Cart Management: Adding, Editing, and Removing Items
Master the AskBiz POS cart — add items, adjust quantities, apply discounts, and handle customer changes without slowing down the queue.
Key Takeaways
- The AskBiz POS cart updates in real time as you scan, search, or manually add products.
- You can adjust quantities, remove items, and apply discounts at any point before payment.
- Cart changes are reflected instantly in the running total and VAT calculation.
Adding items to the cart
There are three ways to add items in AskBiz POS. The fastest is barcode scanning — tap the scan button, point your camera, and the product appears in the cart. Second, you can search by name using the search bar at the top of the selling screen. AskBiz uses fuzzy matching, so typing 'choc' will surface 'Chocolate Brownie', 'Hot Chocolate Sachet', and anything else containing those letters. Third, you can browse your product catalogue by category — useful when you know the category but not the exact name. Each time you add an item, it appears as a new line in the cart with its name, unit price, and quantity set to one. If you scan an item that is already in the cart, the quantity increments automatically rather than adding a duplicate line. The cart scrolls smoothly if you have a long list, and the total updates instantly with each addition.
Editing quantities and prices
Customers change their minds. They want three of something instead of one, or they decide they actually do not want the crisps after all. In AskBiz POS, tap the quantity field next to any item and type the new number directly — there is no need to repeatedly tap a plus button. For a single-item removal, swipe the line to the left and tap Delete, or set the quantity to zero. If you need to override a price (for example, a damaged item sold at a discount), tap the price field and enter the new amount. Price overrides are logged in the audit trail so you can review them later and ensure they are legitimate. All of these changes happen in real time: the running total, VAT breakdown, and item count update the moment you make a change, so the customer always sees an accurate figure.
Applying discounts
AskBiz POS supports two types of discounts: percentage-based and fixed-amount. A percentage discount reduces the price by a set proportion — for instance, 10% off. A fixed-amount discount reduces the price by a specific figure — say, £2 off. You can apply discounts to individual items or to the entire cart. To apply an item-level discount, tap the item in the cart and select Discount. To apply a cart-level discount, tap the discount button below the cart total. Discounts are clearly shown on the receipt so the customer can see what they saved, and they are recorded in your sales data so you can analyse how much you are discounting and whether it is driving additional volume. If you run regular promotions (such as 'buy two, get 10% off'), you can set up reusable discount presets so your staff do not have to calculate percentages on the spot.
Handling complex cart scenarios
Real-world retail throws up situations that a basic cart cannot handle well. A customer wants to split their purchase into two transactions — perhaps one paid personally and one on a business card. In AskBiz, you can park the current cart (saving it temporarily), start a new transaction, and return to the parked cart afterwards. Another common scenario is a customer who realises mid-checkout that they have forgotten an item and runs back to the shelf. You do not need to cancel the transaction — the cart waits patiently while they fetch the item, and you add it when they return. If you need to add a note to the transaction (for example, 'customer requested a VAT receipt by email'), tap the Notes field at the bottom of the cart. Notes are stored against the transaction and visible in your audit trail and reports.