What are POS terminals in Inventory, and what does "Allow Negative Stock" mean?

The Inventory → POS Terminals screen is not a selling screen — it defines the cashier devices: which branch each one belongs to, which warehouse it draws from, and who is responsible for it — image 1.

Steps

1. Open Inventory → POS Terminals and press Create POS Terminal.
2. Pick the branch, then the warehouse sales will be deducted from.
3. Enter a code and a name — such as "Till 1 — Muscat".
4. Choose an assigned user if the device belongs to one employee.
5. Set the Allow Negative Stock switch, then Save.

Why the warehouse is effectively required

Every POS sale is deducted from the terminal's own warehouse. Leave it empty and the system refuses to open any transaction on that device with a plain message: "Selected terminal has no warehouse assigned." Link the warehouse from the start.

What "Allow Negative Stock" means

• Off (recommended) — a cashier cannot sell more than is available; the system stops and asks for the quantity to be corrected. This is what keeps your balances honest.
• On — the sale goes through even if the balance turns negative. Used in a fast-moving shop where goods arrive before their receipt is entered, so selling is not held up by data entry.

A negative balance is not an accounting error in itself, but it is a debt owed to data entry: it must be settled by a later goods receipt. Chronic negative balances mean your receiving process is broken, not the switch.

Notes

• One user cannot be assigned to more than one terminal.
• Shifts (opening and closing the till) are tied to the terminal, so the device is also the unit of cash accounting.
• Deactivating a terminal stops new shifts from opening on it and leaves its past transactions untouched.
• Change a terminal's warehouse between shifts, never in the middle of an open one.
• Items with Track Stock off are not governed by this switch at all — they always sell without a stock check.