Find and scan products

The terminal shows your products as a grid of cards. You can browse by category, search by name or code, or scan a barcode. This page also covers what greyed-out items mean and what happens when a scan is not recognized.

Browse the catalog

Each card shows the product name, its price, an emoji icon and a color. Popular items may be larger so they are quick to reach.

Products sit in categories such as Appetizers, Main Courses and Beverages. Tap a category to show only its products. Categories can be nested, for example Drinks → Hot Drinks → Coffee. Combos are ordinary items that sit in whatever category your business chose, so a combo can be next to regular items.

Type	What it is	Example
Product	A standard item, with optional modifiers	Burger, T-shirt, coffee
Service	An item that is not physical and has no modifiers	Delivery fee, gift wrapping
Combo	A builder with one choice at each step	Meal deal: main, side and drink
Add-on	An item that appears only inside a modifier group, not in the catalog	Extra cheese, large upgrade

Search for a product

Use the search bar, or one of these:

Method	How
Name	Type part of the product name.
SKU	Enter the product’s internal code.
Barcode	Scan the barcode, as described below.
Category	Tap through the category tabs.

What you see in the grid

A product only appears while it is available. Your business can limit a product by location, by sales channel (POS, kiosk, online or delivery), by time of day and by day of the week. Breakfast items, for example, can disappear after 11am. Prices can also differ by channel, so a product can cost more on the delivery channel than in the store.

Out of stock and 86’d items. A product that is out of stock, or that your team has marked 86’d, stays on the grid. It is greyed out with a badge that says why. Tapping it adds nothing and shows a message that names the item.

Deals follow the items inside them. A deal is offered only while every step it needs can be filled.

If an item the deal needs is out of stock, 86’d or off sale, the deal tile is greyed out and its badge names the item, for example Fries out of stock. Tapping it adds nothing.
If a step offers a choice and only one choice has run out, the deal is still offered. The builder marks the choice that is unavailable and you pick another.
An optional extra that has run out is left out. The deal is still offered.
When the item is back in stock, or the 86 is lifted, the deal is offered again automatically.

Flags on a product. A product marked Age Restricted asks for age verification before it is added to the cart. A product that is not discountable gets no promotions, which is common for gift cards and tobacco.

Scan a barcode

When you scan, Omviq works out what it is for you. It tells a scan from typing, recognizes the barcode type, checks the check digit and sends the scan to the right place: a product, a coupon, a gift card or a loyalty card. You do not need to know which type of barcode you are scanning.

Way to scan	How it works
Hardware scanner	A USB scanner plugged into the terminal. Scans appear at once. Best for busy retail and grocery counters.
Camera	Tap the camera icon to read barcodes with the device camera. Good on tablets and mobile terminals.
Typing	Type the barcode number and press Enter. Use it for damaged barcodes and codes on phone screens.

Most scanners act like a keyboard. They plug into USB and type the digits, then press Enter, so you do not install a driver. Omviq tells the rapid input from normal typing. The scanner types into whichever window is active, so keep the Omviq window in focus.

What a scan can do. Product barcodes (UPC and EAN) add the product to the cart. Items sold by weight have barcodes that carry the product and its price or weight, and Omviq reads them from the label. Other barcodes do other things.

Barcode	What happens when you scan it
Gift card	Looks up the balance and offers the card as a payment method.
Store coupon	Applies the coupon discount to the current sale.
Manufacturer coupon	Applies the discount the vendor funds.
Loyalty card	Identifies the customer and loads their loyalty profile.
Employee badge	Identifies the staff member, for clock-in or an employee discount.
QR code	Used for mobile payment apps, loyalty cards on phones and promotional links. It needs a camera or a 2D scanner.

Which barcodes trigger which action is set up for your business.

When a scan is not recognized

Your business chooses what the till does with a barcode it does not know. The choice is under Settings → Barcode → Unknown barcode handling.

Choice	What happens on an unknown scan
Ask each time (the default)	The Item not found dialog opens. You choose Department Sale or Create Product.
Create product	The new-product form opens, already filled in with the scanned code.
Department sale	A department sale starts: an open-price line under a department, so you can ring the item up without leaving the sale.
Play error tone	Sounds the error tone and clears the input. Nothing is added.
Ignore	Drops the scan without a sound.

A department sale rings the item up now, under a department, and changes nothing in the catalog. Create Product adds the item to the catalog so it is recognized on every future scan.

If something goes wrong

What you see	What to do
A product is not in the grid	It may be outside its location, channel or time window. Ask a manager to check its availability settings.
The price is not what you expected	The product may have a different price for this sales channel. Check the price for the channel you are selling on.
“Product not found” on a scan	The barcode is not linked to a product. Ask a manager to add the barcode to the product, or use the unknown-barcode choices above.
Search finds nothing	Check the spelling, search by SKU, or browse the categories.
The scanner does nothing	The Omviq window is not in focus. Click it, then scan again.
The wrong item was added	The barcode is assigned to a different product. Ask a manager to check the barcode on the product.
A weighed item shows the wrong price	The scale and label do not agree. Check the label printer setup and the scale calibration.
A deal is greyed out and names an item	An item the deal needs is out of stock, 86’d or off sale. Restock it or lift the 86. If the deal offers a choice, you can still pick another option.