Handheld functionality for retailers is a question I get a lot. Then typical in the area of counting, replenishment, receive and daily POS operations. In version 8.1 Microsoft have taken a small step forward to make it easier to use any handheld device that supports a common browser. Because Cloud POS (CPOS) runs in a browser, the application isn’t installed on the device. Instead, the browser accesses the application code from the CPOS server. CPOS can’t directly access POS hardware or work in an offline state.
What Microsoft have done is to make the CPOS change according to the screen size, to work more effectively on your device. To make it simple, I just want to show you how it looks on my iPhone.
Step 1: Direct your browser towards the URL of where the CPOS is located. In LCS you will find the URL here:
Step 2: Activate your POS on mobile device by selecting store and register, and log in
Step 3: Log into CPOS and start using it. Here are some sample screens from my iPhone, where I count an item using CPOS.
You can also “simulate” this in your PC browser, but just reducing the size of your browser window before you log into CPOS. Here I’m showing the inventory lookup in CPOS.
What I would love to see more of is:
– Barcode scanning support using camera
– The ability to create replenishment/purchase orders in CPOS
– More receive capabilities like ASN/Pallet receive etc.
– Improved browser functionality (like back-forward browsing etc)
To me it seems clear that we will see additional improvements in CPOS, making it the preferred mobile platform for Dynamics 365 for Retail. As we get a little, I hope to see more of this as Microsoft is definitely investing in this area. In our own customer projects we will be developing more and more functionality using RTS (Real Time Service calls) to add more features to be used together with CPOS.
To take this to the next level, please also check evaluate to create a hybrid app, that incorporate CPOS in a app friendly way. Sources say that this will also allow us to build extensions like camera barcode scanning
The direction is right and my prediction for the future is that: Mobile Retail device = CPOS.
Kurt Hatlevik - Dynamics 365 Blog 
@Kurt Hatlevik : I have seen hybrid POS app development on android but nothing related to “Barcode scanning support using camera” – any update on this.
I believe hardware station required to use barcode scan, but as per https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics365/commerce/dev-itpro/hybridapp
hardware station comes inbuilt with hybrid android app.
Now to use camera as barcode scanner, any steps recommended or need to alter android app according using Xamarin?
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Hi Satya. I have not checked for a time 🙂 Maybe you could start a thread in the community site ?
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ok sure thanks
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Hey Kurt, I completely agree with you on this post. I’m also expecting a lot on the use of extending CPOS with ‘in-pos’ power-app integrations. Also integrating D365 Customer Engagement into the POS etc….Interesting times!
A side note on the ‘inventory counting’ story: how do you handle counting items that can be on several ‘spots’ in your shop? POS only allows selling from on (inventory) location on the one hand and ‘sections’ don’t hold quantity info on the other hand. So counting an item that can be on changing ‘shelves/racks’ in your shop is a challenge to me. I’d like to know your opinion.
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I feel the same pain as you do here Steven. The right way of solving this is for Microsoft to enable the “Tag-Counting” feature in Dynamics 365, and to enable that when sold in POS, the transactions get’s physical posted as soon as possible. Right now, they are posted as “reserved”, until the statement is posted.
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