Quick answer: The cash drawer does not connect to your computer and Nextar does not open it. It plugs into the receipt printer over RJ11, and the printer fires it. Nextar says this plainly: “the cash drawer communicates directly with your printer, i.e. this process does not go through Nex.”
So the question is not whether a drawer is “compatible with Nextar” — it is whether the drawer's solenoid voltage matches what your printer sends, and whether your printer has an RJ11 port at all. Our NBCD-410 (410mm) and NBCD-460 (460mm) both ship in 12V or 24V — tell us your printer and we send the right one.
The drawer is wired to the printer, not to the PC
This surprises people, so it is worth being explicit about the chain:
Nextar → tells Windows to print → printer prints the receipt and sends an electrical pulse down the RJ11 cable → the pulse energises a solenoid inside the drawer → a latch releases and a spring pushes the drawer open.
There is no data in that pulse. It is not a command the drawer interprets — it is a jolt of current that pulls a metal latch. That is why a cash drawer has no driver, no firmware and no compatibility list: it is an electromechanical device on the end of a wire.
Two consequences worth internalising before you buy:
- No printer with an RJ11 port means no drawer. There is no adapter that fixes this. It is a purchasing decision, not a configuration one.
- Voltage matching matters more than brand. Continue below — this is where money gets wasted.
12V or 24V: the mistake that costs you a drawer
Cash drawer solenoids are built for a particular voltage, most commonly 12V or 24V. The printer's drawer port supplies one or the other.
| Combination | Result |
|---|---|
| 12V printer → 12V drawer | Correct. Opens crisply every time. |
| 24V printer → 24V drawer | Correct. |
| 12V printer → 24V drawer | Usually will not open, or opens intermittently when the spring is new and stops as it ages. The most common failure we are asked about. |
| 24V printer → 12V drawer | May open, while running the solenoid over its rating. Risks overheating the coil over time. |
The intermittent case is the cruel one, because the drawer appears to work on the day it is installed and fails weeks later, by which time nobody connects the two events.
Before ordering, look up your printer's cash drawer specification. Ours state it explicitly — for example the NBTP-5830 drives a drawer at DC 12V, 1A through a 6-pin RJ-11 socket. If a supplier cannot tell you the voltage their printer supplies, that is a useful signal about the supplier.
Both our drawers are available in 12V and 24V. It is a build option, not a setting, so it must be specified when ordering — which is exactly why we ask what printer you are pairing it with.
Setting it up: the driver, then Nextar
Because the printer fires the drawer, the “when” is configured in the printer driver, not in Nextar. Nextar's documentation is direct about this: after connecting the drawer to the printer through the RJ11 input, you configure the option to open the drawer in the printer driver itself, where you can choose to open before or after printing.
Nextar names three printers as examples of models with the required port: the Epson TM-T20, the Bematech MP4200 TH and the Elgin i9. That list is illustrative, not exhaustive — what it is telling you is “your printer needs this port”.
Before or after printing? After is the conventional choice: the receipt is complete before the drawer opens, so the cashier is not reaching into the till while paper is still feeding. Before is occasionally preferred in high-speed environments where the cashier wants the drawer open at the moment the sale is finalised. Either works — pick one and keep it consistent across tills so staff build the same habit.
Opening the drawer without making a sale
Every shop needs this — making change, dropping in float, counting at close. Nextar has a specific setting for it:
- Go to the SALES menu and click the gear icon.
- Tick option 29, “open cash drawer without making a sale”.
- In option 30, select your connected printer from the dropdown.
- Click OK (F2) to save.
After that, ALT + F11 opens the drawer on demand.
One caveat straight from Nextar's own documentation, and worth knowing before it puzzles you: “it is possible that a small amount of paper will be printed when the drawer is opened this way.” That is not a fault. The pulse is carried on a print job, so a short feed can come with it. If it bothers you, the workaround is to accept it — a few millimetres of paper is cheaper than any alternative.
Choosing the size
Width is the dimension that matters, and it is decided by your currency and your counter, not by your POS.
| Model | Width | Note |
|---|---|---|
| NBCD-410 | 410mm | Compact. Fits a tight counter. 4- or 5-position bill trays, 8-position coin tray. |
| NBCD-460 | 460mm | Standard full-size. Up to 6 bill compartments, single- or double-row coin tray. |
Brazilian real notes are 140–155mm long depending on denomination, which fits both. The real question is compartment count: if you regularly handle five or six denominations plus vouchers, the 460 saves the cashier a decision on every transaction. If counter space is tight, the 410 is the practical answer.
Both are steel with ball-bearing rollers, front media slot for cheques and card receipts, and rated for over a million operations — the 410 to a minimum of 1.5 million cycles. Browse the full cash drawer range.
Frequently asked questions
Which cash drawer is compatible with Nextar POS?
Any drawer whose voltage matches your receipt printer's drawer port. Nextar is not involved in opening the drawer, so there is no Nextar compatibility list — there is a printer pairing question instead.
My printer has no RJ11 port. What are my options?
Change the printer, or use a drawer with its own USB or serial interface driven by separate software. In practice, for a Nextar till, replacing the printer with one that has the port is simpler and usually cheaper than working around it.
The drawer will not open at all.
Check in this order: (1) the voltage matches, (2) the driver's drawer-open option is actually enabled, (3) the cable is fully seated in the printer's DK/drawer port — not the network port, which is the same shape family and a genuinely easy mistake, (4) the drawer's key lock is not in the locked position.
The drawer opens sometimes but not always.
Classic under-voltage symptom — usually a 24V drawer on a 12V printer. Confirm both specifications before looking anywhere else.
A little paper prints when I open the drawer with ALT + F11.
Expected behaviour, documented by Nextar. The pulse rides along with a print job.
Can two tills share one drawer?
No, and you would not want to. One drawer per printer, one printer per till — cash accountability depends on it.
Does the drawer need its own power supply?
No. It draws the pulse from the printer over the RJ11 cable. Drawers with an independent USB or serial interface are the exception.
A note on this guide. The drawer side above — solenoid voltages, the RJ11 pulse, port confusion, sizing — is what we know from the products we supply, and it holds for any POS where the printer fires the drawer. The Nextar-specific settings are drawn from Nextar's published documentation and quoted where they matter; menu numbering can change between versions, so confirm current details with Nextar. If something here did not match your installation, tell us and we will correct this page. We would rather publish something accurate than something impressive.
Get pricing
NETBYE supplies distributors, system integrators and retailers across South America and worldwide. Our cash drawers are built by our partner factories in Shenzhen and sold under our own model range — we handle specification, quality control and support, so you deal with one supplier rather than several factories. Direct wholesale pricing, low MOQ on first orders, and OEM/ODM covering colour, tray configuration and branding.
Tell us which printer you are pairing it with, what quantity and which country, and you will get an accurate quote in one reply — with the correct voltage specified, so it works the day it arrives. Request a quote.
Related guides
These guides form a set. If you are specifying a complete till, the other hardware for Nextar POS is covered here:
- Receipt printer for Nextar POS
- Barcode scanner for Nextar POS
- Label printer for Nextar POS
- POS terminal for Nextar POS
And if you are comparing across POS software, the same hardware for other systems: