One-tap serve of plan and token meals
Scan 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.
PLANSEvery plan
Built and tested against our test server. The counter app has not yet run on a real tablet at an outlet and is not in the Play Store. Try it at one counter before you rely on it.
The problem it solves
- A mess clerk ticks names on a printed list while 300 students wait for lunch.
- Students come back for a second plate on the same plan, and nobody notices.
- Paper meal coupons are photocopied or used after they expire.
- At the end of the month nobody can say how many plan meals were actually served.
How it works
- The cashier opens the Serve tab of the counter tablet. Serve on scan is switched on to start with.
- The student scans the card or app QR, or hands over a meal token with its QR code.
- The tablet finds the meal being served now from the outlet's sessions and serving times.
- It takes the meal from the customer's meal plan first (Growth), then from their meal tokens, the one that expires first.
- With Serve on scan the meal is served at once and the panel turns green: "Served:" with the plan or token used. With it off, the cashier taps the large Serve button.
- With no meal to give, the panel turns red and says why, such as "already had Lunch" or "opted out of Lunch today". The cashier sells a meal or a token on the Sell tab instead.
Everything it does
Checks before a meal is served
- A session is open now at this outlet, on an open day
- A meal plan covers this session and day, and the member did not opt out of it (Growth)
- A meal token is valid for this outlet, session and date; a token of another person is refused unless it is transferable
- Second Serving on the outlet: Not allowed (to start with) or Allowed (free)
- A second plan meal, where allowed, is recorded at no value, so plan revenue is not counted twice
Meals served
- Each meal is recorded with the customer, outlet, counter, session, day, time, what gave it and its value
- A meal served is never edited or deleted; a cashier reverses it with a reason, and the plan or token meal is available again
- Food Service > Selling > Meals and Plans > Meals Served lists them, with Today and grouping by outlet, session and day
- A token meal takes one meal off the token; the Serve panel shows the meals left on a scanned token
Without the network (Growth)
- The tablet checks the session, the plan, the opt-out and the second serving from its own copy
- The meal is kept on the tablet and sent when the network is back: "Served (offline, will be sent)"
- A meal served twice on two counters while offline is recorded and reported to the outlet's managers as a sync conflict
Parents told (Growth)
- With Tell Parents When a Meal Is Served on the outlet, a child's menu contacts get a message: who had which meal, where and when
Who uses it
Cashier or mess clerkScans and serves; sells a meal when none is due.
Supervisor or Food AdministratorSets Second Serving and reads Meals Served.
Student, staff member or parentShows the card or app QR; a parent may get a message for each meal.
Where you use it
- The SmartMy Feast Counter app on an Android tablet: the Serve tab (built and in testing, not in the app stores yet)
- The SmartMy Feast Kiosk app: My meal takes the plan or token meal at a self-order kiosk (Growth)
- Web: Food Service > Selling > Meals and Plans > Meals Served, with Action > Reverse
- Not built: a headcount mode that only scans and counts at a turnstile, or marking many meals at once
What you control
Settings
- Second Serving: Not allowed to start with, or Allowed (free); on the outlet's Selling tab
- Serve on scan: on to start with; switched on the tablet
- Sessions and serving times: per outlet and weekday
- Tell Parents When a Meal Is Served: off to start with (Growth)
Notifications
- Meal Served: to the child's menu contacts (parents), when the outlet switches it on. In the SmartMy Feast app, WhatsApp from your message credits, app push once the apps are in the stores. Parents can switch it off; at night it waits until the morning
Questions
Can a student take a second plate on the same plan?
Only if you set Second Serving to Allowed (free) on the outlet. It starts as Not allowed, and the counter says when the student already had the meal.What if the cashier serves by mistake?
A cashier reverses the meal in Meals Served with a reason. The plan or token meal is available again. Nothing is deleted.Do we need meal plans to use this?
No. Meal tokens are in every plan and are served the same way. Meal plans with opt-outs come with Growth.Does it work when the internet is down?
In Growth and above, yes: the tablet checks the rules itself and sends the meals later. In Starter the counter needs the network.Do parents get a message for each meal?
If you switch it on for the outlet (Growth): in the SmartMy Feast app and by WhatsApp from your message credits. It is not sent by email or SMS.Related features
COUNTERCustomer found by card or QR at the counterThe cashier scans a card or the QR code in the diner's app. The counter shows the name, customer type, photo, wallet balance and the meal due. Lost, blocked and expired cards stop working at the next sync.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.SELLINGMeal tokens and couponsSell a single meal token, a pack of 20 meals or a value coupon. Each is valid for a set time, at chosen outlets and sessions. Every token has its own code, printed as a QR on the slip. The counter serves it from the slip or the holder's card.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.MEAL PLANNING AND ENGAGEMENTAre you eating? Headcount before the cut-offPlan 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.TABLE SERVICE AND KITCHENSelf-order kioskA tablet stands at the entrance as a kiosk. Diners scan their card to take their plan meal or pick dishes. They pay from the wallet, on a card machine beside it, or at the counter with a printed slip. Visitors can order without a card at their own prices.
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.