Skip to main content

POS Offline Capabilities

POS terminals running the Ventrata Terminal app allow you to continue operating even when your internet connection is unstable or unavailable.

This is especially useful for operators working in environments with limited connectivity, such as:

  • transport providers running tours between cities and remote attractions

  • on-site staff at rural or high-traffic locations

  • mobile teams scanning tickets at entry points or along routes

When your device goes offline, an ' Offline' label appears in the terminal app to indicate the current connectivity status.

Offline mode is designed to maintain operations, but some features require an internet connection — particularly those that depend on live availability, pricing or validation.

Offline Mode


Overview of Offline Capabilities and Limitations

📒 NOTE

While the table below provides a general understanding offline capabilities and limitations, we recommend discussing your specific use case with your dedicated Customer Success Representative.

Category

Core Offline Capabilities

Offline Limitations

Ticket Sales & Bookings (incl. Quick Sale)

Create bookings with a selected date;

Complete sales using free sale (override availability);

Adjust pricing

Cannot sell products requiring live availability or dynamic pricing;

Cannot reschedule, cancel, or refund bookings;

No access to live or updated booking data

Scanning & Redemption

Scan tickets;

Redeem tickets and barcodes;

Track scan status (pending vs synced)

Cannot edit customer details;

view full booking details; partially redeem bookings or tickets; approve challenges;

collect balance; add labels

Quick Scan & Sync

Continue scanning without connection for previously synced tickets;

Actions are stored locally and synced when reconnected;

Scan limits are respected offline

Cannot scan tickets that are not yet synced to the device;

May require internet to validate newly created or unknown tickets;

No real-time validation beyond stored data

Waivers & Forms

Complete standard waivers;

Capture responses to questions and challenges

Image-based waivers not supported

Gift Cards

Sell standard gift cards

Cannot sell gift cards with promotions or redemption limits

Packages & Inclusions

Redeem package inclusions (if correctly configured for offline use, see above)

Cannot sell packages

Memberships

Cannot sell memberships

Retail & Tabs

Create tabs;

Complete retail transactions

Cannot view or manage open tabs

Pickup & Dropoff Options

Select pickup/dropoff when required

Cannot complete bookings if pickup/dropoff requires availability lookup ('Pickup Available / Dropoff Available' enabled on tour or option) or custom selection

Delivery Method

Create bookings with Email or SMS delivery — sent after reconnection

Cannot complete bookings with QR code delivery

Payment Method

Accept cash payments; Accept payments via external/standalone terminals

Cannot process integrated (online) card payments;

No real-time payment authorisation

Operations & System Access

Requires internet to start shift; load dashboard; access manifests (unless preloaded); access chat support; send or receive messages; apply or sync changes made in the dashboard


Product Settings That Require Internet Connection

These product settings impact offline bookings:

Availability section

  • Always Online - product cannot be scanned or looked up offline

  • Fixed Capacity - cannot be booked offline without using Freesale (Override Availability toggle)

  • Open-dated ('Date Required' disabled) - cannot be redeemed offline if a date must be selected

    Product Detail

📗 TIP

Learn more about the product detail.

Tours

  • May appear as 'Open' without capacity details

📗 TIP

Learn more about tours.


Features That Require Internet Connection

Getting Started

Availability & Pricing

  • Checking availability

  • Selling capacity-based products (without override)

  • Dynamic pricing or API-based fares

  • Promotions with redemption limits or restricted codes

Managing Bookings

Communication

  • QR code delivery method

  • Integrated card payment

  • Access chat support

  • Internal messages


Overrides & Important Notes

Free Sale (Override Availability toggle)

Check the 'Allow Freesale' box when selling products that normally require availability (for example, fixed capacity). Freesale allows bookings to be completed without checking availability and is required for selling fixed capacity or always online products offline.

  • It must be enabled:

    • on the product (Availability section)

      Product Detail - Allow Freesale

    • on the location settings

      Location Settings

  • Allows bookings to be completed without checking availability

  • Required for selling fixed capacity products offline

📗 TIP

Enable this setting in advance if you expect connectivity issues.

Automatic Sync

When the device reconnects, all offline actions (sales, scans, redemptions) are:

  • stored locally while offline

  • automatically synced once connection is restored

You can also manually initiate sync by navigating to the Settings page and pressing the sync icon in the top right corner.

Sync

📗 TIP

When possible, reconnect regularly to avoid large backlogs and ensure data consistency.

Did this answer your question?