Markdown for agents
---
title: "Power cuts in Lebanon: a shop owner's checklist for keeping the till running"
description: "A practical routine for Lebanese shops: keep the till and router powered through the generator switchover, know what checkout can and cannot do when the internet drops, handle dollars and lira, and close the day cleanly once everything is back."
canonical: "https://sandooq.app/blog/power-cuts-shop-lebanon"
locale: "en"
updated: "2026-11-02T00:00:00.000Z"
---
# Power cuts in Lebanon: a shop owner's checklist for keeping the till running
A practical routine for Lebanese shops: keep the till and router powered through the generator switchover, know what checkout can and cannot do when the internet drops, handle dollars and lira, and close the day cleanly once everything is back.
**Tags:** operations, lebanon, power-cuts, offline, cash, dual-currency
A power-cut plan for a shop is a short, written routine for three moments: state power drops and the generator takes over, the generator itself is off, or the internet goes down with them. It says what stays powered, what the cashier does at the till, and how the day is closed once everything is back.
Most Lebanese shop owners already handle these moments from memory. The trouble starts when the owner is not at the counter: a cashier refreshes a frozen screen, re-rings a sale that looked lost, or closes the day at the wrong rate. Writing the routine down, and choosing a till that behaves predictably when the connection drops, removes most of those mistakes.
## Three outages, three different problems
Rationing is not one event. State supply rises and falls with fuel deliveries: Électricité du Liban was providing between seven and nine hours a day at the end of February 2026, and about four hours a day in July 2026, [according to a September 2026 Libnanews report](https://en.libnanews.com/electricity-in-lebanon-promises-against-cuts/). Private generators cover the rest, at a price per kilowatt-hour that the [Ministry of Energy and Water publishes as a monthly tariff notice](https://energyandwater.gov.lb/mediafiles/prices/2-2024-08-28.doc). The internet can fail for the same reason: in January 2022 an Ogero station in west Beirut [ran out of diesel and cut service to more than 26,000 subscribers](https://www.arabnews.com/node/2005386/amp).
For the till, that means three separate problems:
| What happens | What stops | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| State power drops and the generator takes over | Anything without a battery restarts during the switchover gap — usually the router and a desktop till | Keep the till, router and receipt printer on a UPS |
| The generator is off (rationing hours, fuel, maintenance) | Lights, fridges and every plugged-in device once the UPS runs down | Decide in advance what the UPS must carry and for how long |
| The internet drops while power is on | Anything that needs the server: sign-in, card payments, receipt lookups, opening or closing a cash session | Follow the offline steps below; do not refresh the till |
## Put the till, router and printer on a UPS
The switchover between state power and the generator is the moment that catches most shops out. A desktop till and a router restart, the cashier loses the sale in progress, and the shop is offline until the router reconnects. A small uninterruptible power supply (UPS) bridges that gap.
**What to plug into it:** the till device, the internet router or modem, and the receipt printer. The router matters as much as the till: if it restarts, every device in the shop loses the connection at the same time. Tablets and laptops have their own batteries — keep them charged and plug only their chargers into the UPS.
**How to size it, in plain words:**
1. Read the power rating in watts on the label of each device you plan to connect, and add them up.
2. Buy a UPS whose rating *in watts* (not only in VA) is comfortably above that total.
3. Look up the maker's runtime chart for that load. Decide what you need the battery to cover — the switchover only, or enough to finish the sale in progress and keep the router up until the generator is back.
**Test it once a month.** During a quiet hour, unplug the UPS from the wall and watch what stays on. Batteries age, and the first time you find out is otherwise the next power cut.
There is a second, less obvious reason for the UPS. If the till restarts while the internet is also down, the cashier may not be able to sign back in until the connection returns — signing in needs a connection. A till that never loses power never faces that problem.
For the rest of the counter equipment, see the [POS hardware guide](/blog/pos-hardware-guide-printers-scanners-terminals).
## What the till can do when the internet drops
Every till handles a lost connection differently, so check your own system before you need it. For Sandooq, the limits are published and short:
Cash checkout can continue during a connection drop when you are already signed in and the cash session is open. Sales queue on the device and sync when the connection returns. Signing in, card payments, receipt lookups and opening or closing a cash session need a connection. Keep the POS tab open while working offline.
In practice, for a Lebanese shop, that turns into four habits:
- **Open the cash session while you are online.** If the shop's line is down in the morning, a phone hotspot is enough to sign in and open the session; after that, cash sales can continue through a drop.
- **Never refresh or close the POS tab during an outage.** If the screen seems stuck, wait before touching it: reloading during a drop can sign the cashier out, and signing back in needs a connection.
- **Card customers wait for the connection.** Card payments need a connection, so offer cash or ask the customer to wait.
- **Look up old receipts later.** Returns that need a receipt lookup wait until the connection is back.
The difference between this and a till that simply stops is explained in more detail in [what offline checkout can and cannot do](/blog/offline-pos-benefits).
## Dollars and lira during an outage
Two currencies at one counter are normal in Lebanon. When the Economy Minister allowed shops to price goods in US dollars in 2023, the decision also said that [the customer's option to pay in Lebanese lira or US dollars must be preserved at the cash register](https://lbcgroup.tv/news/economy/690020/minister-of-economy-issues-dollar-pricing-decision/en). An outage does not change that — but it does change where the exchange rate comes from.
With Sandooq, the business enters the rate it trades at, and every sale is booked against the rate in force when it was rung. During a connection drop the till uses the last rate it downloaded. By default it will not take payment with a rate more than 24 hours old, so the day's rate needs to be set while you are online. Three habits keep this clean:
- **Set the day's rate before the first cut.** Make it part of opening, together with the cash session.
- **Keep the printed rate card equal to the till.** If the rate on the wall and the rate in the till differ, the customer argues with the cashier, not with the system.
- **Record change in the currency you actually gave.** Each payment line keeps its own currency and nothing is silently converted, so a lira payment with dollar change is recorded as exactly that — which is what makes the count at the end of the day work.
For counting and drawer procedures on ordinary days, see [cash management for retail stores](/blog/cash-management-retail-store).
## When power and internet are back: close the day cleanly
Most outage mistakes happen after the outage, at closing time. The order matters:
1. **Leave the till on with the POS tab open** until the sales made during the drop have been sent.
2. **Check the sync queue.** Sales still waiting to send, or any that the server refused, show up there for review. Do not close while something is still waiting.
3. **Do not re-ring a sale you think is missing.** Check the queue first; ringing it again is how a shop ends up with the same sale twice.
4. **Count the drawer per currency** — dollars and lira separately.
5. **Close the cash session and draw the Z-read.** Both need a connection, so this step always happens after the internet is back. If the difference between X and Z reports is not familiar, see [X report vs Z report](/blog/x-report-vs-z-report-retail).
Write down the times of any long outage on the day's paperwork. When a drawer count is off, knowing that the shop ran on cash only between two and four o'clock is often the explanation.
## A one-page outage card for the counter
Print this and tape it next to the till, so the routine does not depend on the owner being there:
1. Power drops: check that the till and router are still on (UPS). Finish the sale in progress.
2. Internet drops: keep selling cash. Do not refresh or close the till screen.
3. Card customer: card payments need the connection — offer cash or ask them to wait.
4. Use the rate in the till; make sure the rate card on the wall matches it.
5. Give change in either currency and record what you actually gave.
6. Customer wants a refund on an old receipt: note their details and process it when the connection is back.
7. Before closing: wait until nothing is waiting to send, then count dollars and lira separately and close the session.
## Frequently asked questions
### How long should a UPS keep the till running?
At minimum, long enough to cover the switchover between state power and the generator, so the till and router never restart. Many shops size it for longer — enough to finish the sale in progress and keep the router up until the generator is back. Check the maker's runtime chart for your actual load and test the battery monthly.
### Can I keep selling when the internet is down?
With Sandooq, cash checkout can continue during a connection drop when you are already signed in and the cash session is open. Sales queue on the device and sync when the connection returns. Signing in, card payments, receipt lookups and opening or closing a cash session need a connection, and the POS tab should stay open.
### Can customers pay by card during a power or internet cut?
Card payments need a connection. If the shop's internet is down, the card payment waits until it returns, so offer cash or ask the customer to wait. If only state power is down and the UPS and generator keep the router online, card payments carry on as normal.
### Which exchange rate does the till use when it is offline?
The last rate it downloaded from your settings. By default Sandooq will not take payment with a cached rate that is more than 24 hours old, so set the day's rate while you are online, as part of opening.
### Do I have to close the shift before the generator switches off?
No. Closing the cash session needs a connection, not mains power. If the UPS keeps the till and router up, you can close normally; if the connection is down, keep selling cash and close once it is back and the queued sales have been sent.
### Will sales made during the outage show in the day's reports?
Yes, once they have synced. Sales made during a connection drop are sent when the connection returns. Check the sync queue for anything still waiting or refused before you close the session and draw the Z-read.
## Sources
- Libnanews, "Electricity in Lebanon: promises against cuts", 9 September 2026 — EDL supply hours in February and July 2026: [en.libnanews.com](https://en.libnanews.com/electricity-in-lebanon-promises-against-cuts/)
- Ministry of Energy and Water, private-generator tariff notice, 28 August 2024 — example of the monthly per-kWh notice: [energyandwater.gov.lb](https://energyandwater.gov.lb/mediafiles/prices/2-2024-08-28.doc)
- Arab News, "Lebanon faces Internet service interruption amid fuel crisis", 16 January 2022: [arabnews.com](https://www.arabnews.com/node/2005386/amp)
- LBCI, "Minister of Economy issues dollar pricing decision", 2023: [lbcgroup.tv](https://lbcgroup.tv/news/economy/690020/minister-of-economy-issues-dollar-pricing-decision/en)
See how Sandooq handles dollars and lira at one counter on the [POS system for Lebanese shops](/pos-system/lebanon) page, read [what cashier software should do](/blog/cashier-software), or [book a demo](/demo) to walk through an outage on your own setup.