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Installation & Setup

This guide walks you through installing PointlessPOS on your WordPress site and configuring the initial settings so the plugin can connect to your POS system.

Requirements​

  • WordPress: 5.0 or higher
  • PHP: 7.4 or higher
  • Active Point of Sale system with API access
  • Your POS API Base URL and Image Base URL

Step 1 — Install the Plugin​

You can install PointlessPOS using either method:

  1. Navigate to Plugins > Add New in your WordPress dashboard
  2. Click Upload Plugin at the top
  3. Choose the pointless-pos.zip file and click Install Now
  4. Click Activate once installation completes

Install via FTP / File Manager​

  1. Upload the pointless-pos folder to your wp-content/plugins/ directory
  2. Navigate to Plugins in your WordPress dashboard
  3. Find PointlessPOS in the plugin list and click Activate

Step 2 — Configure API Connection​

After activation, navigate to PointlessPOS > Settings in your WordPress admin sidebar.

You will see a tabbed settings page. On the Settings tab, fill in:

FieldDescription
API Base URLThe full base URL of your POS REST API (e.g., https://api.yourposdomain.com)
Image Base URLThe base URL where product images are hosted
Image Fallback URLOptional — URL for a placeholder image when products have no photo
Catalog ColumnsNumber of columns in the product grid (1–6, default: 3)
Catalog Root Page SlugSlug of the page that contains your PointlessPOS shortcodes (e.g., catalog-listing)
Minimum Inventory CountItems below this stock level are hidden from advanced search (default: 6, set to 0 to show all)
Checkout Base URLOptional — external checkout URL for order completion (e.g., https://your-webapp/checkout)
Cart StyleFull Page (links to cart page) or Side Panel (slide-in overlay)
Floating Cart PositionRight (default) or Left side of the screen
Header View ModeCategories Grid (default card grid) or Menu View (department overlay)
Side Panel Extra ContentOptional shortcode rendered below checkout in the side panel (e.g., [pointless_pos_price_schedules name="Specials"])

Click Save Changes to persist the values. For a complete reference of every setting, see Settings Reference.

Step 3 — Add Shortcodes to Your Pages​

The plugin uses shortcodes to render content. Create or edit WordPress pages/posts where you want your catalog to appear, and add the relevant shortcode(s):

Basic Catalog Page​

Create a page for your product listing and include both shortcodes:

[pointless_pos_categories]
[pointless_pos_catalog]

This gives visitors a browsable categories header above the full item catalog.

Product Detail Page​

Create a page template or single page for product details:

[pointless_pos_product]

This shortcode only renders output when the visitor is on a valid product route URL, so you can safely place it on a shared template page.

Optional Features​

ShortcodeWhat It Does
[pointless_pos_advanced_search]Enables ecommerce-style filtering sidebar (must also be enabled in admin settings)
[pointless_pos_product_display categoryId="12"]Embeds a curated product listing with configurable filters and layout
[pointless_pos_menu_display menuId="5"]Renders a restaurant-style menu for the specified menu ID
[pointless_pos_flower_prices]Displays flower price list (cannabis module)
[pointless_pos_price_schedules name="Specials"]Renders a price schedule — can also be placed inside the side panel cart via settings

For detailed documentation of each feature, see the following pages:

Step 4 — Enable Advanced Search (Optional)​

If you want to offer multi-criteria product filtering:

  1. Go to PointlessPOS > Settings
  2. Navigate to the Advanced Search tab
  3. Toggle the feature to enabled
  4. Select which filter types should be visible to customers
  5. Save changes
  6. Add [pointless_pos_advanced_search] to your catalog page

Step 5 — Configure Cart Page (Optional)​

To enable the floating cart button and shopping cart functionality:

  1. Create a WordPress page for your cart (e.g., "My Cart")
  2. Go to PointlessPOS > Settings
  3. Select your cart page from the dropdown selector
  4. Save changes

The floating cart button will appear on all pages except the cart and checkout pages themselves, showing a live count of items in the cart.

Step 6 — Import Clients (Optional)​

If you want to sync customer data from your POS into WordPress:

  1. Generate a short-lived token from your POS admin panel
  2. Navigate to PointlessPOS > Settings > Client Import tab
  3. Paste the token into the input field
  4. Set page size and page number, then click Fetch Page to preview results
  5. Click Import Page to sync records into WordPress
  6. Repeat for additional pages as needed

Imported client data can be used with third-party CRM/email tools or accessed via the FluentCRM integration.

Verification​

After setup, verify the plugin is working:

  1. Visit your catalog page URL — you should see categories and product listings from your POS
  2. Click a category to confirm filtered browsing works
  3. Click a product to confirm the detail page renders with pricing and add-to-cart
  4. Add an item to cart and check that the floating cart button appears on other pages

Troubleshooting​

  • Blank output: Verify your API Base URL is correct and accessible from the WordPress server
  • No products showing: Check that your POS has active items with webMode = 1 enabled
  • Broken images: Ensure the Image Base URL and fallback URL are set correctly
  • 404 on product/category pages: Visit Settings > Permalinks and click Save to flush rewrite rules