Outlets, counters and meal sessions
Set 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.
PLANSEvery plan
The problem it solves
- The boys' mess, the staff canteen and the tuck shop share one price list and one set of rules.
- Breakfast on Sunday starts later, but the system serves and closes it at the weekday time.
- A counter meant for snacks also takes lunch tokens, and the cash does not match.
How it works
- Check the meal sessions under Food Service > Configuration > Meals and Menu > Meal Sessions. Five come ready: Breakfast, Morning Snack, Lunch, Evening Snack and Dinner, each with its serving times and cut-offs.
- Add an outlet under Food Service > Configuration > Places > Outlets: its name, type, code, time zone, kitchen and outlet managers.
- On the Sessions tab, tick the days the outlet is open and add a line per session. Change the times for this outlet, or add a weekday line for a different Sunday.
- On the Selling tab, tick what the outlet sells (pay per item, tokens, meal plans, pre-booking) and the payment modes it accepts.
- On Customer Types Served, list who eats here, each with its own price list and payment modes if needed.
- On the Counters tab, add each counter with its kind and the sessions it works in. Pair a tablet to it and the counter is ready to sell.
Everything it does
The outlet
- Type: Hostel Mess, Staff Kitchen, Canteen, Tuck Shop, Cafe, Restaurant or Catering
- Code and time zone: serving times and the business day follow the outlet's time zone
- The kitchen that cooks for it; a kitchen of another Entity only if it is a central kitchen (Scale)
- Outlet Managers: they receive the outlet's alerts
- Open on: Monday to Sunday, all ticked to start with
Meal sessions
- Each session has Serving from, Serving until, a booking cut-off and an opt-out cut-off, in hours before serving starts
- Ready-made: Breakfast 7:30 to 9:30, Morning Snack 10:30 to 11:00, Lunch 12:30 to 14:30, Evening Snack 16:30 to 17:30, Dinner 19:30 to 21:30
- Booking cut-off to start with: 10 hours for breakfast, 3 for lunch and dinner, 2 for snacks; opt-out cut-off 12 hours for every session
- An outlet copies the times and may change them; a line for one weekday replaces the every-day line on that day
- Not Served on a weekday line closes that session on that day (no Sunday lunch, for example)
- Serving must start before it ends, within the same day
Selling setup per outlet
- What the outlet sells: Pay per Item (on to start with), Tokens / Coupons, Meal Plans (Growth), Pre-booking (Growth); Table Service (Growth)
- Payment Modes accepted at the outlet
- Customer Types Served: each with its own price list and payment modes; an empty list serves every type at its own prices
- Second Serving of a plan or token meal: Not allowed (to start with) or Allowed (free)
- A sale is refused when the outlet does not serve the customer type, does not sell that way, or does not sell the item
Counters
- Kinds: Billing, Serving / Redemption, Kiosk, Takeaway
- Sessions a counter works in; empty means every session of the outlet
- Counters, kitchen screens and kiosks are not counted on any plan
- Selling Offline up to 12 hours to start with, in Growth; in Starter a counter needs the network to sell
Who uses it
Food AdministratorSets up the sessions, outlets, counters and selling rules.
Outlet managerReceives the outlet's alerts.
CashierSells and serves at a counter of the outlet, in the sessions the counter works in.
Where you use it
- Web: Food Service > Configuration > Meals and Menu > Meal Sessions and Outlets (tabs Sessions, Selling, Customer Types Served, Counters, Devices, Menus)
- The SmartMy Feast Counter app on a tablet: takes the outlet's sessions, items and rules at each sync. Built and in testing, not in the app stores yet
- Not built: copying one outlet's set-up to a new outlet in one step; each outlet is filled in on its own
What you control
Settings
- Meal sessions: the five ready-made sessions, with the times and cut-offs above
- Open on: every day to start with
- Pay per Item: on; other selling methods: off
- Second Serving: Not allowed
- Time zone: the Entity's, else the user's, else Asia/Kolkata
- Selling Offline up to: 12 hours (Growth)
Questions
Can a hostel mess and a staff canteen in one campus have different meal times?
Yes. Each outlet has its own Sessions tab. The mess can serve breakfast at 7:00 and the canteen at 8:30, from the same Breakfast session.We serve brunch on Sunday instead of breakfast and lunch. Can we set that?
Yes. Add a Sunday line for Breakfast and for Lunch with Not Served ticked. Then add a Brunch session with a Sunday line and its own times.Do we pay for each counter or tablet?
No. Plans count outlets. Counters, kitchen screens, kiosks and menu boards are not counted.What do the cut-offs do?
The booking cut-off closes pre-booking for a meal, and the opt-out cut-off closes "not eating" answers from plan members. Both count in hours before serving starts.Related features
SET-UPCustomer types with their own prices and subsidyStudents, 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".SET-UPItems with diet, allergens and combos, and a fixed menuEach item carries its diet, allergens, calories and spice level, the outlets that sell it and its category. Give each session a fixed menu, mark tea and drinks as sold all day, and strike out a dish that ran out.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.PORTAL AND APPSCounter app for tabletsSmartMy 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.SELLINGPre-booking of mealsCustomers and parents book a meal or items for a coming session, paid at once from the wallet or online. They can cancel with a full refund before the booking cut-off, and each outlet decides what happens to a booking nobody collects.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.
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.