Re-purpose POS hardware from Square to use with Shopify

[Michael_Check]

Wondering if anyone has experience using the Square POS receipt printer and cash drawer that come with the Square Stand (Star Micronics 143iiU and APG VB554A-BL1616 both USB connections) and re-purposing them to use with the Shopify system?

According to the Shopify docs, a different Star Micronics USB receipt printer is supported using the Apple Airport Extreme, but I wonder if anyone has done this or used another method to connect them?

We have a client that is switching from Square POS to Shopify and would like to leverage their existing hardware investment if possible.

Thanks!

[Carson2]

Hi Michael,

While we can't guarantee functionality, the Star Micronics 143iiU should work with Shopify POS if you plug it into an Airport router and share it over WiFi to your iPad.

The cash drawer with USB plug, however, won't work without changes. Shopify POS communicates with our cash drawers via the accessory port on the receipt printer. From what I can tell, it looks like that cash drawer supports APG's "MultiPRO" interface, meaning you could use a new cable that plugs into the back of the printer like our cash drawers do.

Hope this helps!

[Michael_Check]

Thank you Carson. I've ordered an airport to try. 

Do do you know what cable is needed for that multipro interface? Is that the telephone RJ6 cable between the two?

[Carson2]

The cable you're looking for is the APG CD-101A, connecting from RJ45 to RJ12, with the smaller RJ12 plugging into the printer.

[Michael_Check]

Thanks again Carson. Looking up my part number (APG VB554A-BL1616) on the APG site, it appears the 554A are USB only, which means it cannot use the MultiPro interface.

But thanks for the cable reference, if the printer works connected to the Airport Express, the cash drawer can always be opened via the key when needed.