Free Accounts with ShopKeep

Free ShopKeep accounts come with many benefits including a powerful register system, easy to set up credit card processing, detailed reporting, and unlimited inventory items. Start setting up today to begin running sales and, if you need more functionality, upgrade your account.

Table of Contents

What is a Free ShopKeep Account?

A free ShopKeep account allows you to use ShopKeep in a single location, with a single register, and a single staff member. It includes unlimited inventory, detailed reporting for up to $5,000 in sales each month, and limited access to ShopKeep Pocket. If you are interested in adding additional registers, locations, or staff members, are running more than $5,000 per month in sales, or need access to live support, upgrade your account directly from BackOffice.

Account Setup

Get started with a free ShopKeep account by creating an account directly from the ShopKeep Register app in the Apple App Store. Continue initial setup by adding inventory items and customizing receipts in the app.

  1. Follow the steps here to sign up for a free account from the iOS ShopKeep Register app.
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Add Items

Begin by entering the inventory items that will be sold at the register. As you add items, you can customize the details of each one, including the price, cost, tax, and quantity on hand.

  1. At the register, tap ‘Manage Items’ from the Main Menu.

    To add items from a computer, log into BackOffice and open the Item List.

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  2. Tap ‘Add New’.
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  3. Select whether to create a Basic Item or an Item with Variants.

    Basic items are sold individually or with modifiers. Items with variants are items sold in variations (e.g. a single shirt with multiple sizes).

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  4. After adding items, create shortcuts to easily access items at the register.

Receipt Setup

Paper and email receipts can be customized with your business location and contact information. Follow the steps below to set them up.

  1. At the register, tap ‘Receipt and Tip Settings’ from the Main Menu.

    To set up receipts from a computer, log into BackOffice to access Receipt and Tip Settings.

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  2. Fill in as much business information as desired to appear on receipts, then tap ‘Save’.
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  3. Tap the 'Paper Receipt' tab, adjust receipt settings as desired, and tap ‘Save’.
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  4. Tap the 'Email Receipt' tab to customize email receipts with information such as promotional messaging and social media links.
  5. Tap the ‘Tips and Signature’ tab to adjust tip and gratuity settings.

Set Up Hardware

The type of business you run determines the hardware you need. Visit the ShopKeep store to find hardware solutions that fit your business needs.

Credit Card Processing Setup

Quickly and easily set up integrated credit card processing to start running credit sales at the register.

  1. At the register, add an item to a sale and tap ‘Credit’.

    Need help with this part? Visit the Run a Sale section below.

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  2. Tap ‘Enable Credit Card Processing’.
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  3. Enter your business information, then tap ‘Next’.
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  4. Enter the business owner's information, check the box, and tap ‘Next’.
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  5. Tap ‘Done’.
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  6. Log into BackOffice.
  7. Click 'Settings', then 'Payments'.
  8. Click 'Link bank account'.
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  9. Enter your bank account information to allow for credit deposits, then click 'Link bank account'.
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  10. Click 'OK' to confirm.

    The bank account will begin receiving deposits in 1-2 business days.

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ShopKeep Register

Set up the ShopKeep register app on your iPad to get started running sales! Learn the basics below.

Download and Activate

Visit our Introduction to the iPad article to learn how to download the ShopKeep Register app from the Apple App Store. Activate the ShopKeep app to link your account with the register.

If you downloaded and activated the ShopKeep Register app during account setup, skip this section as your register is already activated.

  1. Open the ShopKeep app and tap 'Activate Your Register'.
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  2. Enter your store name and manager code, then tap 'Activate'.

    Store Name | Account name with no spaces or punctuation.
    Manager Code | Can be found in the Staff List or in your welcome email.

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Open and Close Register Shifts

Open and close register shifts to maintain accurate reporting and to balance the cash drawer each day.

Open a Register Shift

To start your day, open a register shift to add your starting cash to the drawer.

If you created your account from the ShopKeep Register app, skip this section as your first shift was automatically opened for $0.00.

  1. On the Main Menu, tap 'Open Register Shift'.
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  2. Enter the opening cash amount and tap 'Open Shift'.

    This is the amount of cash in the drawer before making any sales.

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Close a Register Shift

When your business closes each day, close the register shift in ShopKeep to end your day. After closing, you can view totals for the shift on the Z report.

  1. Open the Main Menu and tap 'Close Register Shift'.
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  2. Enter the total cash in the drawer and tap 'Close Shift'.
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Run Sales and Process Returns

With the ShopKeep Register app downloaded and set up, you are ready to run sales. Follow the quick guide below to learn how to run sales and process returns.

Run a Sale

Without any frills, here’s how to run a basic sale at the register.

  1. Add an item to the sale.
    • Tap an item shortcut.
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    • Tap the magnifying glass to search for an item by name, SKU, or UPC.
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    • Scan the barcode on an item.
  2. Select a payment tender.

    Here we are using ‘Cash’.

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  3. Enter the amount from the customer, and tap 'Calculate Change'.

    Tender buttons below ‘Calculate Change’ update based on the sale total if it is over $20. For example, a sale for 28.23 would have the buttons 29.00, 30.00, and 40.00.

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  4. Give change if necessary, then select a receipt option and tap ‘Done’ or tap 'No Receipt'.

Process a Return

Take back sold items from customers at the register by running a return.

  1. Tap 'Sales History' on the Main Menu.
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  2. Tap the 3 dot menu on a sale, then 'Begin Return'.

    To learn how to search for a specific sale, visit our Performing Returns article.

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  3. Select the item(s) to return.

    Highlighted items will be returned. Tap ‘Select all’ to return all items.

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  4. Choose a tender to return to the customer.

    The original sale tender is highlighted in red. Sales can only be returned to Credit if originally paid by credit. Credit card returns automatically refund to the card used in the original sale.

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  5. Select a receipt option and tap ‘Done’ or tap 'No Receipt'.

If you have problems using the register, visit one of our troubleshooting guides for help. For general questions about using the register, check out our iPad Register FAQ.

Reporting

In addition to the Dashboard that you see when logging into BackOffice, here’s a look at the other reports available to you.

If you have questions about reporting, check out the Reporting FAQ.

Transactions Report

The Transactions Report shows every sale and return from a specified date range. Filter and sort the table, download customer receipts, and export transactions to a spreadsheet for further analysis.

Sales Summary

The Sales Summary email recaps the previous day of sales activity and is automatically sent to the Business Owner each morning.

Inventory Value Report

The Inventory Value Report shows the total overall inventory value and the value, quantity on hand, and cost of specific items for any date. Read the report in BackOffice or print it for a physical copy.

Marketing Dashboard

The Marketing Dashboard displays top customers by number of visits and total purchases, Customer List growth metrics, and the number of times customers click social media links in email receipts. All this to help you identify and target high-value customers.

Stock Item Export

The Stock Items Export allows you to download current inventory as a spreadsheet complete with the names, prices, and other attributes of items.

Customer List Export

Much like the Stock Item Export, the Customer List Export enables you to download the Customer List in spreadsheet format with each customer’s name and contact information.

If you run into reporting issues, visit our Analytics Troubleshooting guide for help. To learn about additional BackOffice reports not mentioned above, visit our BackOffice support page.

How to Upgrade

If you reach a feature that requires a paid subscription, follow the steps below to upgrade from within BackOffice. With a paid subscription, you can view all BackOffice reporting and add more registers, employees, and locations to your account.

  1. Click 'Upgrade' on the pop-up window.
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  2. Enter billing contact and business address information.
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  3. Enter credit card details, then click 'Submit'.
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Your account upgrade is complete! Click below to learn about features available for upgraded accounts:

  • Multiple Locations
  • Add Employees
  • Add Registers
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