iCAFE is a variation of the iPOS is a Point of Sale software designed to record sales in restaurant or cafe. It has extra features for the saving of items to a table and recording them for later settlement.

To access iPOS, simply open Internet Explorer . iPOS will be set to be the home page.

iPOS works inside a mini web page that you will be able to connect via the “Restaurant” button on your home page. This will allow you to begin recording sales. The Login section on the left is for access to “Back Office” reports.

There are a number of simple steps to taking an order. iCAFE is capable of many different variations, this manual will cover the most general, your administrator will tell you of any custom changes made to the way iCAFE works for you.

The RESTAURANT system is started by clicking the Restaurant button on the Home Page.

iCAFE allows you to select a table from either a GRID (default) or a FLOOR PLAN (which requires a graphic of the floorplan to be setup) as shown below.

Each Table changes colour during the service cycle. This is very useful for greeting staff to see the progress of tables during service, especially if some tables are physically not in the line of sight from the door. The colours have the following meaning.

To select a table it is as easy as clicking (or touching) the table with the number you want. It will either start a new ORDER (if the table was Blue) or load an existing order (any other colour).

The next step is to tell the system who you are. This can be done by selecting your name (or your allocated name) from the list on the screen. Your administrator is the person to ask about how to add or change the list of names on the screen.

An important statistic of restaurant operations is the number of people that are served at every meal. Each person is called a “cover”. All point of sale system calculates covers. iCAFE has 2 methods depending on service standards chosen. The easiest is for the Cover Count to be entered as the table is opened. If this is the case select the button on the right hand side of the screen which matches the number of people at the table.

If the number changes you can always get back to the cover count by selecting the Covers button (top right of the table screen).

The second method uses Seat Selection. In this method the number of seats used in the order determines the cover count. In other words the system works it out for you. Depending on your service standards you may be required to enter the Cover Count and Use Seats, or only one of the screens.

For example an a la carte menu would be best suited to using just the Seats Screen as cover count can be calculated from each meal. A Pizza restaurant or even Asian where a lot of the meals can be shared may be better served by using just the Cover Selector, as shared meals cannot be calculated by the Seat selection alone.

If Seat selection has been setup then you will need to understand Seat number and how to assign seats to a table. Ask your manager for how to identify seat numbers in your stores (Where is Seat 1 on a table).

Every meal should then be entered under a seat. To start select a Seat (normally Seat 1) and work your way around the table.

Using Seat numbers has many advantages even though it may be a little tricky to enter until you get the hang of it. Seat numbers reduce the number of errors by getting you to confirm that every seat has a meal. It allows plate runners to place the correct meal in front of the guest instead of ‘auctioning’ meals at the table (“Who has the chicken?”). iCAFE also has the extra special feature of sub-totaling each seat, so that even though your restaurant does not split bills the bills comes with a sub-total for each guest making it easy for the table to settle the bill.

In order to show the complete system, the following example will take you through a complete sale from start to settlement. Not every order will be a 3 course meal and iCAFE copes with that.

Open a new table by selecting an empty Table from the Floorplan. Select your name Enter the number of Covers (if required) Select Seat 1

You will have a screen similar to this:

The left hand side of the screen is where the order will be built, showing everything that has been selected.

Down the centre is the spine. It controls what is displayed on the right hand side of the screen.

On the right are the items that can be selected.

Currently we have Selected Seat 1 and they are going to have 3 Garlic Breads, so I select 3 on the left onscreen keypad and then that product and it is added to the order.

The item is highlighted. I can delete the item by pressing the red X, if I make a mistake.

The power of Seat Selection has already been mentioned. In order to select the next seat there are 3 ways it can be done. • Click the Change Seats button then the Seat number • Click the Next Seat button (top right of every page) • Select an item already on that seat form the items on the left. The easiest method is to use the Next Seat button as it keeps you on the screen you are already on. So adding items for the other 2 guests is as easy as pressing

Next Seat Bruschetta Next Seat Tenders.

Now Select the BEV button on the spine this will let you enter the drinks. Use the Change Seats button to get back to seat 1, and then use the same pattern of drink, Next Seat, drink, Next Seat to complete the order. Tip – you can also select an item on seat 1 to start adding the drink to it.

Check the order, correct where necessary then press the big DONE button . This will save the order and print the food to the Kitchen and the Drinks to the Bar.

iCAFE uses a system of separate dockets for each course, many other systems use a single docket system. iCAFE can be configured to use the single docket system, but we believe the separate docket system provides distinct advantages to the kitchen and in the end to your guest.

A single docket system is where all the meals Entrees and Mains would have been entered before the docket was saved. The docket that prints in the kitchen would have a line separating Entrée’s from Mains. To make this happen the Operator needs to allocate a meal to either Entrees or Mains. While most system will default the meals to the correct section, extra features for “As Entrée” and “As Main” will still be needed to move what is normally an Entrée to print in the Mains section and vice versa. For a large table this can be a very long docket in the kitchen.

A separate docket system like in this example removes the need for those 2 features as everything on this order is cooked (comes up) at the same time regardless of which course the meal would normally be in. This is very useful for young adults as the guests can choose whether those meals appear with the Entrees or with the Adults mains as they might be having an entrée as a main, and we don’t have to have any special buttons to achieve this.

The separate docket system means smaller dockets in the kitchen, and the pass staff can then spike the docket completely when it is complete, when a single docket has to have the entrees crossed out and it goes through the kitchen again.

Many Chefs like the single docket system because it allows them to see what mains are coming and get prepared for them. This can still be done in the separate docket system when a separate docket for the same table is produced using the HOLD and AWAY features.

Following on from the previous example.

Select the table (which should now be Purple) Select your name Press the yellow HOLD button (This is the important bit, failure to Select HOLD will mean the kitchen will cook immediately) Select Seat 1 Select Mains from the spine.

This is just an example of a typical page with Steaks on offer:

Mains can be entered from any page on the spine.

I have selected for Seat 1 350g Rib Fillet Cooked Medium With Chips and Peri Peri dressing.

Where meals have options like the cooking instructions, we like to design the screens so that you work from the top down and select one button from each group.

Notice the ‘+” in front of the items that go with the steak and they are indented.

Continue this through for all the guests; remember to use the Next Seat button. Enter in any drinks if they are requested and when finished press DONE. You will notice that all the new meals have an asterisk next to them to indicate that they are new.

The table on the floorplan has now changed to YELLOW which means that the mains have been entered and have been sent to the kitchen but they are not being cooked yet. (This may not be entirely true as many chefs will gauge that well done steaks for example will need extra time and will start them straight away, but for the purpose of the example we can assume that the mains are not being cooked yet).

In the Kitchen they will have 2 dockets for this table, one with the Entrees which they are already preparing and now the mains on HOLD waiting for the entrée to be sent out and the table to be sent AWAY.

When a table is on HOLD, at some time it needs to be released which is known as AWAY. Different stores will have different ways of judging when this is but it is generally just after the entrees have made it to the table.

To tell the kitchen that the mains should be started by calling the table AWAY do the following.

Select the Table (which should be Yellow) Select your name Select the AWAY button. The table will now be GREEN

In the kitchen a small docket calling the table away is generated. Because of each of these steps, the colours on the floorplan are an excellent method for controlling the flow of orders into the kitchen. A screen with too many yellow tables makes a nervous kitchen, and a lot of green tables mean the rush may be over.

By now I think you have got the idea. Desserts are just another course. Because we are using the separate docket system, we don’t have to have special buttons for which course is being prepared we just continue to open the table and add the food and drinks and press DONE.

We can use the HOLD and AWAY system again for the Desserts if needed, an example might be if this is a function and they take the dessert order, then have speeches before serving.

Drinks can be entered at any time and this creates a separate docket which should be filled as it prints.

Now is a good time to put this all together so you see how the flow works.

Take the order at the table.
Go to a workstation

Select a Table.
Select Your Name
Enter Cover Count
Select Seat 1
Enter Entrees and Drinks
Press DONE (Dockets print in the kitchen and bar, Table is now Purple)

Select the Table
Select your Name
Select HOLD
Select Seat 1
Enter Mains
Press DONE (Dockets print in the kitchen and bar, Table is now Yellow)

Select the Table
Select your Name
Select AWAY (Docket prints in the Kitchen, Table is now Green)

Select the Table
Select your Name
Select Seat 1
Enter Desserts
Press DONE (Dockets print in the kitchen and bar, Table stays Green)

By doing it this way, (the separate docket system) the Kitchen gets the Entrée docket about 4 mins earlier then it would if you put all the meals in at once. This can be of great help to the flow of the kitchen.

In most Restaurants there is also a drink (BAR) service, this might also be used for Take Away meals or other Fast Service items. iCAFE has a copy of the standard iPOS set up to take these sales without having to go to all the steps of opening and closing tables. We call this the FASTBAR.

This the first screen. On the left is an area for your company’s logo. (It could also be used to display the current promotion)

On the right is the staff list. To get started select you name from the list.

iPOS has a number of different staff selection options. You may be required to enter a PIN first or swipe a card. In this manual we will assume the default of button names will be used.

The menu is broken up into different product categories and all of these categories are listed down the centre of the screen. For example, should the customer request a Sandwich, you will find it under Food

You can select many different products for any order. All of the products will be listed on the top left hand side of the screen along with the running total;

TIP: If a customer wants 3 of a product, you can enter a 3 via the keypad and then select the product

Mistakes can be fixed by using the Delete (red cross) Button . This will delete the currently highlighted line. Select a different line by touching it or using the green arrow buttons . To start again press the red clear all button .

The screens on the right hand side are normally designed in a top down fashion. Where products are offered in different flavours and or sizes then the correct way to enter products is to select one button from each group of buttons. Each group is normally coloured differently.

If not all the buttons can fit on a single screen then scroll buttons » and « will appear on the top right corner. This is to indicate that there are more buttons, and keep looking here if you don’t find the product.

By default most screens will be in alphabetic order, this can be changed and your system will be setup so that it is the most effective for your product range.

The sale is finished when you have all the products ordered in the system and you have told the customer the total of the sale.

Use the Keypad on the bottom left to enter the amount of cash you are given and press Cash (Complete)

The system will calculate the Change, open the cash drawer, and print a receipt if required.

Notice that the right hand side of the screen has returned to the Staff buttons ready to start the next sale

Should a customer wish to pay by EFT Card, simply go through the steps to record the purchases as normal. When the customer presents a Card instead of cash, simply press the Card button . Select the type of card and the amount.

iPOS and the EFTPOS machine are not linked. You need to tell both iPOS and the EFTPOS machine the total of the sales as they are approved.

Enter the amount into the EFTPOS machine. Once the customer has entered an approved pin number or signature, complete the sale as per normal with CASH (Complete) and prepare for the next customer.

If you need to pay with multiple tender types then enter the different types so that CASH is entered last. By default the system will assume that all Card payments are the remaining outstanding value. You can change this as you go, leaving more to be paid. Remember Cash can only be entered once, so it should be last. That is also why the button is called CASH (Complete) . 

iPOS can be set to print a receipt and a kitchen docket automatically. If you want an extra copy or only want to print receipts on request use the blue Receipt button after the sale has been completed.

Should you close iPOS during the day by accident, or restart the computer. Get running again by simply re-opening iPOS by double clicking Internet Explorer and selecting Point of Sale from the home page.

iPOS is a very powerful system. One of the most powerful features of the system is the Deal system. Once the rules for the deals have been setup in the system, iPOS will allow you to select the deal first, last or in the middle of the sale. It will manage the prices and combination of products and even add missing products to the order to satisfy the rules for the selected deal.

Sales in iPOS are stored by date and time. This is a very important feature in that it means that there is no X or Z reads to be done at the start or end of days trade. Reports that are the equivalent of the old cash register X read are available from the Back Office, but there is nothing you have to do before you start using iPOS for the day.

iPOS is smart enough to know that a business might stay open late and trade past midnight. The actual time that a day starts and ends is configurable but the default is 5am to 5am the next day.

The FASTBAR version of iPOS has a number of cool features that interface with the iCAFE version, one of those is the ability to select a TABLE during the order and have the drinks placed on the Table without having to load iCAFE.

This is very useful when the customer does not tell you to put it on a table until after you have rung it up. Select the TABLE button before you complete the sale and select a table. If the table is already open then the sales will be added to the open table. If the table is not currently open FastBar will open it for you and the table will change colour on the iCAFE floorplan.  

Managers can access a few additional options by pressing the Manager button above the iPOS keypad. Options include sales reports and the ability to change prices for a one off order.

The Manager button can be secured by a PIN number. If this is the case then you will need to make sure that all managers have PIN number. PIN Numbers are setup in the Back Office under Staff.

Daily Summary
Provides a summary of all financial and non-financial aspects of sales for the day up to the point when the report was run. Financial analysis covers Gross and Net Sales, Tender, Banking and Sales Express. To get data for previous days then you will need to login to the back office.

Happy Hour
Let’s a manager start and stop Happy Hour.

Change Price
Allows a Manager to change the unit price for a multiple order. For example, should a customer order three bottles of Powerade, you would select “3” from the keypad and then the “Powerade” option from the Cold Drinks category. This would result in “3 Powerade 9.00” in the order box on the top left hand side of the screen. If you select this entry and go to “Manager” and then “Change Price”, you will be able to enter a once off different unit price for each bottle of Powerade. Once you have entered and confirmed the new price, the order box will automatically update for the new unit price.

Change Total
Allows a Manager to change the total price for a multiple order. For example, should a customer order five Chunky Beef pies, you would press “5” on the keypad and then “Chunky Beef” from “Pies” category. If you were to select this entry in the order box and go to “Manager” and then “Change Total”, you can enter a once off price for the Chunky Beef pies ordered.

Refund, Free, Waste and Use
The modifier buttons can be used with any product but must be selected first. To create a refund press Refund first then the product to be refunded, the system will show the price as a negative number. Free, Waste and Use buttons will show the price as zero, but internally separate the reasons. Use the Waste button to record product which is wasted. This is important if you have linked in the Stock module. Sample again is important for managing Stock, but it will also provide management with important information about when Samples are done and the increase in resulting sales.

Petty Cash
This is used to take out petty cash from the system and at the end of the night it will specify the amount and what it was used for (This is why the different types of petty cash).