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Adding Products to the POS/Portal app (via Touch Admin software)

Kevin U
  • Updated

About POS and Portal App Products

A POS/Portal app product is an item not ported over from the menus in the MealSuite system that needs to be manually entered in the POS/Portal app for the facility to sell it. An example of a product is a chocolate bar that can be sold in a facility’s tuck shop. 

This article explains how to upload an Excel® file of products to the POS/Portal app via Touch Admin, and to manually add a single product to the POS/Portal app via Touch Admin. Note that a POS operator with access to the POS Manager module has the ability to manually enter single products in the POS; see Adding a Product to the POS (via the POS Manager Module).

Scenarios for Using Products

The following scenarios illustrate the flexibility of the use of products in the POS to meet the unique needs of a facility.

  • Bar item offerings - if a facility sells alcohol, then individual products can be created for each alcohol product. The products can be placed into the appropriate product categories (e.g., “Wine”, “Beer”).
  • Catering products
  • Special meal products or flat fee meal products, such as holiday, guest, or children meals. 
  • Gift card load products
  • Delivery fee - indicates an item is to be delivered for a fee (has a price associated with it in the price book).
  • “Item Not Found” product - If an item is sold that is not in the system for whatever reason, then a “Item not Found” product can be used by the POS user to enter in custom price in order to check out. The “Item not Found” product would be set up with a variable price in the price book that allows for the POS user to enter a custom price.

Best Practices for Adding Products

Before adding products to the POS/Poral app, there are a few best practices to consider to make the effort easier:

  • Products will list alphabetically on the Products screen in the Touch Admin software. Therefore when entering products of the same type, add a common identifier to the beginning of the product name so that the products are listed together. For example, for beer products, enter the identifier “beer” before each name:
    • Beer Coors Light
    • Beer Guinness
    • Beer Labatt’s Blue
    • Beer Sam Adam
  • If the facility sells a product at different prices at different POS locations, then it will need to be entered more than once as a product in the POS system so that you can enter separate prices for it. For example, a cinnamon muffin sells for $1.65 at the bistro and sells for $1.99 at the restaurant. In such a scenario differentiate between the products by applying an identifier on one of the names so that you know which product to assign to which price book. For example, use an asterisk to indicate that the product is for the bistro (cinnamon muffin*).
  • If a product has a bar code, then the bar code number can be entered in the POS system so that the product can be scanned during checkout. Note that a bar code number has a leading number and a trailing number. All the numbers (not just the middle portion) from beginning to end need to be entered for the product.

    barcode.png

Prerequisite: Create Product Categories

When adding a product, it will need to be assigned to an appropriate product category. Therefore ensure the product categories are first created before adding products; see Creating Non-Menu Categories for Products and Services in POS/Portal App.

Importing .csv File of Products

About Importing .csv File of Products

You can import products via a .csv file. To aid with this import process, a .csv template is available that you can download and populate with product details.  

Downloading .csv Template

  1. In Touch Admin, select POS Settings > Products. The POS Products screen appears.
  2. Click the Download Template button to download the .csv template. 

    Products_screen.png

Entering Product Details in the .csv Template

The .csv template consists of the columns listed below to enter product details. Note that when entering the product details ensure to follow best practices, which are documented above: Best Practices for Entering Products.

  • Product Name - enter the name of the product (follow best practices).
  • Production Area - if a product is to appear on a Touch app production report, then select the production area to assign it to. When running the production report, you select the production areas you want to include in the report. In addition, by default, the product will automatically be sent to a KMS station to display onscreen and/or be printed as a ticket item, unless the Do not show this item on production tickets or screens check box is selected below. To see what KMS station the product will be sent to, review your production area-KMS station assignments for the KMS location (from left navigation sidebar, select KMS Locations, and then click the Manage Stations button for the KMS location to review).
  • Category - enter the category you want to assign the product to. This can be a menu category from the core system, or a non-menu category manually created in Touch Admin.  
  • Taxes - if the product is to override the sales tax(es) assigned to its category, enter the name of the tax(es) here (e.g., State Tax, Provincial Tax, Federal Tax) that will override the category sales tax. If more than one tax is to be calculated for the product, then separate tax each with a semi-colon (e.g., State Tax; Federal Tax). Note: Prior to assigning sales tax(es) to a product, those sales tax(es) must first be set up in POS via POS Settings > Taxes (see Configuring Sales Taxes in the POS for more information). 
  • GL Account - if the product is to override the GL account for its category, enter that GL account here. Note that GL accounts are set up by MealSuite staff. If you are MealSuite staff, see the following internal article: Setting Up External Account System Parameters in the POS > GL Accounts. 
  • Bar Code Value - if the product has a bar code value, enter it here (follow best practices).
  • Do not show this Item on production tickets or screens - select this check box if the item is not to be sent to a kitchen KMS station to display onscreen and/or be printed as a ticket item. If the item is to be sent to a kitchen KMS station to display onscreen and/or be printed as a ticket item, then select this check box.

When you download the template, it extracts from your account the info listed below into column J of the file. This not only functions as a reference of the existing info in your account, but you can also easily copy and paste the text into the product cell of its respective columns in the file, rather than having to manually enter the text and potentially make an input error that will prevent the product from being imported. 

  • Production areas (paste into a column B cell)
  • Categories (paste into a column C cell)
  • Taxes (paste into a column D cell)
  • GL Accounts (paste into a column E cell)

product_template.png

Importing the Populated .csv File

After the .csv file is populated with the product details, complete the following steps to import the .csv file: 

  1. In Touch Admin, select POS Settings > Products. The POS Products screen appears.
  2. Click the Import CSV button to import the file (first screenshot below). The imported products will appear onscreen (second screenshot below). 
    Products_screen2.png

    products.png

    If any products failed to import, a summary of the failed imports and associated reasons will appear (screenshot below). 

    error_failed_to_load.png

Adding a Single Product

With the best practices in mind, complete the following steps to add a single product to the POS/Portal app:

  1. In Touch Admin, select POS Settings > Products. The POS Products screen appears.
  2. Click the Add a Product button. The Add Product screen appears.
  3. Enter or select the following:
    • Name - enter the name of the product (follow best practices).
    • Product Type - two values are available: Inventoried Product or Non Inventoried Product. For a physical product that required tracking in inventory, select Inventoried Product. For a non-physical product, such as a "delivery product", select Non Inventoried Product. 
    • Billing Code Override - if the product is to override the billing code for its assigned category, enter that billing code here. A billing code is used on a financial export interface to indicate what billing code a POS product is associated with. Note that billing codes are set up by your MealSuite (CSM) customer success manager (if you are a MealSuite CSM, click here for the internal article on setting up billing codes).
    • Tax Override - if the product is to override the sales tax(es) for its category, select those sales tax(es) here. Note: Prior to assigning sales tax(es) to a product, those sales tax(es) must first be set up in POS via POS Settings > Taxes (see Configuring Sales Taxes in the POS for more information). 
    • GL Account Override - if the product is to override the GL account for its category, enter that GL account here. Note that GL accounts are set up by MealSuite staff. If you are MealSuite staff, see the following internal article: Setting Up External Account System Parameters in the POS > GL Accounts. 
    • Category - select the non-menu category or the menu category you want to assign the product to.
    • Production Area - if a product is to appear on a Touch app production report, then select the production area to assign it to. When running the production report, you select the production areas you want to include in the report. In addition, by default, the product will automatically be sent to a KMS station to display onscreen and/or be printed as a ticket item, unless the Do not show this item on production tickets or screens check box is selected below. To see what KMS station the product will be sent to, review your production area-KMS station assignments for the KMS location (from left navigation sidebar, select KMS Locations, and then click the Manage Stations button for the KMS location to review).
    • Bar Code - if the product has a bar code value, enter it here (follow best practices listed above)
    • Do not show this item on production tickets or screens - if the product item is not a meal item that needs to be prepared in a production area, and therefore not shown on a ticket (either onscreen or printed), then select this check box. 
  4. Click the Create Product button.
    • You are returned to the main screen, where the newly-added product is listed.

Entering a Price for a Product

Each product must be set up with a price. To do so, refer to the following articles:

Editing an Existing Product via Touch Admin

To edit an existing product via Touch Admin, complete the following steps:

  1. In Touch Admin, select POS Settings > Products. The POS Products screen appears.
  2. Search for the desired product, and click its Edit button. The Edit Product screen appears for you to make your changes.
  3. Rather than repeat the descriptions of each setting in this article, the same information can be found above in the Entering a Single Product in the System section above. 

Deleting a Product via Touch Admin

To delete an existing product via Touch Admin, complete the following steps:

  1. In Touch Admin, select POS Settings > Products. The POS Products screen appears.
  2. Search for the desired product, and click its Delete button. The product is deleted. 

FAQs

How does a product get onto a POS Grid?

See the following separate article: How Does a Product Get Onto a POS Grid? 

How does a product display as a ticket item on a KMS station screen and/or get printed as a ticket item?

The product needs to be assigned to a production area in order for it to display as a ticket item on a KMS station screen and/or get printed as a ticket item. This is because a production area in turn is assigned to a KMS station. For more information, see Kitchen Management System (KMS): Overview. For instructions on assigning a production area to a KMS station, see Configuring a KMS Location and its Food Preparation Stations.