How does the start and stop date and time work in a POS transaction XML file?

This document describes the functioning of the StartDateTime and FinishDateTime fields in POS XML transaction files. 

In the header section of a POS transaction file, when creating a transaction, there is a field called 'StartDateTime'. This field is initially empty. When the first product is added to the SaleRows section, the date and time of that moment are recorded as the StartDateTime. If all lines are removed from a transaction and then a new first product is added to the SaleRows section, the StartDateTime is filled again with the date and time of that moment.

The reason for this approach is that sometimes the cash register is 'misused' to scan products and see the price indicated by RetailVista POS. An article is scanned and immediately removed. If a cash register is not used for some time after such an action and then a customer arrives, the transaction would appear to have taken a long time during a subsequent check. After all, if the StartDateTime were only filled once, it would still show the date/time of the first scan to view the price of a product.

When closing the transaction, the transaction file is moved to the 'Outbox' folder. At that moment, a 'FinishDateTime' element is added to the file. It contains the timestamp when the transaction was closed.

When processing the transaction by the server, the 'FinishDateTime' field is used as the transaction date and time. The moment the transaction is closed is considered the moment when sales and inventory changes are made.

The StartDateTime is not currently transferred. It is therefore not (yet) possible to determine the total duration of a transaction afterwards.