Introduction
Coinsnap Bitcoin POS Setup is the second step in getting your business ready to accept Bitcoin and Lightning payments. After installing and configuring your Coinsnap Wallet, it’s time to create the Point of Sale (POS) your staff will use to sell products and process customer payments.
In this guide, we’ll walk through the three building blocks that make up every Coinsnap merchant setup:
- Creating your Point of Sale (POS)
- Adding one or more payment terminals
- Building your product catalogue
You can set up and manage your POS, terminals and product catalogue either in the Coinsnap app or in the dashboard of your Coinsnap account. Both give you access to the same essential setup options. However, especially when creating product categories, adding products and configuring your POS for the first time, working on a computer with the larger screen of the dashboard is much more convenient than doing it on a smartphone. That’s why this guide shows you how to complete your Coinsnap Bitcoin POS Setup in the dashboard. Don’t have a Coinsnap account yet? You’ll need one to make the most of your Coinsnap POS and access all its merchant features. See how to register and open your Coinsnap account in just a minute.
By the end of this tutorial, you’ll have a fully configured Bitcoin POS that is ready to accept both Bitcoin and Lightning payments from your customers.
Whether you’re running a café, restaurant, retail store, market stall or service business, the setup process only takes a few minutes and requires no technical expertise.
This article is the second part of our Coinsnap Merchant Setup series. In the previous guide, you learned how to install and configure your Coinsnap Wallet. In this guide, you’ll set up your business for accepting payments. Finally, in the third and last article of this series, Coinsnap POS Dashboard: The Cockpit of Your Bitcoin Business, we’ll show you how to monitor transactions, manage products and terminals, review sales reports, and make the most of your Coinsnap merchant account.
At a Glance
What is Coinsnap Bitcoin POS Setup?
Coinsnap Bitcoin POS Setup is the process of configuring your business to accept Bitcoin and Lightning payments with Coinsnap. It includes creating a Point of Sale (POS), adding one or more payment terminals, and building a product catalogue. Once these three steps are complete, your business is ready to accept secure Bitcoin payments in-store.
Quick Facts
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Setup Time | 5–10 minutes |
| Technical Skills | None required |
| Payment Methods | Bitcoin & Lightning |
| Devices | Smartphones and tablets |
| Multiple Terminals | ✔ Yes |
| Product Catalogue | ✔ Included |
| Best For | Retail, cafés, restaurants, market stalls, service businesses |
Key Takeaway
A Coinsnap Bitcoin POS consists of three simple components: your Point of Sale, one or more payment terminals, and your product catalogue. Once configured, you can immediately start accepting Bitcoin and Lightning payments.
Understand Your Coinsnap Bitcoin POS
Before creating your first Point of Sale (POS), it’s helpful to understand how the Coinsnap merchant system is structured.
Your Coinsnap Bitcoin POS is the central hub of your Bitcoin business. It stores your product catalogue, business settings and all payment data generated through the terminals connected to that POS. Every Bitcoin and Lightning payment accepted by your staff is automatically assigned to the appropriate terminal and consolidated within your POS.
More importantly, your POS provides the foundation for the powerful Coinsnap Dashboard, where you can monitor sales, review transactions, analyse payment activity, export accounting data and access the information you need to run your business efficiently. Managing your bookkeeping and tax reporting for Bitcoin payments becomes just as straightforward as managing any other payment method.
Think of your Bitcoin Point of Sale as the operational centre of your Bitcoin related business. It organises everything your staff needs to accept Bitcoin payments, while giving you complete visibility into your business performance.
Unlike many traditional POS systems, most businesses only need one Coinsnap Point of Sale. Whether you operate a café, restaurant, retail store, market stall or service business, a single POS can support multiple payment terminals simultaneously. You decide how many terminals you need—one for each checkout counter, one for every employee, one for mobile staff, or any other setup that best matches your daily operations.
Of course, your Coinsnap Wallet can also manage multiple Point of Sale systems. This is ideal if your business operates several stores, restaurants, cafés or market locations, or if you simply want to keep different business units separate. Each POS maintains its own terminals, product catalogue and payment data while remaining conveniently managed from the same Coinsnap Wallet and Dashboard.
Now that you understand how a Coinsnap Point of Sale is structured, let’s create your first POS. Once it’s set up, we’ll show you how to add and configure payment terminals in the next step.
Create Your First POS in the Coinsnap Dashboard
1: Start the POS Setup in Your Coinsnap Dashboard
Log in to your Coinsnap Account Dashboard and select PoS & Terminals from the navigation menu on the left. If you haven’t created a Point of Sale yet, the page will show that no POS is currently available.
Click Quick Setup to start creating and configuring your first Point of Sale. Alternatively, you can click + New PoS in the top-right corner.
2: Open Your Point of Sale Settings
Once the setup is complete, your new Point of Sale appears in the PoS & Terminals overview together with its first terminal.
Click Edit in the Point of Sale field to open the POS configuration. There, you will customize your Point of Sale, including its name, currency, payment settings, product categories, and product catalogue.
3: Configure Your Point of Sale
The Edit Point of Sale page contains all the settings you need to customize your POS for your business.
Start by entering a recognizable name, selecting your preferred currency, and deciding whether this should be your default POS. You can then configure optional checkout settings, such as a redirect URL, automatic redirection after payment, and collecting the customer’s email address.
You can also add your logo, offer customers a Bitcoin discount, and enable tipping, including the option to round up the payment amount.
Further down the page, you can create product categories and add individual products to build your product catalogue. (You’ll find detailed instructions on how to set up your product catalogue below.)
Once you’ve configured your POS, click Save to apply your settings.
Your First Point of Sale Is Ready
Congratulations! Your first Point of Sale — Demo Point of Sale — has now been created and configured successfully. It is automatically connected to your Coinsnap account and is also available in the Business section of your Coinsnap Wallet app.
However, a POS alone cannot accept payments. To start selling products and accepting Bitcoin and Lightning payments, you need to connect at least one payment terminal to your POS.
In the next section, we’ll show you how to create and configure your first Coinsnap Terminal, so you can start accepting customer payments in your business.
Create and Configure Your First Terminal
Your Point of Sale is now ready, but it can’t accept customer payments until you connect at least one payment terminal.
To add another terminal to your POS, click + New Terminal. You can use either the button at the top right of the PoS & Terminals page or the + New Terminal button directly below your existing terminal. Then enter a name for the new terminal and save it.
To change the name or settings of the default terminal click the pencil icon on the right of the respective terminal.
How to configure your terminal
In the next screen, you can configure your terminal and assign it to the appropriate Point of Sale.
Enter a descriptive Terminal Name, such as Waiter 1, and select the Point of Sale the terminal should belong to.
You can also enter a Lightning Tip Address for this specific terminal. Tips received through the terminal will then be sent directly to this Lightning address. This is useful, for example, if each waiter should receive their own tips. If you leave the field empty, tips will be sent to the store wallet instead.
Click Save to finish configuring your terminal.
Your terminal is ready
Your newly configured terminal now appears under its assigned Point of Sale.
From here, you can view, copy, display the QR code or pair the terminal with a device. You can also edit the terminal at any time using the pencil icon or add additional terminals with + New Terminal.
At the end of this guide, we’ll show you how to assign individual, personal terminals to your employees.
Find and Use a Terminal in the App
Your Coinsnap Terminal is always just one tap away. From the Business section of your Coinsnap Wallet, tap Terminal in the bottom navigation bar to open your payment terminal.
The terminal is where your staff accepts Bitcoin and Lightning payments from customers. Depending on how you’ve configured your Point of Sale, you can either enter the payment amount manually using the built-in keypad or select products directly from your product catalogue. Once the sale is complete, tap Create Invoice to generate a Bitcoin or Lightning payment request for your customer.
If your business operates multiple terminals, each employee simply opens the Terminal section on their assigned device. Every terminal automatically uses the products, pricing and settings inherited from its linked Point of Sale, ensuring a consistent checkout experience across your entire business.
In the next section, we’ll show you how to create a product catalogue, organize your products into categories, and make your terminal even faster and easier to use.
Create Your Product Catalogue
With your Point of Sale and payment terminal now configured, the final step is creating your product catalogue. By organizing your products into categories and adding them to your POS, you can complete customer purchases with just a few taps instead of entering payment amounts manually, making checkout faster, easier and less prone to errors.
Two Ways to Create Your Product Catalogue
Coinsnap gives you two convenient ways to create and manage your product catalogue.
The recommended method is to use the Coinsnap Dashboard in your web browser. Creating products on a desktop or laptop is faster and more comfortable, especially if you’re adding many products, categories or prices. The larger screen and full keyboard make it easy to build and maintain even extensive product catalogues.
Alternatively, you can create and edit your product catalogue directly in the Coinsnap Wallet app on your smartphone or tablet. This is particularly useful when you’re on the go or only need to add or update a few products.
Both methods are fully synchronized. Any changes you make in the Coinsnap Dashboard are immediately available in your mobile app, and vice versa.
We’ll now show you how to create product categories and products in your Coinsnap dashboard.
Create Your Product Catalogue in the Coinsnap Dashboard
The Coinsnap Dashboard is the fastest and most convenient way to build your product catalogue. Using a desktop or laptop computer, you can quickly create product categories, add products, set prices, and keep your catalogue organized. Any changes you make in the dashboard are automatically synchronized with your Coinsnap Wallet, making them immediately available on all payment terminals connected to your Point of Sale.
1: Open the PoS & Terminals Section
After signing in to your Coinsnap Dashboard, open PoS & Terminals from the navigation menu on the left-hand side. This section gives you a complete overview of all your Point of Sale systems and payment terminals.
Then click the Edit button in the Point of Sale panel to open its configuration page, where you will create and manage your product catalogue.
2: Create Your First Product Category
Scroll down to the Categories section of the Point of Sale configuration page.
To create your first product category, click + Add Category.
Now simply enter the names of the product categories you want to use in your Point of Sale.
Categories help organize your products and make them easier to find during checkout. For example, a café might create categories such as Coffee, Tea, Soft Drinks, and Pastries, while a retail store could use categories like Clothing, Accessories, or Electronics.
4: Add Your Products
Now, for each product, enter a product name, price, and a unique SKU (Stock Keeping Unit). Then assign the product to one of the categories you created.
Repeat this process for all the products you want to sell. Once you’ve finished, click Save.
Your complete product catalogue will be synchronized automatically with all terminals connected to this Point of Sale, allowing your staff to select products with a single tap during checkout.
5: Choose a Suitable Product Icon
This step needs to be completed in the Coinsnap Wallet app. Go to Settings → Merchant Account → Manage PoS → Edit PoS. Then scroll down to the Products section and tap the icon above the product name you want to change.
Once your categories and products are complete, tap Update Point of Sale to save your changes and make the updated catalogue available in your terminal.
You’re now ready to use your terminal and start selling your products for Bitcoin!
3: See Your Product Icons in the Terminal
Once you’ve assigned your icons and saved your Point of Sale settings, open Terminal → Products. Your products are now displayed with their individual icons, names, prices, and current Bitcoin values.
The visual product cards make it much easier to identify and select items quickly during checkout—especially when you’re working with a larger product catalogue.
Start Selling with Your New Product Catalogue
Your product catalogue is now complete and ready to use.
Open the Business section of your Coinsnap Wallet and tap Terminal in the bottom navigation bar. The keypad will open. Tap Products at the bottom of the screen to access your product catalogue.
You will now see your newly created product categories and products. Simply select the desired items with a single tap and generate a Bitcoin or Lightning payment request for your customer (just click To Checkout on the bottom right).
Congratulations! Your Coinsnap Bitcoin Point of Sale is now fully configured and ready for business.
Assign a Personal Terminal to a Staff Member
Once you have created terminals for your staff members, you can pair each terminal with the staff member’s own smartphone. You can do this directly in the Coinsnap Wallet app, so your staff members do not have to come to the office. Pairing can be completed right at the workplace, wherever your staff actually use their terminals.
Step 1: Select the terminal you want to assign
In your Coinsnap Wallet app, go to Settings → Merchant Account → Manage PoS and open the Point of Sale containing the terminal you want to assign.
Under Terminals, find the staff member’s terminal and tap Pair.
Step 2: Pair the staff member’s device
The app now displays a QR code and pairing code for the selected terminal.
Ask your staff member to scan the QR code with their smartphone camera. Alternatively, they can enter the displayed pairing code to connect their device to the terminal.
The pairing code is temporary, so the staff member should complete the pairing while the code is still active.
Step 3: Open the personal terminal on the staff member’s smartphone
After scanning the QR code, the staff member’s personal Coinsnap POS terminal opens on their smartphone and is ready to use.
The terminal is browser-based, so there is no additional app to install. We recommend that the staff member bookmarks the terminal page or adds it to their browser favorites so they can quickly return to their personal terminal whenever they need it.
The terminal displays the product catalogue you configured for the POS. The staff member can now select products, add them to the cart and generate Bitcoin or Lightning payment requests for customers.
Once paired, each staff member can use their own terminal on their own device, while all payments and transactions remain associated with the corresponding Point of Sale in your Coinsnap merchant account. And if you entered the staff member’s personal Lightning address in the Tipping settings, they will even receive their tips directly in their personal Lightning wallet.
The Complete Coinsnap Bitcoin Wallet Guide
Everything you need to get started with the Coinsnap Bitcoin Wallet, Bitcoin POS, and the business management tools behind it is covered in our four-part Coinsnap Bitcoin Wallet Guide.
From installing your wallet and setting up your first POS and terminals to managing sales, transactions, orders, fees, accounting, and reporting, we have broken the complete process down into four practical step-by-step guides:
- Coinsnap Bitcoin Wallet Setup: Install and Set Up Your Wallet — Install your Coinsnap Wallet, create your personal and business Lightning addresses, and get ready to receive Bitcoin.
- How to Send and Receive Bitcoin with the Coinsnap Wallet — Pay for something with Bitcoin, or create a payment request for someone to pay you.
- Coinsnap Bitcoin POS Setup: How to Set Up Your POS, Terminals and Products — Create your POS, connect your terminals, and configure your product catalogue.
- Coinsnap POS Dashboard: The Cockpit of Your Bitcoin Business — Monitor your Bitcoin business, manage transactions and orders, choose how you receive your funds, and prepare the records you need for accounting and reporting.
From your first wallet setup to your first Bitcoin sale – and from that sale to your accounting records – these four guides give you everything you need to run your Bitcoin POS business with Coinsnap.
