Description: The Shift4 Venue Quick Service (QS) POS can take orders and process payments even when it is offline. These transactions are stored locally until the POS and payment processor are available, at which point they are submitted automatically or manually. This guide explains what an offline order/transaction is, how to identify unsynced orders, how to sync them, and why orders may still appear as “Approved Offline” in DataNow after syncing.
What is an Offline Order or Transaction?
The POS can place orders and process payments in different connectivity scenarios:
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Online: POS is online and the card reader is in online mode.
Orders are sent to STVenue immediately.
Payments are sent to the processor immediately.
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Offline Only: POS is online, but the card reader is in offline mode.
POS may be manually placed into Offline Only mode via Payment Processing Mode in the Hardware Debug screen, or automatically placed into this mode during poor network conditions or processor outages.
Orders are sent to STVenue immediately.
Payments are stored on the card reader and sent to the processor later.
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Offline: POS and card reader are both in offline mode.
Orders are stored on the POS and sent to STVenue once the POS is back online.
Payments are stored on the card reader and sent to the processor later.
Identify Devices with Offline Orders or Transactions
You can determine if a device has offline orders or transactions in three ways:
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From the POS Orders List:
Go to Hamburger icon > Orders.
If the device summary icon is yellow, there are offline orders/transactions to sync.
Tap the icon to open Device Summary.
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From Device Summary:
If Offline Card Transactions or Unsynced Order Details Data is greater than 0, the device has orders to sync.
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From DataNow Device Monitoring Report:
Navigate to Reports > Device Monitoring.
This report lists all Approved Offline orders created in the last 24 hours, along with the device name, revenue center, quantity of orders, and total approved amount.
Sync Offline Orders and Transactions
Verify Device Readiness
Ensure:
Stable internet connection.
Device is connected to power or has enough battery life.
Network meets speed and firewall requirements.
To verify:
Go to Hamburger icon > Debug Info > Network.
Test all domains/IPs in the Network Whitelist. Contact your network administrator if any fail.
Test speed via Fast.com. Minimum: 10 Mbps upload, 5 Mbps download.
If requirements are met but sync still fails, contact Shift4 Venue Support and provide photos/videos of the Network troubleshooting section.
Perform Sync
Go to Hamburger icon > Orders > Device Summary icon.
Select Sync Orders > Continue on the confirmation modal.
The POS first sends any unsent orders to STVenue.
Offline payment transactions are then sent to the processor.
Sync is complete when both Offline Card Transactions and Unsynced Order Details Data show 0.
You will also see a notification when syncing is complete.
How to Confirm Sync Completion
If both counts on the POS read 0, no further action is needed—even if DataNow still shows “Approved Offline.”
Why DataNow May Still Show "Approved Offline" After Sync
Nightly Process Delay: A nightly job compares “Approved Offline” orders to invoices in Lighthouse Transaction Manager (LTM) and updates them to “Completed” or “Authorization Failed.”
Batch Sync Disruptions: Orders may still appear as “Approved Offline” until the nightly process runs.
Why "Approved Offline" Orders Remain the Day After an Event
If transactions are not in LTM: The payment device has not synced offline transactions to the processor. Follow the sync steps above.
If transactions are in LTM: The merchant token on the payment device may be pointing to a different Merchant ID (MID) than the POS menu. See Mapping Merchant Tokens in Canopy to ensure the MIDs match.
Additional Resources
Note: When contacting Shift4 Venue Support for advanced issues, provide photos/videos of the Network troubleshooting section for faster resolution.
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