Configuring BYOC (Bring Your Own Cloud) in InventoryPlus

Used for Instant Store Discovery (matches billing counters to your Store Code).

Used for Secure Remote Relay (allows connections across different internet providers and routers).

Step 1: Set Up Google Firebase Realtime Database

1. Open Firebase Console: Go to https://console.firebase.google.com/ and sign in with your Google account.
2. Create a Project:
   • Click + Add project (or Create a project).
   • Enter a name such as inventoryplus-store.
   • You can disable Google Analytics on the next screen (it is not needed for pairing).
   • Click Create project and wait a few seconds until it completes.
3. Create Realtime Database:
   • In the left-hand navigation panel, expand Build and click on Realtime Database.
   • Click the Create Database button.
   • Choose a location closest to your store (e.g. United States (us-central1), Singapore (asia-southeast1), or Belgium (europe-west1)).
   • When asked about Security Rules, select Start in test mode and click Enable.
   ⚠️ Common Pitfall: Google shows “Cloud Firestore” first in the menu. Make sure you select Realtime Database!
4. Configure Database Rules:
   • In the Realtime Database panel, switch to the Rules tab at the top.
   • Replace the existing rules with the following configuration:

   {
     "rules": {
       "signaling": {
         ".read": true,
         ".write": true
       }
     }
   }

   This allows InventoryPlus billing counters to securely locate and connect to your Server PC.

   • Click the Publish button to save the rules.
5. Copy Your Firebase Database URL:
   • Click the Data tab.
   • At the top of the data tree, copy your database URL (it looks like https://your-project-default-rtdb.firebaseio.com/ or https://your-project.firebaseio.com/).
   • Keep this URL handy for InventoryPlus.

Step 2: Set Up Cloudflare TURN Service

1. Log into Cloudflare Dashboard: Visit https://dash.cloudflare.com/. If you do not have an account, create a free account.
2. Navigate to Realtime > TURN Server:
   • In the left sidebar menu, click on Realtime and then select TURN Server.
   • Quick Shortcut: You can also use the top search bar in Cloudflare (or press /), type turn server, and click Realtime > TURN Server directly.
   • If prompted for the first time, click to enable the Free Plan (includes 1,000 GB per month free data relay).
3. Create a TURN Server App:
   • On the TURN Server page, click the blue Create button in the top-right corner.
   • In the Name box, enter a name (e.g., InventoryPlus) or keep the suggested name.
   • Cloudflare will immediately show two credentials:
     • Turn Token ID (e.g., a1b2c3d4e5f6789012345678abcdef01)
     • API Token (e.g., 9876543210abcdef0123456789abcdef0123456789abcdef0123456789abcdef)
   • Copy both the Turn Token ID and API Token now (the API token is only shown once).
   • Click the blue Finish button at the bottom to activate your TURN app.
4. Format Your Cloudflare Token for InventoryPlus:
   • In InventoryPlus, enter the combined credentials in this format: TurnTokenID:ApiToken
   • Example:
     a1b2c3d4e5f6789012345678abcdef01:9876543210abcdef0123456789abcdef0123456789abcdef0123456789abcdef
   • InventoryPlus automatically communicates with Cloudflare to generate secure, short-lived TURN credentials on demand!

Step 3: Enter Cloud Credentials in InventoryPlus

1. Open InventoryPlus on your primary server PC.
2. Click on Settings from the navigation menu.
3. Scroll down to the Multi-Counter Server & Network Pairing card.
4. Click ⚙️ Show Advanced / Network Configuration to expand advanced options.
5. Click ☁️ Custom Cloud Provider Setup (Self-Hosted / BYOC) to expand the cloud fields.
6. Paste your credentials:
   • Firebase Database URL: https://your-project-default-rtdb.firebaseio.com
   • Cloudflare TURN Token: YourTurnTokenID:YourApiToken
7. Ensure the Multi-Counter Server Mode switch at the top-right is turned to Enabled.
8. Note your Store Code (e.g., 822025-686894). You will use this code to connect your billing counters.

Q: Is my sales and financial data stored in Firebase?

No. Your billing database, inventory details, and customer information never leave your local computer. Firebase is exclusively used for exchanging a brief connection token (the "handshake"). Once connected, data transfers directly between the server and counter PCs with bank-grade encryption.

Q: Do I need both Firebase and Cloudflare?

Firebase is required for automatic store discovery and pairing. Cloudflare TURN is strongly recommended if your computers are in different locations or connected to different internet providers. If both computers are on the same local Wi-Fi router, direct local network communication is used automatically.

Q: Why did my connection fail after 30 days in Firebase?

When starting Firebase in "Test Mode", Firebase adds an expiration date to rules by default. Make sure to remove the date constraint under the Rules tab and use the permanent rule shown in Step 1.

Q: What if the Server computer goes to sleep?

In InventoryPlus Settings, keep the checkbox "Prevent system sleep while server is running (recommended)" checked. This prevents Windows from entering sleep mode while your store is active.