First day: pickup point

A pickup point is a separate operating model: the entity here is not an order but a parcel, and it has its own path — "announced → received → sitting in a cell → handed out or returned". The "Pickup point" 📦 business type is chosen at sign-up: the onboarding does not ask about menus or kitchens, and the "Parcels" section (/parcels) is open from the start, without switching anything on in the app store.

The section is six tabs: Receiving · Storage · Handover · Returns · Carriers · Settlements.

Format	What you set up on day one	What to look at first
A single-carrier pickup point	One carrier, a storage period, the cell layout	Receiving a batch and the first handover
Multi-carrier	Several carriers, each with its own handover rules and fee	The default carrier and the settlements per carrier
A pickup point inside a store	Parcels plus the store's catalog, stock and storefront	Keeping transit money apart from revenue

What is on from the start: "Parcels", the till in counter mode (pay right away), "Hardware" (scanner, printer, terminal — the core of pickup point operations), staff and finance. Inventory, the kitchen display, tables, couriers and the marketplace are off: the store sections, if you need them, are switched on in the app store. The wording changes too: a "place" is a cell, a "place group" is a rack, and a "guest" is a recipient.

What you need to get started#

A computer or tablet for receiving and handover — the section runs in a browser. The till (needed for cash on delivery) is the same /pos web page.
A barcode scanner — the main tool of a pickup point. Any USB or Bluetooth scanner in "keyboard" mode will do: you scan tracking numbers when receiving, cells during stocktaking and the parcel itself at handover.
A printer for cell labels — an ordinary one or a thermal printer through the bridge. Labels are printed once receiving is closed.
A receipt printer or a fiscal printer — if you accept cash on delivery and your country requires a receipt. It connects through the same bridge; what is supported by country is in Fiscalisation.
A card terminal — if you accept cash on delivery by card: the bridge's terminal charges the amount, or the payment is confirmed manually.
Racks with sensible numbering. The cell layout in the system mirrors the physical one: rack → shelf → position (a code like A-2-05). Label the shelves before your first receiving — relabelling later costs more.

The common frame of the first day#

The common steps (sign-up, location, business type, languages, subscription, help) are described in the hub First day: choose your business type. For a pickup point the order is this:

Fill in the location's address. Without an address with coordinates the location cannot be published in the Cenaly pickup network, and the recipient will not see where to go.
Add a carrier — the "Carriers" tab: name, type (CDEK, Post, 5Post, Yandex, Boxberry, Ozon, WB, Cenaly or custom), storage period, whether cash on delivery is allowed, whether an ID is required at handover, your fee per parcel and percentage of COD, and the agency scheme (agent, commission agent or payment agent — it determines how the money is accounted for).
Draw the cells — in the same tab, the layout editor: the number of racks, shelves and cells per shelf. On receiving, a cell is assigned automatically — the first free one.
Run a trial receiving and a trial handover on one real parcel. That is the only check that catches both an unlabelled shelf and the wrong scanner mode.
Open a cash shift — Cash shift. Cash on delivery cannot be accepted without an open shift: the handover screen will offer to open one.

Checklist: a single-carrier pickup point#

The goal of day one is to receive the delivered batch and hand out the first parcel without holding up the queue.

The source of arrivals. Decide how parcels get into the system: importing the carrier's manifest (CSV/XLSX, the columns are guessed automatically, there is a CDEK preset) or receiving by scan — an unannounced parcel is created by the system itself, and the missing data (phone, amount, sender) is filled in later on the card in the "Storage" tab.
Receiving a batch — the "Receiving" tab: you scan the tracking numbers and the matches are highlighted. On completion a receiving report is produced, broken down into "matched / created on the spot / did not arrive / skipped", and cell labels are printed.
The handover rule. The carrier record defines recipient verification: checking an ID, the code from the waybill, a one-time code by SMS or email, or no check. An ID requirement overrides the other rules.
Handover — the "Handover" tab: search by tracking number or by exactly the last four digits of the phone number, verification, and a control scan of the parcel out of the cell (skipping the scan is possible only deliberately, with a confirmation, and it stays in the parcel's log).
Cash on delivery — cash with change calculation, a card through the bridge's terminal, or a split between both. The receipt is issued with an agent flag: the goods supplier is the sending online shop, not your point. If the till cannot handle agency fields, the handover can still go through — you mark "receipt issued on an external till".
Storage periods and reminders. The period is set on the carrier; the recipient gets a reminder in advance, and once the period expires the parcel moves to "to be returned" by itself.
Returning to the carrier — the "Returns" tab: one button builds a register of everything awaiting return; printing the register moves those parcels to "returned".

Devices you need: a PC or tablet, a scanner, a label printer; a till with a receipt printer if there is cash on delivery. What can honestly wait: publishing in the Cenaly pickup network, API keys for shops, settlements (they are computed for you and matter at month's end).

Checklist: multi-carrier#

The goal of day one is to keep one carrier's rules from being applied to another carrier's parcels.

Add every carrier as a separate record: each has its own storage period, ID requirement, cash-on-delivery permission and fee. The agency scheme is also set per carrier.
The default carrier is the one a parcel scanned "outside a manifest" will be created under. Choose deliberately: this is the most common source of confusion at the start.
The cells are shared. There is one cell layout per location, and parcels from different carriers sit in the same pool; the "Storage" tab has a carrier filter.
Handing out "everything at once". If a recipient has several parcels, the screen shows them together (siblings) and offers to hand out all the prepaid ones with one button — even if they are from different carriers.
Settlements — the "Settlements" tab: month by month and carrier by carrier, parcels handed out, cash on delivery collected, your fee and the amount payable; CSV export. The split of cash on delivery into cash and card lives in the cash shift report.
Stocktaking — a full scan of the cells: it shows what was found, what is missing and what is extra. Missing parcels are marked as lost row by row with the button on each row, or all at once with the "Mark all missing as lost (N)" button and a single confirmation.
Staff and roles — Staff and shifts: a handover operator does not need access to settlements or carrier settings.

Devices you need: the same as for a single carrier. What can honestly wait: fine-tuning roles (on day one the owner usually works the counter), custom carrier types beyond the built-in list.

Checklist: a pickup point inside a store#

The goal of day one is to keep parcels and store goods from mixing in one till.

Parcels as the main contour — the "Parcels" section is already open; the carrier and cell setup is the same as above.
Switch on the store sections in the app store: catalog, inventory, storefront. Their checklist is First day: retail store.
One till, two kinds of money. Cash on delivery is transit money: it belongs to the sender minus your fee, and in the shift's X/Z report it is counted on a separate line without mixing with the store's revenue. At the same time the cash that physically landed in the drawer is included in the expected till balance — Cash shift.
A quick jump to handover. For a pickup point the till header carries a "Go to handover" button — the cashier does not hunt for the section.
The Cenaly pickup network — the "Carriers" tab: a toggle to publish the location, permission for cash on delivery, the point's code. Once published, orders from platform shops with "deliver to your pickup point" arrive on their own, with no file and no scan.
API announcements — if parcels are announced by your own online shop or a partner, issue them an API key on the same tab (it is shown once).

Devices you need: the store's till kit plus a scanner and a label printer for parcels. What can honestly wait: the online storefront and the store's feeds — get handover running first, it brings the footfall.

What can wait#

Publishing in the Cenaly pickup network — once receiving and handover are running smoothly.
API keys for principal shops — needed only by those who announce parcels programmatically.
Custom wording for recipient notifications — the basic arrival notice, the storage reminder and the handover message work out of the box.
The location's finance and statistics — there is nothing to count without a history of handovers.
Staff with their own logins — Staff and shifts: on day one the owner usually works alone.

Limitations worth knowing up front#

The vertical works, but it has honest loose ends — plan around them.

There is no partial handover. A parcel is handed out or returned only in full: trying items on and buying part of the contents is not supported.
We have no ready-made connections into carriers' internal systems. Parcels are created by importing a manifest, by scanning, or by an announcement through our API — the reverse direction (us reading the carrier's system) is not implemented.
This does not replace the Wildberries, Ozon and Yandex Market apps. Those platforms run closed partner networks with their own software and their own fiscalisation — our till takes no part in those settlements.
Statuses after a stocktake are changed by the operator, not by the system. Missing parcels can be marked as lost row by row or all at once, but the server never reclassifies anything from the stocktake by itself — it stays a deliberate, confirmed action.
The return register is also the handover record. There is no separate "the courier collected it" step: printing the register moves the parcels to "returned".

Troubleshooting#

The scanner does not find the parcel when receiving. Check the scanner mode (it must act as a keyboard) and that the cursor is in the scan field. If the tracking number is not in the manifest, that is normal: the system will create the parcel under the default carrier and mark it as unannounced.

The system will not give up a cell when reassigning. It will not release an occupied cell — free it first or pick a vacant one on the occupancy map.

The recipient is not getting the one-time code. The code goes by SMS or to the email recorded on the parcel card: check whether the contact is filled in (for parcels created by scan it is often empty). Resending is available after a timeout.

Cash on delivery cannot be accepted. No cash shift is open — the handover screen will offer to open one, see Cash shift.

The till will not print an agency receipt. The screen honestly warns that the till cannot handle agency fields. The handover can still go through if you mark "receipt issued on an external till" — the parcel's log keeps the record that fiscalisation was external.

The recipient cannot check the parcel status. The public tracking page asks for the tracking number and exactly the last four digits of the phone number — if the phone is not filled in on the card, the check will fail.

FAQ#

Do I need an integration with a courier company to start?#

No. Importing a manifest or receiving by scan is enough. If the sender is willing to announce parcels themselves, issue them an API key — then the parcels appear automatically.

Is cash on delivery my revenue?#

No. It is the sender's transit money: in the shift report and in finance it is kept apart from the location's sales, and your fee is calculated on the "Settlements" tab.

What if the recipient never comes?#

Once the storage period set on the carrier expires, the parcel moves to "to be returned" by itself, and the recipient gets a reminder in advance. After that you build a return register.

Can I hand out one parcel out of several?#

Yes, parcels are handed out one by one, and all prepaid ones can be handed out with a single button. But part of the contents of one parcel cannot be handed out.

Yes — see the third checklist. Cash on delivery and the store's revenue are not mixed in the reports.

Is a fiscal printer mandatory?#

It depends on the country and on whether you accept cash on delivery. If a receipt is required, it connects through the bridge; see Fiscalisation.

First day: choose your business type — the common steps and the other formats
Pickup point — the whole "Parcels" section tab by tab
Cash shift and Z-report — where cash on delivery is kept apart from revenue
Hardware (bridge) — scanner, label printer, terminal, fiscal printer
Staff and shifts — roles for handover operators
First day: retail store — if the point also sells goods

📦 First day: pickup point