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(continued from Status Screens)

Table Service Module

Restaurants where servers wait on customers at tables should use the Table Service Module.  The Table Service Module is distinguished by:

1. The Table Service Status Screen.
2. Certain POS Operations designed for use only in the Table Service Module
3. Recommended configuration settings that enhance the operation of the Table Service module

Table Service Status Screen

In addition to common features that appear on all POS Status Screens, the Table Service Status Screen includes the following elements:

• Bulletin Board
• Table Buttons
• Table Group Buttons
• Dining Area Buttons

Table Buttons

Each table button is interactive.  To open an order you simply touch a table button.

Table buttons should be configured to reflect the actual layout of the restaurant floor using the Table Layout Form.

The color of an individual table button changes depending on the “status” of the table so that a quick glance at the Table Status screens gives an overall picture of what’s going on in the restaurant.  The Color Legend function buttons displays the color codes used to indicate the status of each table.

By default each table button displays a table number.  However you may configure the system to use a different system of Table IDs such as:

• A-1, A-2 
• BAR-1, BAR-2

Table Buttons may also be configured to display alerts that notify you when a certain number of minutes have passed the order at the table meet either of the following conditions:

1. Customers have been seated but no menu items or drinks have been added to the order
2. The check has been printed but the transaction has not been settled.

Table buttons will also display the name of frequent diners or other special customers are seated at the table.

You may configure different POS Stations to display different Table Layouts. 

Table Group Buttons

You may use the Table Group Buttons to the right of the Table Area to change the table layout displayed on the Status Screen.  In the screen shot above the green [Riverside] button indicates that the Riverside Table Group is the active Table Group.  To view the Pub/Dance layout you would simply touch the [Pub/Dance] Table Group button.

Dining Areas

If your system is configured with Dining Area Buttons you may touch these buttons to switch to a different Dining Area.

Configuration Options for Table Service

This section details the RM BackOffice settings that are usually activated in systems configured for Table Service.  Much of the Table Service configuration is defined on the Station Configuration Form under the POS Modes heading.

Station Configuration for Table Service

A number of settings on the Station Configuration Form control the layout of the Table Service Status Screen as well as other Table Service operations.  Many of the settings are listed under the POS Modes heading.

Highlight the Master Configuration (or an alternative station) on the Stations List: and then use the [Search Settings] button to locate and enable the Table Service settings below:

• Enable- This setting controls a Module Button that may be displayed on the Status Screen(s) of other POS Modules to provide access to the Table Service Module:

When you disable this button you will not be able to access the Table Service Module from the station highlighted on the Stations List of the Station Configuration Setup Form.

NOTE:  If your system does not include the Table Service Module this setting will be grayed out on the Station Configuration Setup Form and you will not be able to enable a Table Service Module Button at any of the stations on your system.

• Default Revenue Center-Use this setting to select a default Revenue Center for transactions processed from the Table Service Module at the station highlighted on the Stations List.  This setting configures the Table Service Module with additional operational defaults defined on the Revenue Center Setup Form. 

NOTE: Instead of setting the default Revenue Center by station you may also choose to link each table  on the Table Layout Form to a default Revenue Center.

• Default Dining Area- In systems configured with multiple Dining Areas, you may use this setting to define the default Dining Area that will be active at a given POS Station. 
• Prompt for table number when changing dining area- In systems configured with multiple Dining Areas, you may use this setting to create an automatic table number prompt when changing to a new dining area on the Table Service Status Screen.
• Default Table Group- Use this setting to select a default table layout for a given POS Station.  Note that you must select the Table Group Numbers defined on the Table Layout Form, not the name of the Table Group you wish to display.
• Function button rows/columns-This setting is no implemented in station configuration. See the Chapter on Function Buttons and Macros for tips on formatting this area of the Status Screen.
• Require Table Clear- Use this setting to create an additional “status” for each Table:  “Settled but not cleared”.  When you activate this setting you must also define the color that will indicate the table is in this new state using the Table Status Button Colors settings below.
• Fraction of Screen Width for dining area buttons- In systems configured with multiple Dining Areas, you may use this setting to add a row of dining area buttons to the left side of the Table Service Status Screen.  Simply set the fraction of the screen width you wish to allocate for the buttons.  For most applications 0.10 (or 10%) should suffice.  When the screen width is set to zero, then Dining Area buttons will not be displayed on the Table Status Screen regardless of whether or not multiple Dining Areas have been defined.
• Show Dining Area in table description- In systems configured with multiple Dining Areas, you may use this setting to change the way table numbers are displayed on table buttons.  When this setting is enabled, all table numbers are prefixed with the dining area as follows:

2/23 – denotes dining area 2, table 23

1/12:4 – denotes dining area 1, table 12, seat 4

• Alert Bitmap- Use this field to type in the name of a bitmap you wish to display on any open table that meets the “alert condition” defined below with the settings labeled
• #Mins for no items entered alert- This option displays an alert bitmap on the table if the table is open, but no items have been entered for a long time.  Enter the time interval in minutes.  See Table Alerts for more.
• #Mins for printed/not settled alert- This option displays an alert bitmap on the table if the check has been printed, but not settled for a long time.  Enter the time interval in minutes.  See Table Alerts for more.
• Table Status Button Colors- If you used the standard Add Table Templates to build the floor plan displayed on the Table Service Status Screen you may select the colors used to denote the status of the current order at the table.

Click on the parameters under this option, a window will pop up for you to choose a color from.  See screen shot below:

Available- Choose the button color for tables that are available (i.e., ready to be seated).

Occupied- Choose the button color for tables that are occupied.

Printed- Defines the button color for tables that are printed.

Split- Defines the button color for split checks.

Settled but not cleared- Defines the button color for tables that are settled, but not cleared.  Note requires setting the option “Require table clear”.

• Stay in settlement screen on split checks- Check this box if you want to stay in the settlement screen when settling multiple split checks.  When this option is checked, Restaurant Manager will prompt for additional seat # after settling a split check unless if there are only 2 seats in which case, no prompt is necessary.  If you choose a seat, it will allow immediate settlement of that seat; if you press “Cancel” it will return to the main POS screen.

For efficient settlement of multiple credit cards, you should enable the “Immediate Submit/Print” option under Miscellaneous->Interfaces in Station Configurations if using dial-up. If using internet processing you might disable this function and use “exit order after auth and complete pre-auth”.

Important Note: Credit Card Pre-Authorization is supported with Mercury (MPS) only. Attempting to do Credit Cards pre-auths with PC Charge or Datatran may result in undesirable results. Credit card pre-authorization provides the ability to capture and authorize a credit card at the beginning of a sale.

After swiping a credit card and entering the amount, Restaurant Manager will automatically submit it for processing. Enabling the “Stay in Settlement screen on split checks is enabled” the system will prompt for seat #. You may then enter another credit card and continue this process until you have entered all credit cards for all seats. Then exit the order to allow the credit card process (CCPrint.exe) to print the CC slips automatically as they are authorized. After taking the slips to the client and getting the tip adjustments, you can enter each tip and finalize the credit cards one after the other while remaining in the settlement screen.

Table Security Configuration Settings

The following settings are found under the Security tree branch In the Station Configuration. The settings listed below control who has access to tables and when.

• Security Level to access all tables-Restaurant Manager can be configured so that managers can access ALL tables, while waiters and waitresses can only access their own tables. This is helpful for preventing employees from accessing each other’s tables either intentionally, or by accident. This option requires “Enhanced Password” to be enabled.

If you wish to prevent servers from accessing each other’s tables, set this option to a security level that is HIGHER than the server security level, but lower than or equal to the manager security level. This will allow managers to access all tables; servers can only access their own.

This option does not put any restrictions on accessing tables that are available. For example, let’s say employee 2 is assigned to a table. As long as that table is open and occupied, then employee 2 is the only server that is allowed access to the table. Once the table is settled, then it becomes available and any employee is allowed access to it.

Note: this option takes precedence over the option "Share tables between peers." For example, if waiters are security level 3, and this option is set to security level 5, then waiters are NOT permitted to access each other’s tables, even if "Share tables between peers" is enabled.

• Password time-out period-This parameter requires "Enhanced Password Control" to be enabled. This option defines the amount of time (in seconds) that the POS program will wait before automatically returning to "IDLE" mode. As long as there is touch screen activity, or keyboard activity, the POS program will NOT revert to "IDLE" mode.

Avoid using a large time-out value if you want to prevent employees from ringing orders on a different employee's sign-in. For example, one employee could sign in, enter his or her order and walk away from the POS terminal. If another employee uses the terminal before the time-out occurs, then it is possible that transactions are tallied to the wrong person. To ensure this does not happen, you might want to consider using the “Immediate time-out after 1 transaction”.

However, you may want to extend the time out period at a busy bar where only one person has access. Extending the password time out period will prevent the employee from having to enter their password every time they place an order. It is suggested that you train the employee to “End” button if leaving the POS station for a prolonged amount of time.

• Immediate time-out after 1 Trans- Enabling this option causes the POS program to revert to idle mode immediately after completing one operation. This overrides the “time-out period” option. This parameter requires "Enhanced Password Control" to be enabled. The affect will be the employee will have to enter their password before starting a POS operation on the POS main status screen. This option can be over ridden by using the “Exit No Timeout” function button.
• Share tables between peers- Enabling this option will allow employees with the same security level access to each other’s tables. This function can be over ridden by enabling the “Security level to access all tables”.

• Change Screen (Tables/Tabs)-Apply a security level to prevent employees from switching between the two modules.
• Open a table- You can restrict who may open a table at the POS by placing a security level on this function thus preventing unauthorized ringing of sales.
• Add to a table- Apply a security to this field to restrict employees from accessing each other tables.
• Settle a check- Use this field to set a security level to restrict who can settle an order. This is typically used in cashier environments.
• Clear a table-You can restrict who may use the “Clear” function button after a table has been finalized. You may want to restrict this function to hostess or cashiers.

Dining Areas

The Table Service Module is configured with nine independent Dining Areas each of which may display up to 400 tables in up to eight Table Groups.  In most systems, however, Dining Area 1 is set as the default Dining Area and none of the other Dining Areas are used for processing orders.

Of course, if there are more than 400 tables in your restaurant you must use more than one Dining Area.  Hotels or other operations with multiple kitchens must also use different Dining Areas for sending output to different prep areas.

If you do define separate Dining Areas, it is highly recommended that you put at least one POS station in each separate Dining Area.  It is also recommended that you configure your system to include the Dining Area in the number displayed on each Table Button.

No matter which Dining Area is displayed by default on the Table Module Status Screen you may always change Dining Areas by using the [Dining Area] Function Button.  Alternatively you may configure the Table Service Status Screen to display buttons for moving from one Dining Area to another as shown in the screen shot below.

When changing between dining areas, Restaurant Manager remembers the active “Table Group” for each dining area and automatically selects it.

If you make extensive use of multiple dining areas, you can include the dining area along with the table description.  To enable this option, check the following option (Show Dining Area in table description). To expedite the ordering process and to insure accuracy, you may want to enable “Prompt for table # when changing dining area in the station configuration.

Bulletin Board

There is a Bulletin Board on the Main Status Screen in the Table Service POS Module where you can display up to 14 lines containing text at a time.  This feature is convenient for listing Daily Specials, posting menu items that are sold out, etc.

When an item is sold out (i.e., In Stock quantity reaches 0), a message is automatically posted to the bulletin board. If the In Stock quantity is replenished either from the back office, or from POS, the “Sold Out” message is automatically removed from the bulletin board.

To post a message to the Bulletin Board:

1. Click on the "Activities" drop down menu and select "Bulletin Board" to access the Bulletin Board Setup Form.
2. Use the buttons at the bottom of the Bulletin Board Setup Form to create, edit or delete messages of up to 36 characters.

Restaurant Manager lets you add as many Bulletin Board messages as you wish.  The messages are displayed in descending order from the most recent to the last. You can scroll down to retrieve more messages if you go past 14 lines.

Table Layout

Restaurant Manager’s Table Layout feature allows you create an accurate layout of your restaurant floor. This speeds up order entry by allowing servers to simply touch the table they are serving instead of typing in a table number. 

When designing table layouts you may use either standard table buttons or graphical image sets.

If you have more than 400 tables in your establishment or if you wish to track sales made in different areas of the restaurant, you can create up to 9 independent Dining Areas of up to 400 tables each.

Table Layout Setup Form

The Table Layout Setup Form consists of five main areas.

1. Add Table Templates
2. Table Options
3. Image Sets
4. Table Group Buttons
5. Floor Plan Area

Setup > Screen Layouts > Table Layout

Table Group Buttons

When using this setup form to create the table layout of your restaurant you must decide how many tables you wish to display on a single screen.  On the far right, the Dining Area combo box is used to select the dining area you wish to work with. The Table Group buttons immediately underneath the Dining Area combo box are used to select the Table Group within the dining area you wish to work with. 

Floor Plan Area

You may use the Add Tables Templates described below to design a replica of your restaurant floor in the Floor Plan Area of the Table Layout Screen.

To add tables to the table layout simply left click on one of the templates in this section and hold down the left mouse button while dragging the template to the point in the Table Layout Area where you wish to display a table.  Click on a square or circular table and drag and drop on to the Layout area.  The next available table number will be automatically assigned and presented on the screen for editing.  Once the table number is confirmed, the table is added to the design area. It is suggested that you click on the dining area table groups button (e.g. Riverside). This will re-align tables as you go.

• To move a table: Click and drag on the table you wish to move. An alternative method is to click on the table to select the table, press and hold the “Ctrl” key on the keyboard while using the arrow keys on the keyboard to position the table. This method is excellent for pin point accuracy.
• To size a table: Click on the table to size, then uses the “handles” to expand or contract the table.

Add Table Templates

The Add Table Templates are displayed in the upper left hand corner of the Table Layout Setup Form.  There are two types of templates you may use to build the table layout screens:

Standard Button Templates- The blue square and circle shapes represent standard table templates.  You may use the ‘Bitmap” field described below to superimpose a bitmap on the tables you create using the standard templates

Graphical Button Templates- The green “bitmap” template and the red “décor” template allow you to design a floor plan with more attractive graphical elements.  If you use the graphical templates you must also define Image Sets.

Table Options

• Min Customer/Max Customer- Use these fields to define a minimum and maximum number of customers that can be seated at each table in the restaurant. This setting will also determine the seats displayed on the Order Entry Check Display if “Advanced Seat Management” is enable in the Station Configuration. This setting will also have a bearing on seat assignments when using the Hostess module.
• Table Number- Click on the “ellipse” button, (to the right of the field) to change the number of the highlighted table.  You can also right click on the chosen table and it will bring up the same entry box.
• Alias Name- If you do not want to use numbers to identify the tables in your restaurant, use this field to create labels like "A-1" or "Booth-1" that will appear on the touch screen buttons in place of table numbers.  Type in the “alias” and the name of the highlighted table will be changed.  The re-naming of tables may not be reflected in some reports.
• Bitmap- Click on the “ellipse” button to the right of the field to bring up a list of available bitmaps. Double click on the chosen bitmap to superimpose the bitmap on any table button created using the standard “add table templates”. Any bitmaps added to the system should be placed in the RMWIN folder of the local drive.
• Default Rev Center- Use this field to link a specific Revenue Center to all orders opened at the table highlighted on the Table Setup Form.  This table default overrides the Revenue Center default specified on the Station Configuration Setup Form. This can be used to insure accuracy in reporting. This function can also be used when using tables as a means to take orders for particular revenue centers and want to keep everything on the same default Status screen. Assigning a revenue center to a table will give the attributes of the revenue center selected table. An example would be using a table within a group to take Pick-Up orders. Assigning a table the Pick-Up revenue center will bring all the prompts for a telephone number, customer name, or change a price level if configured, or any other characteristics associated with the revenue center.
• Smoking- If your system is configured with the Hostess or Reservations Module you may check this box to indicate that smoking is permitted at a particular table.
• Visible- By default all tables are configured as ‘visible” at the POS Stations.  You may disable this setting for particular tables you may wish to temporarily remove from the Table Display on the Table Status Screen.
• Locked- If you are using standard add table templates to build your floor plan you may enable this setting for any table that you wish to convert to a “decorative element”.  For instance, if you wish to show a wall in your Floor Plan you may add a square table to the Floor Plan area “drag” the table to have a very long thin shape, and then enable this “locked” setting to ensure that no one could accidentally touch the wall and open an order on it.
• Delete Table- Click on any table in the Floor Plan and then click the [DELETE TABLE] button to remove it from the Floor Plan.
• Dining Area- Click on the down arrow beside this field to select the Dining Area for which you wish to define Table Groups.  If you define multiple Dining Areas you can configure each POS station in your system to default to a different Dining Area.  You may also configure your system to display Dining Area buttons on the Table Status Screen: Dining Areas. You can use this option to satisfy table turns, restaurants with more the eight dining areas or excess of four hundred tables, etc.
• Table Groups- Do not forget to click on the desired table group button before you start laying out tables.  Take note of the Dining Area too.
• Table Group Options
  • Name- Click on this field and type the name that you wish to give to each table group (or section) of up to forty tables.  The description you type will appear on a touch screen button on the Main Status Screen.  You can use up to nine alphanumeric characters to label each group.  Typical group names include:  "1 - 40", "Section A", "Front" etc.
  • Group Background- click on the ellipsis if you wish to change the background for the table group.

Table Setup Function Buttons

• Options- Controls behavior of adding tables (prompts) and grid options.
• Clear Tables- This button should be used with care as clicking this would delete all tables in the specified group.  A warning dialog would pop up before the actual clearing can happen.
• Table Durations- If your system is configured with the Hostess Module, you must enter the Estimated Table Durations (i.e., number in minutes) to define how long a table is usually occupied.  Restaurant Manager will use these times to create a waiting list with estimated wait times.

The system assumes that the more customers there are at the table the more time they are likely to spend at the table.  You can create a total estimated wait time AND an estimated time once the check has been printed.

• Save & Exit- Click on this button to save changes and exit the Table Setup Form.

Operations Unique to Table Service

There are certain functions that can be found only in the Table Service Module. The following sections on Merging/Unmerging tables and requiring Table Clearing may provide some useful insight on how to best utilize these features.

Merging and Unmerging Tables

On occasion, you may need to combine several tables together to accommodate a large party.  For example, a party of 10 might require bringing 3 tables together to form a single larger table.  Though Restaurant Manager does not allow rearranging the table layout from the POS terminal, it does allow merging the tables together so that all but one of them are accessible, thereby preventing other servers from opening them accidentally.

When merging tables, one table must be chosen as the “base” table which will be the main table for processing the order (i.e., ringing items, printing the check, settlement, etc).  The other tables not designated as the “base” are disabled and will not be accessible for the duration of the order.

To merge one or more tables together, choose the “Merge Tables” option located under the MISC options on the main tables screen. Restaurant Manager will ask you to specify the number of tables to be merged together.

You can choose any number from 2 through 9, or if you want to merge more than 9 tables, choose “Other.”   Restaurant Manager will display a numeric keypad allowing you to enter any number from 2 through 9999

After specifying the number of tables to merge, Restaurant Manager will wait for you to touch the tables to be included in the merge.  So if you are merging 4 tables, you must touch 4 tables to complete the merge.  The very first table you touch automatically becomes the ‘base’ table.

When choosing the tables for the merge, they appear depressed to give a visual cue of the tables that have been tagged.  If you accidentally touch an incorrect table, touch it again to un-tag it.  Once you tag the number of tables specified at the beginning of the merge operation, the system will complete the merge operation.

You can cancel the merge operation at any time either by touching the base table again, or by touching the status bar.

Once the merge operation is completed, the table numbers will change to indicate they have been merged.  For example, if you merge tables 55, 56, and 57 together, designating table 55 as the ‘base’ table, the following chart shows the new table numbers that will be displayed on the buttons:

“55>55” indicates that table 55 is the ‘base’ table of a merge.  “56>55” indicates that table 56 has been merged with table 55 as the base.

Unmerging Tables

There are two methods of unmerging tables. To unmerge tables manually, choose “Unmerge Tables” from the MISC options of the main tables screen. Then simply touch the ‘base’ table to unmerge the set.

The second method of unmerging tables is after settlement.  There is a setting in back office station configuration that affects the behavior of the system after a merged table is settled.  The option is “Unmerge when settling merged tables.”  It can be set to one of three choices: Yes, No, or Optional.  It controls whether merged tables are automatically unmerged when they are settled.  The system will give you the option of unmerging tables after settlement if set to “Optional.”

Require Table Clear before Open

By default, when a table is settled, it immediately becomes available for seating a new party.  Some restaurants prefer to leave the table in an “unavailable” status until a bus person has cleared the table and explicitly indicated that the table is ready for seating.  In this mode, the table will change to a different color after it is settled, and the table only becomes available if it is pressed again to clear it.  Options for setting up this mode of operation are located under Station Configurations: 

To enable the table clear mode of operation, check the box labeled “Require Table Clear”.

You can define the table color in the “Settled, but not cleared” option under Table Status Button Colors under Table Service POS Options

View Color Legend

Restaurant Manager uses color coding on order and table buttons to show the status of each pending order.   Touch the [COLOR LEGEND] button on the POS Status Screen to display the meaning of each color code. 

Depending on the POS Module in use, one of the legends below will be displayed:

The colors used to denote a given status can be changed on the Station Configuration Form.  Use the [Search Settings] button at the base of the Station Configuration Form to locate the “Color” settings and select alternative colors.

Table Alerts

You can configure your system to display a red Alert Icon on tables that require special attention.  Instructions on configuring alerts can be found under the topic Table Alerts. Alerts are triggered as follows when an expected event does not occur within a specified period of time:

• Customers have been seated at a table but their order is not processed
• A check has been presented to the customer but payment is not made

Recommended Configuration Settings

In addition to enabling key settings in the Table Service section of the Station Configuration Form, the settings below are often enabled in systems configured for use in table service restaurants:

If the restaurant operates a bar, the Tabs Module should be included in the system configuration.  Even if the restaurant doesn’t have a bar, the Tabs Module allows restaurants to use the “Send to Tabs” feature to “turn” the table and seat new customers before the original check from that table is settled.

You may also move orders between the Table Service and Tabs modules using the following POS Buttons:

• Send to Tabs
• Transfer to Table

Fine Dining

Fine dining establishments often using the Coursing feature to sort the output sent to prep area devices.

Family/Casual Dining

Family/ Casual style restaurants using cashier banking may want to enable bar codes on checks and enable the option “direct to settlement screen”. You may also want to dedicate a table group to take outs and link table to a revenue center dedicated to delivery.

(continued in Hostess Module)