty points programme, gift cards or payroll. If those are central to how you trade, plan for them alongside it. See pricing for what each plan includes.

Questions people ask

How many POS vendors should be on a shortlist?

Three is usually enough. More than that and demos blur together; fewer and you have nothing to compare against.

What is the difference between a multi-store POS and a retail ERP?

A POS takes sales. A retail ERP also runs the stock, purchasing and accounting behind them. For several stores, what matters is whether sales, stock and the ledger live in one system or are synced between several.

Should I pay for implementation and data migration?

If it means your products, customers and opening balances are loaded and checked by someone who has done it before, it is usually money well spent. Ask exactly what is included and how errors found after go-live are handled.

How long does it take to switch POS systems?

For a small chain, weeks rather than months, if the product catalogue is clean. Most of the time goes into data cleanup and staff training, not the software.

The bottom line

A multi-store POS earns its keep in the gaps between stores. Put these 30 questions to every vendor, make them demonstrate the difficult scenarios with your own products, and score what you saw rather than what you were told.

Sources

1.Square Support Center, "Process offline payments"

Momentum by Ltiora

Put Momentum through the checklist

Bring this list to a demo. We'll run the seven scenarios above in Momentum with your products, and tell you plainly where it fits and where it doesn't.

Book a demo See pricing