Activate Android 2.10.0

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 devices simultaneously.

Must know: 

  • Check & Order sync would work for single platform –  so only  on Android 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 Android installed
  • Sync works for both: POS and REST modes. 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, you need to:

  • Log into Connect Admin panel https://admin.appetizeapp.com
  • Click on the correct Venue from Venues list
  • On Venue Details page, you will see a settings button located on the right side of the page next to “Edit” button
  • Click on the three-dots button
  • Choose “Additional Settings”
  • In Venue General section, you’ll find “Check Syncing” toggle
  • Change Check Syncing to “Enabled” and save your changes
  • Result: Check Syncing is turned on for the whole Venue

    2. Make sure that Check / Tab orders are be 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 are two permission sets added to Connect related to Check Syncing functionality:

Both are in Connect → Options → Permissions Sets → Check Orders View

Enable Check Syncing (Yes/No)
→ By default set to YES. It allows to sync the checks via Activate.

Allow Single Check Access override (Yes/No)

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

 

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.” PIN REQUIRED
    Manager: “Your device is offline. The last time it was online this check was being edited, are you sure you want to continue?” YES/NO
  • Another employee tries to access a check which is NOT marked as open on another terminal.Every time: “Your device is offline, are you sure you want to continue? Changes to this check will sync when the device is back online.” YES/NO

 

SYNCING ORDERS – FLOW

REGULAR ORDERS:

Online Orders – Flow

  1. Open Activate on device no.1 using your account credentials.
  2. Add some items to the cart and choose the desired payment type.

    Note! Order syncing would work for all payment types.
  3. Tap “Next” until the Thanks screen is shown.
  4. 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”.
  5. 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 – Flow: 
  1. Open Activate on device no.1 using your credentials.
  2. Offline mode = ON, there are some network issues. Still, I’m creating an order with some items and paying with i.e. cash
  3. 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
  4. 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 – Flow: 

  1. Open Activate on device no.1 using your credentials.
  2. Add some items to the cart and tap “Check” to open a new Check order.
  3. Open the check with name or with Credit Card
  4. Log into Activate on the second device using the same account
  5. Open Left Menu → All Orders → Opened Checks
  6. There you can see the Check that was opened on device no.1
  7. Choose the check you want to edit and tap “Add Tip / Close Order”

Available actions for Check Orders: 

  1. 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
  2. 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 
  3. 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 
  4. Print Order
    → 
    tap to print the current order
    the check will not be closed
  5. 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
  6. 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 
  7. See “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



Changed: 

  1. Email Total button added to Finalize Day.
    When you go to Activate -> Finalize Day -> Server or Local Totals, there will be additional button “Email Total” that would send an email of finalize day transactions to the email address provided.

Note! 
To be able to tap “Email Total”, you need to enable correct Permission Set on Connect.
Connect -> Options -> Permissions Sets -> Finalise Day -> Show Email button set to YES.


Fixed: 

  1. Issues with changing selected tip in Split transactions.
  2. Custom Tender display on Activate and on receipts as cash.
  3. Problem with respecting “Hide 0.00 Price Permission Set toggle”.
    Now when this permission = YES on Connect, Activate hides items that have 0.00 price set.
  4. Automatically return to Menu.

    Note! This feature works for Shared Accounts in Restaurant Mode only 
  • the option set in Connect > Options > Employee Role > General > “Automatically Return to Menu” now works for Android devices
  • when i.e 40 seconds is set, Activate would exit the Confirmation Screen once the transaction is finalized after 40 seconds of inactivity from user/cashier
  • this is the same action as if the user tapped in the Confirmation Screen to go back to main menu