Once you’ve started your register and opened your drawer, you’re ready to begin making sales. This article walks you through starting an order for either a saved customer or an anonymous customer, so you can process transactions smoothly from the Sales screen.
Before you start:
You must be logged in with your own GrowFlow Retail account.
Make sure there's an open and active register. A register opened by another user doesn’t count for you — if your store uses the One User Per Register cashier setting, only the user who opened that register can start orders from it.
How to Start an Order for Saved Customers — Customer Queue Off
To start an order for an existing customer in your Customers list:
1. From the main menu, click Sales.
2. Select Cashier Home.
3. Choose a customer from the list, or type their name into the Search field to locate their profile.
4. Once you’ve selected a customer profile, you need to click Start Order. This step links the customer to the transaction and opens the order screen where items can be added. You’ll know the order has started successfully when the order screen opens with the customer’s name displayed at the top. At this point, the system is ready for you to scan or search for products to add to the cart.
How to Start an Order for Saved Customers — Customer Queue On
To start an order for an existing customer while using the Customer Queue feature:
1. Click Customers from the main menu.
2. Select a customer from the list, or type their name into the Search field to locate their profile.
3. In the Customer Details pane, click Check In in the top‑right corner.
4. Confirm that there's a register open, then click Start Order to begin the order. You’ll know the process worked when the customer moves from the queue into an active order screen, with their name displayed at the top. The system is now ready for you to scan or search for products to add to the cart.
How to Start an Anonymous Order
You must have the Anonymous Customers setting enabled in Store Settings > Customer Management before you can start an anonymous customer order. For more details, see the Store Settings Overview article.
1. Click Sales to open the Cashier Home page.
2. In the top‑right corner, click the green Quick Add button. From the drop‑down menu, you can also start an anonymous order for a Veteran, Senior, Disabled, or Student customer.
3. After clicking Quick Add or selecting New Veteran, Senior, Disabled, or Student customer, you’ll be prompted to enter an anonymous rec name. Enter the customer’s name here. The profile will remain anonymous on the Customers page, and their account will be marked as anonymous.
Troubleshooting
I don't see Check In or Start Order at all
If you don’t see Check In or Start Order, it means a register isn’t open under your login. These options only appear once a drawer or register is open. Go to the Sales page and check whether there’s a Current Drawer open or if the Register Status shows as Available. If no register is open, you’ll need to open one before you can check in a customer or start an order.
See Starting a Register for instructions on how to open a register.
The Start Order button is visible but won't click
If the Start Order button is visible but won’t click, it usually means there’s an open order left over on your account from an earlier session. This can happen if the browser or app was closed or you logged out without canceling an in‑progress order. To resolve it, go to the Sales page and check for any Pending Orders.
A customer is stuck in the queue or register
For a customer stuck in the queue or register, go to the Home page or navigate to Sales and then Cashier Home. Look for the Remove All From Queue or Erase button beside Quick Add. Using this option will clear the entire queue and resolve the issue. You can also check the Pending Orders tab for that customer profile to see if they have a pending or held order, which you can either Resume or Cancel.
See the Customer Queue article for instructions on clearing the customer queue.