Lightspeed Hub is a desktop application that allows Retail POS to connect to receipt printers, label printers, and Customer Facing Displays (CFD). Once installed on your computer, Lightspeed Hub guides you through the hardware set up process, helping you set up your hardware faster and more efficiently.

Lightspeed Hub connects directly to Retail POS, for a more reliable hardware connection throughout the day. If a connection issue is detected, the status of the connection will change in both Hub and Retail POS. In Retail POS, the status light icon next to Devices in the main menu will turn yellow if one or more connections are not working or red if Hub is disconnected.

Software requirements for Lightspeed Hub

• MacOS 10.13+
• Windows 8, 10, or 11

Supported hardware for Lightspeed Hub

Lightspeed Hub receipt printers

Supported receipt printers for Hub can connect to your computer through the following connection types::

• LAN: Connects directly to your network with a LAN cable. Your computer then connects to your printer through your network.
• WLAN: Connects wirelessly to your network. Your computer then connects to your printer through your network.
• USB: Connects directly to your computer with a USB cable.

Learn more about setting up receipt printers by connection type:

• Setting up your receipt printer with LAN or WLAN connection
• Setting up your receipt printer with USB connection
• Setting up your receipt printer with Bluetooth connection

Lightspeed Hub label printers

Supported label printers for Hub can connect to your computer through the following connection types::

• LAN: Connects directly to your network with a LAN cable. Your computer then connects to your printer through your network.
• USB: Connects directly to your computer with a USB cable.
• Bluetooth: Connects to your computer with a USB cable and your iPad via Bluetooth.

Learn more about setting up your label printer:

• Setting up your Zebra label printer

Lightspeed Hub Customer Facing Displays

A Customer Facing Display shows the active sale to the customer as it’s being processed, listing the items being sold, quantity, prices, discounts, taxes, totals, and other useful sale information. For optimal Customer Facing Display performance, connect a secondary display like a monitor or iPad using the Lightspeed Hub desktop app. You can also connect a secondary display without Hub.

Secondary displays for Hub connect to your computer using a wired connection type (HDMI, VGA, etc). You run Hub using:

• Lightspeed Hub app on the same computer running Retail POS.
• Lightspeed Hub app downloaded to the secondary device, like an iPad.
• Browser window on the computer or connected device paired using the link or QR code found on the Devices page.

Installing Lightspeed Hub

To install Lightspeed Hub on your computer:

1. In Retail POS, navigate to Devices.

2. Click Download Lightspeed Hub.

   

3. Open the Lightspeed Hub download file, click Yes or Run in the security popup, and agree to the app’s terms of use.
4. Drag and drop the Lightspeed Hub app to your Applications folder.
5. On your computer, open Lightspeed Hub.

6. In Retail POS, click Connect to Hub.

   

Lightspeed Hub should now be connected to Retail POS and ready to connect to devices.

Configuring settings in Lightspeed Hub

In the Lightspeed Hub app, you can manage:

• Languages
• Print settings
• Notifications
• Advanced settings
• Debug logs

To configure Lightspeed Hub settings:

1. On your computer, open Lightspeed Hub.
2. At the top left, click Settings.

3. On the Languages tab, use the dropdown to select the language you want to use with Hub.

   

4. On the Print settings tab, toggle on Enable logo customization to enable the other print settings.
   • Add white dots to solid colors: Can make your logo more recognizable and accurate by adding white noise to solid blocks of color. This may reduce the sharpness of your logo.
   • Brightness: Can improve the sharpness of your logo by adjusting which colors (dark, light) are included or excluded once printed.

   • Preview: Displays a preview of your print settings if you have a logo uploaded in Retail POS under Settings > Company Branding. You can also print your logo to test your print settings by clicking Print preview.

     

5. On the Notifications tab, check the When Lightspeed Hub disconnects from Retail box to get a notification from Hub if a hardware connection problem occurs.

6. On the Advanced tab, check the Launch Lightspeed Hub on computer startup to connect Hub and your hardware to Retail POS at the start of your business day or after a device restart.

   

   If you're experiencing a connection issue with Hub or your hardware, you can click Reset data to reset and relaunch Hub to try and resolve the issue.

7. On the Debug logs tab, check the Enable debug logs box to allow Hub to log issues it encounters to assist with troubleshooting investigations and product development. Hub does not track or store your personal data when it creates debug logs.

   Click View debug logs to review the issues Hub has encountered. Debug logs help the Retail Support team better assist you with troubleshooting. For this reason, it’s recommended to avoid editing the files.

8. To save your changes, click the X to close the Settings modal.

Configuring advanced settings in Lightspeed Hub

When printing labels with Hub, you can customize your labels by configuring the advanced settings in your print modal.

Advanced settings allow you to provide more information on your labels:

• None (default)
• Vendor ID
• Brand
• MSRP
• Note
• Category
• Custom SKU
• Manufacturer SKU
• Print today's date
• Matrix attributes

Options available in the Additional information dropdown are dependent on the additional information you've entered for your items in certain fields. If you haven't entered this information, you won't be able to select the associated option when you print your labels.

If you're printing a label queue and at least one of the items in the queue has additional information entered in one of the supported fields, you can select the associated option from the dropdown to print the additional information on the item's labels. For the items in the queue that don't have additional information entered in the field, no additional information will print on their labels.

Fixing overflow on labels with additional information

Overflow is when additional information, like full-length custom SKUs, appear on your normal and alternative-sized labels. Overflow may interact with the description of your item.

To avoid overlap, you can shorten the description of your item:

1. In Retail POS, navigate to Inventory > Item Search.

2. Click the item's name.

   

3. Click into the item name and shorten as needed.
4. Click Save Changes.

What's next?