Set up Estura and ring your first sale
Seven clear steps take you from subscribing to your first scan. Follow them in order, or jump straight to the part you're on — most stores are up and selling in well under an hour.
Subscribe
Start your subscription through the secure checkout. It's one flat price per till, billed monthly, with no contract — pay with any major card and your receipt lands in your inbox right away.
- One flat subscription per register — every feature included, no add-ons.
- No setup fee and no lock-in — cancel any time.
- Keep your own card terminal and bank — Estura never touches your processor.
After payment you're taken back to the activation page automatically — that's where your licence key appears, so don't close the tab.
Get your licence key
The moment your payment clears, Estura issues a licence key for your store. We show it on the activation page and email a copy to the address you used at checkout, so you always have it to hand. It looks like ESTURA-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX.
- Shown on the activation page the instant your payment goes through.
- Emailed to your billing address as a backup — keep that email.
- Tied to your store — your store name is baked into the key and fills in for you at setup.
Keep this key somewhere safe — you paste it into Estura once to activate this till. Misplaced it? Reopen your activation page or email hello@estura.ca from your billing address.
Download & install Estura for Windows
Estura runs on any modern Windows PC. Download the installer, run it, and it sets itself up in a couple of minutes — no rep visit and no server to configure.
- Works on Windows 10 or 11 (64-bit).
- Grab the latest installer from our releases page and run it.
- The installer adds a Windows Defender exclusion for itself, so scans never slow the till.
- A USB barcode scanner is recommended, but you can start without one.
Windows may show a "Windows protected your PC" notice for a new app. Choose More info → Run anyway to continue the install.
First-time setup
Open Estura on the till. On first launch it asks for your licence key — paste it in and Estura verifies it offline, in a moment. Your store name fills in automatically from the key, then a short wizard walks you through the rest.
- Paste your key into Settings → Subscription and click Activate.
- Your store name auto-fills from the key — just confirm it's right.
- Pick your province so GST / HST / PST is set correctly.
- Set your store details and default tax, then finish the wizard.
Activation checks in online once, then runs offline with a 30-day grace window. A dropped connection or a billing hiccup never stops a sale.
Connect your receipt printer & cash drawer
Estura prints straight to an Epson receipt printer over USB and pops a standard cash drawer that's wired to the printer. Plug in, pick the printer, and run a test print.
- Connect the Epson TM-T20 (or a compatible ESC/POS printer) by USB and power it on.
- Plug the cash drawer's cable into the drawer port on the printer — the drawer opens through the printer.
- In Settings → Devices, select the printer and hit Print test.
- Open drawer fires the drawer once, so you can confirm it's wired right.
No printer yet? Estura still rings sales and can show an on-screen receipt — add the printer whenever it arrives and run the test then.
Set up the phone companion
The companion lets you watch sales, manage products and check on the store from your phone — even from home, over a secure link. Pairing takes one scan and a PIN.
- On the till, open Settings → Phone access → Pair a device.
- Scan the on-screen QR code with your phone's camera.
- Enter the PIN shown on the till to confirm it's you.
- Paired — now reach your store from anywhere over the secure link.
Each phone pairs once and gets its own secure device token. Lost a phone? Remove it from the till in Settings → Phone access and it loses access instantly.
Ring your first sale
You're ready. Scan an item or tap it on the grid, take payment, and print. The total stays front and centre the whole way through.
- Scan a barcode or tap a product to add it to the cart.
- Adjust quantities — age-restricted items prompt the cashier to check ID.
- Press Charge (F12), pick how the customer's paying, and tender.
- The receipt prints and the drawer opens for cash — sale done.
That's a complete sale. Everything you just did keeps working with the internet down — the register never stops.
If something's not quite right
The three things stores ask about most. If a fix here doesn't sort it, a real person is one email away.
Estura won't activate my licence key
My receipt printer isn't found
I forgot my PIN
Still stuck?
Email a real person at hello@estura.ca and we'll help you get selling. Include your store name and what you were doing when it happened, so we can jump straight in.