POS software for shops in Egypt

What POS software in Egypt has to get right

A shop in Egypt needs POS and inventory software for shops to price in pounds, charge VAT correctly, print a receipt the customer can read in Arabic, and keep going when the internet drops. A shop that grows needs one more thing: a second branch that is part of the same books, not a second system.

PointLit records every sale, delivery, transfer and count as a line in one ledger that is never edited, so the figure the owner reads at night can be traced back to the bill, the branch and the person behind it. Read how PointLit handles inventory management. For counting the shelves, see blind stock counts.

POS software and the bank's card machine are two different things

In Egypt, "POS" often means the card machine a bank gives a shop. That machine takes card payments and nothing else: it does not know your products, your stock or your shifts. POS software such as PointLit is the shop's till: it rings up the items, prints the receipt, keeps the stock and closes the shift with a Z report. The two work side by side. When a customer pays by card, the cashier takes the payment on the bank's machine and records it as Card in PointLit, which records card payments rather than processing them.

Egyptian pounds as your base currency

Each business in PointLit works in one base currency, and for a shop in Egypt that is the Egyptian pound. Prices, the drawer, the Z-report and every report are in EGP. Branches can carry different prices through Price lists, so a mall branch can sell above the downtown one without a second product. There is no choosing a different currency for a sale at the till.

VAT at 14%, included in the price or added on top

PointLit has one VAT engine that works from the rules you set in Tax rules. Each rule has a Name, a Jurisdiction, a Rate (%) and a tick for Included in the price. With 14% included, a shirt on the shelf at EGP 1,140 is EGP 1,000 net plus EGP 140 VAT. With 14% added on top, the same EGP 1,000 price becomes EGP 1,140 at the till.

One rate applies to the whole sale: PointLit cannot yet give single products their own rate or mark them exempt. A change to a rule applies to future sales only. Bills already rung keep the tax they were charged, so a refund gives back exactly what was collected. The Z-report breaks each shift down By tax rate, and the receipt prints your Tax number, either one for the business or each branch's own when Use the location's tax number is on.

Arabic and English, with Arabic receipts

The whole app works in Arabic, right to left, and in English. Receipts print on 58 mm or 80 mm thermal printers, and each till sets its own paper width. From version 0.8.0, the PointLit Windows app prints the whole receipt as one picture on a receipt printer installed in Windows, so Arabic product names, your logo and the barcode print as they look on screen. A printer connected to a serial port still prints Arabic letters as question marks, so choose a printer that has a Windows driver. The PointLit Windows app also connects the cash drawer and a weighing scale.

Branches across cities

Each branch is a location with its own stock, tills and shifts. Transfers leave one branch when sent and arrive only when received, Price lists can apply to a store, a city or the whole country, and each member's Locations setting limits the branches where they can sell and read stock. These are examples of setups PointLit is built for, not a list of customers:

• Greater Cairo: a boutique in Nasr City with a second branch in Sheikh Zayed and a stock room in 6th of October.
• Alexandria: a shoe shop in Smouha that moves summer stock to a branch on the coast road.
• Delta: a family clothing shop in Tanta or Mansoura with a branch in a nearby town.
• Canal: a cosmetics shop in Port Said or Ismailia with a warehouse that feeds it.
• Upper Egypt: a grocery in Assiut or Sohag where the owner reads the day from another city.
• Red Sea: a shop in Hurghada whose prices differ from the owner's Cairo branch.

When the internet drops

If the connection drops during an open shift, the till keeps ringing sales, shows how many are waiting, and sends them in order when the line returns, as long as the till stays open. If the till has to restart, it opens the register again with no internet only if it has opened your business online since PointLit's last update.

Egyptian e-receipts and e-invoices (ETA): where PointLit stands

PointLit does not issue Egyptian Tax Authority e-receipts or e-invoices yet. Support is planned, and we will announce it when it is ready rather than before. If your business is already required to issue e-receipts, you need a solution that is registered with the Tax Authority today, and you should not rely on PointLit for that yet. Our explainer sets out what the e-receipt and e-invoice systems are and what to ask any POS vendor. If ETA matters to your shop, tell us at support@pointlit.com.

Plans, prices and support

Sign-ups are closed for now, and the plans and their prices are on the pricing page. Leave your name, phone, shop type, city and number of branches on the early-access form, and we will contact you when a place opens. Questions go to support@pointlit.com, in Arabic or English.

In Egypt, Counter costs EGP 999 a month and Chain EGP 2,499 a month for 3 branches, paid yearly with VAT included; Starter is the Free plan for one shop.

How it works in PointLit

1. In Tax rules, choose Add a rate, name it VAT, enter 14 in Rate (%), tick Included in the price if your shelf prices include VAT, and press Save the rules.
2. In Business settings, type the Tax number to print on receipts, or turn on Use the location's tax number.
3. In Locations, add each branch, then set branch prices in Price lists.
4. Install the PointLit Windows app on each till for the receipt printer and the cash drawer. For Arabic receipts, install the printer's Windows driver, choose Printer installed in Windows in the app's Settings, then choose the Paper roll.