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I will have an e-commerce website connecting to my own REST API that will connect to a MySql Database.

I want to be able to connect a POS(Point of Sale) in a physical store to this same REST API and allow for real time syncing e.g. when an product is purchased online, the inventory is updated to reflect the quantity of that product remaining, and this updated inventory of that particular product will also be updated in the POS. I want this same behaviour to be achievable if the product was bought from the physical store using the POS. How do I achieve this?

I have no problem with the e-commerce website part, but I don't know where to begin with the POS part of the physical store. Do I have to create my own POS or can off-the-shelf POS achieve this?

Any advice will be greatly appreciated,

John

John Biggs
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1 Answers1

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Not the platform to ask these kind of questions. But I try to help out anyway (at my own risks).

Most (if not all) POS come with their own ecosystem including the database. What you want is a POS that uses your own database to keep everything in sync between the website and the POS.

  1. Do some research to see if any POS let you connect to your own database. But I doubt they will cause most POS already integrate their own data and features.

  2. Since all you want is an interface. Put in your mind you are building a second website. Just this time it works on the desktop. There are tools that could help you with that such as Electron. With Electron, you use web technologies to build a desktop app. If you want to offer it on tablets however, you could just build a tablet app with React-native, Ionic or NativeScript. Last but not least, there are existing web-based POS already. So you could just build another website to act as POS and make it connect to the same API used by the e-com website. Sorted!

EddyTheDove
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  • Hey Eddy, First off, thanks for your reply. Either using Electron(Desktop) or building an App through Ionic or the other options you mentioned seems like a nice option. An issue that keeps going through my head is whether these options support the use of external peripherals that will be used with the POS, meaning can I use a barcode reader, barcode printer, card reader? Will these options allow me to use these? Thanks! – John Biggs Oct 30 '17 at 14:53
  • Oh I see. Most of those peripherals are already connected to the PC or wirelessly to the tablet. That means you can check if Electron offers an API that handle the peripherals. Electron offers a lot of API. There are some resources that show you how to do that like here: http://www.codepool.biz/nodejs-barcode-windows-linux-mac.html. Good luck mate. – EddyTheDove Oct 31 '17 at 16:15