Introduction

An Inventory Group is a collection of POS terminals and Menu Items pooled together. This allows POS terminals in the group to have shared access to Menu Items from a single pool of inventory (Figure 1).

^{Figure 1. Inventory Group.}

Inventory Groups may be used where a given number of terminals configured to collectively sell a limited quantity of Menu Items may be desired.

An example of where Inventory Groups may be useful is at events where a number of terminals have been setup on a temporary basis to sell a limited quantity of items, such as a predetermined amount of popcorn at a sporting event.

Changes in inventory levels within an Inventory Group can be tracked and viewed using Stand Sheets.

Terminal Synch

Data from an Inventory Group is periodically synced to the BackOffice by the Sync Server. This is a terminal that has been designated to synch data from the Inventory Group to the BackOffice. The terminal acting as the Sync Server maintains and up-to-date copy of all information from all terminals within the Inventory Group.

Synch Process

Data from all terminals within the Inventory Group is synched to the Sync Server.
The Sync Server then synchs this information to the BackOffice (Figure 2).

^{Figure 2. Sync Server terminal synch process.}

A terminal must be designated as Sync Server for each Inventory Group.

Overview of Setup Process

The process to create Inventory Group involves three stages. The procedure can be summarized as follows:

In order to use Inventory Groups, BackOffice configuration is needed to enable the necessary features.

BackOffice Configuration

The Inventory Counting feature must be enabled in the BackOffice in order to allow the POS to track inventory within Inventory Groups,

Enabling Inventory Counting

Click on General Setup from the BackOffice home screen.
Click the General Settings tab (1).
Select System Configuration (2).
Click Properties (3).
Click on the Page 1 tab (1).
Enable the Countdown by Menu Items checkbox (2).
Click Save.
Click Exit.

See Inventory Counting for additional details on the Inventory Counting setting.

Managing Inventory Groups in the BackOffice

Inventory Groups are created and managed from the BackOffice. They may be edited from the POS via the Admin Options screen, however, they cannot be created from the POS.

In order to edit Inventory Groups from the POS, users must be associated to the Manager Job Type in the BackOffice.

Creating Inventory Groups

Click on Menu Setup from the BackOffice home screen.
Click the Inventory tab (1), then click the Inventory Setup sub-tab (2).
Right-click inside the center pane, and select Add New to create the Inventory Group.
Enter a Name.
Select Save.
Close the window to complete the process, and exit the Menu Setup module.

Adding Terminals

A terminal may only be part of a single Inventory Group at one time. If needed, terminals can be moved from one group to another.
See the Modifying Inventory Groups from the POS section for further details

Click on MenuSetup from the BackOffice home screen.
Click the Inventory tab (1), then click the Inventory Setup sub-tab (2).
Right-click the desired Inventory Group (1) and select Set Terminals (2).
Right-click the desired terminal from the TerminalsnotinGrouping column (1), and select Add (2).

The selected terminal will appear under the Terminals in Grouping column (left).
Click Close to save and complete.
Close the window to complete the process, and exit the Menu Setup module.

Once terminal(s) have been added to an Inventory Group, ensure that one of the terminals is set as the Sync Server.

Setting a Terminal as Sync Server

Click on Menu Setup from the BackOffice home screen.
Click the Inventory tab (1), then click the Inventory Setup sub-tab (2).
Right-click the desired Inventory Group (1) and select Set Terminals (2).
Right-click the desired terminal from the Terminals in Grouping column (1), and select Set as Sync Server (2).

"(Sync Server)" will appear beside the name of the terminal selected as Sync Server.
Click Close to save and complete.
Close the window to complete the process, and exit the Menu Setup module.

To remove the Sync Server status from a terminal, simply set an alternate terminal as Sync Server.

Removing Terminals

Click on Menu Setup from the BackOffice home screen.
Click the Inventory tab (1), then click the Inventory Setup sub-tab (2).
Right-click the desired Inventory Group (1) and select Set Terminals (2).
Right-click the desired terminal from the Terminals in Grouping column (1), and select Remove (2).

The selected terminal will appear under the Terminals not in Grouping column (center).
Click Close to save and complete.
Close the window to complete the process, and exit the Menu Setup module.

Adding Menu Items

Click on Menu Setup from the BackOffice home screen.
Click the Inventory tab (1), then click the Inventory Setup sub-tab (2).
Click the desired Inventory Group (1).
Select the Menu Item from the menu, and drag it to the pane on the right (2).
Adjusting Inventory Count Levels

Count levels should be adjusted as desired once items have been placed in the Inventory Group.
Updating count levels allows you to designate the number of available items in Inventory.
1. Click on Menu Setup from the BackOffice home screen.
2. Click the Inventory tab (1), then click the Inventory Setup sub-tab (2).
3. Double-click within the Count Change column for the desired Parent item (right pane).
  
  Inventory Count cannot be changed on Child items; it can only be changed on Parent items.
4. Enter the desired quantity, and press ENTER.
  
  Ensure to press ENTER after entering values, otherwise the amount will not be saved.
  
  The updated quantity will appear in the Count column.
See Menu Setup - Units (Build 1766+) for further details on Parent and Child Menu Items.
Setting the Stand Sheet Item Listing Sequence

About Item Listing in Stand Sheets
The order in which items are displayed upon a stand sheets is determined by the orderid of each item.
items are listed in ascending order starting with items with the lowest orderid at the top of the stand sheet.

Although items are listed based on orderid, the orderid value does not appear on stand sheets.
if needed, the orderid value can be manually changed so that items appear in the desired sequence.
Assigning Custom Orderid Values
Orderid values determine the sequence that items are displayed in on stand sheets.
this value is automatically assigned when an item is created.
the sequence of items, as they appear in stand sheets, can be customized by manually changing the orderid assigned to an item

Items will appear in a sequence based on the OrderId regardless of whether they are in a parent-child relationship.
If it is desired that a child item be listed alongside a related parent item on a Stand Sheet, it must be assigned an OrderId that is the next consecutive number after the parent item's OrderId.

Multiple items can be assigned the same orderid. This will allow them to all appear together in a stand sheet. Items with the same number are listed in alphabetical order.
1. Click on Menu Setup from the BackOffice home screen.
2. Click the Inventory tab (1), then click the Inventory Setup sub-tab (2).
3. Double-click within the OrderId column for the desired item (right pane).
4. Enter the desired Id number, and press ENTER.
  
  Ensure to press ENTER after entering values, otherwise the Id will not be saved.
  
  The updated Id number will appear in the OrderId column.
Close the window to complete the process, and exit the Menu Setup module.

Removing Menu Items

Click on Menu Setup from the BackOffice home screen.
Click the Inventory tab (1), then click the Inventory Setup sub-tab (2).
Click the desired Inventory Group (1).
Right-click the Menu Item in the right pane, and select Remove (2).
Close the window to complete the process, and exit the Menu Setup module.

Modifying Inventory Groups from the POS

Inventory Group contents can be edited via the Inventory Grouping Management button within Admin Options on the POS.

Adding Terminals

Select Admin Options from the POS home screen.
Select Inventory Grouping Management.
Select the desired Inventory Group (1).
Select Edit (2).
Select the desired terminal from the Available pane (1).
Select the >> button to move the terminal to the Selected pane (2).
Select Save.

Removing Terminals

Select Admin Options from the POS home screen.
Select Inventory Grouping Management.
Select the desired Inventory Group (1).
Select Edit (2).
Select the desired terminal from the Selected pane (1).
Select the << button to move the terminal to the Available pane (2).
Select Save.

Transferring Menu Items (Inventory Transfer)

Select Admin Options from the POS home screen.
Select Inventory Grouping Management.
Select the source Inventory Group (1).
Select TRANSFER TO (2).
Select the source Inventory Group (1).
Select the target Inventory Group (2).

To select all items, check the Group checkbox.
Selecting the CLEAR GROUPS button will clear all selections.
Select Menu Items (3)

To select all items, check the Menu Items checkbox.
Selecting the CLEAR MENU ITEMS button will clear all selections.

Only Parent Menu Items may be transferred between Inventory Groups.
See Menu Setup - Units (Build 1766+) for further details on Parent and Child Menu Items.
Double-click the Transfer Amount field for each item, and enter the amount to transfer, then press ENTER to confirm (4).

Ensure to press ENTER after entering values, otherwise the amount will not be saved.

To cancel the transfer or make changes before completing the transfer click on CANCEL TRANSFER.
Select COMMIT TRANSFER to complete the transfer.

Applying Transfer Amounts in Bulk

The Transfer Amount on multiple items can be changed in bulk. This is known as Push Down. When this feature is used, the transfer amount of the item in the top-most row is copied to all items in underlying rows.

i. Select all items to change the Transfer Amount.

ii. Update the Transfer Amount on the top-most item by double-clicking the Transfer Amount field to enter the amount to transfer, the pressing ENTER to confirm.

iii. Click PUSH DOWN to complete.

Applies to

Software: Volanté 7 - Build 1766+

Contents

Introduction

Terminal Synch

Synch Process

Overview of Setup Process

BackOffice Configuration

Enabling Inventory Counting

Managing Inventory Groups in the BackOffice

Creating Inventory Groups

Adding Terminals

Setting a Terminal as Sync Server

Removing Terminals

Adding Menu Items

Adjusting Inventory Count Levels

Setting the Stand Sheet Item Listing Sequence

About Item Listing in Stand Sheets

Assigning Custom Orderid Values

Removing Menu Items

Modifying Inventory Groups from the POS

Adding Terminals

Removing Terminals

Transferring Menu Items (Inventory Transfer)

Applying Transfer Amounts in Bulk

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