What are sales restrictions and overrides?

Point of Sale (POS) Glossary

Sales restrictions are quantity, age, or other limits on the purchase of items. Overrides are the ability of a cashier, manager, or another store-approved process to disable a sales restriction and allow a purchase.

Some products, such as alcohol, pornography, or cigarettes, may be age-restricted. A point of sale system can be programmed to require verifying government-issued identification to confirm a potential buyer is of legal age. Other products may be quantity-limited due to special pricing, reduced availability, or other reasons, and a POS can also be programmed to limit sales per customer.

Overrides can often be set up in a POS to allow manager, adult, or dual-cashier approval to turn off sales restrictions and complete a transaction. A store’s policies and procedures would detail when exceptions would be made and how to perform them.