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Your cash drawer opens automatically when you take a cash payment at the till, and you can also open it manually from POS — to give change, drop in a float, or check a note. Connect handles this through your receipt printer, so there’s no separate cable to your computer.

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How it connects

The cash drawer doesn’t plug into your computer. It plugs into your receipt printer with an RJ11/RJ12 cable (the wider phone-style connector), into the DK port on the back of the printer. The receipt printer then opens the drawer when Connect tells it to. This means the same receipt printer you use to print receipts is also what opens the drawer. You don’t need to set the drawer up separately — Connect picks it up automatically once the receipt printer is configured. Each printer drives one drawer, so if you run more than one till, each till needs its own receipt printer and drawer.

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Which printers can drive a drawer

Connect can fire the drawer kick through any Star or Epson thermal receipt printer it supports — see Receipt printers for the full list. Other Star- or Epson-compatible thermal printers will usually work too, but only the listed models are tested.

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What to buy

The brand doesn’t really matter. Any standard cash drawer works, as long as it comes with a cable wired for your receipt printer, so choose one that fits your counter space. For price bands and where to buy, see Tested kit.
Most receipt printer retailers list compatible cash drawers on the same product page — an easy way to find one that’s been confirmed to work with your printer.

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Setting it up

1

Plug the drawer into the receipt printer

Connect the RJ11/RJ12 cable from your cash drawer to the DK port on the back of your receipt printer. Make sure it clicks in at both ends.
2

Add the receipt printer in Connect

If you haven’t already, run the Connect setup wizard or go to Settings > Printers and add your receipt printer. The drawer is enabled by default when you confirm it opens during setup.
3

Test from settings

In Connect, go to Settings > Printers and click Open Drawer on the receipt printer card. The drawer should pop open within a second. The Cash Drawer card shows Enabled when it’s active, or Not in use if it’s been skipped.
If you bought your drawer and printer together as a bundle, the right cable is usually already in the box. If you bought them separately, double-check the drawer comes with a cable wired for your printer brand — Star and Epson use slightly different cables on some models.

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When the drawer opens

The drawer pops the moment a cash payment is confirmed at the till — it doesn’t wait for the receipt to finish printing. The drawer doesn’t open for card, gift card, or account payments — there’s no cash to handle, so it stays shut.
Connect sends the open command, but it can’t physically detect whether the drawer moved. If the drawer is locked or unplugged, the command may still report as sent — check the drawer physically before assuming everything is working.

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Troubleshooting

If the receipt prints but the drawer doesn’t open, Connect is probably talking to the printer in the wrong command language. The drawer fires through the receipt printer, so the fix lives on the printer side. On a Star network printer, go to Settings > Printers and switch the Receipt command set to Star Line — see Receipt command set. If the drawer still doesn’t open, check the RJ11/RJ12 cable is clicked in at both ends and the drawer isn’t locked.

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What’s next?

Receipt printers

Receipt printers that work with Connect.

Receipts

What goes on a receipt and how to customise it.

Connect settings

Test the drawer, toggle it on or off, swap printers.
Last modified on July 7, 2026