Background Service 🧪

🧪 Experimental feature — new and in testing. The Background Service is being trialled with a small number of stores before general release. It is off by default and password protected: Margin Master support turns it on per computer with the Enable (password) button. Behaviour described here may change as testing continues.

What is this?

The Background Service is an optional Windows service that runs Margin Master's routine work automatically on a schedule — even when Margin Master is closed. It can:

• Sync vendor data from the cloud
• Import Point of Sale (Epicor) data
• Install Margin Master updates silently

Margin Master works fully without it. The service is for stores that want their data kept current overnight or on a fixed schedule without anyone opening the app.

The service does not do the import work itself — on schedule, it quietly launches your installed Margin Master in the background to do the work, then exits. Because of that, it coordinates with the app so the two never step on each other (see Does it conflict with the "one instance" rule?).

Opening / Accessing

1. Go to Tools > Options in the menu bar.
2. In the left navigation, under General Settings, select Background Service.

The feature is off by default. Click Enable (password) at the top and enter the support password to turn it on for this computer. The schedule sections stay disabled until the feature is enabled.

1. Enable (password) - support enters the password here; the rest of the tab stays disabled until then.
2. Scheduled Data Update - which sources to update, the days and time, and Run Data Update Now.
3. Automatic App Updates - install updates while the app is closed.

Automatic App Updates

The top section controls silent self-updates:

• Install Margin Master updates automatically while the app is closed — when checked, the service installs new versions in the background, briefly stopping and restarting itself around the update.
• Schedule — Daily at a set time or Every N hours.
• Daily at (HH:mm) / Every (hours) — when the check runs.

Updates only run when no import or interactive session is active, so a background update never interrupts work in progress.

Vendor Data Sync Schedule

• Run Vendor Data sync automatically — enables scheduled cloud vendor sync.
• Schedule, Daily at (HH:mm), Every (hours) — when it runs.
• Run Vendor Sync Now — starts a vendor sync immediately in the background (see Run Now).

Point of Sale (Epicor) Import Schedule

• Run POS data import automatically — enables scheduled POS import.
• Schedule, Daily at (HH:mm), Every (hours) — when it runs.
• Run POS Import Now — starts a POS import immediately in the background.

Windows Service

This section installs and controls the actual Windows service:

• Status — whether the service is installed, and running or stopped. Refresh re-checks.
• Check schedule every (minutes) — how often the service wakes up to see if a job is due. Default 5.
• Install / Start / Stop / Uninstall — manage the service.

Uninstalling Margin Master itself (from Windows Apps & features) also removes the background service automatically — you do not need to uninstall the service first.

Which account should the service run as?

Install as Local System — the recommended setup. Just click Install. Local System needs no credentials, and it works with:

• A local SQL Express database using Windows authentication (the typical single-store setup), and
• SQL authentication (username/password in the connection string).

This is the right choice when no one logs into this computer interactively, or when you simply don't know a Windows account and password. You do not need to enter anything.

You do not need a domain, username, or password. The old wording suggested you had to run the service "as the Windows user." You don't. Leave the Advanced section closed and click Install — the service runs as Local System.

Advanced: run as a specific Windows user. There is a collapsed Advanced section under the help text. Expand it only if your database is on a remote SQL Server that requires a specific Windows login — the one case where Local System (which connects as the computer's machine account) may have no access. Enter the Account (DOMAIN\user) and Password of a Windows user who can reach both the database and the installed Margin Master app, then click Install.

If you install as Local System while your database is on a remote SQL Server using Windows authentication, Margin Master shows a one-time advisory suggesting the Advanced option. It never blocks the install — if your setup is local or uses SQL authentication, you'll never see it.

Upgrading an existing install

If you already have the Background Service installed and you're moving to this version, almost nothing is required:

• Just open Margin Master once — as the normal user, while connected to the internet — before the service's next scheduled run. The app quietly migrates your license so it keeps validating with no re-validation prompt. Opening it interactively first ensures the migration preserves your existing license; if the service happens to run first (as Local System), your license simply re-validates against the server on the next online run.
• You do not need to reinstall the service. Its account is unchanged, your schedules and enable/disable state are kept, and it automatically uses the new version the next time it runs.

Optional — switch an existing install to no-credentials: If your service is currently installed under a specific DOMAIN\user account and you'd like it to run credential-free, click Uninstall, leave the Advanced section closed, then click Install. It reinstalls as Local System. If it's already running as Local System, there's nothing to do.

Run Now

Run Vendor Sync Now and Run POS Import Now start a background run immediately, without waiting for the schedule. The run happens in the background (no window), is recorded in Run History, and is safe to start while you keep working — if a data update is already in progress, Margin Master tells you and declines to start a second one.

Run History

The Run History grid lists the most recent runs — scheduled, manual (Run Now), and in-app — newest first. Refresh History reloads it. Columns include Started, Job (Vendor/POS/Updates), Source, Result, duration in Secs, and row counts (Read, Added, Updated, Deleted).

Tips

Enable the feature on each computer that should run it. The Enable/Disable state is per-computer, stored in that machine's Margin Master database.

Open Margin Master at least once before relying on the service. On every launch the app records where it is installed, which is how the service finds it. After configuring the service, opening the app once is enough.

For scheduled updates and vendor sync, keep the computer on and connected. The service runs while the app is closed, but the machine itself must be powered on with internet access at the scheduled time.

Common Questions

Q: If I install the service "as the user," does that mean it can't do any work? A: No — running as a user is not a limitation. In fact, the recommended setup is the credential-free Local System option, which does all the scheduled work (vendor sync, POS import, updates) just fine.

Q: What if no one logs into this computer, and I don't know the domain, username, or password? A: Leave the Account and Password fields alone (keep the Advanced section closed) and click Install. The service installs as Local System, which requires no credentials and works with a local SQL Express (Windows auth) or SQL-authentication database — the vast majority of installs.

Q: Does the background service break the "only one instance of Margin Master" rule? A: No. The one-instance rule only prevents a second window from opening in your session. The background service's work runs without a window and does not trip that rule. Separately, Margin Master and the service share a database lock so they never run a data update at the same time: if the service is mid-run when you click Import, Margin Master asks you to wait for it to finish, and vice-versa. Your data is never rebuilt by two runs at once.

Q: The service is installed but the jobs never run — what should I check? A: Confirm the feature is Enabled on this machine, at least one schedule is checked (Vendor / POS / Updates), the service Status shows Running, and Margin Master has been opened at least once so it recorded its install location. Then check Run History for a Skipped or failed row.