Scale
Brother POS lets you weigh products directly at the register and capture the weight into the cart. There are three ways the register can talk to a scale:
| Connection | Where it's used | How it works |
|---|---|---|
| USB (Web Serial) | Desktop Chrome/Edge | The scale plugs into the register PC via a USB-to-serial adapter |
| Network (iPad app) | iPad POS app | The register reaches a network bridge scale (USR-W610) over the LAN |
| Network (browser/PWA) | Desktop browser / PWA | The register reaches the same bridge scale through a local relay |
All three give you a live weight reading, a stable/in-motion indicator, and a manual weight entry fallback. The deli-style weigh-heavy workflow (capture the actual dispensed weight, allow a free give-away over the tier) works on every connection.
This page covers using the scale from the register. To assign or configure a scale store-wide, see Scales in the admin guide, and Printer Bridge for the network relay.
Before You Begin
- The scale integration setting (Enable scale) must be enabled in your store settings.
- For a USB scale: it must connect via a USB-to-serial adapter (RS-232 to USB). Common chipsets include Prolific (PL2303), FTDI (FT232R), Silicon Labs (CP210x), and QinHeng (CH340/CH341). The Web Serial API must be supported by your browser (Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge on desktop only). Your browser may need permission to access the serial port the first time you connect.
- For a network scale: a USR-W610 serial-to-TCP bridge connects the scale to your LAN. The iPad app reaches it directly; a desktop browser/PWA reaches it through the local relay (see Network Scale in the Browser).
The Web Serial API used for USB scales is only available in Chrome and Edge on desktop operating systems. It is not supported on iOS, Android, Firefox, or Safari. A network scale avoids this limitation — it works on the iPad app and through the browser relay. If neither is available, use the manual weight entry fallback.
Connecting a USB Scale
First-Time Setup
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Plug the scale into a USB port on your register computer using a USB-to-serial adapter.
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Open the POS register in your browser.
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Open Scale Settings by tapping Printer Settings in the header bar and navigating to the scale configuration.
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Tap Connect Scale. The browser shows a port selection dialog listing available serial ports.
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Select the port that corresponds to your scale. USB-to-serial adapters are typically labeled with the chipset name.
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Choose a connection method:
Method Description Auto-detect baud rate Brother POS tries common rates (9600, 4800, 2400, 1200) and picks the one that produces valid readings Manual baud rate You specify the baud rate if you know it (9600 is the most common) -
Once connected, a scale indicator appears on the POS screen showing the live weight reading.
Auto-Detect Baud Rate
The auto-detect feature tries each baud rate in sequence and listens for valid scale frames:
- Tap Auto-Detect in the scale settings.
- The browser shows the port selection dialog (requires a user gesture for security).
- Select your scale's port.
- A progress indicator shows which baud rate is being tested.
- When a valid frame is detected, the connection is established at that rate.
- If no valid frame is found at any rate, the detection reports failure.
Most retail scales operate at 9600 baud. If auto-detect is taking too long, try connecting manually at 9600 first.
Auto-Reconnect
After the first successful connection, Brother POS remembers the authorized port and reconnects on its own in three situations — none of which show the port-picker dialog:
| Situation | What happens |
|---|---|
| You reload or reopen the POS | On launch, the register silently re-opens the last connected scale. The browser keeps the port permission after the first grant, so there's no picker — the scale just comes back. |
| The scale powers back on | USB scales get switched off far more than printers do. When a previously connected scale powers up again, the register notices and re-opens it automatically. The connection indicator reflects the drop and the recovery. |
| Network scale on launch | A configured network scale reconnects through the relay on startup the same way. |
- No user gesture is required for any of these — the picker only appears on the very first pairing.
- Auto-reconnect only fires for a scale you connected this session; if you intentionally disconnect the scale, it stays off until you reconnect it by hand.
- If the scale is unplugged or unreachable, the reconnect silently fails and the manual entry fallback is available.
Connecting a Network Scale
A network scale uses a USR-W610 serial-to-TCP bridge that puts the scale on your LAN. This is the recommended setup for iPad registers, since the iPad app cannot use Web Serial.
Self-Config from the iPad
If your role has the Manage scale permission, you can discover, test, and save the bridge address right from the register — no admin login needed. Open Scale settings in the POS and you'll see the network scale panel:
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Tap "Scan for scale." The iPad app broadcasts a discovery request on the LAN and lists any USR-W610 bridges it finds. If exactly one is found, its IP is filled in automatically; if several are found, tap the one you want.
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If discovery finds nothing (or you're in the browser, where LAN discovery isn't available), enter the bridge details manually:
Field Description Bridge IP The bridge's LAN address, e.g. 192.168.1.50Port The bridge's TCP port (default 8899)Name A label for the scale, e.g. "Counter Scale" Protocol The scale's data format: generic,auto,nci, orand -
Tap "Test." The register connects and shows the live weight below if it can reach the bridge.
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Tap "Save." The scale is saved and assigned as this register's default scale.
On your router, set a DHCP reservation for the bridge so its IP never changes. Otherwise the saved address can stop working after a reboot.
If your role doesn't have Manage scale, the panel shows the configured bridge address and a Reconnect button, but you can't change it. Ask an admin to assign a scale.
Network Scale in the Browser
A desktop browser or the PWA can't open a raw network connection to the bridge directly, so it connects through a small local relay that runs alongside the Printer Bridge. With a network scale configured and the relay running, the browser register auto-connects to the scale on startup, the same way the iPad app does.
Reading Weight
Live Weight Display
When connected, the scale sends continuous weight readings to the POS. The scale indicator shows:
| Indicator | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Weight value | The current reading (e.g., "3.5g") |
| Unit | The measurement unit (g, kg, oz, lb) |
| Stable indicator | Whether the reading is stable or the item is still settling |
| Overload warning | Appears when the item exceeds the scale's capacity |
Stability
The scale reports whether the current reading is stable (item has settled) or in motion (still settling):
- Stable -- the weight is reliable and can be used.
- In motion -- wait for the item to settle before capturing the weight.
Brother POS visually distinguishes between stable and unstable readings so you know when the weight is ready to use.
Using the Scale During a Sale (Inline)
The default workflow is inline: pick the product, weigh it, and the weight is captured right in the weight modal.
Weighing a Product
- Add the weight-based product to the cart (tap, search, or scan). The weight selection modal opens.
- Place the product on the scale. When the scale is connected, a live reading is pinned at the top of the modal so it stays visible even on the iPad's smaller screen.
- Wait for the Stable indicator. The reading is colour-coded: green when it's on a tier (or within the weigh-heavy give-away), red when it's under, amber when it's over.
- Tap the capture button. Its label changes to match what it will do:
- Use Scale Weight (tier name) — the pour reached a preset tier, so the product is added at that tier's price.
- Use _N_g — a per-gram product. The reading (floored to the rounding step, see Per-Gram Round-Down) is added straight to the cart — the tap is the confirmation, so there's no second Add to Cart step. The number pad is still there if you need to type a custom amount by hand.
- The product is added to the cart at the captured weight with the price calculated.
Earlier the Use Scale Weight button could sit dead — it required the reading to land within 10% of a preset, so per-gram flowers and off-preset weights (e.g. 5g) left it disabled. It now routes by product type: a matching tier adds at the deal price, a per-gram reading adds straight to the cart at the floored weight, and only preset-only products with no match show a clear toast instead of doing nothing.
Weigh-Heavy / Actual-Weight Capture
For deli-style flower you charge a tier but record what was actually poured. When the reading is over the charged tier:
- Within the weigh-heavy threshold (set in store settings): the extra grams are a free give-away. The reading shows +_N_g free in green, and the customer is still charged the tier price.
- Over the threshold: the reading shows +_N_g over in amber as a heads-up to pour some back.
The actual poured weight is recorded on the line, so inventory deducts what was really dispensed (the give-away comes out of real stock) and the give-away is reported. See the Give-Away (Weigh-Heavy) report in the admin for totals.
Per-Gram Round-Down
For per-gram products, your store can floor a scale capture down to a clean step so the customer is never charged for the fractional grams above it. The step is set in store settings (Per-gram rounding — off, down to 0.5g, or down to 1g):
- At the 0.5g step:
11.3gis charged as11.0g,11.5gstays11.5g,11.7gis charged as11.5g. Common amounts like0.5gand3.5gstay exact. - At the 1g step:
11.3gis charged as11.0g, and bumps to12.0gonly at12.0g. - Off: the exact reading is charged.
Rounding only ever rounds down, so the customer never pays for the fraction. The actual un-rounded weight is still recorded on the line, so inventory deducts the real grams poured and the difference is tracked as a give-away. Round-down applies to scale captures only ("Use _N_g" and auto-capture) — a manually typed weight is used as-is.
Cart Give-Away Warning
If a weighed line ends up poured heavier than it's charged for (e.g. a 7g Quarter dispensed at 11.4g), the cart line shows a small +_N_g badge so the budtender can catch a mis-weigh at checkout:
- Muted when the give-away is under a gram (normal weigh-heavy slack).
- Amber warning once it's a gram or more over — a heads-up that someone may have poured too much.
Tare / Weigh-in-Bag
To weigh product in a bag, tray, or container:
- Put the empty bag/tray on the scale.
- Tap "Tare" next to the live reading. The reading zeroes out, so it now shows only the product weight you add.
- Pour the product and capture as usual.
- Tap "Untare" to clear the offset (it also clears automatically when the scale disconnects).
Tare is software-based in Brother POS, so it works even if your scale hardware has no tare button. You can tare again at any time to re-zero on whatever is currently on the pan.
Manual Weight Entry
If the scale is not connected or not functioning:
- Add the weight-based product to the cart.
- In the weight selection modal, type the weight manually using the number pad.
- Confirm the weight to add the product to the cart.
Manual weight entry is always available as a fallback, even when a scale is connected. This ensures you can continue serving customers if the scale has issues.
Scale Mode (Batch Weighing)
Scale Mode is an alternative weigh-station workflow, useful when one person weighs many pours and another rings them in, or when you want to weigh several items up front. It's enabled by setting the Scale capture mode to Scale Mode (weigh many, attach after) in store settings.
When enabled, a Scale Mode button appears in the cart action bar (on both the with-items and empty-cart button rows). The button only shows when a scale is actually connected on this register — so on a multi-register setup where only some lanes have a scale, the others don't see a dead button. Tap it to open a centered Scale Mode modal:
- Weigh a pour and tap Capture. The weight is added to the list (e.g.
3.5g). You can capture as many as you like before attaching any. - Drop a bad capture with the ✕ next to a weight, or tap Clear to empty the list.
- Tap a captured weight. The modal closes and that weight is armed for the next product tap.
- Tap a weight-based product in the grid. The armed weight is attached to it — no weight modal needed. If more captured weights remain, the modal re-opens so you can pick the next one.
- Tare/Untare is available right in the modal, the same as the inline flow.
Attaching a weight in Scale Mode prices it the same way the inline weigh-out does. A tiered or preset product snaps to the tier the pour reaches (charge the tier price, record the actual grams as dispensed, with any overage tracked as a give-away). A per-gram product floors to the rounding step (see Per-Gram Round-Down). The raw weight is recorded as actual dispensed so inventory deducts what was really poured.
Auto-Capture When Steady
You can turn on Auto-capture when steady in store settings. When on, a fresh pour that holds steady auto-captures — no Use Scale Weight tap needed. The hold time is configurable (Auto-capture hold (seconds) in store settings, default 5 seconds); a new pour must stay settled for the full duration before it fires.
- Inline mode: a tier/preset reading auto-adds the item; a per-gram reading auto-adds it straight to the cart at the floored charge weight.
- Scale Mode: a fresh pour held steady auto-drops into the capture list — weigh item after item hands-free, then attach them to products. An "Auto-captures when held steady" indicator shows in the modal.
- Fresh-pour safety: auto-capture only fires after the scale has returned near-empty, so it won't grab a weight already sitting on the pan when the modal opens, or fire on a small drift. It never fires at or near zero, and fires once per pour (clearing the pan re-arms it).
- Over-threshold safety (inline): for tiered/preset products, inline auto-capture won't auto-add a pour that's past the weigh-heavy threshold — a fresh 13g pour settling onto a 7g tier is more likely a mis-pick than a 6g freebie. Instead it shows "Too heavy to auto-add — tap to confirm" so the budtender consciously commits. Per-gram products have no tier, so they're never blocked. (This only affects inline auto-add; Scale Mode just queues the weight, with no charge until you attach it.)
- It's off by default — many budtenders prefer to confirm each pour by hand.
Auto-Print Exit Label
If your register has Auto-print labels turned on, Brother POS automatically prints the exit/bagging label whenever a weighed item is added — on every add path: preset tap, per-gram custom entry, scale capture, tab, offline, and Scale Mode attach. The budtender never has to walk back to print a label.
How the Weight Was Entered
Every weighed line records how its weight was set, so managers can see who's actually using the scale versus tapping presets or typing weights by hand:
| Method | When it's recorded |
|---|---|
| Scale | A live scale reading — "Use Scale Weight", auto-capture, a Scale Mode queue attach, a scale-armed preset, or re-weighing a line via the weigh-out modal. |
| Preset | A bare preset-button tap, with no scale reading behind it. |
| Manual | A weight typed in by hand on the numpad. |
You don't do anything to set this — it's captured automatically at the point you commit the weight. It surfaces on the order/sale view (each weighed line shows ⚖ Weighed on scale or Preset/Manual weight) and in the admin Give-Away (Weigh-Heavy) report's per-budtender scale-usage summary. See Weigh-Heavy Give-Away.
Supported Units
| Unit | Full Name | Common Use |
|---|---|---|
| g | Grams | Cannabis and small quantities |
| kg | Kilograms | Bulk items |
| oz | Ounces | Cannabis (1 oz = 28g) |
| lb | Pounds | Larger bulk items |
The scale determines which unit to report. You can change the unit on the scale hardware itself (typically via a button on the scale). Brother POS reads whatever unit the scale sends.
Connection Issues
If you are having trouble connecting your scale, check the Troubleshooting table below. If the issue persists, contact Brother POS support for assistance.
Troubleshooting
| Problem | Solution |
|---|---|
| Scale settings missing | The scale integration setting is not enabled. Ask your admin to enable it. |
| Browser does not show port dialog (USB) | You are using an unsupported browser. Switch to Chrome or Edge on desktop, or use a network scale. |
| Port dialog shows no devices (USB) | The USB-to-serial adapter is not recognized. Try a different USB port or adapter. Check that the OS has the appropriate driver (most are plug-and-play on modern systems). |
| Connected but no readings | Wrong baud rate (USB). Try auto-detect or test each rate manually. |
| Readings are garbled | Wrong baud rate or encoding (USB). Use debug mode to inspect the raw data. For a network scale, check the Protocol matches the scale's data format. |
| "Scan for scale" finds nothing | LAN discovery only works in the iPad app, not the browser. Enter the bridge IP and port manually. Confirm the bridge and iPad are on the same network. |
| "Test" can't reach the bridge | Wrong IP or port, or the bridge is offline. Verify the address; reserve the bridge IP via DHCP so it doesn't change. |
| Can't change the network scale | Your role lacks the Manage scale permission. Ask an admin, who can also assign the scale in the admin settings. |
| Network scale won't connect in the browser | The local relay isn't running. It runs alongside the Printer Bridge — see Printer Bridge. |
| "Overload" warning | The item exceeds the scale's weight capacity. Use a higher-capacity scale. |
| Weight reading fluctuates | The item has not settled. Wait for the stable indicator before capturing. Ensure the scale is on a level, vibration-free surface. |
| Scale disconnects randomly | Check the USB cable connection, or the bridge's network/power for a network scale. A loose adapter can cause intermittent disconnections. |
Best Practices
- Tare before weighing in a bag or tray. Use the in-app Tare button to zero out the container, even if your scale has no hardware tare.
- Wait for stability. Always capture the weight when the stable indicator is showing. Motion readings are unreliable.
- Keep the scale clean. Product residue on the weighing platform affects accuracy.
- Use auto-detect on first setup (USB). It saves time guessing the baud rate.
- Reserve the bridge IP (network). A DHCP reservation keeps a network scale reachable after reboots.
- Have manual entry as a backup plan. Train staff on manual weight entry so they are not blocked if the scale has issues.
- Place the scale on a stable surface. Vibrations from foot traffic or other equipment can cause inaccurate readings.
What's Next?
- Scales (Admin) -- Assign and configure scales store-wide
- Printer Bridge -- The local relay used for network scales in the browser
- Barcode Scanner -- Set up barcode scanning for fast product lookup
- Receipt Printing -- Configure receipt printers
- Making a Sale -- The complete sales workflow including weight-based products