Billing Machine or Billing App: What a Small Shop Really Needs

Many shop owners think they need to buy a billing machine before they can give proper bills. Most small shops do not. A billing app on a phone or computer you already have, with two inexpensive add-ons, does the same job.

What you need

• A phone, tablet or computer with Chrome. An Android phone or tablet at the counter, or a laptop or desktop.
• A barcode scanner if you sell packaged goods. Any USB or Bluetooth scanner that types like a keyboard works; on Android you can also use the camera.
• A thermal receipt printer if customers want a printed bill: 58 mm (small) or 80 mm (standard) width. Or share bills on WhatsApp and skip the printer.
• A cash drawer, optional, which plugs into the printer and opens when a cash bill prints.

When a billing machine makes sense

An all-in-one Android billing machine (screen, printer and sometimes a scanner in one box) is neat on a busy counter. Check before buying that your billing software can use its built-in printer: QuickBills cannot use the printers built into such machines yet (Sunmi, iMin and similar), so with QuickBills a separate thermal printer is the better choice.

Which printer connection

• Wi-Fi or network cable: works from any device, and several devices can share one printer.
• USB: plugged into a Windows computer.
• Bluetooth: from Chrome on Android.

Starting with nothing extra

You can start billing today on your phone alone: search products by name, take payment, and share the bill on WhatsApp. Add a scanner when you have more products, and a printer when customers ask for paper. QuickBills Free is enough to try it at your counter.