Getting Started

Signup is two quick screens:

1. Create your account — email and a password (8+ characters), then Continue. If your email needs confirmation, check your inbox first and log back in.
2. Set up your business — business name plus your first and last name, then Create Business.

That's it — you're the administrator. You'll add staff, registers, and locations later in Settings. Your 30-day free trial starts immediately with every feature unlocked and no card required; the days remaining show on a banner in the back office, and plans live under Settings → Plan & Billing.

Logging in lands you on the dashboard — "Welcome, {your name}." Four tiles link to the places you'll build first: Active Items, Staff, Locations, and Label Templates.

If your catalog is empty, a "New here?" card offers two ways in:

• Load sample data — one click seeds a small demo store: a "Sales Tax" rate and "Taxable" tax group, three categories (General, Beverages, Snacks), six sample items with cash and card prices, and 20 units of each in stock. Perfect for poking at the register before you commit to real data.
• Import your catalog — jump to Import / Export to bring your items in from a spreadsheet.

Sample data only loads while the catalog is empty, so it can never mix with your real inventory.

Below the tiles, the dashboard tracks five setup steps and checks them off as you go:

1. Add your tax rates & groups — Settings → Taxes. Do this first; items need a tax group.
2. Build categories & departments — Categories. These drive register browsing, hot buttons, reporting, and promotions.
3. Add or import your items — Items. Checks itself off once you have at least one item.
4. Design and print shelf labels — Labels. Especially important with dual pricing, where the shelf shows both prices.
5. Add your staff & set PINs — Settings → Staff. Checks off once you've added a second person.

You can sell with just steps 1 and 3 done, but the full list is the difference between "it works" and "it runs itself."

Open the register from the sidebar (▶ Open Register). The first time on each device you'll pick which station the device is — add stations under Settings → Locations & Stations if you haven't. Then unlock with your PIN, scan or tap an item, and hit the green Pay button. The next two chapters walk the register and payment screens in detail.

There are two layers of identity in HeroPOS:

• Back-office login (email + password at heropos.net) — for owners, managers, and anyone doing office work. Grant it per staff member with the "Back-office software access" checkbox.
• Register PIN (4–6 digits) — how cashiers unlock a register. Register-only staff never need an email login at all.

Forgot your password? Use the Forgot password? link on the sign-in page; the reset email must be opened on the same device you'll finish the reset on. Staff with a termination date set can no longer log in after that date.