equate Installation QUICK START GUIDE
CONTENTS 1 Before You Begin 2 Server Installation 3 Server Configuration 3a Connecting to VirtueMart / Prestashop 4 Client Installation (Windows) 5 Client Installation (Mac/Linux) 6 Printing Setup & Configuration 7 Using ipad/iphone/android Devices 8 Upgrading Server 9 Troubleshooting
(1) Before You Begin equate Point Of Sale comes bundled in two software packages; the Client which can be installed on multiple computers (terminals) that you want to sell from, and the Server, which is installed only once and acts as a hub/gateway for your various clients (terminals). Please check the requirements for each individual software package below: equate Client 1. Windows XP/Vista/7/8, or Mac/Linux with WWW/SQL installed. Requires at least 2GB RAM, 1.6Ghz CPU, and 5 gigabytes of free disk space. 2. An Internet Connection to synchronize the data for the first time, a somewhat stable internet connection is required to keep the inventory up to date. equate Server 1. If you have paid for monthly subscription for the Hosted package, you do not need to install the server. This has been done for you. An e-mail would have been sent to you when you registered for an account. You can skip ahead to configuring your equate Server (see section 3), and you do not need to install it. 2. If you have purchased the software package, you will need to install the Prestashop Server yourself (see section 2). Please see below for some requirements: a. (L/W)AMP (Linux/Windows, Apache, MySQL, and PHP enabled server) you can substitute the various daemons as long as they provide the same services. PHP 5.2+ is required. b. Crontab Access Advanced Stock Management should be enabled for each product before installation!
(2) Server Installation * If you ve purchased a Hosted package, skip to the next section (3) Server Configuration 1. Unzip the zip file you downloaded and upload it to your web hosting directory in a public directory you can access from a web browser. 2. Open a web browser and navigate to the unpackaged zip file on your web server (example: http://mywebsite.com/equate if you uncompressed it into your public_html/equate folder.) You will need to agree to the License Agreement before continuing to the next step 3. Now you will need to create a SQL database for the equate Servers data tables. You can use PhpMyAdmin or any of your favourite tools to create the database. Then enter the SQL details into the page and press next to start the data table creation process (see Figure A). Once the process is complete, you should be directed to the login page. The default login for the first time is admin and the password is also the same - admin. 4. Do not forget to enabled a crontab job to check the /includes/batching.php file every 5 minutes (minimum) Figure A
(3) Server Configuration 1. In a web browser, browse to your equate Server URL a. Hosted Packages: This information was e-mailed to you after your order. Example: https://blue.equatepos.com:8080/mystorename b. One-Time Package: Browse to the same URL in Section (2) Server Installation. 2. You must agree to the License Agreement before continuing. 3. Follow the prompts and enter as much information about your store as possible (see Figure B). Press Next and follow the questionnaire, and enter information such as your time zone, default currency symbol and more. Figure B
(3a) Connecting to VirtueMart / Prestashop 1. On the final step of (3) Server Configuration, you will be asked if you want equate to synchronize with Virtuemart or Prestashop (see Figure C). If you do not want to synchronize with either just yet, select None Equate POS Only. Otherwise select your desired web cart adapter, and press Next. Figure C Continued on next page
(3a) Connecting to VirtueMart / Prestashop (cont.) 2. If you have selected Prestashop or Virtumart, you will be prompted for additional information. You must enter your Prestashop/Virtuemart SQL details into the fields prompted. If you are a Hosted customer, you must allow outside SQL connections from our servers so that the databases can be synchronized (see Figure D). 3. Once you have completed entering the information, press next to continue to the first synchronization. 4. First time synchronization can take up to 30 minutes depending on the size of the existing database. Please do not navigate away from the page while the system is loading. You will automatically be redirected back to a login page/or logged into the server when the sync is complete. 5. You should be able to see your products and customers (if you had some in your current web cart database). You may now proceed to installing and connecting your POS terminals (Client software) see Section (4/5) Client Installation. Figure D
(4) Client Installation - Windows 1. Download the installation file from the equate POS website. 2. Open and run the file as an Administrator (right click on the icon, and Run As Administrator. 3. The installation directory must be C:\eQuate do not change this path. 4. Once installation is complete, you will see an equate POS icon on your desktop click on this icon. 5. You will need to agree to the License Agreement before continuing. 6. On Step 1 you will only need to enter a Register ID (see Figure E). This ID should be a unique numerical value of 3 digits (example: 100, 200, 300, 201, 202) Press Next. 7. Step 2 Server Database Connection: In this area, you will need to input the SQL information for your equate Server (as set in Section (2) Server Installation). Figure E
(4) Client Installation Windows (cont.) a. For Hosted Customers: This SQL information was e-mailed to you and an example of the information and where to look for it in the e- mail is shown in Figure F. b. For One Time Customers: This information is the database you created in Section (2) Server Installation. You must use the external IP address for your SQL server and it must allow remote SQL connections from the IP addresses of your client terminals. 8. Once you have completed entering this information, press Next to allow the system to synchronize with the Server for the first time. This can take up to 30 minutes depending on the size of the database. 9. Once the synchronization is complete, press the Finish button. 10. The installation process is complete. Figure F
(5) Client Installation Mac/Linux Before you begin: If you are running Mac/Linux, you must install a working LAMP server first (Apache, MySQL, PHP). We suggest using XAMPP for Mac, and Apache/MySQL for Linux. However, any other web server with the same features will work. You can download at XAMPP at https://www.apachefriends.org/index.html You must create a SQL database, username, and password to import the tables during the installation. 1. You must have already installed and have running a working LAMP server (see above: Before you begin). 2. Download a copy of the equate Client standalone version (zip file) from the equate POS website. 3. Unpack the contents of this directory into your main htdocs or public_html directory. 4. Open a web browser, and navigate to the directory (example: http://localhost/pos). 5. Follow the installation instructions (refer back to Section (4) Client Installation Windows: #6)
(6) Printer Setup & Configuration 1. Install the printer you would like to use with equate POS. Check with your printer manufacturer on how to install drivers for your Operating System. 2. In the Client - Navigate to Options, and then click on Printer Settings. (see Figure G) 3. Set your desired preferences on this page. 4. When you print for the first time, you will need to set the margins correctly: a. To set margins, close equate POS Client down, open up Google Chrome. b. Navigate to your POS through the web browser (for Windows, go to http://localhost:8888/). c. Attempt to print a receipt from the Point Of Sale, at this time, a window should open and allow you to configure the browsers settings (which also changes the Point Of Sale settings). When complete, complete a test print, and exit Google Chrome. Figure G
(7) Using ipad/iphone/android Devices Before you begin: You must have installed equate POS on another computer terminal within your local network OR have installed equate POS Client on the Internet that you can access from your ipad/iphone/andriod. We recommend using Chrome as a web browser on your smart device. You can download this from the Apple App Store, or Google Play. 1. On the smart device, open up Chrome. 2. Navigate to the web address of the equate POS Client a. For default windows install on a local network, the URL would be: http://192.168.x.x:8888/ i. Replace the IP address with the IP of the computer or URL that equate POS is installed on. b. If you installed the POS on the Internet, navigate to the POS terminal address you installed it on. Tips: Printers can be configured in your smart device. You may need to use AirPrint or have a supported receipt printer that can print on ipad/iphone/android. Check with the manufacturer before purchasing a printer. If you need the terminal register # to be different, enable Virtual Terminal on the Client POS s settings.
(8) Upgrading Server Before you begin: Backup all existing databases before you begin to upgrade Disable any crontab jobs while you are upgrading 1. Download and uncompress the equate server zip file and upload it to the same public_html/htdocs directory as your current server installation. 2. Create a new directory alongside your existing equate Server directory and upload the new files into that directory. 3. Use PhpMyAdmin to do an export of your existing server database. a. Be sure to only select Data (you do not want to import the structure of the database). b. Be sure to select Replace as an insert method. c. Save this file to your local computer 4. Use PhpMyAdmin to create a new username/database and password for the new server installation. 5. Visit the new Server URL, and follow the prompts to install the new version on the new database you just created. Do not select VirtueMart or Prestashop as an adapter, select None (equate). 6. Once the installation is complete, you need to import the data from your old server. Use PhpMyAdmin to import the.sql file you created earlier. 7. Once complete, go back to your server installation, and navigate to the Settings page, then click on Adapter Settings. Click on Reconfigure Adapter and follow the prompts, but this time, input your Prestashop/VirtueNart credentials. 8. You should now be able to install the clients and connect them to the server with your existing data.
(9) Troubleshooting I get an error when trying to connect to Virtuemart/Prestashop This could be that your Virtuemart or Prestashop SQL server does not allow SQL connections from a remote IP address. You will need to add the equate Server s public IP address to the Remote SQL allow list. Contact your web hosting provider for more information. During the Server Synchronization, it takes a long time and does not completely sync all of my products and data Your database may be too large for the Hosted solution. Please contact Support. For more assistance, please visit our website at www.equatepos.com where you can find additional documentation and guides to use the software.