In HirePOS, the 'Branches' module is designed to manage multiple physical locations for a single business. When enabled, each branch operates within its own 'pool' or partition, which includes items, invoices, maintenance records, and more. However, certain record types like customers, suppliers, and staff exist at the business-wide level. For instance, a customer created for "Branch 1" will also be available to "Branch 2," but the invoice tied to "Branch 1" is exclusive to that branch.

Items (whether for hire or sale) are assigned to specific branches. For single hire items (Qty for Hire = 1), they are directly linked to a branch. For bulk hire items or sales items, quantities can be allocated to different branches (e.g., 4 items at "Branch 1" and 10 at "Branch 2"). While all items are owned by the business as a whole, reports can be generated to view quantities and values specific to each branch.

When exporting transactions to accounting software (e.g., Xero or MYOB), all branch data is consolidated into a single company file. However, filtering by branch is possible, allowing for sequential exports. In Xero, "Tracking Categories" can be used to indicate which branch the invoice originated from, while MYOB uses a similar "Jobs" categorization.

The Branches module is primarily intended to support a single business with multiple locations. However, with custom workflows and configurations, it can also be adapted for complex scenarios, such as managing multiple entities (with separate ABNs/NZBNs) or non-standard use cases (like holding or warehouse branches). While these setups are not officially supported, many HirePOS users have successfully implemented them by leveraging custom reports, user access restrictions, and Xero/MYOB integration tools.

To activate the Branches module, follow these steps:

1. From the main menu strip at the top, navigate to Setup > Preferences > Modules.

2. Check the box next to the Branches module option.

3. Click on Save Changes to confirm.

Use the Branch details screen to enter the branch's contact information, accounting settings, banking details, integration settings, and global branch options.

Note: The Branch details screen is available to Admin users only.

Enter the name of the branch.

This field is required.

Enter an optional short code used to identify the branch.

If your accounting software is set to Xero or MYOB, an accounting tracking field is displayed. Use this field to select the tracking category associated with the branch.

The field name automatically reflects the accounting software being used, for example Xero Tracking Category or MYOB Tracking Category.

Enter the branch's address details:

• Address Line 1

• Address Line 2

• City

• State

• Postcode

• Country

You can also enter a branch-specific tax number.

The field label changes according to the selected country:

• Australia — ABN

• New Zealand — GST

• Fiji — TIN

• Canada — BN

• United Kingdom — VAT

• Other countries — Tax Number

If no branch country is entered, HirePOS uses the business country when determining the tax number label.

Enter a Delivery GLN if required.

A GLN, or Global Location Number, can be used by suppliers to identify a delivery or shipping location. Leave this field blank unless your supplier or integration requires it.

Enter the branch's contact details as required:

• Phone 1

• Phone 2

• Phone 3

• Fax

• Email

Enter branch-specific banking information if required:

• Bank Name

• Bank Account Name

• BSB Number

• Bank Account Number

The API / Integrations panel allows certain integration settings to be configured specifically for this branch.

Branch-specific Pin Payments settings can override the global Pin Payments settings when the invoice is assigned to this branch.

Available settings include:

• API Secret

• Bank Account — normally a clearing account that is separate from your main business account.

Branch-specific SMS Express credentials can override the global SMS settings when the invoice is assigned to this branch.

Available settings include:

• Client ID (username)

• API Secret (password)

• Sender ID — optional.

Enter a Detrack API Key if this branch uses branch-specific Detrack integration settings.

These settings override the global Detrack settings for the branch.

Leave this field blank if you do not use Detrack or do not require branch-specific Detrack settings.

Enable Default Branch to make this branch the system default.

Only one branch can be selected as the default at a time. If the current default branch is edited and this option is cleared, the default branch setting is removed.

Enable Populate Branch Last Stocktake Dates/Qty's on save to retrospectively populate branch-level Last Stocktake Date and Last Stocktake Quantity values for sales items where these values do not already exist.

This is intended to help initialise branch-level stock control reporting. Existing values are not populated again.

Select:

• Save New when creating a branch.

• Save Changes when editing an existing branch.

When editing an existing branch, the Options menu also provides a Delete Branch option.

A branch cannot be deleted if it has already been used against invoices, payments, items, or item serial records.