Setting up a pop-up shop till on your iPad

What you actually need

This is the appeal of a web-based till — there's barely anything to set up. Your checklist:

A tablet or phone — any iPad, Android tablet or even a large phone will do. Older models are fine as long as the browser works.
A stable surface — a stand or case that props the tablet up at an angle makes a real difference when you're serving.
An internet connection — you need it to load the till page. Once loaded, Mini Till works offline for the day.
A cash float — if you're taking cash, start with change. A typical market float is £50–£100 in mixed coins and small notes.
A card reader (optional) — a reader from SumUp, Zettle or Square connects to your phone over Bluetooth if you want to take cards.

Setting up your products

Get this sorted before your first customer walks up, not while they're standing there waiting.

List everything you sell — every product and its price. If you sell the same thing in different sizes, create separate products ("Coffee small £2.50", "Coffee large £3.50").
Group by category — a food stall might use "Hot food", "Cold food" and "Drinks"; a craft stall "Jewellery", "Cards" and "Prints".
Keep names short — you'll be tapping these quickly between customers. "Lg coffee" beats "Large oat milk flat white".
Enter prices as the customer pays them — Mini Till treats prices as VAT-inclusive at 20%, and shows the VAT portion on each sale, so just use your shelf prices.

Running the till on the day

You're set up and the first customer's walking over. The flow:

Tap the product buttons to add items to the sale — the total updates as you go.
Review the order, then choose the payment method: cash, card or split.
Tap "Complete sale" to record the transaction.
The Today's sales panel keeps a running total for the day.

Need a discount? Turn discounts on in Settings, then apply a percentage or fixed amount at the review step before completing the sale.

Handling card payments alongside cash

Most traders take both. Your card reader is a separate device that processes the actual payment — Mini Till doesn't touch the card transaction itself, it just records that the sale was paid by card so your numbers add up at the end of the day.

The workflow:

Ring up the items on Mini Till.
Tell the customer the total.
If they pay by card, enter the amount on your card reader.
Select "Card" as the payment method on Mini Till.
Complete the sale.

At the end of the day, the dashboard shows card and cash sales separately. The card total should match what your reader says; the cash total should match what's in the box minus your opening float. If both line up, you've had a clean day.

Tips from market traders

Charge your tablet fully the night before. A tablet will usually last a full day's trading, but bring a power bank just in case.
Use till mode when it gets busy. It strips everything back to the product grid and the sale, giving you maximum screen space.
Set up before you arrive — add your products at home the evening before. On the day, just open the page and you're ready.
Export your CSV at the end of every trading day, from the Sales history section. A permanent record makes VAT returns much easier.
Keep screen brightness up — screens are hard to read in daylight. Maximum brightness and a matte screen protector help.
Have a price list visible for customers. Even with a till, people like to see prices before they queue.

What about receipts?

Mini Till doesn't print receipts, and at a market or pop-up almost nobody wants one. If someone asks, show them the completed sale on your screen, or use the CSV export to email them a record later.

If you need printed receipts regularly, you'd want a full POS system with a receipt printer, and those cost real money. For most small traders a printed receipt isn't legally required unless the customer asks — and even then, an emailed record is fine.