What Can Toast POS Do Offline? Orders, Pending Payments and Recovery
An offline Toast device can still ring in-store orders and, if the owner left the setting on, take cards that stay Pending until it reconnects.
Ryan Speier
Quick answer: an offline Toast POS device can still take new in-store orders. It can also take credit and debit cards, but only if offline card acceptance was left on before the outage. A card taken offline is Pending, not approved, and the restaurant carries any decline.
This guide is based on Toast's U.S. support pages as read on November 10, 2026, and was not tested on a device; other countries use a separate Toast page.
What works, what's conditional and what waits
- Works: ringing new in-store orders on terminals and handhelds. Staff can clock in. Where a shift review is required, clocking out has to wait for pending payments.
- Works only if enabled or wired: card payments and tips, when the offline card setting is on. Receipt printers and cash drawers, when the Ethernet cables stay plugged in. Kitchen display tickets for in-store orders, on a wired setup that meets the network requirements on Toast's offline use page.
- Waits until back online: gift cards, loyalty points, online orders, menu edits on the POS, new card pre-authorizations, shift review and complete reports. The same Toast page has the full list.
A power cut is not covered by this page. Combining checks offline and ID scanning are covered in separate guides: combining checks on Toast and ID scanning on Toast.
Pending, Processing, Authorized, Denied
- Pending prints on the receipt while offline. The payment sits on the device and no bank has answered.
- Processing shows in Toast Web after the device reconnects. The payment is on its way for an answer and can still be denied.
- Authorized means approved. Authorized is not a deposit, so check the deposit separately.
- Denied means not paid. The payment's original authorization can't be retried through Toast, so the restaurant has to collect another way.
Nothing counts as authorized until the report says Authorized. In some cases an authorization expires as early as 24 hours after a sale. That is not a safe 24-hour window.
Before an outage: cards or cash
The owner decides this on a normal day: take cards as Pending and accept the decline risk, or go cash only. The setting is called Card authorization during payment disruptions, and it can only be changed while the POS is online. An optional limit makes a manager override any larger payment, so decide which role may override. Write the setting, the limit and the override role on the note below. Toast's preparation page has the steps.
Five points here are practical advice, not Toast's instruction:
- Keep the override list short.
- Leave the option that skips authorization on every card alone. It changes normal nights and isn't outage prep.
- Don't resync while payments are still Pending.
- Don't disconnect anything during service as a test.
- If the building's own network is down, not just the internet, don't count on printers or kitchen screens.
During an outage
- Each person stays on one device until it's over.
- While a device is offline or still holds pending payments, don't unplug Ethernet, power off devices, restart the router, log out, uninstall the app, press Capture or resync.
- Keep merchant copies of card receipts where the business already keeps signed receipts.
- Still offline at close? Don't complete Close Out Day, and leave the devices powered on.
- The manager handles time entries and tips under the pay rules that apply. This page gives no pay rule.
After the banner clears
- Check each device for the offline banner, not just one.
- In Toast Web, open Reports > Payments > Payments and read the Status column.
- Leave Processing alone and keep that device on and online. Contact Toast if a payment sits in Processing for three to five days.
- Hand each Denied payment to the manager with the check number and amount. How to collect is the manager's decision with the guest.
- Don't void or discount a check just to tidy the report.
- An unknown amount or status stays unknown. Nobody forces totals to match.
Call Toast support before any workaround on a device. That includes logging out, force-stopping the app or clearing its data on a device that may still hold pending payments. Toast's recovery page has the rest.
A fictional Friday outage
This example is made up and was never run. A fictional tavern accepts cards offline. Its internet drops at 7:10 PM and returns at 8:25 PM. The manager's count of Pending card payments, tips included:
| Device | Payments | Total |
|---|---|---|
| Bar 1 | 9 | $412.50 |
| Floor 1 | 6 | $538.00 |
| Handheld 2 | 4 | $261.75 |
| All devices | 19 | $1,212.25 |
At 9:00 AM Saturday the report shows:
| Status | Payments | Total |
|---|---|---|
| Authorized | 16 | $1,034.25 |
| Denied | 1 | $64.00 |
| Processing | 2 | $114.00 |
| Sum | 19 | $1,212.25 |
The counts match (16 + 1 + 2 = 19) and so do the dollars ($1,034.25 + $64.00 + $114.00 = $1,212.25). Every payment is accounted for, but $1,212.25 was not collected: $1,034.25 is approved and not yet deposited, $64.00 is unpaid and $114.00 has no answer. Had the report shown 18 payments, the missing one would go on the note as unknown and the manager would call Toast.
Outage handoff note
Copy or print this. Use roles, device nicknames, counts and totals only.
TOAST OFFLINE MODE - OUTAGE HANDOFF NOTE Source: Toast's U.S. support pages, read Nov 10, 2026. Not tested on a device. Roles, device nicknames, counts and totals only. No guest names, phone numbers, card details or employee names. BEFORE (checked while online) Offline card setting: ON, OFF or UNKNOWN Limit per transaction: $______, NONE or UNKNOWN Role that may override: ____________ OUTAGE Date: ______ Banner seen: ______ Cards this outage: PENDING / CASH ONLY Decided by (role): ____________ Device ________ Pending ___ Total $______ ALL DEVICES Pending ___ Total $______ (add a line for each device) While a device is offline or holds pending payments, don't unplug Ethernet, power off, restart the router, log out, uninstall the app, press Capture or resync. AFTER RECONNECT (Reports > Payments > Payments, Status) Checked: ______ by (role): ____________ Every device online? Y/N Status, count, total: Authorized ___ $______ Denied ___ $______ Processing ___ $______ Unknown ___ $______ SUM ___ $______ SUM equals ALL DEVICES? Y/N/CAN'T TELL Denied goes to (role): ____________ Processing rechecked at: ______ Handed to (role): ____________ LIMITS - Pending is not approved. Processing can still be denied. - Authorized is not a deposit. Check the deposit separately. - A denied payment's original authorization can't be retried through Toast. - Unknown stays UNKNOWN. Don't force totals to match. - Call Toast support before any workaround on a device. - In some cases an authorization expires as early as 24 hours after a sale. That is not a safe 24-hour window.
Running Square? See Square offline payments in a restaurant outage. More guides are in the Technology section.
Sources
- Toast Support, Prepare to Operate in Offline Mode During Service Disruptions or Outages, last updated October 14, 2026. Read November 10, 2026.
- Toast Support, Use Toast in Offline Mode, last updated September 29, 2026. Read November 10, 2026.
- Toast Support, Recover and Get Back Online After an Outage or Disruption, last updated August 18, 2026. Read November 10, 2026.
- Toast Support, Manage Offline Payments (Australia, Canada, Ireland, & the UK), last updated September 16, 2026. Read November 10, 2026.