Cashless Cafeteria

Admin Portal documentation

Admin Portal Help

A practical guide for staff managing cafeteria operations, POS checkout, student and staff buyers, households, menus, reports, permissions, payments, and school administration.

StaffPOSStudentsHouseholdsMenusReports

Built for daily cafeteria work

Use this guide when staff need to set up records, serve student or staff buyers, reconcile activity, configure school payments, or understand which permission controls a workflow.

Start Here

Start with these basics before editing records, serving student or staff buyers, or running reports.

Use Dashboard for today

Start with Dashboard to review cafeteria activity, alerts, balances, and school workflow status.

Use POS during service

Open POS when cafeteria staff need to find student or staff buyers, build open orders, and move service quickly.

Use Reports to reconcile

Use Reports to review sales, payments, account balances, and activity that needs follow-up.

Admin Portal Workflow Map

Use this quick map when you know what you need to do but are not sure where to start.

Serving lunch right now?

Go to POS

Use POS to find a student or staff buyer, confirm the linked account, add menu items, and create the open order for later line processing.

Adding or correcting a student?

Go to Students

Use Students to update profile details, enrollment status, grade, household link, and lunch cards.

A family cannot access the portal?

Go to Households and Guardians

Confirm the guardian or student account is connected to the correct household and school.

Preparing cafeteria items?

Go to Menu, Items, and Lines

Create items, categories, menus, serving lines, and service-day assignments before POS service starts.

Checking sales or payments?

Go to Reports

Choose the right report, set the date range, compare totals, and follow up on differences.

Someone cannot see a tool?

Go to Staff, Roles, and Permissions

Confirm the user is in the correct active school and has a role with the needed permission.

First-Time Staff Setup

Use these instructions when a staff member is new, switching schools, or preparing for service.

Confirm your active school before editing

1.Open the user menu in the top-right corner.
2.Check the school name shown in the header or account menu.
3.If you belong to more than one school, choose Switch School and select the school you need.
4.Wait for the page to refresh before creating or updating records.

Most records are school-specific. Always confirm the school before changing students, households, menus, roles, or reports.

Prepare the system before meal service

1.Open Dashboard and review alerts or recent activity.
2.Confirm menus, items, lines, and service-day assignments are ready.
3.Open POS and verify the correct items appear for the service line.
4.Search a test student or linked staff buyer if your school allows a pre-service check.

A quick pre-service check helps avoid missing menu items or account surprises during the lunch rush.

Understand permission limits

1.Open the page you need from the Admin Portal navigation.
2.If a button or page is missing, do not assume the account is broken.
3.Ask an administrator to review your role and permission set.
4.After permissions change, refresh the page or sign in again if needed.

Permissions are intentional safeguards. Staff should only see the tools they are approved to use.

POS Checkout and Daily Operations

Use these steps for common cafeteria service workflows and account checks.

Run a cafeteria checkout in POS

1.Open POS from the Admin Portal navigation.
2.Confirm the correct school, line, and service context are selected.
3.Search for the student or linked staff buyer by name, school identifier, email, or lunch card.
4.Confirm the buyer and linked household before adding items.
5.Select the items being purchased.
6.Review the cart, balance, and any account warning.
7.Complete checkout to save the open order, then close and process the line when service finishes to post wallet charges and completed purchases.

Operate POS Checkout controls open-order work. Close & Process Lines is a separate permission that finalizes the service line and wallet charges.

Review cafeteria activity from Dashboard

1.Open Dashboard after signing in.
2.Review recent activity, alerts, and operational totals.
3.Use quick links to open the related students, households, POS, or reports area.
4.Follow up on low balances, failed payments, or unusual activity before service when possible.

Dashboard is best for a quick operational read. Use Reports when you need exact reconciliation details.

Find and resolve a student account issue

1.Open Students and search for the student.
2.Review household, lunch card, enrollment, and account details.
3.Confirm the student is active and belongs to the school you are serving.
4.Update missing details or contact the household when needed.
5.Return to POS and search again after saving important changes.

Some updates depend on your role permissions. Ask an administrator if an action is unavailable.

People Management

Manage students, households, guardians, invitations, staff, roles, and access.

Add or update a student

1.Open Students, then choose New Student or select an existing student.
2.Enter required profile, grade, enrollment, and contact details.
3.Set active/enrolled status according to your school records.
4.Link the student to the correct household before saving.
5.Add or confirm lunch card information if your school uses card lookup.
6.Save the record, then confirm the student can be found where staff need them.

Accurate household links are what allow families to use the Family Portal.

Create a household and add guardians

1.Open Households and choose New Household.
2.Add household name and any required contact details.
3.Add guardians with accurate names, emails, and phone numbers.
4.Link the correct students to the household.
5.Send invitations when family users need portal access.
6.Confirm the household appears correctly before asking the family to sign in.

If a guardian cannot access the Family Portal, confirm the account is linked to the correct household.

Manage staff roles and permissions

1.Open Staff or Roles from the Admin Portal.
2.Create or update the staff member, then assign the correct role.
3.Review the permission cards, information buttons, and automatically selected dependencies before the staff member begins using the system.

Student and guardian administration uses Household permissions; staff profiles use Staff permissions; role definitions use Roles permissions. There is no separate school Users permission group.

Menus and POS Setup

Set up items, menus, lines, and service days so cafeteria staff see the correct POS options.

Create items and menus

1.Open Menu Items to create cafeteria products and prices.
2.Enter clear item names, prices, and any required category or status.
3.Use Item Categories to keep the POS organized.
4.Open Menus to group items for the correct service day or line.
5.Preview or check POS before service to confirm staff see the right options.

Clear item names help cafeteria staff move faster during service.

Assign lines and service days

1.Open Lines to manage cafeteria serving locations.
2.Assign menus to the correct line and service date.
3.Confirm POS displays the expected items before service begins.
4.If the wrong menu appears, review the service date, line, and active menu status.

If items are missing in POS, check menu, line, and service-day setup first.

Wallets, Top-Ups, and Adjustments

Use these workflows when staff need to understand balances, payments, refunds, or account corrections.

Review a household balance

1.Open Households or the student record connected to the household.
2.Review current balance, available balance, recent purchases, top-ups, and adjustments.
3.Compare recent activity with History or Reports if the balance does not look right.
4.Document or communicate the next step according to school policy.

Balances can change after purchases, online top-ups, refunds, and manual school adjustments.

Create a wallet adjustment

1.Confirm you have permission to make financial adjustments.
2.Open the household, account transaction, or adjustment workflow your school uses.
3.Choose the adjustment type and enter the amount carefully.
4.Add a clear reason note so the change can be reviewed later.
5.Save the adjustment, then confirm the updated balance and audit activity.

Financial changes should be easy to explain later. Use specific reason notes, not vague descriptions.

Review top-ups and payment activity

1.Open Reports or the household payment/top-up history.
2.Filter by date range, household, or transaction type when available.
3.Compare payment records with cafeteria purchases and balance changes.
4.Escalate failed, duplicated, or unfamiliar payments using your school process.

Online payment availability depends on school configuration and connected payment settings.

Reports and Reconciliation

Reports help staff compare sales, payments, balances, and account changes across a selected date range.

Run a sales report

1.Open Reports and choose Sales.
2.Set the date range for the service day, week, or period you need.
3.Review totals by item, line, payment context, or other available grouping.
4.Compare totals with POS expectations and investigate differences.

Use the same date range when comparing multiple reports so totals are easier to reconcile.

Run a payment report

1.Open Reports and choose Payments.
2.Select the date range and any payment filters available.
3.Review successful payments, failed payments, refunds, and related totals.
4.Follow up on payment issues with the household or administrator when needed.

Payment reports help separate cafeteria sales activity from funding and payment activity.

Use audit history for account changes

1.Open Security or Audit Trail if your role allows it.
2.Search or filter by user, record, date, or action.
3.Review who made the change and what record was affected.
4.Use the audit details to support follow-up conversations or corrections.

View Audit Trail controls authorized audit visibility. Export Audit Trail separately allows CSV export of the currently authorized filtered page.

Export an authorized report

1.Open Reports and select the report, period, filters, grouping, and detail level you need.
2.Confirm the results contain the authorized data you intend to export.
3.Use Export Reports to download CSV or open the print-ready PDF when data is available.

Export Reports does not grant access to additional reports or underlying records; View Reports & Dashboard is still required.

Staff, Roles, and Permissions

Use these steps when creating staff access, changing responsibilities, or confirming school-specific permissions.

Add a staff user

1.Open Staff and choose New Staff.
2.Enter name, email, and required staff details.
3.Assign the correct role for their job responsibilities.
4.Save the record and send any invitation or onboarding steps your school uses.

Use the least access needed for the staff member to do their job.

Change a staff member role

1.Open Staff and select the staff member.
2.Review their current role and school access.
3.Choose the new role and save the change.
4.Ask the staff member to refresh or sign in again if tools do not update immediately.

Role changes can affect access to financial, reporting, student, and administrative tools.

Switch schools safely

1.Open the user menu and choose Switch School.
2.Select the school you want to work in.
3.Confirm the header or page data now shows the selected school.
4.Only then create, edit, serve, or report on records.

Switching schools changes the records and reports you are working with.

Give staff linked Family Portal access

1.Link the active staff record to the household whose wallet will fund that person's cafeteria purchases.
2.Add Access Linked Family Portal to the staff member's role only when they should use the household self-service portal.
3.Verify the user menu shows Family Portal and confirm only the linked household is available.

An active staff record with a household link can appear as a POS buyer without Access Linked Family Portal. Portal access requires both the household link and that permission.

Permission Reference

The role editor follows the cafeteria workflow shown below. Action badges and information buttons explain each grant, while higher-level actions automatically select required foundation permissions. Student and Guardian administration is included under Households; obsolete Users, Student, POS Delete, Wallet Delete, Reports Delete, Settings Delete, and Billing Delete permissions are not used.

POS

Access POS (pos.view)
Operate POS Checkout (pos.create_edit)
Close & Process Lines (pos.process)

Access supports navigation and review; Operate manages open orders; Process finalizes lines and wallet charges. Operate requires Access, and Process requires both.

Households

View Household Records (household.view)
Manage Households & Members (household.create_edit)
Delete Household Records (household.delete)

These permissions govern household, student, guardian, relationship, invitation, note, and lunch-card administration. Manage and Delete depend on View.

Wallets

View Wallet Activity (wallet.view)
Process Wallet Payments (wallet.create_edit)
Adjust Wallet Balances (wallet.adjust)

Wallet visibility requires View Household Records. Payments and Adjustments require Wallet visibility and remain separate audited responsibilities.

Family Portal

Access Linked Family Portal (family_portal.view)

For staff, this permission still requires an active staff record linked to a household. The household link alone controls POS buyer eligibility.

Staff

View Staff Directory (staff.view)
Manage Staff Profiles (staff.create_edit)
Delete Staff Records (staff.delete)

Manage and Delete depend on View. Role priority protects equal- and higher-authority staff records.

Roles

View Roles & Permissions (roles.view)
Manage Roles & Permissions (roles.create_edit)
Delete Unassigned Roles (roles.delete)

Manage and Delete depend on View. Only strictly lower-authority roles can be managed, and only eligible unassigned roles can be deleted.

Reports

View Reports & Dashboard (reports.view)
Export Reports (reports.create_edit)

Export requires View and only exports currently authorized report results.

Security

View Audit Trail (audit.view)
Export Audit Trail (audit.export)

Export requires View and exports only the currently authorized filtered audit page. Audit history remains immutable.

Settings

View School Configuration (settings.view)
Manage School Configuration (settings.create_edit)
View Payment Setup & Payouts (payment_setup.view)
Manage Payment Setup & Payouts (payment_setup.create_edit)
View Subscription Billing (billing.view)
Manage Subscription Billing (billing.create_edit)

School configuration, payment acceptance and payouts, and SaaS subscription billing are intentionally separate responsibilities.

School Configuration, Payments, and Billing

These settings share one modal but remain separate responsibilities so staff can receive only the school, payment-provider, payout, or SaaS billing access required for their job.

School Configuration

1.Use View School Configuration to review the school profile, classification, address, branding, currency, and catalogs.
2.Open Classification to review the school type, under-13 determination, status, and last attestation.
3.Use Manage School Configuration to update permitted school information, attest the classification, and manage catalog values.

Student portal authorization remains blocked while classification is pending or needs review. School Configuration does not grant access to payment-provider setup, payouts, or subscription billing.

Payment Setup & Payouts

1.Use View Payment Setup & Payouts to review payment-provider readiness, verification requirements, balances, bank summary, and payout history.
2.Use Manage Payment Setup & Payouts to submit business verification, manage the payout bank, complete setup, and initiate permitted payouts.

When School Payment Setup is incomplete, card top-ups and Payment Methods remain disabled and the UI explains why. Subscription Billing does not enable payment acceptance.

Subscription Billing

1.Use View Subscription Billing to review subscription status, price, invoices, renewal, and cancellation timing.
2.Use Manage Subscription Billing to open the secure billing portal and manage the SaaS subscription payment method or cancellation.

Subscription Billing is separate from the school's payment acceptance and payout configuration.

Admin Portal Capabilities

The Admin Portal combines operational, financial, reporting, and access-management tools for staff.

Dashboard operations

Monitor cafeteria activity, alerts, balances, and key operational signals.

POS checkout

Serve student and staff buyers by creating open orders, then close and process the line to post cafeteria purchases.

Students and households

Maintain student records, household links, guardians, invitations, and lunch cards.

Menus and catalog setup

Configure items, categories, menus, lines, and service days for cafeteria operations.

Wallets and payments

Review balances, top-ups, payment records, refunds, and school adjustments.

Reports and audit trail

Use reports and audit history to reconcile activity and understand account changes.

Troubleshooting Common Issues

Use these checks before escalating an issue. Most problems come from school selection, permissions, inactive records, or missing setup.

Student missing from POS

Confirm the student is active, enrolled, belongs to the selected school, and has the expected lunch card or searchable profile details.

Family cannot access the Family Portal

For guardians or students, confirm the account, invitation, school, and household relationship. For staff, also confirm the active staff record is linked to the household and the assigned role includes Access Linked Family Portal.

Staff buyer missing from POS

Confirm the staff record is active, belongs to the selected school, and is linked to a household. Access Linked Family Portal is not required for POS buyer eligibility.

Staff cannot see a page or button

Review their active school, staff record, role, and permissions. Ask them to refresh or sign in again after changes.

Menu items missing in POS

Check item status, category, menu assignment, line assignment, service date, and whether the menu is active for service.

Balance does not look correct

Compare purchases, top-ups, refunds, and adjustments in History or Reports before making a correction.

Lunch card does not scan

Search the student or staff buyer manually, confirm the card number on the corresponding record, and update or replace the card according to school policy.

Card top-up or Payment Methods is disabled

Open School Configuration and review Payment Setup & Payouts. The controls remain disabled until payment-provider setup is ready, and only staff with the corresponding payment-setup permission can manage it.