Frequently Asked Questions

No, we are a software only company (Cloud-based SaaS – Software as a Service to be precise). We save you money by letting you use low-cost equipment you can easily source yourself – even redundant stuff you have lying around. Pretty much anything that can run a modern web-browser can be used: ipads, laptops, TVs, phones etc.

Basic

The most basic set up is one ipad (or Android tablet) and a phone. The ipad acts as a counter-top Counter and Take-a-Ticket display – to show the latest number and let those without a phone or data take a ticket. The phone would allow a store assistant to call up the next customerusing the “Up Button” screen.

Mid Range

The next thing to add would be a prominent Counter display. This could be another ipad – wall-mounted perhaps – or a laptop. It’s also advisable to provide one or more dedicated devices for your store assistants to call up customers, so they don’t need to use their own phones. We’d recommend small ipads or tablets on stands.

Full Enchilada

You could improve visibility for your customer by adding more or larger Counter displays around the store – there is no limit. Wall-mounted TVs are great for this. Many Smart TVs already have wifi and browsers built in and so can easily show the Counter display. Or you can add a small Android TV device or Amazon Fire TV, to add web browser capability to non-smart TVs. You can also offer several Take-a-ticket screens on multiple ipads or tablets and make sure there are enough devices behind the counter to allow all you assistants to access the Up Button without treading on each other’s toes. Again, there is no limit.

Mobile

A mobile facility presents some additional challenges: 1) Connectivity – running your whole operation off your phones’ hotspot facility is a possibility but you might want to treat yourself to a dedicated wifi hotspot device. SIMs with as much as 4GB/month can cost less than  £10 from the likes of ID Mobile and Plusnet – which run on EE’s extensive 4G network. 2) Power – its unlikely your devices will be able to run off their internal batteries for an entire day of working, so unless you have a generator you might want to treat yourself to an external battery/powerbank. Packs with 20,000mhA or more have the equivalent of more that 5 full phone charges and cost as little as £30. Go for one with multiple USB sockets to power multiple devices.

If you need to buy extra hardware or accessories we make some suggestions as to the type of equipment you can get most cost-effectively here: UpCounter Shop

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You’ll need to install an app called Wake Lock. It’s not in the Fire TV App store, unfortunately so you’ll need to do something called “sideload” it. There is a great guide here – and it’s easiest if you have an Android device to hand

If your TV or monitor has an HDMI socket, an Amazon Fire TV device is a great cost effective way to create a large Counter screen in store

You’ll need 2 apps to make this work, one easy to install the other less easy.

1. Firefox Internet Browser
   This can be found and installed from the Fire TV app store
2. Wake Lock
   This app is needed to keep the display on and not going black after a while. It’s not in the Fire TV app store so you’ll need to do something called sideloading. There’s a great guide here – it’s easiest if you can get hold of an Android phone or Tablet

If you want to add a link to website or app, or present the web-address (URL) in display materials, then you can find it by scanning you Store QR code here.

You can also construct it by adding your Store ID code to end of the UpCounter Short URL, like this: upctr.me/[Store ID]. It would look something like this:  upctr.me/ABcD5

Your store ID code can be found in your Store’s Account Settings here

We provide multiple ways for customers to get a ticket number on their phone, so they can choose the one of least effort for them.

1. Scan a QR Code
   The customer can scan your store QR code – the unique grid of black and white squares you can find here – with a QR app or, better yet, the camera on their phone. Most recent phones from popular manufacturers – including Apple and Samsung – have added QR code scanning right into their standard camera app. Tapping the address that pops up when the customer points their app at the QR code opens up the Store’s Take-a-Ticket screen.
2. Tap a NFC Tags
   NFC (or Near Field Communication) technology allows customers to open the take-a-ticket screen by just tapping their phone near an NFC tag configured for the Store. This is the same technology that allows people to pay for things just by tapping their phone with Apple or Google Pay. Again most recent phones from popular brands such as Apple and Samsung have NFC built in (although the customer will have to have it turned on in their settings). NFC tags are small, low-cost discs that can be stuck on or behind display materials. We can supply NFC tags that are configured for your store or you can buy and configure your own (using a Android app like this).
3. Enter a Short URL
   The Take-a-Ticket screen for each store UpCounter system has it’s own unique web-address. We’ve made this short so it can be quickly typed into a web-browser on the phone. It looks something like this: upctr.me/ABcD5
4. Tap a Link
   A store can incorporate a link to it’s Take-a-Ticket Screen web-address from it’s own websites and apps – so a customer can call it up with just one tap, even remotely before they visit a store.

Every installation must have at least one combined Counter and Take-a-Ticket Screen, so that those customers who don’t have or want to use their phone or data can still take a number. Tapping the “Take-a-Ticket” button on this screen asks the customer for their name – so you can call them up in the absence of them being able to show their phone – and presents their number and estimated wait time.

Occasionally, especially after a long idle period, the Counter screen gets out of sync. It may come back into sync when the next number is called. However, refreshing the page in the browser will immediately pull up the right number and re-activate synchronisation