FAQ
Summary: Quick answers to the most common questions about selling, attribution, inventory, fees, and settlements in Event POS — each linking to the full article.
In this section
The Troubleshooting & FAQ category covers what to do when something doesn't look right:
- Sales not showing on an event — how POS sales attach to events and why one might be missing.
- Inventory not syncing — why stock counts can look off and how to fix them.
Frequently asked questions
About Event POS
Q: What is Event POS?
A: Event POS is a Shopify app for running live events. You set up venues, schedule events on a calendar, sell your products on Shopify POS, move inventory between locations, and settle each event when it ends — all with your existing Shopify products, inventory, and payments. Start with What is Event POS?
Q: How does Event POS work on event day?
A: Event POS adds tiles to the Shopify POS home screen: advance the event before doors, ring up sales on the normal Shopify POS cart (they attach to the event automatically), move stock with inventory transfers, and settle with signatures at the end of the night. The full flow is in Running an event on Shopify POS.
Q: Does Event POS work with my existing online store?
A: Yes. Event POS is built natively on Shopify, so your events use the same products, inventory, customers, and payments as your online store — there's no separate catalog to maintain and your sales data stays in your own Shopify account. See Install & connect Event POS.
Q: Can Event POS handle large events and festivals with multiple selling locations?
A: Yes. Because selling runs on Shopify POS, you can run multiple registers and selling locations at once. Set up each selling point as a venue or supply it from inventory sites, and move stock between them during the event with Inventory transfers. See Locations for how venues and inventory locations fit together.
Q: What types of events does Event POS support?
A: Any event where you sell products on site — concerts, festivals, tours, sporting events, and pop-ups. Related events like a tour or a season can be organized into Event Groups.
Q: What makes Event POS different from other event POS systems?
A: Event POS is built natively on Shopify rather than as a separate closed system: your event sales, online store, inventory, and customer data live on one platform you own, and checkout and payments run on Shopify's infrastructure. Settlements are fully digital, with auto-calculated splits, e-signatures, and an exportable PDF — see Settlement signatures & PDF.
Hardware & payments
Q: What hardware do I need?
A: Anything Shopify POS supports — iPhones, iPads, and Android devices, with compatible card readers and receipt printers, from a single handheld to multiple full registers. See Shopify Help for supported hardware.
Q: What payment methods can I accept?
A: Everything Shopify POS supports at your location — credit and debit cards (tap, chip, swipe), mobile wallets such as Apple Pay and Google Pay, gift cards, and cash. The service fee is added to each cart automatically. See Shopify Help for payment setup.
Selling & attribution
Q: How do sales get attached to an event?
A: POS sales attach automatically. Event POS matches the sale's POS location to the event's venue, and the sale's time to the event's Start/End schedule. You don't tag sales by hand. See Sales not showing on an event.
Q: I rang up a sale but it's not showing on the event. What's wrong?
A: Usually the POS device was on the wrong location, the event's Venue doesn't match, or the event's schedule doesn't cover when the sale happened. There can also be a brief sync delay. Walk through Sales not showing on an event.
Q: Do online (web) orders count toward an event?
A: No. Only POS sales are attributed to events, based on venue and time. See Sales not showing on an event.
Inventory & locations
Q: What's the difference between a venue and an inventory location?
A: A venue is where an event happens and where sales attribute; an inventory site is a stock location (such as a warehouse) that holds product but isn't where events run. See Venue vs inventory location.
Q: My stock counts look wrong in Event POS. Why?
A: Event POS reads and writes stock through Shopify. The usual causes are a location that isn't assigned to the event, a product that isn't stocked at that location in Shopify, or a short sync delay. See Inventory not syncing.
Q: How do I move stock between locations during an event?
A: Use the Inventory transfers tile on the POS to record stock brought In, topped up (Add), or taken back Out. Event POS writes the result back to Shopify. You can also record the same transfers from your admin — see Inventory transfers and Inventory Transfers in the admin.
Q: Can I bring in sales that didn't go through Shopify POS?
A: Yes. Use Order Imports in your Shopify admin to upload a CSV of outside sales (for example, orders a vendor rang up) and attach them to an event so they count toward its totals. See Order Imports.
Event day & money
Q: How do I set up the device before doors open?
A: Use the Advance event tile to confirm the event, set venue splits and credit card fees, and choose inventory locations. See Advance an event.
Q: Where do I configure fees, splits, and payouts?
A: Money concepts — credit card fees, venue and partner splits, the service fee, comps, what's retained by whom, and payout types — are explained in the Fees, splits & payouts hub.
Analytics & support
Q: Where can I see how my events performed?
A: Open Analytics in your Shopify admin for headline metrics and breakdowns by event, venue, and category. See Analytics overview.
Q: I need help with something not covered here.
A: Use Contact support from within the app to chat with our team. For Shopify-side topics such as POS hardware, locations, and inventory tracking, see Shopify Help.