Question 1

What is DukaSale?

Accepted Answer

DukaSale is a Kenyan POS suite. There are three products: a free Mobile POS for dukas, kiosks and small shops; a paid Retail POS for supermarkets and chain retail; and a paid Restaurant POS for restaurants, bars, cafés and hotels. They share the same accounts, customer records and Owner App reporting.

Question 2

Which product is right for my business?

Accepted Answer

Single-person duka or kiosk, no barcode scanning, no multiple tills: Mobile POS (free). Supermarket, electronics, hardware, pharmacy or chain retail with barcodes and suppliers: Retail POS. Restaurant, café, bar, hotel or anywhere with KOT printers and waiters: Restaurant POS. If you are between two, talk to us and we will help match.

Question 3

Is there a free trial?

Accepted Answer

Mobile POS is free forever — download, sign up, start selling. Retail POS and Restaurant POS both include a 14-day free trial on your real catalog or menu, no credit card needed. You can extend the trial if you need more time to migrate.

Question 4

How fast can I be selling?

Accepted Answer

Mobile POS: under 10 minutes from download to first sale. Retail POS and Restaurant POS SaaS: same day if your catalog is small; one working day with our help if you have hundreds of products. White-label installs are typically scheduled within a week of the signed quote, including hardware delivery.

Question 5

Can I switch products later?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Customers, sales history and stock can move from Mobile POS up to Retail or Restaurant POS as your business grows. You do not start from scratch; we migrate your data on upgrade.

Question 6

How much does Mobile POS cost?

Accepted Answer

Mobile POS is free forever for the core features — sales, stock, deni (customer credit), M-Pesa STK push and basic reports. There are optional paid add-ons (cloud sync, premium reports) but the everyday duka workflow is fully covered by the free tier.

Question 7

How much does Retail POS cost?

Accepted Answer

SaaS: KES 2,500 per outlet per month. Multi-outlet, multi-till, Owner App, priority support, 14-day free trial. For a White Label / Standalone install with your branding and the full hardware kit, request a quotation at /retail-pos/quote — pilot-lane hardware lands around KES 140,000 plus a one-time install fee.

Question 8

How much does Restaurant POS cost?

Accepted Answer

SaaS: KES 2,500 per outlet per month. KOT printing per kitchen station, floor plan, modifiers, course timing, per-waiter PIN with tips, Owner App, priority support, 14-day free trial. For a White Label install, request a quotation at /restaurant-pos/quote.

Question 9

What is the White Label / Standalone option?

Accepted Answer

Your branding on the POS, receipts and Owner App. The software runs on hardware we install at your premises — counter terminal, KOT printers, cash drawer, UPS — with on-site staff training and an annual support contract. Quoted per project. Best for businesses that want to own the system rather than subscribe.

Question 10

Can I cancel my SaaS subscription any time?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Cancel at any time from the Owner App; the subscription stops at the end of the current billing month. Your data is yours — export it before you leave.

Question 11

Are SaaS prices VAT-inclusive?

Accepted Answer

No. Displayed prices are VAT-exclusive. VAT (16%) is added at billing.

Question 12

Where do I download Mobile POS?

Accepted Answer

On Google Play, search "DukaSale" — or visit dukasale.ke/mobile-pos for a direct link and a QR code. iOS is on our roadmap; for now Mobile POS is Android-only because that is what almost every Kenyan duka actually uses.

Question 13

Does it work without internet?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Mobile POS works fully offline — sales, stock, deni, reports all run from a local database on the phone. The only feature that needs internet is M-Pesa STK push (because Safaricom's servers need to be reachable). Everything else syncs to the cloud when you are back online.

Question 14

How does deni (customer credit) work?

Accepted Answer

When a regular asks to pay later, you tap "Deni" instead of "Cash" at checkout. The app records the customer, the items, and the running balance. You can send WhatsApp reminders, accept partial payments, set per-customer credit limits, and see total exposure in the dashboard.

Question 15

Can I run multiple shops from one phone?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Each shop has its own stock, sales and customers; the Owner view rolls everything up so you can compare branches. Add staff PINs per shop so cashiers see only their location.

Question 16

Can my staff use the app without seeing everything?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Each staff member gets a PIN with a role — Owner, Manager, Cashier or Stock-keeper. Cashiers can ring up sales but cannot see profit or change prices; managers can refund but cannot delete the business; owners can do everything.

Question 17

Is the app in Swahili?

Accepted Answer

Yes. The whole app translates between English and Swahili from the Settings screen.

Question 18

Do I need special hardware for Retail POS?

Accepted Answer

No, but it helps. Retail POS runs in any browser — Chrome on a laptop, a tablet, or a cheap mini-PC behind the counter. It plugs into any USB or Bluetooth barcode scanner, most thermal receipt printers, and a standard cash drawer. See the per-lane hardware list at /retail-pos/quote for the full recommended stack.

Question 19

Can I migrate from another POS?

Accepted Answer

Yes. We import your product catalog, customers, and (optionally) historical sales from QuickBooks, Loyverse, Vend, or a CSV. Migration is included in onboarding — usually one working day.

Question 20

How many tills and outlets can I run?

Accepted Answer

Unlimited tills per outlet. Pricing scales by outlet (KES 2,500 / outlet / month on SaaS). A small supermarket typically runs 2–4 tills; a chain might run 30+ across multiple branches, with central reporting in the Owner App.

Question 21

Does Retail POS work offline?

Accepted Answer

Tills stay running on the local LAN even if the internet drops briefly, and sync to the cloud the moment it returns. For longer power cuts we recommend a small UPS — same as any modern retail till.

Question 22

How fast is checkout?

Accepted Answer

A trained cashier rings up around 20–25 items per minute with a barcode scanner. M-Pesa STK push checkout completes in around 6 seconds end-to-end.

Question 23

Can staff have limited access?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Roles include Owner, Manager, Cashier and Stock-keeper, each with configurable permissions — refunds, discounts above a threshold, expense entry, void/comp approval.

Question 24

What about VAT and KRA eTIMS?

Accepted Answer

Retail POS handles VAT-inclusive and VAT-exclusive pricing, prints compliant fiscal receipts, and exports a daily Z-report ready for your accountant. eTIMS integration is on the roadmap.

Question 25

Does KOT printing support kitchen and bar separately?

Accepted Answer

Yes. You map each menu category to a printer — food → hot line, drinks → bar, desserts → pastry, etc. When an order fires, only the relevant lines print at each station. No more shouting orders across the kitchen.

Question 26

Can we split bills by guest or by item?

Accepted Answer

Both. Split by guest (Table 7, three guests — split equally), by item (Mama pays for the kids' food, Papa pays for the drinks), or by percentage. Each payer gets their own printed receipt.

Question 27

Can waiters take orders on their phones?

Accepted Answer

Yes. The DukaSale Waiter app runs on any Android phone or tablet. Waiters take orders tableside and fire them straight to the kitchen without walking back to the till.

Question 28

How does course timing work?

Accepted Answer

Mark each item as Starter, Main or Dessert. The kitchen sees starters straight away, but mains stay paused until the waiter taps "Fire mains". Less food sitting under the heat lamp.

Question 29

Can we manage tabs and open tables?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Tables stay open with running totals. Add rounds, transfer items between tables, merge tables for a big group. Settle the tab whenever the customer is ready.

Question 30

How are tips handled?

Accepted Answer

Tips are added at payment and recorded per waiter. End-of-shift reports show each waiter's tips alongside their sales — clean for tip-out at the end of the night.

Question 31

M-Pesa, card and cash on one bill?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Mixed-tender payments are first-class. Half on M-Pesa, half on card, cash tip on top — all recorded and reconciled at end of day.

Question 32

How does M-Pesa STK push work?

Accepted Answer

At checkout, DukaSale sends a payment prompt directly to the customer's phone. They enter their M-Pesa PIN, the payment is confirmed by Safaricom, and the sale is marked paid in the POS — typically in under 10 seconds. No typing till numbers, no checking SMS messages.

Question 33

Buy Goods (till) or Paybill — which should I use?

Accepted Answer

Buy Goods is the right default for retail and restaurants — lower transaction fees, faster checkout, no account number needed. Paybill makes sense for utility-style services where the customer needs to reference an account or invoice number.

Question 34

How do I set up M-Pesa in DukaSale?

Accepted Answer

Settings → Payments → M-Pesa. Enter your consumer key, consumer secret, passkey and shortcode from your Safaricom M-Pesa Daraja portal. We have a setup wizard that walks through it the first time. If you do not have a Daraja account yet, apply on the Safaricom developer portal and we help you wire it up.

Question 35

How do we avoid fake M-Pesa confirmation screenshots?

Accepted Answer

DukaSale verifies M-Pesa payments directly via the Safaricom API — the till knows the money has arrived before printing the receipt. No need to squint at a phone screen trying to verify a "PAID" message.

Question 36

Do you support card payments?

Accepted Answer

Yes — Retail POS and Restaurant POS support standard EMV card terminals from Equity, KCB, Co-op Bank, NCBA and other Kenyan acquirers. The terminal connects over Bluetooth or USB; payments record as "Card" in the POS and reconcile against the daily bank statement.

Question 37

How do I reconcile M-Pesa at end of day?

Accepted Answer

Every till's Z-report shows total M-Pesa collected, broken down by transaction. Compare to your M-Pesa daily statement — they should match exactly. Discrepancies are usually one of: a sale recorded but payment not confirmed (refund issued), or a payment received but never matched to a sale (manual top-up).

Question 38

What hardware do you recommend?

Accepted Answer

See the per-lane shopping list at /retail-pos/quote for retail, or /restaurant-pos/quote for restaurants. Headline models: Epson TM-T20III thermal printer, APG VB320 cash drawer, Honeywell Solaris hands-free scanner for supermarket lanes, Newland FR4080 for smaller shops. All are KE-warehouse-available with 24-hour replacement turnaround.

Question 39

Can I use just my phone as the POS?

Accepted Answer

Yes — Mobile POS is designed to run entirely on a single Android phone. Many Kenyan dukas use nothing more than the owner's phone for the till. For retail and restaurant operations with multiple staff or higher transaction volume, you will want at least a tablet, ideally a dedicated terminal.

Question 40

My thermal printer is not printing — what now?

Accepted Answer

Three quick checks: paper roll inserted with the shiny side up; the printer is selected as default in Windows (or paired in Bluetooth on Android); the DukaSale Print Agent is running and visible at http://127.0.0.1:9100/health. If all three pass and printing still fails, WhatsApp us a photo of the printer + the error and we walk you through it.

Question 41

Will my existing cash drawer work?

Accepted Answer

Most likely yes. Standard cash drawers connect via RJ-12 to a thermal receipt printer and trigger on every paid sale. If your drawer plugs directly into a PC (USB cash drawers) we support those too. Tell us the model and we will confirm before you buy.

Question 42

Can I connect a weighing scale?

Accepted Answer

Yes — CAS PD-II in USB-HID mode works out of the box. We support most label-printing scales too, which is the cleaner workflow for deli or butchery counters. See docs/pos-scales.md if you have a specific scale to check.

Question 43

Where do I buy POS hardware in Kenya?

Accepted Answer

Cybertech, Optimum POS, Cleo Technologies and Innovex stock the recommended models in Nairobi with national delivery. For white-label installs, hardware is included in the quote and shipped to your premises by our team.

Question 44

How is my data backed up?

Accepted Answer

SaaS data lives in our cloud database with continuous backup and a 7-day point-in-time restore. White-label installs are backed up to a NAS or VPS depending on your setup. Mobile POS keeps a local SQLite database on the phone and an automatic daily backup to your Google Drive if you sign in.

Question 45

Can I export my data?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Every report exports to CSV from the Owner App; product catalog, customers, sales history and deni balances all have one-click exports. If you ever cancel, you take your data with you — no lock-in.

Question 46

Are you KDPA-compliant?

Accepted Answer

Yes. DukaSale is registered as a Data Controller under the Kenya Data Protection Act. We collect only the customer data your business records (name, phone, deni history), we store it in Kenya-hosted cloud where possible, and we expire OTP codes within 1 hour of issue. Our privacy policy at /privacy details what we collect and why.

Question 47

What happens to my data if I cancel?

Accepted Answer

You retain access for 30 days after cancellation to export everything. After that the data is archived for 12 months (in case you reactivate), then permanently deleted. If you need it deleted immediately, email support@dukasale.ke and we comply within 30 days as required by KDPA.

Question 48

How secure is DukaSale?

Accepted Answer

TLS everywhere, hashed PINs and passwords (never stored in plaintext), per-tenant database isolation on the SaaS, signed M-Pesa payloads, rate-limited login and OTP endpoints. We run regular dependency security scans and patch critical vulnerabilities within 24 hours.

Question 49

How do I reach support?

Accepted Answer

WhatsApp +254 701 822 032 (replies in ~2 minutes during business hours), email support@dukasale.ke (replies same day on business days), or open a ticket from inside the Owner App. SaaS Growth and white-label customers get priority WhatsApp + phone support.

How can we help?

Getting started

Pricing & plans

Mobile POS (free duka app)

Retail POS

Restaurant POS

M-Pesa & payments

Hardware

Account, data & security