Customer types with their own prices and subsidy
Students, staff, visitors and the public each get their own price list, subsidy and ways to pay. The share your organisation pays is worked out on every meal and shown on the bill as "Company pays".
PLANSEvery plan
The problem it solves
- Staff pay a subsidised price and visitors the full price, but the cashier remembers which is which.
- The organisation pays half of every staff lunch and the canteen contractor sends a bill nobody can check.
- Day scholars may pay cash while hostel students must pay from their wallet, and the counter allows both.
- Anyone can say they are staff to get the staff price.
How it works
- Open Food Service > Configuration > Customers > Customer Types. Seven types come ready: Hostel Student, Day Scholar, Staff, Visitor, Guest, Public and Corporate Account.
- For each type choose a price list, or leave it empty to sell at each item's own price.
- Choose the subsidy: none, a fixed amount per meal, or a percentage. The organisation pays this part of each menu item.
- Choose the payment modes the type may use, and, if needed, a filter of who may be given the type.
- Give each customer their type on the contact's Food Service tab, or by the Excel import. At the counter, a scanned card brings the type; for a walk-in the cashier picks the type.
- Each sale shows the total, what the organisation pays and what the customer pays.
Everything it does
Customer types
- Name, code and category: Hostel Student, Day Scholar, Staff, Visitor, Guest, Public, Corporate Account or Other
- Price List: empty means the item's own price
- Subsidy Mode: No subsidy (to start with), Fixed amount per meal, or Percentage from 0 to 100
- A fixed subsidy never goes above the price of the item
- Payment Modes: empty means the outlet's modes
- Eligible Customers: a filter on contacts; giving the type to someone outside it is refused
- A type can be for one Entity or for every Entity
Per outlet
- An outlet can give a type its own price list and payment modes, which win over the type's own
- Only modes the outlet accepts are offered, whatever the type allows
- An outlet that lists its customer types refuses to sell to other types
On each sale
- The subsidy applies to menu items, not to retail items, tokens or meal plans
- Each line keeps its subsidy per unit; the bill shows Total, Company pays and To pay
- A bill can carry a cost centre, so the subsidy and complimentary meals are charged to a department
- With Scale, the daily accounting entry books the subsidy as an expense, by cost centre
Staff meals with SmartMy HRMS
- From Growth, a staff meal policy can replace the type's subsidy for employees: free, subsidised or staff pays
- The policy names the sessions, meals per day, outlets and working days; a meal above it is paid in full
- The organisation's share goes to the department's meals cost centre
Who uses it
Food AdministratorSets up the types, their price lists, subsidies, payment modes and filters.
CashierScans the customer's card, or picks the type for a walk-in, and the prices follow.
AccountsReads the organisation's share per bill and, with Scale, in the daily entry.
Admin or HR headAgrees the subsidy with the canteen and checks it against the bills.
Where you use it
- Web: Food Service > Configuration > Customers > Customer Types; the Customer Types Served tab of each outlet; the Food Service tab of each contact
- The SmartMy Feast Counter app: prices, subsidy and payment modes per type, also without network in Growth. Built and in testing, not in the app stores yet
- Web: Food Service > Selling > Orders > Orders shows Company Share and Customer Pays on each order
What you control
Settings
- Seven ready-made types; Subsidy Mode: No subsidy
- Price list per type and per outlet: empty to start with
- Payment modes per type and per outlet: empty to start with (the outlet's modes)
- Eligible Customers: everyone to start with
Works with
SmartMy HRMSStaff meal policies by department, staff category, job or employee replace the subsidy for employees (Growth). The staff share can come from salary (Scale, with SmartMy HRMS Scale).
SmartMy CampusStudents become food customers with their type, diet and limits (Growth).
Questions
Can staff pay less than visitors for the same thali?
Yes. Give the Staff type a subsidy, such as a fixed amount per meal or 50 %, or its own price list. Visitors pay the item's price.Who pays the subsidy, and where do we see it?
Your organisation. Each bill shows Company pays, and each order keeps the Company Share. With Scale it is booked as an expense each day, by cost centre.Can we stop students paying cash in the hostel mess?
Yes. Give the Hostel Student type only the Wallet mode, or set it on the mess's Customer Types Served line.Does the subsidy apply to a packet of chips?
No. The subsidy applies to menu items only. Retail items, tokens and meal plans are sold at their price.Can a visitor be given the staff price at the counter?
For a walk-in the cashier chooses the type. To stop that, give the Staff type a filter of eligible customers and sell to staff by card.Related features
SET-UPOutlets, counters and meal sessionsSet up each mess, canteen, tuck shop or cafe as an outlet with its own counters, open days, meal sessions, selling methods and payment modes. Serving times and cut-offs can differ by outlet and by weekday.WITH OTHER SMARTMY PRODUCTSStaff meal policyWith SmartMy HRMS, employees become staff customers. A staff meal policy decides what the organisation pays: free, a subsidy per meal or a percentage, or nothing. The policy can differ by department, category, designation, grade or location, and the organisation's share is charged to the department's cost centre.SELLINGPay per item at the counterThe cashier scans the customer's card or picks the customer type, taps the items and takes payment. Prices, subsidy and taxes follow the customer type, the bill gets a number without gaps and the receipt prints on the counter's printer.SET-UPTax rules for foodSay which taxes apply by outlet, customer type and food category, and with Growth by order type such as dine-in or parcel. The most specific rule wins, a rule without taxes makes the sale exempt, and every bill shows its taxes.PAYINGCash, card and UPI paymentsTake cash, UPI and card at the counter, along with the wallet, tokens and the other payment modes your outlet allows. UPI shows a QR code for the exact amount, and every payment goes to its own journal for the day's takings.PAYINGComplimentary and guest mealsGive meals on the house with a reason and an approval, and issue guest meal tokens for visitors and events. Each one is charged to a cost centre, so the free meals of a month have a value and an owner.
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.