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The Cash Drawer Will Not Open

The drawer is opened by the printer, not by the tablet. The tablet sends a command to the printer, and the printer pulses the drawer through the cable plugged into its DK port.

That single fact explains almost every drawer problem: if the printer is not working, the drawer will not open — including when the printer is simply out of paper.

1. Fix the Printer First

Before looking at the drawer at all, confirm the printer is healthy:

  • Switched on
  • Has paper, loaded the right way round
  • On the same network as the tablet
  • Ethernet cable connected

Work through Printing Problems if any of these are in doubt, then try the drawer again.

Warning

A printer that has run out of paper will refuse to open the drawer. Staff usually read this as a broken drawer and start looking at the wrong thing.

2. Check the Drawer Is Not Locked

Cash drawers have a physical key lock on the front. A locked drawer will not open no matter how many times the command is sent — the printer pulses, the solenoid fires, and the lock holds it shut.

Turn the key to the unlocked position and try again.

3. Check the Drawer Cable

The cable must be plugged into the printer's DK port — it looks like a telephone socket and is on the back of the printer, alongside the power and network sockets.

Check that it is seated firmly at both ends and has not been pulled loose.

4. Check Automatic Opening Is Enabled

If the drawer opens with the Open register button but not on its own after a cash payment, the behaviour is switched off rather than broken.

In the Admin Panel settings, Open cash register automatically controls whether the drawer opens when a cash payment is confirmed.

Note

Automatic opening applies to Register and Main devices. On a device signed in with a personal account, the drawer does not open by itself at the end of a payment.

5. Check the Button Has Not Been Taken Away

If the Open register button is missing from the Home Screen and the payment screen, the user has the Hide cashbox button ability set in the Admin Panel. That ability deliberately removes manual opening, so the drawer can only open as part of a payment.

It applies to every user who has it, including administrators. See Users.

Testing It

Once you have made a change:

  1. Press Open register — this tests the printer, the cable and the lock, with no money involved
  2. Then confirm a cash payment — this additionally tests the automatic-opening setting

If step 1 works and step 2 does not, the hardware is fine and the setting is the problem.

Summary

  • The printer opens the drawer — no printer, no drawer
  • Out of paper is a drawer problem as much as a printing problem
  • Check the physical key lock and the DK port cable
  • Open cash register automatically controls opening after a cash payment
  • Open register tests the hardware on its own