New:
1. CHECK SYNCING
General:
Check syncing and Order syncing allows to open checks and create orders on one Activate device and edit them on another device.
Check & Orders sync would work for devices within the same Vendor and connected to the same WiFi network.
Example:
I open a check order at workstation A, another user that operates at workstation B that is 10 metres away from me can access the same check order on a different device. Sharing the check allows (among other things) to close the check, update seats, add tip, edit order, add or delete items on two or more devices simultaneously.
Must know:
- Check & Order sync would work for single platform – so only on iOS devices. This means that currently we do not support cross-platform sync between Android and iOS devices.
- Users who want to sync any checks / orders, must be logged into Activate with the same account, operating for the same Vendor
- Devices must have the same version of Activate iOS installed
- Sync works for both: POS and REST modes. However, most frequently it will be used in REST mode
- Check(s) created on one device is visible on another within the same Vendor and one WiFi network
- Check is visible only within the same account
- Check / Orders sync is available in two Activate modes: online & offline. Offline orders are synced once internet connection is back – without internet connection, syncing will not work
Connect setup:
1. Enable Check Syncing globally for the Venue using admin settings, or by request
2. Make sure that Check / Tab orders is enabled for the correct Employee Role assigned to your Activate account.
Connect → Options → Employee Role → choose your Employe Role → Payments Tab = YES
3. Additionally, there is a permission set added to Connect related to Check Syncing functionality: Connect → Options → Permissions Sets → Check Orders View
permission: Allow Single Check Access override (Yes/No)
Behavior in online mode:
The main functionality is to inform other employees that a check they want to open is being accessed on another terminal.
- If YES, PIN confirmation is not required when accessing a check that is opened on another terminal
- If NO, PIN confirmation is required when accessing a check that is opened on another terminal
Behavior in offline mode:
(we don’t know if a check is open, since we are offline)
- Another employee tries to access a check which is marked as open on another terminal.
- Permission YES: “Your device is offline. The last time it was online this check was being edited, are you sure you want to continue?” YES/NO
- Permission NO: “Your device is offline. The last time it was online this check was being edited, to access it an admin pin is required.”
Manager: “Your device is offline. The last time it was online this check was being edited, are you sure you want to continue?” choose: YES/NO - Another employee tries to access a check which is NOT marked as open on another terminal. Every time that employee would see: “Your device is offline, are you sure you want to continue? Changes to this check will sync when the device is back online.” choose: YES/NO
Syncing orders – flow:
REGULAR ORDERS:
Online Orders
- Open Activate on device no.1 using your account credentials.
-
Add some items to the cart and choose the desired payment type.
Note! Order syncing would work for all payment types. - Tap “Next” until the Thanks screen is shown.
- At the same time, user who has the app opened on the second device (with the same account credentials) can see the order in “All Orders” Tab that shows up for a second in “Offline” and then goes to “Completed”.
- In case of regular Orders, there is no possibility of modification. You can only look them up on another device as “Completed” and Refund them.
Offline Orders
- Open Activate on device no.1 using your credentials.
- Offline mode = ON, there are some network issues. Still, I’m creating an order with some items and paying with i.e. cash
- When checking the status of this order on device no.2 it won’t be shown anywhere, as the WiFi connection is lost, so the devices do not communicate
- Network is back, offline mode = OFF, my order on device no.1 goes to “Completed”, at the same time device no.2 shows the flash of this order in “Offline” and then in “Completed
CHECK ORDERS:
Open Activate on device no.1 using your credentials and:
- Add some items to the cart and tap “Check” to open a new Check order.
- Open the check with name or with Credit Card
- Log into Activate on the second device using the same account
- Open Left Menu → All Orders → Opened Checks
- There you can see the Check that was opened on device no.1
- Choose the check you want to edit and tap “Add Tip / Close Order”
Available actions for Check Orders:
- Return to Menu
→ allows to add other items to the cart
→ when items are added, tap again “Check”
→ choose the Check that you want to update from the list “Open Checks”
→ confirm the alert “Add an item to Tab?”
→ you can Return to Menu again, cancel the check or close the check order - Closeout Check
→ tap to Close the Check order
→ confirm the alert “Are you sure you want to closeout check?”
→ tap “Add Tip” (if available) and tap “Continue”
→ tapping “YES” changes the check status to “Closed” on both devices and redirects you to the main menu
→ tapping “NO” just cancels the action
- Cancel Check
→ tap to cancel the Check order
→ confirm the alert “Are you sure you want to cancel check?”
→ the check is cancelled, the transaction is not finalized
- Print Order
→ tap to print the current order
→ the check will not be closed - Delete items from Check order
→ open the Check on device no.1
→ access the Check on device no.2 from “Check Orders” or “All Orders” view
→ reach “Opened Checks” or “Offline” checks
→ tap to open the Check
→ choose “Add Tip/Close Check” button
→ you see items added to the cart, tap the red “Delete” button to get rid of some items added by user on device no.1 - Offline → Online mode sync
→ open the Check on device no.1 (WiFi is off)
→ WiFi is back, Activate is in online mode
→ open the Check on device no.2 from “Check Orders” or “All Orders” view
→ the Checks that were opened in offline mode on device no.1 are visible on device no.2 as “Opened Checks” in “All Orders” view - Access “Connected Devices”
→ add some items to the cart
→ open the Check
→ in top-right corner of the screen tap “Connected Devices” button
→ you’ll see how many devices are you connected to for Check Syncing feature as well as your IP address
2. SPLIT CHECK
What is Split Check ?
- Split check allows users to divide purchased items into separate orders
- This feature works only for accounts and devices that have Check Syncing enabled
- How it works? Read the story below:
3 people (Joe, Bob, and Nick) are sitting at one table. On Activate, some items (coke, Fanta, French Fries, Burger) are already ordered. They are placed on one check opened by Joe. Bob, or Nick decide to leave. They want to have separate orders. Cashier opens Activate and checks their order. He can split the original check made by Joe in three separate orders. Orders are split by item. So, for instance, Joe takes his order for coke, Bob for Burger, and Nick pays separately for French Fries. Additional information: → Split Check is available in POS (Point Of Sale) and REST (Restaurant) modes → It is possible to split checks in Offline and Online modes → Split Check works only for Venues that have Check Syncing enabled
Activate – Split Check Basic Flow
Note! You need to have version with Check Sync, so minimum Activate Android 2.10.0
- Open Activate
- Add some items to the cart and tap “Check” button
- Open the check with name / Credit Card
- If split check is enabled for the Vendor, you’ll be able to tap Split Check button located at the bottom of the screen
- Tap Split Check button
- You will see that a new check is added. Its name is changed. So e.g. I’ve opened the main check (aka. parent check) with name “Joe” and subsequent checks will be named ad “Joe1” “Joe2” etc. You can change the check name. Just tap on the new check (in the name field) and edit it.
- If you have already two split checks, you can add another – third check. Hit the + button to add more splits
- Click on items shown on the first opened check (parent check). Then, move the selected item to another Check
- When you’ve finished splitting items, click the green CONFIRM button at the bottom of the screen
- Select printing options (print all checks: No/Yes)
- Your checks go to “Open” tab
- As you can see, the check is split. It’s no longer displayed as single check.
- Tap individual check to edit it: add some more items, edit items in cart, closeout the check, print
- If you want it to closeout check – tap on the correct name, tap closeout check, confirm with OK and select payment method
- After that, you can go back and closeout another checks that were split
Note! You cannot closeout a check that doesn’t have items on it.
Note! If you’re adding the same item to the cart e.g. 5 times you need to tap “Breakout” button in the cart with items on Activate menu view. This will allow you to divide the items into separate checks.
Check Printing
- When you are on Split Check view and you tap the green Confirm button, you would see the message “Do you want to print all checks? No/Yes”
- If you choose Yes, all checks will be printed. Then, user moves to check view
- If No, checks won’t be printed. You can still print them out from Activate > Left Menu > All Orders View / Checks View
Connect Setup:
To setup Split Check for the Vendor, you need to:
a) Have Check Syncing enabled for the Venue using admin settings, or by request
b) Enable Split Check for Vendor Role
- Navigate to Connect > Options > Vendor Roles and select the correct one
- Click to edit Vendor Role
- Change “Enable Split Checks” to YES
- Save your changes
c) Enable Split Checks for Employee Role
- Navigate to Connect > Options > Employee Roles and select the correct one
- Click to edit Employee Role
- Find “Enable Split Checks” toggle under “General” Tab
- Change “Enable Split Checks” to Enabled
- Save your changes