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Guidance for setting up and running your business with Retaiva.

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Set Up a BusinessSettings
  1. Create an account and verify your email. Setting up a business opens next: enter the business name, choose the business type, then add the first store. The last step is your plan: choose from the plans that suit your business, then Start Trial. The 14-day trial starts at checkout, where payment details are entered, and Retaiva opens when checkout completes. Nothing is charged until the trial ends. If checkout is not completed, Choose Your Plan opens at the next sign-in.
  2. Check Settings → Organization, Payments and Documents before selling. The plan, not the business type, decides which modules are available.
  3. Add locations in Settings → Stores. Stock is kept per store; customers and accounts are shared.
Create a Product and Its UnitsInventory
  1. Open the Inventory menu and choose Units of Measure to create any units you need. Then choose New Product and set the stocking, purchasing and selling units on the Units & Pricing tab.
  2. Enter the stocking units in each purchasing and selling unit. For a bottle of 30 tablets, stock and sell in tablets, purchase in bottles, and enter 30 stocking units per bottle.
  3. Enter the purchase cost per purchasing unit and the selling price per selling unit. Retaiva calculates cost per unit and margin before tax. Existing receipts keep the cost and conversion used when purchased.
  4. For an item sold in sizes or colours, open it and choose the Sizes and Colours tab. Name each option, such as Size or Colour, and enter its values separated by commas. Every combination is listed with a tick: clear any you do not want, then save. Each size or colour is a product of its own, with its own SKU, barcode, price and stock.
  5. To give a product a picture, choose Add under Picture on the Product Details tab and pick an image. Change replaces it and Remove takes it away.
Import and Edit Products by SpreadsheetInventory
  1. Open the Inventory menu, choose Download Template, fill it in and keep its column headings, then choose Import Spreadsheet. A CSV file or an Excel workbook (.xlsx, its first sheet) can hold any number of products.
  2. To edit many products at once, choose Export, change the file and import it. A row whose SKU matches a product updates it; other rows create products. A blank cell changes nothing.
  3. On a plan with Purchasing, the Supplier column sets who a product is usually ordered from. Enter the supplier’s name as it is on Suppliers; capital letters don’t matter. A blank cell leaves the supplier as it is.
  4. Review what is new and what will change before confirming. A row that can’t be imported is left out and listed with its row and column; the other rows go ahead. Download the list, correct those rows and import them again.
  5. A large file is saved 500 products at a time, in the order of its rows, and the import shows how far it has got. If the server refuses a row, the import stops there and says which row and how many products were saved before it. Those stay saved. Correct the file and import it again: products already saved are left as they are. Remove new products that had no SKU first, or they are created twice.
  6. Enter opening stock only for new products; an import never changes stock on hand for an existing one. Use Add Stock, Receive Stock or a stock count for later changes. Lot-tracked products need a lot number and expiry date when stock is entered.
Complete a SalePoint of Sale
  1. Choose Open Shift and enter the starting cash. Search or scan an item, check its unit and quantity, and select a customer if needed.
  2. Choose Charge, then a payment method. For cash, enter the cash received. Record a card payment only after the card terminal approves it.
  3. Complete payment once. If it is not confirmed, choose Check Again or Retry Same Transaction. Do not take payment again.
  4. Where the country rounds cash (to 5 cents in Trinidad and Tobago), a cash amount is rounded and the receipt shows Rounding; card and account payments are exact. If shelf prices already include tax, switch on Prices Include Tax in Settings → Tax.
  5. On a till that several people use, switch on Switch Cashier in Settings → Features. Then choose Switch Cashier in the POS menu, pick your name and enter your employee PIN. Each sale is recorded under the person who made it, with what their security group allows.
  6. Open Cash Drawer in the POS menu opens the drawer without a sale and records who opened it. It shows while a shift is open on a till whose receipt printer has a cash drawer, for groups with Open the Drawer Without a Sale.
Use Loyalty Points and the Time ClockPoint of Sale
  1. A customer’s loyalty points can pay toward a ticket. Select the customer, choose Charge and enter Points to Spend, or choose Max. To allow it, switch on Spend Points at the POS in Settings → Loyalty and enter the Value of One Point.
  2. Staff record their hours with Clock In and Clock Out in the POS menu. Entries appear in Timecards.
Refund a SalePoint of Sale
  1. Choose Receipts, open the sale and choose Refund Options. Select the quantities to return, then choose Record Refund. An open shift at the same store is needed. The refund uses the original sale prices and costs. The refund receipt prints on the receipt printer.
  2. Tick Damaged on a returned item that cannot be sold again: it is held in quarantine, and the others go back into stock. For an item in quarantine, open the product, select the lot on Stock by Lot, then choose Release to sell it again or Dispose to remove it. A note is optional.
  3. Refund a card payment on the terminal first, then tick Card Refunded on Terminal. Retaiva records the refund; it does not return the money.
Email a ReceiptPoint of Sale
  1. Receipts are emailed from the business’s own mailbox. In Settings → Email Receipts choose the Email Provider, enter the Sender Name, Sender Email Address and password, then choose Save Settings. Gmail and Google Workspace need a Google app password.
  2. Choose Send Test Email; with no recipient entered it goes to you. Receipts are sent once the status shows Active. A changed mailbox or password needs another test.
  3. At the POS, select the customer before Charge. With a receipt printer, choose Email under Receipt and the receipt goes to the customer’s email when the sale completes. Otherwise, or for another address, choose Email Receipt when the sale is complete, check the address and choose Send Receipt.
  4. To send one later, open the sale in Receipts and choose Email Receipt. Sending needs Print and Email Receipts in the security group.
  5. In the Android POS app, Email on a receipt sends it from the same business email, to the address you type.
Order and Receive Supplier DeliveriesPurchasing
  1. Add the supplier on Suppliers, with payment terms and return conditions. On Purchase Orders choose New Purchase Order, pick the receiving store and enter quantities and costs in the order unit.
  2. Choose Save Draft, then Approve Order. When goods arrive, choose Receive Stock, enter the supplier invoice number and any lot and expiry dates, then choose Confirm Receipt.
  3. Receive partial deliveries separately. The order stays open for the rest. Receiving adds stock and a draft bill in Expenses; the bill is owed only after you approve it.
  4. On an order line, enter a discount as 10% or 5.00 and choose a tax rate. Add freight, duty and other charges below the lines. Charges are added to the cost of the stock received; tax is not.
  5. Order Low Stock, on Purchase Orders and in the Inventory menu, lists the selected store’s products at or below their reorder level, and everything out of stock, by supplier. Change a quantity or clear a tick, then choose Create Draft Orders: each supplier gets a draft order to review and approve, and a further one for every 500 lines. A product under No Supplier is ordered once you choose its supplier on its line.
  6. Choose Ignore Selected to leave the ticked products out of Order Low Stock at that store. Ignored lists them; choose Restore to bring one back.
  7. After receiving, choose Print Labels for the items received.
Set Up Recurring ExpensesPurchasing
  1. Rent, salaries and other regular payments are entered once. In Expenses open Recurring and choose New Recurring Expense. Enter who is paid, the store, the payment method and the lines, as for any expense.
  2. Choose Repeats (Monthly, Weekly or Every 2 Weeks), the Day, Starts and, if it stops, Ends. A monthly day after the 28th falls on the last day of shorter months.
  3. Each payment is recorded as a paid expense on its due date, within the hour. Choose Record Due Now to record what is due at once. Payments due before you set it up are recorded too.
  4. From the row menu choose Edit, Pause, Resume or End. A change applies to payments not yet recorded, from the next month or week, so a month or week already paid is never paid again; payments due while paused are skipped. To undo one payment, open the expense and choose Void Expense; it is not recorded again.
Return Stock to a SupplierPurchasing
  1. On Returns choose Create Return, then pick the item, supplier, lot and quantity. The stock is quarantined. Add the supplier’s authorization if the return is outside its return policy.
  2. Choose Dispatch when the return leaves the store and enter the supplier return authorization. When the credit note arrives, choose Record Credit and enter its reference and amount.
  3. The credit waits under Expenses → Credits. Open it and choose Apply to Bills or Record Refund. A credit received after payment stays as a balance with the supplier.
Review Stock by LotInventory
  1. Open a product and choose Stock by Lot to see each lot’s expiry date and its on-hand, reserved, quarantine and available quantities.
Transfer and Count StockInventory
  1. On Transfers choose New Transfer and Save Draft. Choose Dispatch Transfer to take the stock out of the source store, then Receive Items at the destination. Stock in transit is available at neither store.
  2. On Stock Counts choose New Stock Count and Start Count; the counted items are frozen at that store. Enter the counts, choose Complete & Review, then Post to Inventory. A note is optional. If posting says stock changed, choose Cancel Count and count again.
Reconcile and Close a ShiftShifts
  1. Choose Cash In / Out to record cash paid in or out. A comment is optional. Cash received for customer payments also counts toward expected cash.
  2. Choose Close Shift and enter the actual cash. Expected cash is the starting cash plus cash sales, customer cash payments and paid in, less cash refunds and paid out.
  3. Review any difference before handing over. Card and charge-account payments are separate from the cash drawer.
  4. Closing a shift prints its Shift Report on the till’s receipt printer, in the receipt’s format. To print it again, open the shift and choose Print. The report also opens as a PDF, with or without a receipt printer.
  5. With Blind Cash Count on in Settings → Features, expected cash and the difference show only after the count is entered.
  6. A shift closes on the register where it was opened. To close one left open on another device, open it under Shifts and choose Close Shift. This needs permission to view and close all shifts.
Read Sales and Profit ReportsOverview
  1. Choose Select Dates and a range. One day shows sales by hour; a longer range groups by day, week or month.
  2. Gross profit uses the cost kept on each sale. Refunds appear on their refund date. Imported daily history adds to totals but has no receipt or hourly detail.
  3. Overview shows where the business stands over the period you choose: sales and profit, the top five items, costs, cash movement and inventory. Each change compares with the same number of days before. Select a tile to open its report over the same period.
  4. Reports, under Management, has Sales Summary, Sales by Item, Sales by Category, Taxes, Inventory Valuation, Cash Flow, Expenses and Purchase Orders. Select a figure to chart it against the previous period, and choose Export to download the table.
  5. Exceptions in Reports lists refunds, cancelled tickets, manual discounts, cash differences, cash paid out, reversed payments and sales that took stock below zero, by day and cashier. Select a row to open its record.
  6. Accountant Export in Reports downloads one Excel workbook for a period: sales, tax, payments, refunds, purchases, expenses, customer accounts and stock value.
Manage Staff AccessSettings
  1. The owner adds staff in Settings → Employees. Choose Add Employee and enter the name, security group and POS PIN.
  2. For management access, tick Management Portal Access and enter the person’s email. Retaiva emails them a link to join. They create an account with that email, or log in, and choose Join. The link works for 7 days; Copy Link gives it to you to pass on. To send another, open the employee and choose Resend Invitation.
  3. Access is set by security group in Settings → Security Groups. Every employee is in one group. Open a group to switch on what its people may do, or choose New Security Group to create one, starting blank or from another group.
  4. Each area has one switch that opens it; the switches under it only count while it is on. Employees, security groups and billing stay with the owner.
  5. To check a group, open it and choose Test as This Group. The workspace then works exactly as it does for that group until you choose Stop Testing.
  6. To remove access, edit the employee and untick Management Portal Access or Active Employee. Review pending Android transactions first; a rejected one needs Retry or Remove.
When Staff Leave or a Tablet Is LostSettings
  1. Before someone leaves, choose Synchronize Now in Settings → Synchronization on each tablet they used, so their sales are received.
  2. The owner opens the employee in Settings → Employees, switches off Active Employee and chooses Save Employee. They can no longer open the business or use their PIN on any till or tablet. Their sales and history stay.
  3. To change access instead, choose another Security Group, or switch off Management Portal Access to keep them to the POS with their PIN. A PIN cannot be removed, only replaced: enter a New POS PIN and choose Save Employee, and the old one stops working.
  4. If a tablet is lost, open it in Settings → POS Devices, untick Device Enabled and choose Save Device. It can no longer synchronize or take an employee PIN, and sales it had not synchronized cannot be received.
  5. Whoever signed in on that tablet then changes their password in Account Settings and chooses Sign Out of All Devices.
Review the Audit TrailAudit Trail
  1. Open Audit Trail to see who did what and when. Filter by person, area, action and date, or search, and choose Export to download the result. Select a row to compare changes. Opened and viewed events show when you filter or search for them.
  2. Posted transactions keep their history. Open invoices, purchase orders and supplier bills can be edited, and each change is recorded. Correct completed sales and stock with refunds, returns and stock adjustments.
  3. What you see follows staff permissions. Without cost access, audit records show no costs.
Set Up Receipts and DocumentsDocument Settings
  1. Open Settings → Documents. Upload the business logo, choose the document type and set the paper size, colour, title and footer.
  2. The Refund Receipt and the Shift Report print on the receipt paper and follow the POS Receipt’s template.
  3. The preview does not confirm printer fit. Use Print Test in Settings → Printers, or print a real record on the actual printer and paper.
  4. Print receipts, invoices, purchase orders and stock count sheets from their records. Reprinting does not post a transaction or change stock.
  5. Receipts are numbered by shift, such as 5-0007. Enter a tax registration number in Settings → Organization to print it on receipts, invoices, purchase orders and statements.
  6. Print shelf labels with Print Labels on the product list or a product. Set the label size under Product Label in Settings → Documents.
Connect a Receipt Printer and Cash DrawerSettings
  1. A browser till prints through Retaiva Bridge, which runs on Windows. On each till computer, open Settings → Printers, choose Download Retaiva Bridge and install it. Choose Check Again, choose Allow if the browser asks, then choose Connect This Computer.
  2. Install the receipt printer in Windows, or use a network ESC/POS printer. Choose Add Receipt Printer, pick the model, connection and paper width, choose Print Test, then Save. A cash drawer plugs into the receipt printer; Test Drawer opens it.
  3. With the printer connected, Charge offers Print, Email or No Receipt, with Print chosen. The drawer opens for a payment that includes cash, never for a refund. A refund prints its receipt when it is recorded, and closing a shift prints its Shift Report.
  4. A print that fails never undoes the sale, refund or close: choose Retry or Print Again.
  5. On a computer without Retaiva Bridge, such as a Mac, Print Receipt opens the receipt as a PDF to print through the browser, and nothing prints by itself.
  6. In the Android POS app, open Settings and choose Add Printer for a USB, Bluetooth, network or built-in printer. Choose Print Test, then tick Print a Receipt After Each Sale and Open the cash drawer for cash payments. A refund’s receipt then prints too, and closing a shift prints its report.
  7. Setting up printers needs Manage POS Devices and Printers in the security group, or on a tablet Set Up the Printer on a Tablet.
Use Multiple POS DevicesPoint of Sale
  1. Sign in on each Android device with a Retaiva account and choose the business and store. Staff then switch with Employee sign-in and their PIN. When Registered POS Devices Only is on, register the device in Settings → POS Devices.
  2. Choose Synchronize Now in Settings → Synchronization before selling. Without a connection the Android POS app keeps cash sales, shifts, cash paid in or out and held tickets on the device and sends them when it reconnects. Refunds and card or account payments need a connection. Offline access lasts 8 hours.
  3. Sign-out is blocked while any transaction is unsynchronized. Resolve a rejected transaction with Retry or Remove first. Choose Export recovery copy if synchronization needs help, and keep the app installed.
Manage the SubscriptionSubscription
  1. The owner reviews the plan in Settings → Billing & Subscription, which shows what each plan includes. Essential has Point of Sale, Shifts, Inventory, Customers, Employees. Plus adds Purchasing, Expenses, Invoices, Quotes, Stock Counts and Transfers, Loyalty, Reports, Timecards. Plus Pharma adds Pharmacy Management.
  2. A new business chooses its plan and starts its 14-day trial at checkout, the last step of setting up. Retaiva opens once the trial has started, and the first charge is made when it ends. Choose Change Plan to move to another plan through Freemius, or Manage Billing to update payment details or cancel. The plan changes once Freemius confirms payment.
  3. A plan change keeps your records. Finish open purchase orders and unpaid expenses before moving to a smaller plan.
  4. Any business can choose any plan. Plus Pharma is for licensed pharmacies: Retaiva does not check licences, and holding the ones your business needs is your responsibility.
Manage Customers and Charge AccountsCustomers
  1. Choose Add Customer and enter the name and contact details. To open a charge account, tick Allow Purchases on Credit and set a Credit Limit.
  2. At the POS, select the customer and choose the charge account payment type to sell on credit. To take a repayment, open the customer and choose Record Payment.
  3. Under Statement on a customer, choose a period and Print Statement: opening balance, each charge and payment, closing balance and ageing. Print a payment receipt from Payment History.
Create and Collect InvoicesCustomers
  1. On Invoices choose New Invoice, pick the customer and due date, add items and choose Create Invoice. Stock and sales post when the invoice is created.
  2. Open an invoice and choose Record Payment. Choose Reverse Payment on a payment to undo it, or Void Invoice when nothing has been paid. Print it with Print Invoice.
Send and Convert QuotesCustomers
  1. On Quotes choose New Quote, pick the customer and the date it is valid until, add items and choose Create Quote. A quote moves no stock and no money.
  2. Open a quote to Edit it, Print Quote, or Email Quote from the business’s mailbox set up in Settings → Email Receipts.
  3. Choose Convert to Invoice, or at the POS choose Open Quote and enter its number. Items keep their quoted prices; items added take today’s price. A quote converts once and an expired quote can still be converted.
Sell and Take Gift CardsCustomers
  1. At the POS choose Gift Card. Leave the code blank for a new card, or scan a card to load it, enter the amount and how the customer paid. The slip prints the card’s code as a barcode. Cash for a card goes into the shift; it is not a sale.
  2. To pay with a card, scan or enter its code on the Payment screen and choose Apply. It pays what it holds, up to the total, and the rest is paid as usual. A card works in every store and never expires.
  3. An Android POS takes a card offline as Pending Balance Check. On sync, what the card did not cover is listed on the Exceptions report as a Gift Card Shortfall.
  4. Refunds go back onto the card that paid. A lost card: on Gift Cards, open it and choose Void and Replace. The old code stops working and a new card holds its balance.
Keep the Controlled Drugs RegisterPharmacy
  1. In Settings › Controlled Drugs choose Add Starting Points for your country, then check each class’s rules against your regulator’s and Save Changes.
  2. Open an item, tick Controlled and choose its Controlled Class. A register opens for it in every store, from the stock held there.
  3. Every stock movement of it (receiving, transfers, returns, destruction, counts) is an entry, numbered in turn. A pharmacist signs each with their PIN; destruction also needs a witness when the class says so. Entries can’t be edited or deleted.
  4. In Pharmacy › Controlled Drugs open a register to see its entries, Record Count (a difference is written as an Adjustment), Correct an entry (a new entry naming it) or Print Register for a period.
  5. Once a register has entries, choose End Control on the item instead of unticking it. The item shows Controlled until that day and the entries stay. Dispensing controlled drugs stays off until your country’s rules are confirmed.
Recover Account AccessAccount
  1. Choose Forgot password? on the login page, enter your email and choose Send Reset Code. Check the inbox and spam folder.
  2. Enter the six-digit code and a new password of at least 12 characters, then choose Update Password. If the code fails, choose Send a New Code and use the latest.
  3. If your business is missing after sign-in, open the link in your invitation email while signed in with the email it was sent to, or ask the owner to resend the invitation. Do not set up a new business; it is a separate business. Never share a password or verification code.
Turn On Two-Step VerificationAccount
  1. Choose your name, then Account Settings. Under Two-Step Verification choose Set Up Two-Step Verification, and enter your password if asked.
  2. In an authenticator app on your phone, add an account and scan the QR code, or enter the Setup Key. Enter the six-digit code the app shows and choose Verify and Turn On.
  3. Each login then asks for the app’s current code after the password: enter it and choose Verify and Log In. Each person turns it on for their own account.
  4. To stop using it, choose Turn Off under Two-Step Verification.
  5. If you lose the phone or the app, you cannot log in, and resetting the password does not turn two-step verification off. There is no reset on the login page: write to support@retaivatt.com from the account’s email address.
Active Ingredients and Allergy WarningsPharmacy
  1. Open a medication in Inventory and choose Active Ingredients. Look Up Ingredients suggests them from the product name. Only the product name is sent. Check every ingredient against the pack, correct it, then choose Save Ingredients.
  2. Turn on Allergy Warnings and Duplicate Ingredient Warnings in Settings → Features. Prescription entry and pharmacist review then warn when a patient’s recorded allergies match an ingredient or drug class, or when the patient already has the same ingredient on another prescription in progress.
  3. Each warning says to verify with a pharmacist. To approve, the pharmacist ticks I have verified these warnings; the warnings they saw are kept with the approval. No warning does not mean a medicine is safe: Retaiva only compares what is recorded.
Pharmacist Review, Preparation and Release to POSPharmacy
  1. Choose New Prescription, pick the patient and doctor and add each medication with its form, quantity and directions. Strength comes from the item. Choose Send to Pharmacist Review; Retaiva numbers the prescription.
  2. A pharmacist approves it, which starts preparation, or places it on hold, rejects it or requests clarification. Approval and rejection need two-step sign-in. Retaiva flags missing details and short stock; it does not check doses or interactions. With Allergy Warnings or Duplicate Ingredient Warnings on, it points out what the records already show, and the pharmacist confirms they verified it before approving. Editing the patient, doctor, medication, quantity, directions, dates or repeats after approval sends the prescription back for review.
  3. When it is prepared, choose Release to POS and enter the quantity prepared. Stock is reserved from the earliest-expiring eligible lots, and the batch and expiry are recorded. Before payment, Recall From POS takes it back.
  4. Payment is taken at the POS, never in Pharmacy. Payment alone does not hand the medicine over: the record shows Paid, Awaiting Handover and the stock stays reserved.
  5. A pharmacist with two-step sign-in hands the medicine over: at the POS with the payment, by leaving Handed to Patient ticked, or afterwards in Pharmacy with Hand Over to Patient. That issues the reserved stock once and marks the record dispensed.
  6. When stock is short, release the quantity available; the prescription shows Owing. When stock arrives, open it and choose Supply Balance. A pharmacist approves the balance before it is prepared, paid for and handed over.
  7. Dispensed records cannot be edited. A pharmacist records any correction as an amendment. Every step appears in the prescription’s history. To print the record, open the prescription and choose Prescription Record.
  8. The Inventory tab lists the dispensary’s products at the selected store, with the quantities the Inventory screen holds. Choose a tile, such as Expiring Soon, Expired, Low Stock or Reserved for Prescriptions, to list those products. Prescription Only products are always on it. To add any other product, switch on Dispensary Inventory in the product or put it in the Dispensary category; each sets the other. Select a product to see its lots; Edit Product is there for people who can edit products. The tab needs the View Dispensary Inventory permission.
  9. A refund here has no Damaged tick: every returned item is held in quarantine until it is released or disposed of from its lot.

Support: support@retaivatt.com