Setting Up a Pop-Up Shop Till on Your iPad

What You Actually Need

This is what I love about web-based tills -- there's barely anything to set up. Here's your checklist:

• A tablet or phone -- any iPad, Android tablet, or even a large phone will work. Older models are fine as long as the browser works
• A stable surface -- a tablet stand or case that props it up at an angle makes a huge difference when you are serving customers
• Internet connection -- you need it to load the till page initially, but once loaded, Mini Till works offline for the day
• A cash float -- if you are taking cash, start with change. A typical market float is 50-100 pounds in mixed coins and small notes
• A card reader (optional) -- if you want to take card payments, a separate reader from SumUp, Zettle, or Square connects to your phone via Bluetooth

Setting Up Your Products

Get this sorted before your first customer walks up, not while they're standing there waiting. Here's the approach:

1. List everything you sell -- write down every product and its price. If you sell the same thing in different sizes, create separate products (e.g., "Coffee Small 2.50" and "Coffee Large 3.50")
2. Group by category -- use categories to organise. A food stall might have "Hot Food", "Cold Food", "Drinks". A craft stall might have "Jewellery", "Cards", "Prints"
3. Keep names short -- you will be tapping these quickly between customers. "Lg Coffee" is better than "Large Oat Milk Flat White"
4. Set prices including VAT -- if you are VAT registered, set your prices as the customer pays them. Use the VAT toggle in the cart to track the VAT component separately

Running the Till on the Day

Right, you're set up and the first customer's walking over. Here's the flow:

• Tap the product buttons to add items to the sale
• The total updates automatically
• Select the payment method (cash, card, or split)
• Hit "Complete Sale" to record the transaction
• The dashboard at the bottom tracks your running total for the day

If you need to apply a discount, use the discount field before completing the sale. You can do a percentage off or a fixed amount.

Handling Card Payments Alongside Cash

Most of us take both. Your card reader (SumUp, Zettle, whatever you've got) is a separate device that processes the actual payment. Mini Till doesn't handle 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 goes like this:

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

End of the day, your Mini Till dashboard shows card sales and cash sales separately. Card total should match what your reader says. Cash total should match what's in the box minus your opening float. If both numbers line up, you've had a clean day. Nice.

Tips from Market Traders

• Charge your tablet fully the night before. A tablet will typically last a full day of market trading, but bring a power bank just in case
• Use focused till mode when it gets busy. This removes everything except the product grid and cart, 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 are ready
• Export your CSV at the end of every trading day. This gives you a permanent record and makes VAT returns much easier
• Keep your screen brightness up -- outdoor markets in sunlight can make screens hard to read. 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 honestly? 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.

Need printed receipts regularly? You'd need a full POS system with a receipt printer, and those cost real money. But for the vast majority of small traders, a printed receipt isn't legally required unless the customer specifically asks -- and even then, an email confirmation is fine.