How to Connect External Devices to Odoo 18 Point of Sale: Complete Guide
By Braincuber Team
Published on February 26, 2026
Your Odoo 18 POS can ring up sales all day — but without physical hardware connected, your checkout is half-finished. Kitchen printers that don't fire tickets. Barcode scanners collecting dust. Customer displays showing nothing. This complete tutorial walks you through connecting every external device Odoo 18 POS supports — kitchen printers, IoT boxes, customer displays, and preparation displays — so your retail or restaurant floor actually works.
What You'll Learn:
- Setting up kitchen/preparation printers for order routing
- Connecting devices via ePOS (no IoT box needed)
- Configuring the IoT Box for USB, Bluetooth, and WiFi peripherals
- Enabling and using the customer display
- Building a preparation display with custom stages
- Supported device types for retail and restaurant POS
Devices You Can Connect to Odoo 18 POS
Odoo 18 POS supports two connection methods — direct ePOS printer connections (no IoT box required) and IoT Box connections for everything else. Here's what each method covers:
| Connection Method | Supported Devices | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| ePOS (Direct) | Receipt printers, kitchen printers | Simple setups, single printer per POS |
| IoT Box | Printers, barcode scanners, scales, customer displays, cash drawers | Multi-device setups, restaurants, retail stores |
| Protocols | USB, HDMI, Bluetooth, WiFi | IoT Box supports all four connection types |
Setting Up Kitchen Printers
Kitchen printers produce order tickets for chefs — so they know what to cook, when, and for which table. Without them, your waiters are running back and forth shouting orders. Here's how to set them up:
Enable Kitchen Printers in Settings
Go to Point of Sale > Configuration > Settings. Enable the Preparation Printers option. Save.
Add a New Printer
The Preparation Printers menu appears under the Setup tab. Click New to add a printer. Enter the Printer Name and Printer Model.
Configure IP Address and Product Categories
Enter the printer's hostname or IP address in the Proxy IP Address field. Select the Printed Product Categories to route only specific order types to this printer (e.g., "Food" to kitchen, "Drinks" to bar).
Test in a POS Session
Start a POS session, add items, and press Order. The ticket fires directly to the kitchen printer. If you left Product Categories blank, all orders print — useful for single-kitchen setups.
Category Routing Tip
Assign specific product categories per printer if you run a bar + kitchen setup. "Drinks" to the bar printer, "Food" to the kitchen printer. Otherwise, bartenders print steak tickets and chefs print cocktail orders. Nobody wants that.
Connecting Devices via IoT Box
The IoT Box is a hardware gateway that connects multiple peripherals — printers, barcode scanners, weighing scales, cash drawers — to your Odoo 18 POS over USB, HDMI, Bluetooth, or WiFi. One box, multiple devices, zero driver headaches.
Multi-Device Hub
Connect receipt printers, barcode scanners, scales, and cash drawers through a single IoT Box. No separate drivers per device.
Wireless Support
USB, HDMI, Bluetooth, WiFi — pick your protocol. Bluetooth scanners and WiFi printers connect without running cables across your floor.
Auto-Detection
Plug devices into the IoT Box, and Odoo detects them automatically. No manual configuration of COM ports or IP addresses per device.
Plug and Play
Once the IoT Box is configured, starting a new POS session automatically picks up all connected devices. No re-pairing every shift.
Enabling and Configuring the IoT Box
Enable IoT Box in POS Settings
Navigate to Point of Sale > Configuration > Settings. Activate the IoT Box feature and save.
Select Connected Devices
The configuration page now shows detected IoT devices. Select the printers, scanners, scales, or cash drawers you want enabled for this POS.
Start a New POS Session
After saving, start a new POS session. All selected IoT devices are automatically available. Barcode scanners push scanned items directly into the order.
Enabling the Customer Display
The customer display is a secondary screen facing the buyer. It shows the running order total, line items, and payment status in real time. Fewer "wait, what did you charge me for?" conversations.
Activate Customer Display
Go to POS Configuration > Settings. Enable the Customer Display option and save.
Launch the Display in POS Session
Start a POS session. A Customer Display button appears in the navigation bar. Click it to open the secondary display window — drag it to your customer-facing monitor.
Verify Real-Time Updates
Add items to the order. The customer display updates instantly — showing item names, quantities, and running total. Customers can verify purchases before payment.
Setting Up the Preparation Display
The preparation display replaces paper tickets with a live screen in the kitchen or fulfillment area. Orders appear, staff marks them through stages, and the front-of-house knows when items are ready.
Configuration Steps
Enable Preparation Display
Go to POS Configuration > Settings. Scroll to the Preparation section and enable Preparation Display. Save.
Create a New Preparation Display
Navigate to Point of Sale > Orders > Preparation Display. Click New. Give it a descriptive name like "Main Kitchen" or "Bar".
Configure Display Details
Set the Point of Sale that routes orders here. Select Product Types to filter which categories appear. Add Stages (click Add a line) — give each stage a color and an alert timer (in minutes) for processing time warnings.
Point of Sale = The POS system routing orders to this display
Product Types = POS product categories shown on this screen
Stages = Processing steps (e.g., "Preparing", "Ready")
Alert Timer = Minutes before overdue warning triggers per stage
ePOS Printers vs IoT Box: When to Use What
Not every setup needs an IoT Box. If you only need a receipt or kitchen printer, ePOS printers connect directly — no extra hardware. Here's the breakdown:
| Feature | ePOS Printer (Direct) | IoT Box |
|---|---|---|
| Hardware Required | Just the printer | IoT Box + devices |
| Device Types | Printers only | Printers, scanners, scales, drawers, displays |
| Setup Complexity | Minimal — IP address only | Moderate — IoT Box config + device pairing |
| Cost | Lower (no extra box) | Higher (IoT Box purchase) |
Compatibility Check
Not all printers and scanners work with Odoo 18 POS. Always verify hardware compatibility before purchasing. Epson TM series printers are the safest bet for ePOS. For IoT Box setups, check Odoo's supported hardware list — a $200 scanner that doesn't pair is a $200 paperweight.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need an IoT Box to connect a kitchen printer in Odoo 18 POS?
No. ePOS-compatible printers (like Epson TM series) connect directly via IP address without an IoT Box. You only need an IoT Box for non-ePOS printers or when connecting multiple device types.
What connection types does the Odoo 18 IoT Box support?
The IoT Box supports USB, HDMI, Bluetooth, and WiFi. Barcode scanners typically use USB or Bluetooth, printers use USB or WiFi, and customer displays use HDMI.
How do I route different product categories to different kitchen printers?
When setting up each preparation printer, specify the Printed Product Categories field. Assign "Food" items to the kitchen printer and "Drinks" to the bar printer.
Can I set up a preparation display for retail (not just restaurants)?
Yes. In retail, the preparation display alerts the fulfillment team to collect purchased items for client pickup after POS payment. It works for any order-to-pickup workflow.
What is the customer display in Odoo 18 POS?
A secondary screen that shows customers their order details, line items, and total in real time during checkout. It reduces disputes and improves transparency at the counter.
Need Help Connecting Devices to Odoo 18 POS?
Our team configures kitchen printers, IoT boxes, customer displays, barcode scanners, and preparation displays for retail and restaurant POS setups daily. Stop wrestling with hardware — let us wire it up right.