POS Keyboard: Numpad App

POS Keyboard is a numpad app for Android handhelds in the warehouse and at the checkout. Instead of letters it opens on the numeric keyboard with F-keys, so quantities, bin locations and picking steps go in fast. As a till keyboard it is just as quick to set up, and the setup can be copied to many devices.

It was built for warehouse data entry and the till came later. What sets it apart from a pre-installed keyboard is not the keys, it is the setup: getting from “F3 should confirm the quantity” to “it is live on every device” should be a short path, not a long one.

The start layout is a numpad with F-keys, not the letter keyboard - the very layout the app was built for. The bottom row of keys reliably stays above the navigation bar, even on devices that will not let you hide it.

It is in use on the Zebra TC53E (Android 13), with a custom warehouse application and with Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central and LS Central with the warehouse module. POS Keyboard is a keyboard, not an integration: it passes characters to whatever input field you are in, no matter which application that is.

To keep staff from leaving the numpad by accident, the letter keyboard can be locked: the layout switch key is disguised, and only a hidden gesture (several fast taps) or a PIN unlocks it. The same barrier protects the management screens.

A setup assistant walks you through activation, start layout, key height and unlocking on first launch. As a customizable keyboard app it has a key editor: change the label, action and width of any key, then save the finished layout to a file or read one back in. A custom keyboard for Android handhelds, set up once and rolled out everywhere.

For rolling out the customizable keyboard app to many devices there is QR transfer: one device shows its configuration, the next one reads it in, with a preview and a confirmation code before anything is applied. No network, no account, no server. Via the built-in barcode scanner where the device has one, otherwise via the camera.

An optional beeper sounds when a device sits still for too long, so a misplaced handheld is found before it costs you a shift. How short the waiting time can be depends on the device: 60 seconds if it has a wake-capable stationary sensor, otherwise 9 minutes. The app measures this and shows it in the settings rather than promising a number it cannot keep.

Additional layouts: a German QWERTZ layout with umlauts and long-press accents, plus a symbol layout including the euro sign. From the letter keyboard you can switch to the system keyboard if needed. The app itself is available in German, English, French, Spanish, Italian, Dutch and Polish; the letter layout stays German QWERTZ.

The numpad app has no internet permission, no server and no user account. What you type only goes to the app you are typing in.