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Are you eating? Headcount before the cut-off

Plan members say Eating or Not eating for each meal before its cut-off, on the portal or in the app. At the cut-off the members' count is frozen, walk-ins are added from the last four weeks, and the kitchen cooks for that number.
PLANSFrom Growth
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Why it matters

A mess or staff canteen with monthly plans cooks for everyone on the list, every meal. On a Sunday, before exams or during a festival, half of them do not come, and the food goes in the bin. Asking on a WhatsApp group gives replies nobody can count. In SmartMy Feast each member answers for each meal before its cut-off, and parents can answer for a child. At the cut-off the answers are frozen into a headcount with walk-ins, combos and special diets. A Not eating answer becomes the plan's opt-out with its credit. With SmartMy Hostel, residents on approved leave and those absent at roll call are left out by themselves.

The problem it solves

  • The mess cooks for all 300 plan members, and on a Sunday 120 do not turn up.
  • Members tell the warden on WhatsApp that they will skip dinner, and nobody adds it up before the kitchen starts.
  • The cook does not know how many want the South Indian combo or how many are Jain until the line forms.

How it works

  1. On the outlet's Menus tab, choose how a silent member is counted. The default counts them as eating unless they decline; the other choice counts only those who confirm.
  2. Members see the meals of the next 14 days still open for an answer, on the portal or in the SmartMy Feast app. A parent answers for each child the same way.
  3. For each meal they tap Eating or Not eating, and pick a combo if the menu offers one. Not eating becomes an opt-out on their plan, with the plan's credit.
  4. Members who have not answered get a reminder in the three hours before the cut-off, once a day.
  5. At the session's cut-off (12 hours before serving, to start with) the members' count is frozen in Food Service > Planning > Headcount. Expected walk-ins come from the same weekday of the last four weeks.
  6. The manager adds an Adjustment for an exam, a party or rain. To Cook For is members plus walk-ins plus the adjustment, with a breakdown by combo, diet and special diet.
  7. After the meal, a member who said Eating and did not come is marked a no-show. Points are taken if you use points, and the outlet's no-show charge comes from the wallet.

Everything it does

How a member is counted

  • Next-day Confirmation per outlet: No confirmation, Counted as eating unless they decline (the default), or Counted only when they confirm
  • Serve Unconfirmed Members (on to start with): with Counted only when they confirm, a member who did not confirm is still served. Switched off, the counter refuses them
  • One answer per member and meal; members change it until the cut-off
  • Staff can answer for a member, or change an answer, until the meal is served

Cut-off and reminders

  • The cut-off is the session's Opt-out Cut-off: 12 hours before serving starts for every starting session, changeable per session and per outlet
  • Answers are open for the next 14 days
  • A member who has not answered gets one reminder a day, in the three hours before a meal's cut-off

The headcount

  • One line per outlet, date and session, frozen at the cut-off for outlets that ask for answers
  • Plan Members, Confirmed, Declined, No Answer and Expected (members), counted by the outlet's rule
  • Expected Walk-ins: the average of token meals and item sales on the same weekday in the last four weeks; you can change it
  • Adjustment: your correction, also below zero; To Cook For never goes below zero
  • Served: plan and token meals served, filled in as the meal runs
  • Breakdown tab: counts per combo (the menu's default combo for those who did not pick), per diet, and per special diet note
  • Count ahead: make a headcount by hand for any meal, for example tomorrow's lunch the evening before. Count Again takes in new answers until the cut-off, and your walk-ins and adjustment are kept

No-shows

  • Checked every hour once the meal has ended: an Eating answer with no meal served is a no-show
  • Points: no-show takes 5 points to start with (an Entity setting)
  • No-show Charge per outlet: taken from the wallet as a bill; 0 means points only
  • The member is told, with the charge if one was taken

With the kitchen and SmartMy Hostel

  • The kitchen's Demand Forecast takes its people from the headcount and follows your changes (Scale)
  • With SmartMy Hostel: an approved leave answers Not eating for the meals it covers
  • Residents absent at the evening roll call are left out of the next morning's meals (meals served before noon)
  • Residents punched out of the hostel for longer than the hostel's Not Counted for Meals After (hours out) are left out of today's meals. The hours are measured when the count is made
  • In each case the resident is still served on coming back

Who uses it

Plan member (student, resident, employee)Answers Eating or Not eating for each meal, and picks a combo.
ParentAnswers for each child on the portal or in the app.
Food AdministratorSets the outlet's rule and no-show charge, makes headcounts ahead and adds the adjustment.
Kitchen Manager / ChefReads the headcount and its breakdown, and cooks for To Cook For.
Cashier / CounterAnswers for a member who phones in, until the meal is served.

Where you use it

  • Web: Food Service > Planning > Headcount and Meal Confirmations. The outlet's Menus tab for the rule; Selling > Meals and Plans > Plan Subscriptions, tab Opt-outs, to answer for a member
  • Diner portal: the meals to answer, with Eating, Not eating and the combo
  • The SmartMy Feast app: Meals to answer on Today, for the member and each child (built and in testing, not in the app stores yet)
  • The SmartMy Feast Manager app: Planning > Headcount, the meals of today and tomorrow with Count again and Correct (Scale). Built and in testing, not in the app stores yet

What you control

Settings

  • Next-day Confirmation per outlet: Counted as eating unless they decline to start with
  • Serve Unconfirmed Members: on to start with
  • No-show Charge per outlet: 0 to start with (points only)
  • Opt-out Cut-off per session: 12 hours before serving to start with
  • Points: answer on time 2 and no-show minus 5, on the Entity (see Points and badges)
  • With SmartMy Hostel: Not Counted for Meals After (hours out) on the hostel's Mess tab; 0 switches it off

Notifications

  • Meal Answer Reminder: to the member, in the three hours before the cut-off. In the app and by email, WhatsApp and SMS from your message credits, app push once the apps are in the stores. It waits for quiet hours (21:00 to 07:00 to start with), and a member can switch it off
  • Meal No-show: to the member, with the charge if one was taken. Same channels. Sent at once, and only a channel can be switched off, never the message
  • Parents are not sent the reminder or the no-show message: these go to the member

Works with

SmartMy HostelApproved leave answers Not eating with the plan's credit. Residents absent at roll call, or out at the door for too many hours, are left out of the headcount.

Questions

What happens if a member does not answer?

It depends on the outlet's rule. With Counted as eating unless they decline, they are counted. With Counted only when they confirm, they are not, and the counter refuses them unless Serve Unconfirmed Members is on.

When does answering close?

At the session's opt-out cut-off: 12 hours before serving starts to begin with. You change it per session or per outlet. Staff can still change an answer until the meal is served.

Does a member get money back for a skipped meal?

Not eating is an opt-out on the meal plan. The plan decides the credit, as for any opt-out.

Can we charge members who said yes and did not come?

Yes. Set a No-show Charge on the outlet. It is taken from the wallet after the meal, and the member is told. With points switched on, 5 points are taken as well, to start with.

Our reminder for lunch reached students after the cut-off. Why?

The reminder waits for quiet hours. Lunch at 12:30 with a 12-hour cut-off closes at 00:30, inside quiet hours of 21:00 to 07:00. Move the cut-off earlier, or shorten quiet hours on the Entity.

We run a restaurant with no plan members. Can we still give the kitchen a number?

Yes. Make a headcount by hand for the meal. It starts with the walk-in average of the last four weeks, and you add an adjustment.

Related features

SELLINGMeal plans with opt-outs and creditSell a meal plan for a day, a week, a month, a term or a year, covering the sessions and weekdays you choose. A member who says "not eating" before the cut-off gets that meal back as wallet credit, a refund at the end or an extra day. Joining late is charged only for the meals left.WITH OTHER SMARTMY PRODUCTSHostel mess plans with check-in and leaveWith SmartMy Hostel, a resident's mess plan starts at check-in and ends at check-out, from rules per hostel, room type and resident category. Approved leave switches the meals off with the plan's credit, and residents who are away are left out of the kitchen's headcount.KITCHEN PRODUCTIONRecipes, forecasts and production plansWrite each dish as a recipe with its yield, preparation loss and cost. Each meal gets a forecast of how many will eat and what to cook. The kitchen's day becomes a production plan with the raw materials it needs. Any shortfall goes to the store in one click.MEAL PLANNING AND ENGAGEMENTPoints, badges and leaderboards for membersMembers earn points for answering meals on time, voting and rating, with a bonus for a streak of days. A no-show takes points away. Badges come by themselves, points buy wallet credit or a free treat, and hostel blocks or classes compete in low-waste challenges.PORTAL AND APPSParents manage children's meals and limitsParents see each child's wallet, meals and bookings on the portal and in the SmartMy Feast app. They top up, book a meal, answer for the child, report allergies and set daily and weekly spending limits that the counter enforces.ACCOUNTING AND REPORTSDaily sales and meals served reportsSee what each outlet, counter, cashier and item sold and how it was paid. See how many plan meals were planned, opted out, served and missed per meal. The reports open as a pivot, a chart or a list, and the meal figures are built every night.

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.
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