Counter app for tablets
SmartMy Feast Counter turns a tablet into the canteen's counter. Cashiers log in with a PIN and serve plan and token meals by scanning a card or app QR. They sell items, top up wallets, void with a supervisor and close the shift with a cash count.
PLANSEvery plan
Built and in testing, not in the app stores yet; it has not been run on a real tablet with a printer or card machine.
The problem it solves
- At lunch the queue is 200 long and the cashier writes names in a register.
- A student gets a second meal at another counter, and nobody can tell.
- The cash in the drawer never matches the day's sales, and nobody knows why.
- A cashier gives a friend a free meal and the bill disappears.
How it works
- The manager opens Food Service > Counters > Counters and Devices > Devices, picks the tablet's device and clicks Pairing Code. On the tablet, type the server address and the 8-digit code (valid 24 hours).
- The tablet loads the outlet: items and prices per customer type, customers with their cards, menus, cashiers and printers.
- The cashier taps their name under Who is at the counter? and types their PIN, then opens the shift with the cash in the drawer.
- On Serve, scan the card or app QR; the customer shows with balance and allergy alerts, and Meal from: names the plan or token. Tap Serve, or switch on Serve on scan for a fast queue.
- On Sell, scan the customer or pick the customer type, tap items and pay by cash, UPI, card or wallet. The receipt prints and the bill gets the counter's next number.
- At the end, close the shift: count each note and coin. The difference against expected cash is recorded as short or excess.
Everything it does
Tabs of a counter
- Serve: plan and token meals; refused with the reason for a second serving, an opt-out, no entitlement or an unknown card
- Sell: items and tokens, Find an item, barcodes, Dine-in or Parcel (Growth), discounts and on the house
- Sales: this counter's last sales: Void, Give back (some items) and Print again, each with a reason and a supervisor
- Bookings: when the outlet takes bookings (Growth): scan a booking slip, collect, take a new booking
- Tables: when the outlet has table service (Growth)
- Wallet: top up by scanning the card, with quick amounts
- Shift: open, Cash in / out with a reason, X report, Close with the count by denomination
- Sync: online or offline, last sync, what waits, printers, problems reported by the server, Unpair this device
Payment
- One large button per payment mode the customer type may use
- UPI: a QR code with the amount; the cashier checks the money arrived and taps Paid; not confirmed by the system
- Charge on terminal: the amount goes to a card machine set up for the counter (Growth); needs the network
- Wallet, fee ledger, payroll and customer account: only for a scanned customer allowed to use them
- Bill numbers run without gaps for each counter
Supervisor approval
- Asked for a discount above the cashier's limit, on the house, a void, a give-back and an item off the menu. Also removing the packing charge, a reprint when the outlet asks, and a large cash difference
- The supervisor picks their name and types their PIN on the cashier's tablet; it works offline
- Each one is kept under Food Service > Selling > Refunds and Charges > Counter Approvals with the approver's name
Without the network (Growth)
- Serve, sell, top up, shift and supervisor PINs keep working; the tablet checks entitlement, second serving, blocks, limits and balance from its own copy
- Selling Offline up to (h): 12 to start with; after that, selling stops
- Offline Wallet Spend per Person: 200 to start with
- Bill Numbers per Device Block: 50; when used up, offline selling stops until a sync
- Each action is sent once, in order; problems become Sync Conflicts for the supervisor
- Starter: the counter needs the network to serve and sell
Printing
- Receipts and token slips on network ESC/POS printers, 58 or 80 mm, with a cash drawer through the printer
- Checked with print data only, not yet on a real printer; tested with you before go-live
- Bluetooth and USB printers are not supported
Who uses it
CashierServes, sells, tops up and runs their own shift with a PIN.
SupervisorApproves discounts, voids, refunds and large cash differences with their PIN.
Outlet managerPairs the tablets, names the cashiers and reads the shifts and sync conflicts.
Where you use it
- SmartMy Feast Counter on an Android tablet (built and in testing, not in the app stores yet)
- Web: Food Service > Counters > Counters and Devices > Devices, My Counter PIN, Sync Conflicts and Shifts; Selling > Refunds and Charges > Counter Approvals
- Not offered yet: a Windows counter PC build
- Not built: finding a customer by name, photo or OTP at the counter; a value coupon button; typing a coupon code
What you control
Settings
- Per device: Mode (Counter), the outlet and counter
- Per cashier: a PIN of 4 to 8 digits
- Per outlet: Cashier Discount up to (%), second serving allowed, printers, payment modes per customer type
- Per outlet (Growth): Selling Offline up to (h) 12, Offline Wallet Spend per Person 200
Approvals
- Counter approval: decided at the counter by a supervisor's PIN, or a food administrator where the outlet's limits ask; see Approval chains
Notifications
- Food Counter Sync Conflict: to the outlet's managers (else the food administrators) when an offline action was recorded with a problem or not recorded. In the back office inbox and by email, at once
- Food Wallet Top-up: to the customer after each top-up at the counter
Questions
Does it work when the Wi-Fi drops?
With Growth, yes: serving, selling, top-ups and the shift keep working and are sent when the network is back. On Starter the counter needs the network.Which printers work?
Network ESC/POS printers, 58 or 80 mm. They are checked with print data, not yet on a real printer, so we test yours with you before go-live. Bluetooth and USB printers are not supported.Can a cashier void a bill alone?
No. A void, a give-back or a discount above their limit needs a supervisor's PIN on the same tablet. A supervisor who is the cashier approves their own.How does the system stop a second meal?
Each meal served is checked against the person's meals of that session at every counter. Offline, the tablet checks its own copy, and a clash found later becomes a sync conflict.Can we run it on a Windows PC?
Not yet. The counter runs on an Android tablet; a Windows build is not offered.Related features
COUNTEROne-tap serve of plan and token mealsScan the card and the meal a plan or token covers is served in one tap, or on the scan itself. The counter checks the session, the opt-out and a second helping, also without the network.COUNTERShifts, cash count and X and Z reportsEach cashier opens a shift with the cash in the drawer and records cash in and out with a reason. At closing they count by note and coin. The system works out the expected cash, the shortage or excess and the X and Z reports.COUNTERVoids, refunds and discounts with a supervisor PINDiscounts on a line or a whole bill need a reason and stay within the cashier's, supervisor's and administrator's limits. Voids and part refunds need a reason and a supervisor, who approves with a PIN on the cashier's own tablet.COUNTERSelling when the network is downWhen the network drops, the counter tablet keeps serving and selling. It checks meals, limits and wallet balances from its own copy and numbers bills from a reserved block. Everything goes to the server in order when the network is back. Anything the server cannot take as it was goes to the supervisor as a sync conflict.TABLE SERVICE AND KITCHENReceipts and token slips on thermal printersThe counter tablet prints receipts, token slips and kitchen tickets on network thermal printers that take ESC/POS. On cash sales it opens the cash drawer through the receipt printer. Printers are set up once in the back office and reach every tablet.PORTAL AND APPSCaptain, kitchen screen and kiosk appsThe same tablet code runs three more jobs. A captain takes table orders on SmartMy Feast Counter. The kitchen works its tickets on SmartMy Feast Kitchen. Customers order and pay by themselves on SmartMy Feast Kiosk.
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.