Approval chains
Decide who approves what in your canteen. It may be a void or discount at the counter, a guest meal or a promotion. Or an indent, a purchase request, a stock count difference or wastage. Each kind has its own chain per Entity, with levels and amounts, and small requests can go through at once.
PLANSEvery plan
The problem it solves
- A cashier voids bills after the customer leaves, and nobody senior ever saw them.
- Free meals for guests are handed out on a phone call, with no record of who agreed.
- The storekeeper raises a purchase for 80,000 rupees of oil, and the owner hears of it when the bill arrives.
- A stock count shows 40 kg of rice short, and the difference is written off without a second look.
How it works
- Open Food Service > Configuration > General > Approval Chains. A chain is made for each kind the first time it is needed, with one level of the usual approvers.
- Open a chain to add levels or change who approves at each level. You can add Only For conditions, such as a purchase worth more than 5,000 rupees.
- Tick Approved at Once on a chain for small requests, such as guest meals under a set amount, so they skip approval.
- When a request is raised, it waits in its own form with the level that must act. The approvers are told and get a to-do.
- At the counter, a supervisor approves a void, discount or cash difference with their PIN on the spot.
- Once every level approves, the request goes ahead: the promotion runs, the indent moves stock, the purchase becomes an order.
Everything it does
What is approved, and by whom to start with
- Counter approval: voids, refunds, discounts and cash differences at the counter; supervisors, and food administrators where an outlet limit asks (Starter)
- Guest meals: food administrators (Starter); visitor meals from SmartMy VMS use this chain
- Promotion: food administrators; the promotion waits in draft until approved (Growth)
- Indent: storekeepers, kitchen managers and food administrators; moves made by the system are not stopped (Scale)
- Purchase request: purchase officers and food administrators; only those worth more than 5,000 rupees wait, the rest go through at once (Scale)
- Stock count difference: above 500 rupees (Scale)
- Wastage: above 200 rupees (Scale)
With other SmartMy products
- Mess fee structure: with SmartMy Campus fees and SmartMy Hostel; food administrators
- Refund or credit from a complaint ticket: with SmartMy Desk; the outlet managers or any food administrator, as a to-do
How a chain works
- One chain per kind and Entity
- Levels in order; Only For conditions decide which requests a chain takes
- Approved at Once: requests that match go through without waiting
- The person who raised a request may approve it if they are an approver of that level
- A counter approval is decided in one step: a chain with a second level refuses it, so keep one level there
Who uses it
Food administratorSets up the chains, approves guest meals, promotions and large purchases.
SupervisorApproves voids, discounts and cash differences at the counter with a PIN.
Storekeeper and kitchen managerRaise and approve indents.
Purchase officerRaises purchase requests and approves those within the chain.
OwnerIs added as a last level for large purchases or write-offs.
Where you use it
- Web: Food Service > Configuration > General > Approval Chains, and Approve on each waiting request
- Counter app: the supervisor's PIN for counter approvals
- Manager app: Approvals, for counter requests and other waiting requests; the buttons show by the manager's role
- On purchase requests, indents, stock counts, wastage and fee structures, a refused request is sent back with Cancel or Back to Draft. There is no Reject button
What you control
Settings
- Per chain: levels, approvers, Only For and Approved at Once
- Purchase request: worth more than 5,000 rupees to start with
- Stock count difference: above 500 rupees; wastage: above 200 rupees
- Outlet limits: the amounts above which a counter approval needs a food administrator
Approvals
- This page sets them up; each kind is listed under What is approved
Notifications
- Food: Promotion to Approve, Food: Meals on the House to Approve and Food: Purchase Request to Approve: to the approvers of the level. Never the person who raised a purchase
- Other kinds send Request Waits for Your Approval to the approvers of the level
- Transactional: in the back office inbox and by email at once; app push is built in and not switched on yet
Works with
SmartMy Campus and SmartMy HostelMess fee structures for the fee ledger wait for their chain.
SmartMy DeskA refund or credit from a complaint ticket waits for its chain.
SmartMy VMSMeals for visitors go through the Guest meals chain.
Questions
Can small purchases skip approval?
Yes. To start with, only purchase requests worth more than 5,000 rupees wait. The rest go through at once. Change the amount on the chain.Can a cashier approve their own void?
Only if the cashier is also an approver of that level. To start with, supervisors approve counter requests with their PIN.Can we add the owner as a second level for counter voids?
No. A counter approval is decided at once, at the counter. Keep one level there, and add the owner to chains such as purchase or wastage.Where do managers approve from a phone?
In the SmartMy Feast Manager app, under Approvals. The app is built and in testing, not in the app stores yet.Related features
PORTAL AND APPSManager app with alertsSmartMy Feast Manager puts the mess or canteen on the manager's phone. It shows today's and tomorrow's meals with the forecast, prepared against served with the reasons, and money and food cost. Also ratings, approvals and the week's menu. Its screens sit in the Menu under the same areas as the web.WITH OTHER SMARTMY PRODUCTSVisitor meals charged to the host departmentWith SmartMy VMS and SmartMy HRMS, a visit can come with meals. When the visit is approved or the visitor comes in, meal tokens are raised in the host's name. They are charged to the host department's cost centre, and the host gets the codes.ACROSS SMARTMY FEASTNotificationsSmartMy Feast tells the right person when something happens. A diner hears when the wallet runs low or an order is ready, and a parent when a child eats. A manager when a diet changes, a storekeeper when stock runs short or batches expire. Work messages go out at once; menus and reminders wait for your quiet hours.ASSETSFixed assets: register and depreciationEvery combi oven, cold room, dishwasher, deep freezer and dining table your kitchens and outlets own sits in one register. It has its cost, depreciation and book value. Depreciation posts to your books each month, and selling or scrapping an asset goes through your approval chain first.
See it with your own menu.
Tell us how many outlets you run and how people pay today. We will show you a day in your mess or canteen on SmartMy Feast.