External Devices for POS Odoo 18

Restaurant manager opening new location discovers POS nightmare: waiters manually writing kitchen orders on paper tickets walking back forth wasting 15 minutes per shift causing order delays customer complaints cold food, cashier using manual cash drawer without automatic opening creating security risk unauthorized access theft incidents $2000 monthly losses, retail store relying manual barcode entry typing 12-digit product codes each transaction averaging 45 seconds per item creating checkout lines frustrated customers abandoned carts 30 percent cart abandonment rate, coffee shop lacking customer-facing display customers unable seeing order totals prices causing pricing disputes charge errors requiring manager intervention 20 times daily, and quick-service restaurant kitchen receiving orders via verbal communication causing miscommunication wrong orders food waste 15 percent order error rate customer dissatisfaction—creating operational inefficiency revenue loss customer frustration employee stress and inability scaling operations requiring hardware integration automated order transmission real-time customer displays and professional POS infrastructure supporting business growth.

Odoo 18 POS external device integration enables professional retail operations through kitchen printer connectivity automatically transmitting orders kitchen staff eliminating manual tickets, receipt printer integration printing customer receipts transaction records professional documentation, barcode scanner connection enabling instant product lookup reducing manual entry errors, cash drawer automation opening automatically payment completion securing cash preventing unauthorized access, customer display screens showing real-time order totals prices transparent pricing reducing disputes, weighing scale integration auto-calculating product weights prices bulk items, IoT Box connectivity supporting USB Bluetooth WiFi HDMI device connections centralized hardware management, ePOS printer direct connection eliminating IoT Box requirement simplified setup, preparation display screens managing order fulfillment tracking production stages, and category-specific printing routing food items appropriate kitchen stations—reducing order processing time 70 percent through automation improving order accuracy 95 percent via direct kitchen transmission enhancing customer satisfaction through transparent pricing real-time displays securing cash operations through automated drawer control and achieving operational scalability through integrated hardware ecosystem supporting multi-location deployments professional service delivery.

Understanding External Device Integration

Hardware ecosystem overview:

Why Connect External Devices:

Supported Device Types:

Kitchen Printer Configuration

Restaurant order management:

Purpose and Benefits:

Configuration Steps:

Step 1: Enable Kitchen Printers

1. Navigate to: Point of Sale → Configuration → Settings
2. Select POS configuration
3. Locate: Connected Devices section
4. Enable: Preparation Printers
5. Click Save

Step 2: Access Preparation Printers Menu

1. Navigate to: Point of Sale → Configuration → Preparation Printers
2. List view shows configured printers
3. Click New to add printer

Step 3: Configure Printer Details

1. Printer Name:
   • Enter descriptive name (e.g., "Main Kitchen Printer" "Bar Printer")
2. Printer Model:
   • Select printer model from dropdown
   • Common models: Epson Star Citizen
3. Proxy IP Address:
   • Enter printer IP address or hostname
   • Required for network printers
   • Format: 192.168.1.100 or printer.local
4. Printed Product Categories:
   • Select categories this printer handles
   • E.g., Kitchen printer: Food categories
   • E.g., Bar printer: Beverage categories
   • Leave empty to print all orders
5. Click Save

Example Kitchen Printer Setup:

Using Kitchen Printers in POS Session:

1. Start POS session
2. Add products to order
3. Click Order button
4. Tickets automatically sent to configured printers
5. Kitchen/bar receives printed order immediately
6. Staff begins preparing order

IoT Box Setup

Centralized device management:

What is IoT Box:

IoT Box Configuration:

1. Enable IoT Box Feature:
   • Navigate: Point of Sale → Configuration → Settings
   • Locate: Connected Devices
   • Enable: IoT Box
   • Click Save
2. Connect IoT Box:
   • Connect IoT Box to network (WiFi or Ethernet)
   • Connect devices to IoT Box via USB/Bluetooth/WiFi
   • IoT Box auto-detects connected devices
3. Configure in POS:
   • Open POS configuration
   • Under IoT Box section
   • Select IoT Box from dropdown
   • Choose connected devices (printers scanners etc.)
   • Save configuration
4. Test Connection:
   • Start POS session
   • Test print receipt
   • Scan barcode
   • Verify all devices working

Customer Display Configuration

Transparent pricing interface:

Purpose:

Setup Steps:

1. Enable Feature:
   • Navigate: Point of Sale → Configuration → Settings
   • Enable: Customer Display
   • Save configuration
2. Access in POS Session:
   • Start POS session
   • Click Customer Display button in navigation bar
   • Secondary browser window opens
   • Move window to customer-facing screen
3. Display Shows:
   • Product names being scanned/added
   • Unit prices
   • Quantities
   • Line totals
   • Running order total
   • Tax amounts

Preparation Display

Order fulfillment tracking:

Purpose and Use Cases:

Configuration:

1. Enable Feature:
   • Navigate: Point of Sale → Configuration → Settings
   • Scroll to: Preparation section
   • Enable: Preparation Display
   • Save
2. Create Preparation Display:
   • Navigate: Point of Sale → Orders → Preparation Display
   • Click New
3. Configure Display Details:
   • Display Name: E.g., "Main Kitchen" "Pickup Station"
   • Point of Sale: Select POS routing orders
   • Product Types: Select categories displayed
   • Stages: Define preparation workflow stages
4. Add Stages:
   • Click Add a line
   • Stage name: E.g., "Received" "Preparing" "Ready"
   • Color: Assign color for visual tracking
   • Alert Timer: Minutes before alert (optional)
   • Repeat for all stages
5. Click Save

Example Preparation Display:

ePOS Printer Direct Connection

Simplified printer setup:

What is ePOS Printer:

Setup Process:

1. Connect ePOS printer to network
2. Configure network settings on printer
3. In POS settings add printer by IP address
4. Test connection print test receipt
5. Printer ready for use

Device Compatibility

Important considerations:

Recommended Brands:

Best Practices

Test All Devices Before Going Live with Customers: Deploying untested hardware equals checkout failures customer frustration lost sales. Conduct thorough testing: Print test receipts various products, scan multiple barcode types ensuring recognition, trigger cash drawer opening verifying mechanism, display test orders customer screen checking visibility. Testing identifies issues before customer impact preventing embarrassing failures maintaining professional appearance protecting reputation.

Configure Category-Specific Kitchen Printer Routing Appropriately: Sending all orders single printer equals kitchen chaos confused staff delayed orders. Strategic routing: Food categories to kitchen printer, beverage categories to bar printer, dessert categories to pastry station. Proper routing ensures right team receives relevant orders reducing confusion improving preparation efficiency supporting workflow organization enabling parallel processing multiple stations.

Position Customer Display for Clear Customer Visibility: Hidden poorly angled display defeats transparency purpose causing customer confusion pricing disputes. Mount display: Eye-level customer standing point, angled towards customer clear view, adequate brightness lighting conditions, clean screen daily maintenance. Proper positioning enables customers verifying orders real-time catching errors before payment building trust through transparency reducing disputes enhancing satisfaction.

Regularly Update IoT Box Firmware and Device Drivers: Outdated firmware equals compatibility issues connection failures unexpected errors. Maintenance schedule: Monthly IoT Box firmware updates, quarterly device driver updates, immediate updates after Odoo version upgrades. Regular updates fix bugs improve compatibility add new features preventing failures maintaining reliable operations supporting long-term system stability.

Conclusion

Odoo 18 POS external device integration enables professional retail operations through kitchen printer connectivity receipt printer integration barcode scanner connection cash drawer automation customer display screens weighing scale integration IoT Box connectivity ePOS printer direct connection preparation display screens and category-specific printing. Reduce order processing time through automation improving order accuracy via direct kitchen transmission enhancing customer satisfaction through transparent pricing real-time displays securing cash operations through automated drawer control achieving operational scalability through integrated hardware ecosystem supporting professional service delivery improving efficiency through connected devices enabling business growth through comprehensive POS infrastructure and achieving competitive advantage through modern professional checkout experience reliable operations and customer satisfaction.