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Setting Up a New Register

This page walks you through everything required to set up a new VMX register from scratch — from getting your store onto the network through your first credit card swipe. Work through it top to bottom; each section ends with a quick Test so you know the step worked before moving on.

You'll need:

  • A Windows computer with internet access
  • Your VMX company code — the prefix of your VMX URL (e.g. xxx in https://xxx.vmxllc.com)
  • Receipt printer, cash drawer, barcode scanner, and (if you take cards) credit card terminal
  • Admin access to your VMX system

VMX support

If you get stuck at any step, contact us — call or text (706) 666-5566 or email help@vmxllc.com.

Replacing the computer at a register that already works?

That's a shorter job than this page — the register, printer, drawer, scanner and card terminal all stay as they are, and only the Windows machine changes. Follow Printer Bridge → Replacing or Moving a Computer instead, and come back here only for the sections it points you to.

1. Network Access (one-time per store)

You only need to do this once per store, not for each register.

  1. On a computer at the store, open a browser and go to https://xxx.vmxllc.com (replace xxx with your VMX company code).
  2. If you see VMX, you're done — skip to the next section.
  3. If you see a page that says "Access" and "Try again", take note of the IP address shown.
  4. From a computer that's already logged into VMX, go to Admin → Access and click + New Rule:
    • Description: something like Network
    • IPv4 CIDR: the IP address from step 3
    • Network Login: Yes
    • Clock In: Yes
    • Employee: None
    • Register: None
    • Enabled: Yes
    • Expires: leave blank
  5. Click Create.
  6. Back on the store computer, click Try again. The VMX login page should now appear.

See Admin → Access for the full field-by-field reference.

2. Google Chrome

VMX runs in Google Chrome. If Chrome isn't installed:

  1. Go to https://www.google.com/chrome and install Chrome.
  2. Set Chrome as the default browser:
    • Press the Windows key, type Default apps, and open it.
    • Under Web browser, choose Google Chrome.

3. Register and Drawer (admin setup)

In VMX, go to More → Admin → Registers and confirm the register you're setting up is listed. If it isn't, add it.

If the register always uses a specific cash drawer, assign that drawer to it now. See Admin → Registers for the field-by-field reference.

4. Register identification (per-register)

VMX has to know which register this computer is. That's done with a small browser rule, created once per machine, using a walkthrough inside VMX that already carries the right settings for the register you're setting up.

Getting this wrong is quiet rather than obvious: the register still rings sales, but VMX doesn't recognise the lane, so house-charge signatures stop prompting on the card terminal and receipts print differently. Nothing on screen announces it.

If this computer used ModHeader before, uninstall it

Registers set up in the past used a browser extension called ModHeader. It was removed from the Chrome Web Store for malware, so it must be uninstalled from the machine, not just switched off. Email help@vmxllc.com as well — that register's access should be replaced.

Test first

Open VMX and go to Register → Register Configuration. If you see a checkmark next to the Register option, this computer is already identified — skip to the next section.

Set it up

Do this on the register itself, signed in to Windows as the till user.

  1. In VMX, go to Admin → Access.
  2. Find the row for the register you're setting up. If there isn't one, click + New Rule, give it a description, choose the register, leave IPv4 CIDR blank, and click Create. Admin → Access has the field-by-field reference.
  3. Click Set up on that row and follow the steps in the window that opens. It covers installing the browser extension and building the rule, with copy buttons for the values that belong to this register.

Each register gets its own setup

The values in that walkthrough belong to the register you opened it from. Reusing another register's setup makes this machine identify as the wrong lane, which puts its sales and its cash drawer on the wrong register.

Check it worked

Reload VMX on the register and go back to Register → Register Configuration — the checkmark should now be there next to Register. Ring a house charge and it should prompt for a signature on the card terminal.

If it doesn't, return to Admin → Access and check that this row's Last Use has just updated. A Last Use stuck days or weeks in the past means the browser rule isn't being applied on that machine.

5. Desktop Shortcut

So staff can open the register with one click:

  1. Go to the VMX Register page in Chrome.
  2. Click the Chrome menu in the top-right → Cast, Save, and Share → Create Shortcut.
  3. Make sure Chrome is set as the default browser (see step 2 above).
  4. Close Chrome, then double-click the desktop shortcut. Chrome should open directly to the VMX Register.

6. Receipt Printer

VMX supports two main families of thermal receipt printer:

  • Epson — TM-T20II, TM-T88V, TM-T88IV (and Epson-compatible printers like Bixolon and Citizen)
  • Star — TSP100, TSP143 FuturePRINT (and similar Star models)

Both work, but Star printers need one extra step — switching the printer into ESC/POS mode. See Star — enable ESC/POS mode below.

Step 1 — Install the printer driver

  1. In the Windows search box, type Printers and choose Devices and Printers (Windows 10) or Printers & scanners (Windows 11).
  2. Look for your printer in the list.
  3. If it's not there, install the driver:

Step 2 — Print a Windows test page

In Devices and Printers, right-click the printer, choose Printer Properties, and click Print Test Page. If a test page prints, the driver is good.

Step 3 — Share the printer

VMX prints to the receipt printer through a Windows share named receipt.

  1. Windows search → type print → click Printers and Scanners.
  2. Right-click the printer and choose Printer Properties.
  3. Click the Sharing tab.
  4. Check Share this printer.
  5. Set the Share name to exactly receipt (lowercase, no quotes).
  6. Click OK.

Share name receipt already in use?

Windows will refuse a duplicate share name. Use receipt2 instead, then update VMX:

  • Go to Admin → Printers, scroll to Print Queues, edit the print queue and change file:////localhost/receipt to file:////localhost/receipt2.

Step 4 — Star only: enable ESC/POS mode

Star printers ship in a Star-native print mode that VMX doesn't speak. You must switch them to ESC/POS mode before they will print VMX receipts.

  1. Make sure the futurePRNT Configuration Utility is installed and the TSP100 (or TSP143) appears in Devices and Printers.
  2. From the Windows Start menu, go to All Programs → StarMicronics → Star TSP100 → Configuration Utility.
  3. Select ESC/POS Mode and click OK. (There's a delay — wait for it to finish.)
  4. In the left menu, click Print Job Routing.
  5. Check Enable ESC/POS Routing.
  6. Click Apply Changes, then Close.

Epson printers

Epson receipt printers speak ESC/POS natively — no mode switch is required. Install the driver, share the printer, and you're done.

Step 5 — Install the VMX Printer Bridge

The VMX Printer Bridge is a small Windows service that hands print jobs from VMX to your shared printer. It must be installed on the register computer.

The full installer download, install steps, and post-install verification are on the dedicated VMX Printer Bridge page — work through that page now, then return here.

Step 6 — Test

In VMX, complete a sale or use Reprint Receipt on a recent sale. A receipt should print on the printer.

Print queue stuck?

If receipts stall, open Devices and Printers, right-click the printer, choose See what's printing, and clear the stalled jobs. Restart the computer if needed. The Printer Bridge also offers a Flush Queue button in Admin → Printer Bridges — see Printer Bridge for details.

Permissions and spooling

Under Printer Properties → Security, the user must have Print permission. Under the Advanced tab, the printer must be set to Spool print documents.

7. Cash Drawer

The cash drawer connects to the receipt printer with an RJ11/RJ12 cable (it looks like a phone cord). When the receipt printer prints a receipt, it kicks the drawer open.

Test

  1. Go to the VMX Register page and log in.
  2. Click the No Sale button on the right side of the screen.
  3. The drawer should pop open.

Troubleshoot

Symptom Likely cause / fix
LOCKED or CAN'T NO SALE The current employee doesn't have No Sale permission. Log in as a manager or adjust permissions in Admin → Users.
You hear a click but the drawer doesn't open The drawer is mechanically stuck or manually locked with its key. Check the lock and the slides inside the drawer.
No click and no movement Check the RJ11/RJ12 cable between the drawer and the receipt printer. Confirm the printer can still print a receipt with Reprint Receipt. Try toggling Use cash drawer alternate pin? in Register Configuration — some drawers wire to pin 2 instead of pin 4.

See also Register Troubleshooting → Cash drawer not opening.

8. Barcode Scanner

Most USB and Bluetooth barcode scanners work with VMX out of the box, as long as they're set to append a carriage return (Enter) after each scan.

Test

  1. Go to the VMX Register page and log in.
  2. Scan a barcode.
  3. If the item rings up (or you see INVALID PLU), the scanner is configured correctly.
  4. If the barcode just appears in the search bar and sits there, the scanner is missing the carriage-return suffix.

Add a carriage-return suffix

The exact steps depend on your scanner model. Most scanners come with a printed quick-setup sheet, or one can be downloaded from the manufacturer's site:

  1. Search for [scanner model] quick setup guide or [scanner model] carriage return suffix programming.
  2. Print the page with the configuration barcodes (most scanners can't scan a screen).
  3. Scan the sequence — typically 3–4 barcodes — to add Enter (CR) as a suffix.
  4. Test again on the VMX Register.

See also Hardware Recommendations → Barcode Scanner for scanner models we like.

9. Credit Card Machine

VMX integrates with PayJunction and CardConnect (via Pineapple or Merchant Owl).

You'll know it's working when you ring up an item, click $ – Credit Card, and the credit card terminal at that register prompts the customer for payment.

General — physical setup

The credit card terminal has a single cable from the bottom that splits into two:

  • Power — plug into a wall outlet
  • Ethernet — plug into your network switch

If the terminal screen is black, it isn't getting power.

PayJunction

Test

In VMX → Register, look at the label on the $ – Credit Card button. If it says pj, PayJunction is selected. If it says something else, go to Register → Register Configuration and set Integrated Credit Card Processor to PayJunction.

"PayJunction" not in the processor list

PayJunction credentials need to be set in Admin → Configuration → Credit Cards. To create the credentials and add them into VMX, follow PayJunction's guide:

https://support.payjunction.com/hc/en-us/articles/360038086313-VMX-POS

"No credit card terminal ID" or "No credit card batch ID set for register"

Go to Admin → Registers and set both the CC Batch and CC Terminal for this register. See Admin → Registers — Assign a credit card terminal to a register.

If your device isn't in the dropdown, see Activation below.

Terminal says "Offline"

  • The terminal screen should show PayJunction. If it doesn't, power-cycle it.
  • Confirm the Ethernet cable is plugged into both the terminal and the network switch.

Terminal says "Activate"

The company needs to activate the device on PayJunction's side:

  1. Log in to https://www.payjunction.com.
  2. Go to More → Smart Terminals → Activate a New Smart Terminal.
  3. Enter the Activation Code shown on the terminal.
  4. Name the device after the register that uses it.
  5. Turn Tips off (unless you actually want tips).
  6. Save. The device now appears in the CC Terminal dropdown in Admin → Registers.

CardConnect

Test

In VMX → Register, look at the label on the $ – Credit Card button. If it says cc, CardConnect is selected. If not, go to Register Configuration and set Integrated Credit Card Processor to CardConnect.

"CardConnect" not in the processor list

The CardConnect Merchant ID (MID) must be set on the store. Go to Admin → Registers, scroll down to Stores, and edit the relevant store to add the MID.

"No credit card terminal ID set for register"

Go to Admin → Registers and set the CC Terminal for the register. Match the last 4 digits of the serial number on the physical device to the CC Terminal value in VMX.

Terminal says "Offline" or not "BOLTED"

  • Confirm the terminal has power and the Ethernet cable is connected to the network switch.
  • The terminal screen should say BOLTED when it has internet — if it doesn't, the terminal isn't reaching the CardConnect cloud. Check the network and try again.

Done!

The register is fully set up. To verify end to end, ring up a small test sale, charge a card (or use cash), and confirm:

  • The receipt prints
  • The cash drawer pops on cash sales
  • The barcode scanner rings up items
  • The credit card prompt appears on the terminal

If anything's off, see Register Troubleshooting or contact us:

  • (706) 666-5566 (call or text)
  • help@vmxllc.com