Settings and Demo Data

10.1 General Restaurant Settings

Restaurant Settings controls the operating mode:

• How service runs (a preset on Service setup).
• Dine-in table mode.
• Default prep stations.
• Saved course preference (does not change the standard kitchen course order).
• Order number prefix.
• Auto-fire behaviour.
• What the till does after Confirm & Print.
• Dirty-table behaviour after payment settlement, not when a bill is printed.

Order-number examples show the format only. Each location maintains its own sequence; examples do not reserve the next number. Menu readiness requires available items in active categories. An unavailable summary means the data could not be checked, not that the restaurant has no activity. Operational shortcuts are shown only when your permissions allow access.

Before: Use a supervisor account with settings permission, and agree changes before the shift where possible.

Steps:

1. Open Restaurant > Settings > Service setup. Under How do you run service?, pick the closest preset: Waiters order at the till (tables and floors, kitchen display, pay after the meal), Cashier enters paper orders (paper bill and kitchen copy, no table picker, pay after the meal), or Counter service (payment sends the order, no tables, kitchen display: guests usually pay straight away, and taking payment sends anything not yet sent to the kitchen). The badge shows Now: with the preset in use, Custom with the closest preset and the settings that differ, or Not chosen yet when the settings have never been saved. Orders paid up front stay on the kitchen screen until their items are bumped and picked up; orders paid after the meal leave the kitchen screen on payment.
2. Read If you switch to [preset]. It lists every setting that will change (Kitchen, Tables, Send on add, After Confirm & Print, Paper size, Prices on kitchen tickets) with its value now and after the switch, what happens to orders already open, and the settings that stay the same. Choose Switch to apply exactly that list, or Cancel.
3. Review Everything that shapes the till: dine-in and tables, kitchen, order numbers, tips, payment methods, receipts, staff and PINs, and tills, each with a link to the page where it changes. Rows marked Fix must be resolved before service; the panel shows how many. Missing staff PINs are shown as a note, not a fix: picking the person still opens the till.
4. Use Dine-in & tables for Use tables in the POS flow, Kitchen & prep for preparation, printing and auto-fire, Reservations for booking defaults, and Tips & orders for the prefix and tip preference. Review the section's changes and save using its save bar.

Result: Saved settings govern the relevant future workflow; a preparation-mode change does not migrate existing orders. Open orders finish on their old mode while new orders use the new one, and open dine-in orders keep their tables until paid when tables are switched off. Every setting stays editable on its own page after a switch. Course preference (not applied) is a planning preference and does not change the standard kitchen course order or automatically fire courses.

Recovery: If settings changed after the preview was opened, nothing is switched and the page reads "Settings changed after this preview was opened, so nothing was switched. Check the updated list, then switch again." If a setting appears unchanged, reopen that settings section and confirm the saved value before changing it again. An Unavailable summary requires checking the underlying data/access, not resetting live orders.

10.2 Kitchen Settings

Kitchen settings control the preparation mode, paper ticket size and price visibility, what the till does After Confirm & Print (Clear the till for the next order, the default, or Stay on the printed order; payment always clears the till), prep stations, and the KDS refresh interval. The Cashier-led paper service section shows In use with Change how service runs, or lists what the paper preset would change with Review and switch to paper service, which opens the preview on Service setup. The Kitchen page never switches tables on or off by itself. Paper-only orders are excluded from the Kitchen Display and kitchen preparation-time report; combined-mode orders remain in both workflows.

10.3 Reservation Settings

Reservation settings control default reservation duration and related front-of-house assumptions.

10.4 Tip Settings

Tips remain attributed to the selected server. Saving a pooled preference does not automatically pool or distribute tips; manage any pooling separately until that workflow is supported.

These preferences do not add tip controls to the current terminal. See section 8.2 before training cashiers to handle tips.

10.5 Ghana Demo Data

Demo data can populate Ghana restaurant starter or full demo content. Use it for demos, onboarding, and training tenants.

Run demo loading only in a designated training business with manager approval. It changes data; it is not a repair action for a live menu or missing stock. Keep synthetic training orders and payment references separate from customer records.