Employee management - BMS Point of Sale System

Overview

The employee management system allows managers to create and manage user accounts for cashiers, inventory staff, and other managers. Each employee has a unique ID, secure PIN, and assigned role that determines their access permissions.

Role-based access

Three roles: Manager, Cashier, and Inventory with distinct permissions

PIN authentication

Secure 6-digit PIN with SHA-256 hashing

User activity tracking

Complete audit trail of employee actions

Active/inactive status

Deactivate employees without deleting records

User roles

Manager

Full system access including:

Access POS for sales processing
Apply discounts (no approval needed)
Process returns and refunds
View all reports and analytics
Manage inventory (add/edit/delete products)
Manage employees (create/edit/deactivate)
Configure system settings
View user activity logs
Access hardware configuration

Dashboard: Manager dashboard with complete system overview

Cashier

Point-of-sale focused access:

Access POS for sales processing
Request manager approval for discounts (if configured)
Cannot process returns (manager only)
Limited report access (own sales history)
Cannot manage inventory
Cannot manage employees
Cannot change system settings
Cannot view other user activity

Dashboard: Manager dashboard (limited access to certain sections)

Inventory

Inventory management focused access:

Access inventory management screen
Add/edit/delete products
Adjust stock quantities
Cannot access POS
Cannot process sales
Cannot manage employees
Limited report access (inventory reports)

Dashboard: Inventory dashboard with stock overview

Managing employees

Adding employees

Navigate to Employee Management

From the Manager dashboard, click “Employees” to access the employee management screen.

Fill in employee details

Enter required information:

Name - Employee’s full name
Employee ID - Unique identifier (e.g., “0001”, “CASH01”)
PIN - 6-digit numeric PIN for authentication
Role - Select from Manager, Cashier, or Inventory

Click 'Add'

The employee is created and appears in the employee list. The PIN is automatically hashed using SHA-256 before storage.

Validation rules:

Name cannot be empty
Employee ID must be unique
PIN must be exactly 6 digits (0-9)
Role must be one of: Manager, Cashier, Inventory

API endpoint

Create employee: POST /api/employees

{
  "employeeId": "0001",
  "pin": "123456",
  "name": "John Smith",
  "role": "Cashier",
  "isManager": false
}

Response: Employee object with hashed PIN

Editing employees

Select employee

Click on an employee in the list to load their information into the edit form.

Modify details

Update any field:

Name
Employee ID (must remain unique)
PIN (displays as ”••••” for security)
Role

Click 'Save'

Changes are saved and logged in user activity. The system tracks:

What changed (field-level detail)
Who made the change
When the change occurred

Change tracking:

Name changes: 'John Smith' → 'John A. Smith'
Employee ID changes: '0001' → '0002'
PIN updates: "PIN updated" (actual PINs never logged)
Role changes: 'Cashier' → 'Manager'
Manager status: false → true
Active status: true → false

API endpoint

Update employee: PUT /api/employees/{id}

{
  "id": 123,
  "employeeId": "0001",
  "pin": "654321",
  "name": "John A. Smith",
  "role": "Manager",
  "isManager": true,
  "isActive": true,
  "createdDate": "2026-01-15T10:30:00Z"
}

Deactivating employees

Select employee

Click on the employee to load their information.

Click 'Deactivate'

A confirmation dialog appears.

Confirm deactivation

The employee’s isActive status is set to false. They:

Cannot log in to the system
Appear in the employee list with “(Inactive)” label
Are grayed out in the list
Remain in the database for historical reporting

Reactivating: Click “Activate” button to restore access.

API endpoints

Deactivate: PUT /api/employees/{id}/deactivate Activate: PUT /api/employees/{id}/activate

PIN management

PIN requirements

Length: Exactly 6 digits
Characters: Numeric only (0-9)
Uniqueness: Not enforced (multiple employees can have same PIN, though not recommended)
Security: Hashed with SHA-256 before storage

Setting PINs

During employee creation or editing:

Enter 6-digit PIN in PIN field
PIN is displayed as entered (visible to manager)
On save, PIN is hashed: SHA256(pin)
Only hash is stored in database

Resetting PINs

Select employee

Click on the employee who needs PIN reset.

Click 'Reset PIN'

A modal keyboard appears with title “Enter New PIN (4-6 digits)”.

Enter new PIN

Type new 6-digit PIN using on-screen keyboard.Note: The UI says “4-6 digits” but the backend enforces exactly 6 digits.

Submit

New PIN is hashed and saved. The employee is notified to use the new PIN for their next login.

PIN reset logging:

Reset PIN for employee: John Smith
Employee ID: 0001, PIN length changed from 88 to 6 digits

Note: The “88 characters” represents the SHA-256 hash length, not the actual PIN.

API endpoint

Reset PIN: PUT /api/employees/{id}/reset-pin

{
  "newPin": "654321"
}

Alternative: Update entire employee with new PIN via PUT /api/employees/{id}

PIN security

Hashing algorithm

PINs are hashed using SHA-256:

public string HashPin(string pin)
{
    using (var sha256 = SHA256.Create())
    {
        var bytes = Encoding.UTF8.GetBytes(pin);
        var hash = sha256.ComputeHash(bytes);
        return Convert.ToBase64String(hash);
    }
}

PIN verification

During login:

User enters Employee ID and PIN
System retrieves employee record
User’s entered PIN is hashed
Hashed value compared to stored hash
If match, login succeeds

Login endpoint: Handled by Electron IPC validateUserLogin(employeeId, pin)

Manager PIN validation

For discount approval and return authorization:

System prompts for manager PIN
PIN is hashed and compared against all manager accounts
If match found with role === 'Manager', approval succeeds
Manager’s name is logged with the action

Validation endpoint: Handled by Electron IPC validateManagerPin(pin)

Security best practices

PIN security considerations:

PINs are only 6 digits (1,000,000 combinations)
SHA-256 without salt is vulnerable to rainbow table attacks
PINs should be treated as convenience, not high-security
Implement account lockout after failed attempts (not currently implemented)
Consider adding salt to PIN hashing for production deployments
Avoid sharing PINs between employees
Rotate PINs periodically for high-privilege accounts

Employee list

Display format

Employees are shown in a vertical list with:

Name - Primary identifier
Employee ID - Unique ID badge number
Role - Manager/Cashier/Inventory
Status - (Inactive) if not active

Visual indicators:

Blue background + blue left border: Selected employee
Gray text: Inactive employee
Hover effect: Light gray background

Search and filtering

Search bar filters employees by:

Name (case-insensitive)
Employee ID
Role

Inactive toggle: “Show inactive employees” checkbox includes deactivated users in list.

API endpoint

List employees: GET /api/employees?includeInactive=true Response:

[
  {
    "id": 123,
    "employeeId": "0001",
    "pin": "hashed_pin_value",
    "name": "John Smith",
    "role": "Cashier",
    "isManager": false,
    "isActive": true,
    "createdDate": "2026-01-15T10:30:00Z"
  }
]

Access control

Session management

When an employee logs in:

Credentials validated against database
Session created in SessionManager
Session includes:
- Employee ID
- Name
- Role
- Login timestamp
- Last activity timestamp

Session storage: sessionStorage.setItem('currentUser', JSON.stringify(session))

Permission checking

Routes use SessionGuard component to enforce access:

<SessionGuard requiredRole="Manager">
  {/* Employee management screen */}
</SessionGuard>

Permission levels:

requiredRole="Manager" - Managers only
requiredPermission="inventory.view" - Inventory or Manager
No restriction - All authenticated users

Auto-logout

Sessions expire after inactivity period (configured in System Settings):

Default: 15 minutes
Extends by 5 minutes on business actions (completing sale)
User redirected to login screen on expiration
Session data cleared from storage

User activity tracking

All employee actions are logged:

Tracked events

Employee management:

CREATE - New employee created
UPDATE - Employee details modified
DEACTIVATE - Employee deactivated
ACTIVATE - Employee reactivated
PIN_RESET - PIN changed

Inventory:

CREATE - Product added
UPDATE - Product modified
DELETE - Product deleted
PRICE_CHANGE_MAJOR - Price changed >20%

Sales:

SALE - Transaction completed

Returns:

CREATE - Return processed

Activity log format

{
  "id": 456,
  "employeeId": 123,
  "employeeName": "John Smith",
  "action": "Created employee: Jane Doe",
  "details": "Employee ID: 0002, Role: Cashier, Manager: false",
  "entityType": "Employee",
  "entityId": 789,
  "actionType": "CREATE",
  "timestamp": "2026-02-28T14:25:30Z",
  "ipAddress": "192.168.1.100"
}

View logs: Manager dashboard → User Activity

API endpoints

Complete employee management API:

Endpoint	Method	Purpose
`/api/employees`	GET	List employees (with includeInactive param)
`/api/employees/{id}`	GET	Get single employee
`/api/employees`	POST	Create new employee
`/api/employees/{id}`	PUT	Update employee
`/api/employees/{id}/deactivate`	PUT	Deactivate employee
`/api/employees/{id}/activate`	PUT	Reactivate employee
`/api/employees/{id}/reset-pin`	PUT	Reset employee PIN

Best practices

For managers

Use descriptive Employee IDs (e.g., “CASH01”, “INV02”) for easy identification
Never share PINs between employees
Deactivate employees immediately on termination
Review user activity logs weekly for unusual actions
Rotate manager PINs monthly
Assign minimum role required (principle of least privilege)
Document role changes and reason in external records

For employees

Memorize your PIN - don’t write it down
Never share your PIN with coworkers
Log out when leaving the POS terminal unattended
Report forgotten PINs to manager immediately
Notify manager if you suspect someone else used your account

For system administrators

Back up employee database regularly
Implement account lockout after 3-5 failed login attempts
Add salt to PIN hashing algorithm before production
Monitor user activity logs for security anomalies
Set appropriate session timeout based on store traffic patterns
Consider adding password complexity rules for high-security environments

Troubleshooting

Cannot create employee - Employee ID exists

Symptoms: Error “Employee ID already exists” when addingSolutions:

Check employee list for duplicate Employee ID
Include inactive employees in search (toggle checkbox)
Choose a different Employee ID
If truly duplicate, deactivate or delete old record

Employee cannot login

Manager approval not working

Symptoms: Manager PIN rejected during discount approvalSolutions:

Verify PIN belongs to user with Role = “Manager”
Check manager account is active
Confirm PIN is exactly 6 digits
Test manager login directly to verify PIN works
Check user activity logs for PIN reset history

PIN reset not saving

Symptoms: New PIN doesn’t work after resetSolutions:

Ensure new PIN is exactly 6 digits (not 4-6 as UI suggests)
Wait a few seconds for database to update
Refresh employee list to verify Last Updated timestamp
Check browser console for JavaScript errors
Try full employee update via Edit → Save instead

User activity - View complete audit trail
System settings - Configure session timeouts
Sales processing - Manager discount approval
Returns and refunds - Manager authorization

Get Started

Core Features

Configuration

Advanced Features

Security

Development

​Overview

Role-based access

PIN authentication

User activity tracking

Active/inactive status

​User roles

​Manager

​Cashier

​Inventory

​Managing employees

​Adding employees

​API endpoint

​Editing employees

​API endpoint

​Deactivating employees

​API endpoints

​PIN management

​PIN requirements

​Setting PINs

​Resetting PINs

​API endpoint

​PIN security

​Hashing algorithm

​PIN verification

​Manager PIN validation

​Security best practices

​Employee list

​Display format

​Search and filtering

​API endpoint

​Access control

​Session management

​Permission checking

​Auto-logout

​User activity tracking

​Tracked events

​Activity log format

​API endpoints

​Best practices

​Troubleshooting

​Related documentation

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Overview

User roles

Manager

Cashier

Inventory

Managing employees

Adding employees

API endpoint

Editing employees

API endpoint

Deactivating employees

API endpoints

PIN management

PIN requirements

Setting PINs

Resetting PINs

API endpoint

PIN security

Hashing algorithm

PIN verification

Manager PIN validation

Security best practices

Employee list

Display format

Search and filtering

API endpoint

Access control

Session management

Permission checking

Auto-logout

User activity tracking

Tracked events

Activity log format

API endpoints

Best practices

Troubleshooting

Related documentation