POS / Sales Transaction: the full procedure

Ring up a sale accurately and smoothly so the customer is greeted, charged correctly, and leaves with the right goods and a receipt.

• Applies to: All store associates working the register.
• Frequency: Every customer checkout.
• Scope: Covers greet-through-bagging at the register. Price/discount disputes escalate to a manager.

What you need

• POS terminal
• Barcode scanner
• Card / contactless reader
• Receipt printer
• Bags

The procedure, step by step

1. Greet the customer — Acknowledge the customer warmly as they reach the counter so checkout feels welcoming, not transactional.
2. Scan & ring items — Scan each SKU or key in the item, confirming each rings at the right price and quantity.
3. Apply discounts & tax — Apply any valid promo, coupon, or loyalty discount per policy and let the POS calculate the total with sales tax.
4. Confirm the total — State the total clearly and ask how they’d like to pay before starting payment.
5. Take payment — Accept the chosen tender — tap/insert/swipe card, contactless/digital wallet, or count cash and give correct change — and wait for the approval.
6. Offer the receipt — Print or email the receipt per the customer’s choice, and include it in the bag for returns.
7. Bag the order — Bag items safely — heavy/sturdy on the bottom, fragile on top, separate as needed — and hand it over.
8. Close & reset — Thank the customer, confirm the drawer is closed, and clear the counter for the next sale.

Quality check before you finish

• Every item scanned/keyed at the correct price and quantity.
• Discounts and loyalty applied only per policy.
• Payment authorized/approved before goods leave the counter.
• Cash change counted back correctly.
• Receipt offered (print or email) every time.
• Items bagged safely with no missed merchandise.

This is a free, source-anchored standard operating procedure (SOP) you can print and hand to staff. It documents the work sequence for a Small Retail Store business — not safety or regulatory rulings, which defer to the cited authorities, the applicable code, and your own health-and-safety plan. Open the tool above to print it, toggle ink-saver, or (with a free ToolFluency Business account) edit it to match your own workflow.

Sources

• Square — How to Use a POS System (squareup.com)
• Shopify — POS Checkout & Payments (shopify.com)