VesselTill
VesselTill
No training required. No account. Just open the app, load your products, and go. This guide covers every feature from first sale to end-of-day report.
Open VesselTill →Go to pos.html (or click here). VesselTill runs entirely in your browser. There is no account to create, no email address to verify, and no subscription to pay. Just open and sell.
In the top-right of the header, tap the currency button (e.g. ZAR) to open the currency picker. Select the currency you trade in — it will be remembered for your next session. VesselTill supports 45 currencies including ZAR, USD, GBP, EUR, KES, NGN, GHS, INR, AUD and more.
Next to it, the sun/moon icon switches between light and dark mode. It follows your device's system setting by default — tap it any time to override that manually.
Tap ↑ Upload Excel in the Products tab and choose your .xlsx, .xls, or .csv file. Your products appear as tappable cards immediately. See the Products section below for how to format the file.
No spreadsheet ready yet? Tap ⬇ Demo Template right next to the upload button (or on the landing page) for a ready-made file with 100 sample products, barcodes, stock quantities, and staff names — upload it and try the whole app in seconds.
Tap any product card to add it to the cart. When done, tap Charge, choose how the customer is paying, confirm, and issue a receipt. The whole flow takes under 30 seconds.
Create a spreadsheet with a sheet named Products (or leave the sheet name as-is). The columns VesselTill reads are:
| Column name | Required? | Example value | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Description | Required | Chicken Mayo Wrap | The product name shown on the card |
| Price | Required | 49.99 | Numbers only — no currency symbols |
| Barcode | Optional | 6001234567890 | Enables barcode-scanner lookup |
| Qty | Optional | 24 | Starting stock count — decreases with each sale |
| Category | Optional | Beverages | Shown as a small label on the product card |
If you want to track which staff member made each sale, add a second sheet in the same file and name it Staff. Put one staff name per row in column A. A staff selector will then appear in the cart header.
In the Products tab, tap ↑ Upload Excel and select your file. Products load instantly. The file is stored in your browser — you only need to upload it once per device. Re-upload at any time to update prices or add new products. A ⬇ Demo Template button sits right next to Upload Excel if you want to test with sample data first.
Use the search bar at the top of the Products tab to find products by name, category, or barcode number. Results update as you type.
If you added a Staff sheet to your Excel file, choose the serving staff member from the dropdown in the cart header. This is recorded on every receipt and report for that sale.
Tap any product card on the left to add one unit to the cart. Tap again to add another. In the cart, use the + and − buttons to change quantities, or tap − until the item is removed.
To add something not in your product list, tap + Custom item in the cart, type a name and price, and tap Add to Cart. Recent custom items are shown as quick-tap chips for reuse.
Tap the Scan button next to the search bar to open the barcode scanner. Point your camera at a barcode — the matching product is added to the cart automatically. If your device has no camera, switch to the Type Barcode tab inside the scanner and enter the number manually (useful with a USB barcode reader).
In the cart footer, enter a percentage in the Discount % field. The total updates instantly. Discount is applied across the whole basket — for per-item discounts, adjust the product price in your Excel file before uploading.
Enter a percentage in the Tax % field. By default, tax is added on top of the price. If your Excel prices already include tax (e.g. VAT-inclusive), toggle Tax incl. on — VesselTill will extract the tax portion instead of adding it.
Type a customer name in the field below the staff selector. It appears on the receipt and in the transaction history, making it easier to find a specific sale later.
When the cart is ready, tap the green Charge button to open the payment screen.
VesselTill supports four payment modes. Select one on the payment screen after tapping Charge.
Enter the amount tendered — VesselTill calculates the change automatically and shows quick-amount buttons.
Process the payment on your own card machine. VesselTill records it as a card payment for your reports.
For EFT, e-wallets, or mobile payments (e.g. SnapScan, Zapper). Confirm receipt, then tap Confirm.
Divide a payment across two methods: Cash + Card, Cash + Digital, or Card + Digital.
Once the payment details are filled in, tap Confirm & Receipt. The sale is saved to history, stock is decremented, and the receipt screen opens automatically.
After confirming a payment, the receipt screen opens with four delivery options.
Tap WhatsApp to open a number entry screen. Select a country dial code, enter the customer's number, and VesselTill opens WhatsApp with a pre-formatted receipt message ready to send. Recent numbers are saved for quick reuse.
Downloads a clean PDF receipt to your device. Share it by email, save to Google Drive, or print later.
Opens your browser's print dialog. Works with any printer or thermal receipt printer connected to your device.
Tap Close to dismiss without sending a receipt. The sale is still saved to history regardless.
Open the History tab. Use the date filter to narrow down the list if needed. Tap the transaction to open it.
Inside the transaction detail, tap the amber Return / Exchange button to open the returns flow.
Tick the items the customer is bringing back and set the quantity for each. The refund amount calculates automatically.
Choose Refund to return money to the customer, or Exchange to swap for a different product. Exchanged items are added to a new cart for you to complete. Stock levels are updated accordingly.
The History tab shows every completed sale in reverse-chronological order. Use the date picker at the top to filter by a specific day. Tap any sale to view the full receipt, re-send it, or initiate a return.
Open the EOD tab and select a date (today by default). The report shows total revenue, number of transactions, a breakdown by payment method (cash / card / digital / split), and a per-product sales summary. Export it three ways:
In the Backup tab, tap ⬇ Full Backup (JSON). This downloads a single file containing all your receipts, products, and stock quantities. Save it to Google Drive, WhatsApp yourself, or email it. This is the file used to restore your data.
Tap ⬇ Receipts Spreadsheet (.csv) to download all receipts as a CSV file you can open in Excel or Google Sheets for further analysis.
Tap ⬇ Download Stock CSV or ⬇ Download Stock JSON to export your current product list including live stock quantities after all sales, returns, and exchanges. Useful for stock-taking.
In the Backup tab, tap the drop zone (or drag your JSON backup file onto it). VesselTill will ask whether to merge with existing data or replace it. Restoring from the Full Backup JSON brings back all receipts and stock levels.
If more than 24 hours have passed since your last backup, a yellow banner appears at the top of the screen. Tap Back up now to export immediately, or dismiss it for the current session.
VesselTill is a Progressive Web App (PWA). Installing it gives you an icon on your home screen or desktop and lets you use it fully offline — no internet connection required after the first load.
A banner will appear at the bottom of the screen asking you to install VesselTill, or tap the install button in the app header. Tap Install — an icon is added to your home screen and the app opens in its own window, without the browser bar.
Open pos.html in Safari. Tap the Share button (the box with an arrow), then select Add to Home Screen. Give it a name and tap Add. The VesselTill icon will appear on your home screen.
Click the install icon in the address bar (looks like a computer screen with a down-arrow), or use the browser menu → Install VesselTill. The app will open in its own dedicated window.
If you're on a laptop or desktop — or using a USB barcode scanner — VesselTill has a full set of keyboard shortcuts to speed up checkout. They're always available; press ? inside the app, or tap the keyboard icon next to the Settings tab, to see this list without leaving the till.
Tick "Remember this number" when sending a WhatsApp receipt. The number is saved so repeat customers get served faster.
On the cash payment screen, tap the quick-amount buttons to fill common note denominations in one tap — no typing required.
Use the date picker in the History tab to jump to any past trading day instantly. Clear it to see all-time history again.
Open any past sale from the History tab and issue a fresh WhatsApp message, PDF, or printed receipt for it.
Edit your Excel file and re-upload it at any time. Existing sales and receipts are not affected — only future sales use the new prices.
On mobile the cart slides up from the bottom. On tablet and desktop the cart sits alongside your product grid. One app, every screen size.
Change currency at any time from the header. The symbol updates on all prices, receipts, and reports immediately.
Tap the version badge next to the VesselTill logo in the header to see the changelog — what's new and what was fixed in each update.
The sun/moon icon in the header follows your device's system setting by default, or tap it to switch manually. Your choice is remembered on that device.
Next to the Settings tab, three small icons link to the landing page (About), a plain-language Terms & Privacy summary, and the keyboard shortcuts cheat sheet — no digging through menus.