The XMLPOS IP Connector integration facilitates a seamless connection between your POS system and Mews Operations. It is fully configurable and allows you to send bill information containing single line-item summaries to detailed accounting category itemizations.

 

This article covers step-by-step instructions to:

 

• connect the integration in the Mews Marketplace,
• configure your POS system settings,
• establish a connection using the Mews Watch application, and
• finalize the setup by customizing outlet configurations and payment mappings to suit your operational needs.

 

Learn more about use cases and examples of how you can use the XMLPOS IP Connector integration to give you greater visibility of your F&B revenues in our help article Use cases for the XMLPOS IP Connector integration and how to configure the use cases in Mews Operations

 

In this article, you can go through the following steps to achieve the above: 

• Step 1: Connect the XmlPos IP Connector integration 
• Step 2: Setup your POS
• Step 3: Connect your POS to Mews Operations
• Step 4: Configure the XmlPos IP Connector integration
  • Configure Outlet(s)

 

Step 1: Connect the XmlPos IP Connector integration 

1. In Mews Operations, go to the main menu  > Marketplace.
2. In the Marketplace search bar, enter XMLPOS IP Connector’.
3. Locate the XMLPOS IP Connector integration in the search results, then click Explore.
4. Click Connect integration. On successful connection, the system redirects you to the My subscriptions screen.
5. Locate the XMLPOS IP Connector integration, then click Edit to go to settings.
6. Click on  Access token at the top right of the screen. This displays the integration access token. 

Note: Keep your access token safe. With this token, anyone can access all of your data.

Step 2: Setup your POS

The following steps require you to set the IP address and IP PORT of the POS machine, where you want to send charges. If you are not familiar with this process, Mews recommends you consult your POS support.

1. Open the Configuration screen in your POS system and enter the following parameters:

 

• • IP Address: This can be the same computer with your POS server installed or another machine on the network.
  • IP PORT: You can choose any value, but Mews generally recommends 4700. 

 

See the example below for the configuration screen of Schultes POS and SwiftPos.

The appearance of your screen may vary based on the specific POS system you are using. 

 

Schultes POS

 

 

SwiftPOS

 

 

Step 3: Connect your POS to Mews Operations

With your POS server located on your property and the Mews PMS being cloud-based, you need an application to establish and maintain a connection between the two systems. You can achieve this using the Mews Watch application.

Note: You need to complete the following steps on a computer on the same network as your POS system.

 

 

 

 

1. In Mews Operations, go to the main menu  > Marketplace.
2. Click My subscriptions.
3. Locate the XmlPos IP Connector integration, then click Edit to go to settings.
4. Click  Mews Watch to download the Mews Watch application.

 

5. Install the Mews Watch application on your machine.
6. Open the config.json file located in the installation folder.

 

 

 

7. Update the following two parameters: 

 

• • Access token: Enter the access token you noted in Step 1.
  • Port: Enter the IP PORT number you created in Step 2.
    
    
    

                  Save the config.json file.

 

8. Open the appsettings.json file (same folder)
   
   update the value for this entry

"UsePersistentConnection" : true

                  Save the appsettings.json file.

 

9. Restart the Mews Watch service for the system to use the configuration changes :

 

1. 1. From the Windows Start menu, open the Task Manager.
   2. Click on the Services tab.
   3. Locate the Mews Watch service.
   4. Right-click on the service name, then select Restart.

 

 

 

Step 4: Configure the XmlPos IP Connector integration

1. In Mews Operations, go to the main menu  > Marketplace.
2. Click My subscriptions.
3. Locate the XMLPOS IP Connector integration, then click Edit to go to settings.
4. Click on  Configuration at the top right of the screen.
5. In the configuration screen, enter details for the following fields: 

 

 

Field	Condition	Description
Currency	Required	Enter the 3-letter code of the currency used. Default value is your property’s currency
Ticket number length	Required	Enter the number of relevant characters in the POS ticket number. This reflects the number of significant digits you want the bill to display. For example, if your ticket number is 1001201, you can choose the bill to display the last 4 digits, i.e. 1201. Default value is 8
Paymaster prefix	Optional	Prefix used by the system. Required when charging to paymaster after a search by name. Learn more about use cases in our help article Use cases for the XMLPOS IP Connector integration and how to configure the use cases in Mews Operations Default value is pm-
Use detailed billing	Required	Check this if you use detailed billing, i.e., one item vs multiple items posted. Learn more about use cases in our help article Use cases for the XMLPOS IP Connector integration and how to configure the use cases in Mews Operations In normal usage, detailed billing is ON

 

Configure Outlet(s)

 

 To configure an outlet (a revenue center):

1. In the outlets (Revenue centers) section, click + Add outlet.
2. In the Add outlet pop-up, enter details for the fields below. Fields marked * are mandatory.

 

• Revenue center name *: Enter a name to identify the outlet. If you do not have multiple outlets, enter ‘All’ or ‘Default’.
• Revenue Center Id: Enter an identifier for the POS revenue center.
• Mews Outlet key*: Enter the outlet key system to use. Note:  
  • This value is optional. Only use this value if you want to use outlet bills to receive all your POS revenues and payments in Mews. Learn more in our help article What is the difference between Outlet revenue and Mews revenue?.
  • Learn more in our help article Locating paymaster accounts, service keys and outlet keys in Mews operations 

 

• Serving Time: enter the serving times your POS is supporting. If you don't use serving times, create at least 1 and give it the ‘default’ attribute
• For each serving time
  • Service Id: Service time identifier in your POS (ex 1,2, 3...)
  • Service Time name: the description if the service time (Breakfast, lunch, dinner, etc)
  • Mews Service key*: Enter the service key you want the system to use. Note: Learn more in our help article Locating paymaster accounts, service keys and outlet keys in Mews operations 
  • Sale accounting category (1 to 16) *: From the drop-down, select an accounting category that you want to apply net sales to. The system uses this mapping when posting to Mews Operations.
  • Cash Rounding account category: Optional – used for cash rounding accounting category
  • Tax codes: Select codes of tax rates to apply to the accounting category item selected above.

 

Repeat this for each accounting category item required. i.e., Net sale accounting category 2, Net sale accounting category 3…

 

• Discounts (1 to 16) accounting category: Select the accounting category to which you want to apply discounts.
• Tips accounting category: Select the accounting category to which you want to apply tips.
• Service charge accounting category (1 to 16): Select the accounting category to which you want to apply for service charges. 

 

Payment mapping transfers all bill information from the POS to the PMS. This happens regardless of whether the customer settles the bill directly at the POS. Learn more about use cases in our help article Use cases for the XMLPOS IP Connector integration and how to configure the use cases in Mews Operations

 Note: 

• Paymaster id's mapping is optional; you should only use them if:

• • You plan to receive all the POS revenues and payments (including payments made directly in the POS) in Mews.

• • You do not want to use outlet bills and want your payments to process in paymasters. 

• If you select an outlet service, Mews ignores Paymaster id mappings.

 

To add one or more payment mappings:

 

1. Click + Add Payment mapping.
2. Enter details for the following fields:

 

• • Payment Id*: Enter as per configuration in your POS back office.
  • Paymaster account*: Enter the unique identifier for the paymaster account to send payments to. Note: Learn more in our help article Locating paymaster accounts, service keys and outlet keys in Mews operations 
  • Accounting category key*: Select an accounting category from the drop-down for the system to use when posting the payment.
  • External payment*: Choose one from Cash, Credit card, Invoice, Wire transfer, Bacs or Cross settlement depending on which payment method is acceptable to you for this outlet.
  • Default: Check this box for at least one of the payment mappings you want to set as default.

 

3. Click + Add Payment mapping and repeat step ii for each new mapping you want to apply. Consult with your POS support to ensure that the correct POS IDs are used.
4. Click Add to save the new outlet to the configuration table.

 

This installs the Mews Watch application and configures the XMLPOS IP Connector integration. This setup ensures seamless transmission of billing information from your POS system to Mews Operations.