About Service Types
For non-paid orders placed in the MealSuite system, the following service types are available to assign to a resident/patient:
Table Select Service (TSS) (aka Instant Ordering (IO) )
The table select service type, also known as instant ordering (IO), is for residents who sit at a table and decide what to order from choices offered on their personal menu. The orders are recorded in the MealSuite Touch application (see Instant Ordering (IO) on the Touch App).
See also: Table Select Service Type: Item Selection Logic for a Personal Menu
Advanced Ordering Service (AO)
The advanced ordering (AO) service type is for residents/patients who place orders in advance from choices offered on their personal menu. A staffer records advanced orders in the MealSuite Touch application (see Advanced Ordering (AO) on the Touch App), or a resident/patient can use the Portal app to place advanced orders.
See also: Advanced Ordering Service Type: Item Selection Logic for a Personal Menu
Note that multiple steps are required in the system to fully set up advanced ordering; refer to the following article: Setting Up Advance Ordering (AO).
If your facility has not purchased the Advanced Ordering service type, the advanced ordering service type can still be assigned to resident/patient profiles in the core system to allow your facility to print the following reports for you to manually select a resident's/patient's choices:
- Tray Menu Tickets Report (People) - for Non-Select & Advance Ordering
- Person-Specific Select Menus Report (People) - for Table Select & Advance Ordering
Once the choices have been selected, you can then inform the kitchen to produce the items.
By running the above reports, the facility will be well-prepared for when they do subsequently purchase Advanced Ordering for the Touch app. Advanced orders cannot be placed in the Core system alone. The Touch application is required to place advanced orders.
Non-Select Service
With the non-select service type, the system automatically places an order for the resident/patient based on their diet type, their allergens, and their personal menu customizations.
The non-select service type is for a resident/patient who is unable to make day-to-day decisions on what to eat (e.g., Alzheimer patient), or for a setting where the food service does not offer choices (e.g., hospital).
Non-select orders do not need to be manually recorded in the Touch app, and will not be sent to the kitchen management system (KMS) to appear onscreen and/or be printed, as would table select orders or advanced orders. Instead, you would print tray menu tickets for your non-select resident/patients. To do so, see Tray Menu Tickets Report (People) - for Non-Select & Advance Ordering.
See also: Non-Select Service Type: Item Selection Logic for a Personal Menu.
FAQs
Does a resident's service type prevent or impact if they can order from a POS station?
A POS system allows residents/staff members/guests to place paid orders. Therefore, the resident's assigned service type of table select or advanced ordering is irrelevant to place an order through a POS station.
Note, however, that if you want the POS to display items specific to the resident's personal menu when that resident is assigned as a diner at a POS station, then ensure the POS location is enabled with the Use resident personal menus option.
For a resident/patient assigned the non-select service type, you can configure the system to prevent any menu items from appearing at a POS station for them if their name is assigned as a diner at that POS station. To do so, see Preventing Patient Assigned the Non-Select Service Type from Ordering at a POS Station.