Online Order Alerts & Tickets
When a customer places an order on your online storefront or WooCommerce shop, that order lands in the POS within a few seconds. Brother POS can announce it two ways so nobody misses it while they are busy with in-store customers:
- A chime plays on the register.
- A "new order" ticket prints automatically on your label or receipt printer.
Both are optional and are turned on by your admin. This page explains what the cashier sees and how the pieces fit together. For the setup steps, see Online Order Notifications (Admin).
How It Works
The POS quietly checks for new online orders about every 15 seconds while you are connected to the internet. You do not need to have the orders screen open -- the alert fires from anywhere in the register as long as the app is running.
When a brand-new order arrives:
- The register plays the notification chime (if sound is on).
- A new order ticket prints (if auto-print is on).
- The orders tab flags that there is something new to look at.
The order itself still lives in the orders list, where you load it to the cart, mark it ready, or complete it. See WooCommerce Orders and Fulfillment for handling the order after it arrives.
The POS remembers which orders it has already seen. Reloading the register or opening a new till will not re-chime or re-print orders that were already sitting in the queue -- only orders that arrive after that point trigger an alert.
The Arrival Chime
The chime is a short sound that plays once for each new order. A few things to know:
- Volume is set by your admin, from quiet to loud.
- Repeat mode (optional): if turned on, the register keeps chiming every 20 seconds until someone opens the orders tab, so an order can't sit unnoticed during a rush.
- Per-vertical sounds (optional): stores that sell more than one kind of product can play a different chime depending on what was ordered -- for example, one sound for a food order and another for a cannabis order. An order that mixes categories plays a "mixed" sound. If your admin hasn't set this up, every order plays the same default chime.
Web browsers block sound until someone interacts with the page. On the browser/PWA version, tap or click the register once after loading so the first chime can play. On the Brother POS iPad/Android app this isn't necessary -- sound works right away.
The Auto-Printed Ticket
When auto-print is enabled, a compact ticket prints as soon as the order arrives. It's a quick heads-up slip -- think of it like a kitchen or pickup ticket -- showing the essentials:
- Customer name and phone
- Order number
- Items and quantities
- Order total
Your admin chooses where it prints:
| Setting | What prints |
|---|---|
| Off | No ticket (the chime can still play) |
| Label printer | A label-sized ticket |
| Receipt printer | A receipt-sized ticket |
| Both | One on each |
The ticket is generated on the server and sent to your local printer through the printer bridge, the same way normal receipts and labels print. A label or receipt printer must already be set up on the register.
Even with the chime turned off, the auto-printed ticket acts as a silent notification -- staff simply grab the slip off the printer as orders come in.
Which Register Prints? (Designated Register)
In a store with several registers, you don't want a copy of every ticket printing at every till. Your admin can pick one register to be the printer for online orders.
- The chime still sounds on every register so all staff hear the alert.
- The ticket only prints from the designated register.
If your store has a single register, or your admin leaves this set to "any register," the ticket prints wherever the POS is running.
Choose the register nearest your pickup/pack station as the designated printer, so the ticket lands right where staff assemble the order.
Common Scenarios
A ticket printed but there's no order on screen
Open the orders tab (WooCommerce or storefront) and refresh. The order is there -- the ticket just reached the printer a moment before you looked. If it's genuinely missing, check your internet connection.
The chime plays but nothing prints
Auto-print may be off, or this register may not be the designated printer. Both are normal. Check with your manager if you expected a ticket. Also confirm a label/receipt printer is connected to this register.
Orders keep chiming
That's repeat mode doing its job -- it nags until someone opens the orders tab. Open the orders tab to acknowledge the new orders and the repeat chime stops.
Troubleshooting
| Problem | Solution |
|---|---|
| No chime ever plays | Ask your admin to confirm the sound is enabled in Settings. On the browser version, tap the screen once after loading to unlock audio. |
| Chime plays on the wrong device only | The chime is meant to play on every register. If one till is silent, tap its screen once and check the device's volume/mute. |
| Ticket doesn't print | Confirm a label or receipt printer is set up on this register, and that this is the designated print register (or that "any register" is selected). |
| Every till prints a copy | Your admin needs to pick a single designated print register in Settings. |
| Old orders re-printed after a reload | This is rare and self-corrects. The POS establishes a fresh baseline once orders load; it should not re-print existing orders on a normal reload. |
Best Practices
- Turn on repeat mode during busy periods so a new order can't slip by while you're serving the counter.
- Designate the register at your pack station as the printer so tickets land where the work happens.
- Keep the register app running on at least one device -- the alert only fires while the POS is open and online.
- Use per-vertical sounds if you sell food and cannabis (or any two very different lines) so staff know at a glance what just came in.
What's Next?
- WooCommerce Orders -- View, load, and complete online orders at the register.
- Fulfillment -- Process delivery and shipping orders.
- Online Order Notifications (Admin) -- Set up the chime, auto-print, and designated register.