Optical Software Sync: Keep Your Website and Counter in Step

An optical shop needs two kinds of access during a busy day. The owner may want to check sales, dues or lab jobs from a browser, while the counter must continue billing when the internet drops. The risk is maintaining separate records: one in a notebook or desktop file and another online. Optical software sync solves this by keeping the web app and counter work connected. Optical Mart lets you use the web app in a browser and install an offline desktop app on a Windows 10 or 11 counter computer. The counter can keep working offline, then upload its saved work to the same account when the internet returns.

Why a shop needs web access and an offline counter

The web app is useful when you are away from the shop or managing more than one activity. You can review billed and collected amounts, dues, overdue lab jobs, monthly sales, customer history and stock from an up-to-date browser. Staff can use the counter for billing, while the owner checks the day's position from another device.

However, a reliable internet connection cannot always be assumed. A broadband failure, router problem or local service interruption should not stop a customer from paying for spectacles or collecting a ready order. With the offline desktop app, the counter can continue billing, taking payments, booking appointments and printing labels without internet for up to three days.

This arrangement also avoids double entry. The counter is not a separate business record that must be manually retyped later. It works with the same Optical Mart account, and its saved work is sent to the website after the connection returns.

• Use the web app for owner checks and work away from the counter.
• Use the offline desktop app for Windows counter billing during an outage.
• Keep one account and one record of customers, refractions, orders, payments and stock.

Sign in once and install the Windows 10 or 11 desktop app

Start by registering the shop with its name, GST details and phone number. The first month is free, with no card needed, so you can test real billing and daily counter work before choosing a plan. Add your frames, lenses, customers and refractions as you normally would.

The web app works in an up-to-date browser on Windows, Mac and Linux computers, Android phones, and iPhone and iPad. For a counter that must continue working without internet, install the offline desktop app on a 64-bit Windows 10 or Windows 11 computer. Sign in once while the computer is online so the counter can bring down the shop's records.

The counter opens with a PIN and keeps its records encrypted on that computer. Several Optical Mart accounts can share one computer, with each account having its own PIN and records. The offline app also keeps a daily backup on the computer and in the cloud.

• Check that the counter computer runs 64-bit Windows 10 or 11.
• Sign in while connected before relying on offline billing.
• Keep the counter PIN and recovery code available to the shop owner.
• Allow the initial stock, customer and order records to finish downloading.

What is saved on the counter during an outage

When the internet drops, the counter does not need to stop at the most important part of the sale. Staff can find or add a customer, record a refraction, add the frame and lens to an order, and create the bill. They can apply the owner's offer code, take a part payment, print the balance due and print frame tags or packet labels.

The counter can also handle appointments, walk-in tokens, stock movements, vendor and purchase-order work, and GST billing while offline. Bills include the shop's GSTIN, HSN/SAC codes, CGST and SGST, and can be printed on A4 or an 80 mm receipt roll. Optical calculators such as transposition and spherical equivalent are also available at the counter.

Offline records are saved encrypted on the computer and queued for upload. A lab job, vendor, offer, refraction or appointment added by mistake can also be deleted offline. This is safer than writing temporary figures in a notebook and hoping they are entered correctly later.

• Bill the customer and record payments, including part payments.
• Print the invoice, balance due, frame tag or packet label.
• Record stock changes with a reason.
• Add or update customer, refraction, appointment and lab information when needed.

Hourly and internet-return sync, in order, without duplicate posting

Optical Mart's offline counter uploads its saved work every hour and immediately when the internet connection returns. The upload happens in order, so the website receives the counter's actions in the sequence in which they were saved. This helps preserve the link between an order, its payment, its stock movement and its lab work.

The sync process is designed not to post the same action twice. If the internet returns after several bills were made offline, the counter sends the queued work rather than asking staff to re-enter each bill. The website's changes also come down to the counter. If a replacement counter is signed in, it can bring the shop's records down by itself.

For the owner, the practical check is simple: once the connection is back, allow the counter to remain open and connected. Then check the website for the latest bill number, collection, payment, stock movement or customer order instead of immediately creating a second entry.

• Keep the desktop app open and online when the connection returns.
• Wait for queued work to upload before checking totals on the website.
• Compare a recent bill, payment or order on both screens.
• Do not re-enter an offline bill just because it is not visible online yet.

What reaches the website and what remains website-only

Most daily counter work is designed to move between the offline desktop app and the web app. This includes GST invoices, customers and refractions, orders, lab tracking, stock, barcode labels, appointments, payments, dues, returns, cash-book entries, vendor work and GST return data. The owner can then review the shop's activity in the browser after sync.

Some features need the website and do not run fully offline. Staff logins and roles, branches and stock transfers, invoice share links, the shop page, digital card, online booking settings, campaigns and the lab's own status page are website-based. A reminder requested offline can go out when the counter syncs, but campaigns run on the website.

This distinction matters when planning the day. Staff can continue serving customers during an outage, but the owner should set booking hours, special closed dates, online calendar rules and WhatsApp campaigns from the web app while connected. A customer booking made through the shop page reaches the counter appointments when it syncs.

• Use the counter for daily sales and operational work during an outage.
• Use the website for staff roles, branches, campaigns and online booking setup.
• Remember that website changes need to reach the counter through sync.
• Check the web app before making decisions based on online-only information.

A practical end-of-day sync checklist

Before closing, review the counter's work just as you would review a cash book. If the shop was offline, make sure the computer has connected to the internet and leave enough time for the queue to upload. The owner can then check collections, dues, returns and monthly sales from the browser.

Check lab work as well. Look for jobs created or updated at the counter, promised dates, payments and stock movements. If a job has returned, scan it back in and record the lens check before handing it over. For a busy store, compare the day's billed amount with the counter's printed or displayed total rather than relying only on memory.

A short routine catches problems before the next morning. It also gives the owner a clear view of what happened at the shop, even when the internet was unavailable for part of the day.

• Reconnect the counter computer before closing.
• Confirm that queued work has uploaded to the account.
• Check one recent invoice, payment, stock movement and lab job online.
• Review dues, ready-for-pickup customers and overdue jobs.
• Check that the cash book and physical collections agree.

When to contact the team

Contact the Optical Mart team when you need help setting up the counter, preparing a rollout or configuring a custom request. The Hospital plan includes a guided rollout and custom requests for eye hospitals and chains. Invoice formats for shops abroad are also set up with the team, including paper size, language, logo and job-card requirements.

If a sync concern remains, note the counter computer, the time of the offline work, the bill or order reference, and whether the internet had returned. Do not delete or reinstall the desktop app before checking the records, because the unsynced work may still be stored on that computer. The encrypted daily backup and the online account help protect synced records, while a replacement computer can take over work that had not yet uploaded.

For a single-counter Indian optical shop, the practical next step is to register, use the first month on real billing, and install the Windows desktop app before the next internet outage. You can start the free month without a card, then choose Basic, Standard or Hospital based on your shop's needs.

• Ask for setup help when installing the counter or planning a rollout.
• Share specific bill, order and timing details if sync needs checking.
• Do not re-enter or remove unsynced work without guidance.
• Start the free month and download the offline desktop app for the counter.