For existing download-edition customers: install with the automated installer (Windows, Mac or Linux) or manually on a PHP/MySQL server, upgrade safely with a backup first, restore from a backup file, schedule your own backups, and make a local install reachable over the network or Internet.

PHP Point Of Sale is a cloud service — you sign up, get a store URL, and nothing is installed on your hardware (see what is PHP Point Of Sale?). This article is legacy documentation for customers who purchased the downloadable edition in the past and run it on their own computer or web server. If you are starting fresh, use the cloud — start a free trial instead of installing anything.

After a download purchase you receive a link to the download page by email. That page offers the automated installer for each platform and the Manual/Source Install (.zip) package. If you cannot find the original email, the download page can re-send the link when you enter the email address you purchased with.

Choose an install path

• Automated installer — the simplest path on a dedicated Windows, Mac, or Linux machine (32- or 64-bit). The installer sets up the whole stack — web server, PHP, MySQL — and the application for you.
• Manual install on an existing server — upload the source package onto a web server you already run (shared hosting, VPS, or in-house), with PHP and MySQL/MariaDB available.

If you are unsure which path fits, contact support before you start — remote help is available on the support page.

Server requirements (manual install)

The manual install needs a server with:

• PHP 7.3 or newer
• MySQL 5 or greater (5.6.4 or higher recommended) or MariaDB
• GD 2 image library
• php-xml and php-zip extensions
• SoapClient (php-soap) — only if you use Mercury/Vantiv (Worldpay) credit card processing

Automated installer

1. Download the installer for your operating system from your download page.
2. Run it — double-click on Windows/Mac and enter your computer's username/password if prompted. On Linux, run it from a terminal:

   sudo chmod 755 INSTALLER.run
   sudo ./INSTALLER.run

   (replace INSTALLER.run with the file you downloaded).

3. Follow the prompts for each step — accept the license, keep or choose the install location, and wait for the stack to finish.
4. When setup completes, you are directed to your point of sale page. Bookmark it so you can find it again, and sign in with the admin credentials shown or set during setup.

Keep the install directory and any passwords the installer displays in a safe place — you will need them for backups and upgrades.

Notes:

• To send email (receipts, stock alerts) from a local install, you must configure the email settings in Store Config → Email Settings with a mail server (such as Gmail or your ISP's) — a fresh local install cannot send mail on its own.
• Windows error "api-ms-win-crt-runtime-l1-1-0.dll is missing": install Microsoft's Update for Universal C Runtime in Windows (Microsoft support article 2999226), then run the installer again.

Upgrade or reinstall with the automated installer

Always make a backup first (below). Then run the newer installer on the same machine and follow the prompts — if you are upgrading, just make sure the correct existing PHP Point Of Sale path is chosen; with the default install location you won't need to change anything.

Restore from backup during install

Moving to a new machine, or recovering one:

1. Put your backup .sql file on the computer you are installing to.
2. Run the automated installer.
3. When the installer asks whether to restore from backup, choose yes and browse to the file.

All of your data is restored as part of that install.

Manual install on an existing server

This section is for new installs only — for an existing install, jump to "Upgrading a manual install" below.

1. Create the database

Servers with cPanel:

1. Log in to cPanel and open MySQL Databases.
2. Create a new database.
3. Scroll to Add New User and create a database user with a strong password.
4. Add the user to the database you just created.
5. Assign all privileges to that user on the database.

Servers without cPanel: open phpMyAdmin (or the mysql command line) and create a new, empty database (for example pointofsale). phpMyAdmin confirms with "Database … has been created."

2. Upload the code

1. Download the Manual/Source Install (.zip) from your download page.
2. Upload the zip to your server and extract it into the web root (public_html/www) or a subdirectory.
3. Rename the extracted folder to something short, such as pos.

3. Configure the database connection

1. In the application folder, browse to application/config, find database.php.tmpl, and rename (or copy) it to database.php.
2. Open database.php in an editor and set only the commented lines to match what you created:
   • hostname — your database server, usually localhost or 127.0.0.1
   • username — the database user you created
   • password — that user's password
   • database — the database name you created
3. Confirm dbdriver is set to mysqli (note the trailing i) and leave every other line — including dbprefix (phppos_) — unchanged.
4. Save the file. If your file manager won't save in place, save locally and re-upload over the original.

4. Run the install wizard

1. Point a browser at http://your-server.com/pos/ (or wherever you placed it; use HTTPS if the site is served that way).
2. The install screen appears: click Install Database. The process can take a few minutes — do not refresh or navigate away until it reports complete.
3. Click through to the login screen and sign in with the default credentials: username admin, password pointofsale.
4. Change that password immediately (your avatar menu → Edit Profile), then continue with your first day: store setup.

Manual restore from backup

To restore a backup onto a manual install: upload the code and create an empty database as above, then replace the file database/database.sql inside the application folder with your backup file. Browse to the POS URL and you will be prompted to install — the install loads your backup instead of a blank schema. This can take a long time for a large database; do not interrupt it.

Upgrading a manual install

Always make a backup before upgrading.

1. Sign out of PHP Point Of Sale.
2. Remove the old application folder completely, then upload the new release's code in its place. (Keep a copy of your old application/config/database.php first.)
3. Recreate application/config/database.php — rename database.php.tmpl and re-enter your database details, or drop in your preserved copy — and confirm the driver is mysqli.
4. Browse to the application URL. The system detects the database needs to be upgraded and shows an Upgrade Database button. Click it and stay on the page until it finishes — it can take a while; do not refresh or navigate away.

Between releases, the download edition shows a Check for update button at the top of Store Config that tells you whether a newer release is available.

Back up a self-hosted install

Backups are your responsibility on the download edition:

• From the app: Store Config → Backup Database downloads your full database as a .sql file — same flow as described in backups and your data. The Backup Overview page also lists phpMyAdmin and hosting-control-panel export as alternatives.
• Scheduled, on the Windows installer stack: create a backup.bat file containing one line —

  C:\PHPPOS\mysql\bin\mysqldump.exe -u bn_phppos -pPASSWORDNOSPACES bitnami_phppos > C:\Users\Administrator\Desktop\backup.sql

  Replace PASSWORDNOSPACES with the database password found in C:\phppos\apps\phppos\htdocs\application\config\database.php (no space after -p), and change the output path to wherever you want the backup written. Then open Task Scheduler, choose Create Basic Task, name it, pick the frequency and time of day, choose Start a program, browse to your backup.bat, and finish. The backup now runs on schedule, and you can adjust it in Task Scheduler later.

Make a local install reachable over your network or the Internet

If you installed on a local Windows computer at your store, other devices can use it once the firewall allows connections:

1. Open Control Panel → System and Security → Windows Firewall → Advanced Settings.
2. Choose Inbound Rules, then New Rule.
3. Select Port, make sure TCP is selected, and specify port 80 (unless you chose a different port during install). Click Next.
4. Choose Allow the connection. For Internet access, keep all three profiles (Domain, Private, Public) checked.
5. Name the rule (for example "php pos") and click Finish.

Then find the computer's host name (Start → right-click Computer → Properties → Computer name) or IPv4 address (Network Connections → your active connection → Status → Details). From another device on the network, browse to http://COMPUTER_NAME or http://IP_ADDRESS. Prefer the host name — routers can hand out a new IP address at any time.

To reach the install from outside your network, set up port forwarding to port 80 on your router and use your public IP address (find it at whatismyip.com). Router steps vary by model — this is an advanced setup.

On macOS, allow access under System Preferences → Security & Privacy → Firewall (unlock with the padlock, then permit the connection or turn the firewall off for the server machine).

If you installed on a remote web server instead, the manual-install section above already applies; if you cannot reach the application, contact support.

After install

• Create locations, registers, taxes, and items using your first day: store setup.
• Card processing follows the same location-based setup as the cloud — see setting up credit card processing.
• For day-to-day product help use this Help Center; for install blockers use support.

Common questions

What are the default login credentials after a manual install? Username admin, password pointofsale. Change the password immediately after your first sign-in.

The install/upgrade page is taking forever — is it stuck? Large databases genuinely take a while. Do not refresh or navigate away; interrupting the wizard mid-run is how installs break. If it errors, restore your backup and retry.

I get a blank screen instead of the install page. Check the server requirements (PHP version, php-xml, php-zip, GD2) and that application/config/database.php exists with correct credentials and the mysqli driver.

How do I move PHP Point Of Sale to a new computer? Back up the database on the old machine, then run the automated installer on the new one and choose restore from backup when asked, pointing it at your .sql file.

Windows says api-ms-win-crt-runtime-l1-1-0.dll is missing. Install Microsoft's Universal C Runtime update (KB2999226) and run the installer again.

I lost my download link. Where do I get the software again? Enter your purchase email on the download page and the link is re-sent to you.

How do I upgrade without losing my data? Your data lives in the database, not the application folder. Back up, replace the application folder with the new release, restore database.php, and run the on-screen Upgrade Database step. Never drop or replace the database itself during an upgrade.

Does the old download edition get the cloud's automatic updates? No — updates are manual on self-hosted installs (watch the Check for update button in Store Config). Automatic updates are one of the reasons to move to the cloud; see updates and new versions.