The POS Stations page allows for the creation of POS Stations to be used for meal service. POS Stations are used for each location where food is served, such as serving lines in cafeterias or snack stations. 


Since POS Stations are assigned to Campuses, be sure that all locations have been setup on the Campuses page in the Administration module first.


TABLE OF CONTENTS


-> Go To: Point of Sale > SETTINGS > POS Details > POS Stations


Manage POS Stations

1. Select the POS Station you want to edit from the list window and click the Edit button or click the Add button to create a new POS Station.


GENERAL


2. Enter the *Station Full Name.
This is the name that will appear on the search list and on reports that group information by station. It will also be displayed in a list of available stations in POS Console.
Note! When naming POS stations, use the school abbreviation and the serving line for easy identification and POS login. When a district has several cafeterias and each has one or more serving lines, this will allow mPower to present an alphabetical list for signing into POS. For example:
- WHS Line 1
- WHS Line 2
- WHS Snack


3. Enter the *Station Short Name.
*This field is required, although it is not currently used and is reserved for future use in reports.


4. Select a *Service Area.
This is the area of meal service or cafeteria name. It will also be displayed in a list of available stations in POS Console.


OPTIONS


5. Choose to enable Override Default Settings ONLY if the POS Station settings should be different than the default settings located on the District Meal Service Settings page. In most cases, POS Stations will use default district settings.
Note! Overriding Default Settings at the POS Station level will prevent that station from receiving any changes to district wide setting updates made on the District Meal Service Settings page.



Steps 6 - 20 ONLY apply when choosing to override default district settings. 


6. Choose to enable Prompt Diet Restrictions.
When enabled, a message is displayed in the POS Console when a student attempts to purchase a meal or a la carte offering which contains a diet restriction on their account.
This function requires that meals, a la carte offerings and customers be flagged for allergens & diet restrictions. See the following support articles for more information: Meals, A La Carte Offerings, Allergens & Diet Restrictions, Customer Information.


7. Choose to enable Prompt Customer Alert Messages.
When enabled, any alert set up on student account is displayed in POS Console at the time of purchase.
For example, suppose a parent is concerned that someone is using their student's PIN. An alert message, such as "Check ID" can be set up in the student’s account so that when the student makes a purchase, the message displays.


8. Choose to enable Show Eligibility Alias.
When enabled, pre-configured eligibility aliases will be displayed at purchase instead of the actual eligibility of Free, Paid, or Reduced. Eligibility aliases are setup in the Eligibility Management module on the Eligibility Aliases page.


9. Choose to enable Show Phantom Balance.
When enabled, a fictitious balance is used to protect the privacy of students approved for free meals. This "phantom balance" gives the appearance of a positive monetary balance in the student's account and is displayed when a purchase is made. The phantom balance starts at the amount entered in the "Low Balance Threshold" field of the District Meal Service Settings page.


10. Choose to enable District Data ONLY when the POS Station needs to regularly serve customers from outside of the corresponding physical location. For all other cases leave this function disabled.
This setting is related to Point of Sale Console's Local Failover feature. The default disabled setting for this feature disables district-wide customer search during an offline event. Only customers assigned to the corresponding Campus will be available if the setting is unchecked.
Note! Overriding the District Default and enabling District Data may delay startup by several minutes when you launch this POS Console.


11. Select a Data Sync Mode.
The District Meal Service default is Continuous Sync however, Periodic Sync is also available:
Continuous Sync - This mode expects a strong internet connection and communicates with the server for every transaction and is expected to be the correct choice for 90% of MealTime users.
Periodic Sync - This mode does not communicate with the server for every transaction but instead relies on local data which is refreshed every five minutes as connectivity allows.


12. Enter a designated period of time for the *POS Timeout function.
This a security measure to prevent unauthorized transactions. The POS station will automatically log out if there is no activity on the station for the time-period designated.


13. Enter a Served Transaction Limit to limit the number of customers displayed in the served queue.


14. Determine how the POS Console will Display Customer Balance.
Options are: Always display the balance, never display the Balance or On Demand, which adds a button to the serving page called Balance that the cashier can click to see the current student's balance.


15. Choose to enable Allow Speed Mode without cashier intervention.
When enabled, serving in Speed Mode does not require the cashier to hit Pay from Account for each student served.
Note! If this option is enabled in District Meal Service Settings, it will be enabled by default for all stations but can be disabled for a specific POS Station by disabling it here.


16. Choose to enable Allow Overdraw without cashier intervention. 
When enabled, customers are allowed to overdraw their account without the confirmation prompt to the cashier. Customers will automatically overdraw unless doing so would violate their Customer Purchase Control settings. Districts that wish to allow unrestricted account overdraw activity for reimbursable meals and/or à la carte should make sure the appropriate Customer Purchase Controls are set to "No Limit."
Note! If this option is enabled in District Meal Service Settings, it will be enabled by default for all stations but can be disabled for a specific POS Station by disabling it here.


17. Choose to enable Show dollar amount in Overdraw prompt.
When enabled, an alert message displays the amount to pay from account and the amount due when an overdraw is detected:
Note! If this option is enabled in District Meal Service Settings, it will be enabled by default for all stations but can be disabled for a specific POS Station by disabling it here.


18. Choose to enable Display purchase price details in the POS served list.
When enabled, the Served List in POS Console will also display the pricing information on the item served to the customer.


19. Select a Transaction Succeeded sound.
This sound is used to notify the cashier that the transactions are complete. Options are None, Classic Success and Soft Success.


20. Select an Attention Needed sound.
This sound is used to notify the cashier that the current transactions needs attention. Options are None, Classic Alert 1, Classic Alert 2, Classic Alert 3 and Soft Success.


TEMPLATES


21. Select the Templates to be used for service with this POS Station.
Templates available here must first be created on the Templates page.


22. Click Save to save the POS Station or Cancel to cancel the process.