Takeout Settings > Options tab
Use the Options tab to enable major features in ATO, such as Mapping, Paging, and more.
Options tab
Group Bar: Settings
Auto fulfill orders — Removes an order from the Open Orders list, when it is tendered, closed, and bumped for pick up or delivery. If cleared, you must touch the 'Picked Up' button to move an order to the Closed Orders list in ATO.
Display change due dialog — Causes a 'Change Due' prompt to appear on the ATO FOH screen when transitioning from the Aloha system back to ATO after tendering and closing a check.
Note: Remember to access Aloha Manager and disable the 'Change Due' dialog in Maintenance > Menu > Panel Editor, in the 'Close Check' button function, for Quick Service installations.
Purge old closed orders — Preserves the last 25 closed orders on the Pick Up and Dispatch screens. You cannot access prior closed orders except through using the Get Check function in the POS.
Enable curbside — Enables a drive-up, in-car dining environment. This option also enables vehicle information storage on the customer entry and edit screens.
Enable mapping — Enables a map retrieval program, for establishing the maximum efficient routes for each delivery run. Leave this option cleared until you are certain a mapping program purchased from NCR, Inc. is installed, licensed, and functional.
Enable credit card storage — Allows ATO to store customer credit card information along with customer records. The program stores this information in an encrypted form, allowing only the last four digits of the card number and its expiration date to display. Takeout retrieves the encrypted credit card information and applies it to transactions, upon request. If the card number is cleared at the FOH, the expiration date clears automatically.
Note: For PCI DSS compliance, this option relies on the correct configuration of tenders in the Aloha POS, and on proper management of the encryption key to be used for retrieval of payment card information.
Site key expiration days — Defines the number of days before you have to change the site key.
Site key warning days — Defines the number of days in advance of the site key expiration the systems warns you to change the site key.
Automatically purge credit card data — Enables the system to automatically remove all saved cardholder data from the Aloha Takeout database after the specified number of days. This allows you to set up periodic purge dates. Required Options: You must select 'Enable credit card storage' to enable this option. Related Options: You define the number of days to wait after the last purge date in 'Automatically purge credit card data.'
Accept gift cards — Enables the system to accept gift cards for customer orders at the order confirmation screen.
Prompt for alternate payment information on payment failure — Enables a modal to appear if the payment is declined in EDC when applied from the confirmation screen. Options appear to re-enter payment information or hold the order until the customer can provide valid payment information. ATO restricts the ordering of items until the entry of a valid payment or the removal of a declined payment from the order.
Apply payment on order confirmation — Causes ATO to retrieve stored payment card information, and to request authorization from the Order Confirmation screen when you touch OK.
Close checks on apply payment — Enables closing the check to the logged in employee when touching 'Apply Payment' on the ATO FOH Pick Up or Dispatch screens. Clear this option if other employees, like managers, apply payments to ATO orders, but allow other employees to close the check. Required Options: An option by the same name on the Order Modes tab, overrides this global setting.
Recalculate quote time when order modified — Causes ATO to recalculate any associated quote times, whether the order is for pickup or delivery, if you modify the order for any reason.
Display takeout order sequence number — Enables a store-wide order numbering system reflecting the sequence in which you create customer orders. These sequence numbers, generated by ATO, are in addition to the check numbers generated by the Aloha POS system. ATO applies these numbers to all orders passing through the ATO system. The sequence number prints in the ATO header on kitchen chits and guest receipts. This helps organize and assemble orders as they are prepared in the kitchen.
Enable takeout order timing — Enables the order timing feature on delivery orders, making the other options available in the group box available for configuration. When selected, other options appear. Order timing changes the order color on the screen to alert staff when orders are approaching their promise time or are overdue. Orders change from white to yellow based on the 'Warning Time (Seconds)' option. Orders then change to red at the promise time of an order. The 'Delivery Buffer (Seconds)' option accounts for the average delivery drive time. This option turns orders red prior to the promise time to alert drivers and dispatchers to prioritize dispatching the order to get the order delivered on time. Related Requirements: You must define a warning time and a delivery buffer.
Include call-in orders in Takeout timing — Causes the program to include call-in orders as part of the order timing process. Call-in orders turn yellow at the warning time seconds prior to the promise time, and red when the promise time is reached or surpassed. Required Options: You must select 'Enable takeout order timing' for this option to appear.
Warning time (in seconds) — Defines the number of seconds, ahead of the promise time, before the program displays the order in yellow on the Dispatch screen, indicating the order is approaching late status. Required Options: You must select 'Enable takeout order timing' for this option to appear.
Delivery buffer (in seconds) — Defines the number of seconds, ahead of the promise time, before the program displays the order in red on the Dispatch screen, indicating the order is late. Required Options: You must select 'Enable takeout order timing' for this option to appear.
Order cancel void reason — Causes ATO to use this void reason for future orders removed due to cancellation by the customer. Related Requirements: You must create a void reason in Maintenance > System Settings > Void Reasons.
Enable paging — Enables the Paging feature, making it possible for you to use a paging console system to notify customers when their order is ready. The pager column may be selected on the ATO FOH Pick Up screen to display the pager number for the order.
Note: ATO does not integrate with paging systems.
Enable pager prompt for walk-in — Provides a button for you to touch, to assign a pager to a customer, in sites using pagers. Touching the button causes a screen prompt to appear in which you can use a number pad to enter the pager number, thus associating it with the customer and the current order. When the order is ready, you activate the pager using the separate paging console. When the order closes, the program releases the pager number. Recommended Configuration: Cleared, unless using pagers to notify customers when their order is ready. Required Options: You must select 'Enable paging' to enable this option.
Reject items with failed modifiers — Limits the injection of items on future and online orders where the modifier is set unavailable in item availability, or no longer valid for the item in the item database. This prevents items from releasing without complete preparation instructions. When disabled, the parent item releases to the POS without the modifier.
User inactivity timeout — Enables automatic log-out for all terminals when ATO is the active window on a terminal. The Aloha POS timeout functionality is disabled when the POS is not the active top window. Entering a non-zero value enables ATO to log out to the Aloha POS 'floating logo' screen based on the number of seconds defined.
Password keypad layout — Defines the layout of the keypad used for entering the ATO password.
- Top row 123 — Matches the layout used by the Aloha POS where '123' is at the top of the keypad.
- Top row 789 — Matches the standard keyboard layout where '789' is at the top of the keypad.
Enable write to GCHKINFO DBF — Does not write ATO order information, such as the zip code, to GChkInfo.dbf. You can clear this option to conserve disk space and speed up the import time to Aloha Insight; however, we recommend you not clear this option unless instructed by an Aloha Takeout representative.
Group Bar: Caller-ID
Device name — Designates the type of caller ID device connected to ATO. As of the date of publication, the following selections are available:
- None — No caller ID functionality.
- Caller ID Simulator — Simulates lines ringing, for demonstration purposes.
- Rochelle 2045 — Adjusts the ATO caller ID communication to work with the Rochelle model 2045.
- Rochelle 2050 — Adjusts the ATO caller ID communication to work with the Rochelle model 2050.
- Caller ID Dot Com — Adjusts the ATO caller ID communication to work with the CallerID.com Whooz Calling deluxe device.
- Caller ID Dot Com POS — Adjusts the ATO caller ID communication to work with the CallerID.com Whooz Calling POS device.
Port number — Defines the port number to which the caller ID device is connected, on the Aloha BOH server.
Line count — Specifies the number of telephone lines connected to the caller ID device.
Hold answered calls — Places incoming calls on hold, when the caller ID system supports this function. Buttons representing answered calls on hold change from green to maroon. When an employee takes a call off hold, or answers a call directly, the button representing that call changes to blue. These color changes are true on all terminals, to prevent two employees attempting to access the same telephone line from different terminals.
Group Bar: Delivery
The delivery options define how delivery orders and drivers interact with ATO. Most of the options manage driver assignment and dispatch, while maintaining food quality.
Enable delivery — Enables delivery functionality, assuming the HASP key is licensed for it. The delivery functionality adds access driver and dispatch functions. An error appears in ATO if delivery is enabled, yet not licensed. Mapping, if purchased and installed, requires you to enable delivery to work.
Open drivers on clock in — Displays drivers on the ATO FOH Dispatch, Map, and Driver screens on clock in and makes drivers immediately available for delivery order assignment. If cleared, employees with driver management access must manually open a driver on the ATO FOH Driver screen. Related Options: To allow an employee access to make drivers available when the 'Open drivers on clock in' option is cleared, select 'Driver Management' in Maintenance > Labor > Pos Access Levels > 'Aloha Takeout' group bar and then assign the access level to the employee.
Note: Expired driver license or insurance information overrides the 'Open drivers on clock in' functionality. Employees with Driver management access are required to manually open drivers with this status.
Assign drivers to curbside orders — Allows you to assign drivers to a curbside order. This feature adapts ATO for 'car-hop' environments, or for other dedicated self-banking curbside attendants. When selected, curbside orders appear on the Dispatch screen.
Assign drivers to catering orders — Allows you to assign drivers to a catering order. This feature makes it possible to use drivers for catering assignments. When selected, drivers are responsible for collecting payment for catering orders and turning in payment at checkout. Catering orders appear on the Dispatch screen.
Close checks on driver return — Closes the outstanding balance of delivery orders to the 'Cash' tender, when a driver returns.
Restrict dispatch to longest in driver — Requires you to assign orders to a driver with the greatest amount of down time since clocking in or returning from a previous delivery. Related Options: To allow an employee to override the restricting of dispatch to longest in driver, select 'Can override restricted dispatch' in Maintenance > Labor > Pos Access Levels and then assign the access level to the employee.
No order assignment until after bump — Prevents orders from being assigned to drivers until after they are bumped from Aloha Kitchen. When cleared, assigning orders to drivers is possible at any time. Related Options: To allow an employee to override the assigning of an order before bump, select 'Can override no order assignment until after bump' in Maintenance > Labor > Pos Access Levels and then assign the access level to the employee.
Seconds to wait after bump — Extends the 'No order assignment' interval a specific number of seconds after bumping an order in Aloha Kitchen. This option accounts for oven and order assembly times. Required Options: You must select 'No order assignment until after bump' for this option to appear.
Print receipts with itinerary — Prints customer receipts for each order assigned to a run, when you touch 'Print Itinerary' on the ATO FOH. This provides a quick way for a driver to print all artifacts needed for a current delivery run. Required Options: To add 'Print Itinerary' to the ATO FOH, add 'Print Itinerary' from the 'Actions' group bar in Maintenance > Takeout Configuration > Takeout Settings > Panel Options for each available screen.
Print state and zip on itinerary — Makes it possible to include (or omit) the state or province name and the ZIP or postal code when the system prints an itinerary for the driver. Clearing this option reduces lines printed on an itinerary and saves paper.
Must authorize cash to store/driver — Requires a manager to authorize cash transfers between a store and drivers, whether they are receiving cash to use for making change or turning in money collected from deliveries. A manager must be clocked in with 'Approve Clock In' POS access enabled.
Prompt for driver password — Causes a password confirmation dialog to appear when a function affects driver accountability. When selected, ATO prompts for drivers to approve dispatch, return, and cash functions.
Assign orders to dispatched drivers — Makes it possible to assign orders to a driver who is currently dispatched on a delivery run. You can increase driver turnaround times by staging the next run prior to the driver returning.
Set maximum driver carrying cash — Enables this feature, and establishes an upper limit for the amount of cash you want to allow a driver to carry, including driver banks and money collected from customers for delivered orders. When selected, other options appear. Required Options: Set the maximum amount of cash a driver can carry in 'Maximum driver carrying cash.'
Maximum driver carrying cash — Defines the maximum of calculated cash for which a driver must be accountable before the system prevents them from dispatching. Required Options: You must select 'Set maximum driver carrying cash' for this option to appear.
Maximum number of orders per run — Enables this feature, and specifies the maximum number of orders allowable to a driver per delivery run. You may improve product quality and reduce driver dispatch times when you limit orders per run.
Minimum minutes before dispatched driver can be returned — Specifies the minimum number of minutes expected for each delivery run. This prevents drivers from dispatching and immediately returning, bypassing the 'Max number of orders per run' and 'Assign orders to dispatched drivers' options.
Prompt for driver tips on return — Prompts for tip amounts when a driver touches 'Return' on the ATO FOH.
Print address information on driver checkout — Prints the addresses of all orders assigned to and closed by a driver during their shift, when they perform a daily checkout. This feature allows drivers to confirm each address for which they are accountable during a shift.
Print receipts on driver dispatch — Prints guest receipts for the orders assigned to a driver when you touch 'Dispatch' on the ATO FOH.
Automatically print driver itinerary on driver dispatch — Prints the driver itinerary automatically when you dispatch a driver. When cleared, you must manually print the itinerary with the Print button.
Restrict delivery orders to delivery area — Prevents new and existing customers from starting delivery orders if a customer address is not within the defined delivery area. Related Options: To allow an employee to override the restricting of delivery orders to the defined delivery area, select 'Can override delivery area restrictions' in Maintenance > Labor > Pos Access Levels and then assign the access level to the employee.
Auto cash to store on driver checkout — Transfers the net cash owed amount from the driver to the cashier when you touch the Checkout button on the Drivers screen. This requires petty cash accounts to be set up and the cashier to be logged in and assigned to the drawer on the local terminal.
Enable drive time — The average number of minutes it takes a driver to deliver an order.
Enable restrict delivery by guest — Enables you to identify a customer as one for which you do not want to accept delivery orders thus preventing the delivery of orders to a prank, problem, or high-risk customer. Related Options: To allow an employee to override the restrictions for a customer identified as one for which you will not accept a delivery order, select 'Can override delivery area restrictions' in Maintenance > Labor > Pos Access Levels > Aloha Takeout group bar and then assign the access level to the employee.
Enable address type ahead — Displays matching streets within the delivery area, as you enter the street number digits and street name characters. Select the appropriate street, from the drop-down list, to fill in the remaining address information.
Dispatch workflow — Determines the method in which you want the dispatch and return process to flow for your operations.
- None — Retains the default work flow for dispatching and returning a delivery driver in the system. You must 1) Select the delivery order from the Dispatch screen., 2) Select the driver that is to deliver the order. 3) Touch Dispatch to dispatch the driver. 4) Touch Return. 5) Close the delivery check.
- Dispatch return — Automates the return process of the default dispatch and return work flow in the system. You must 1) Select the delivery order from the Dispatch screen. 2) Select the driver that is to deliver the order. 3) Touch Dispatch to dispatch the driver. 4) Close the delivery check. In this work flow, the system automatically returns the driver to the restaurant. Use this option in operations that do not care about the length of time the driver was en route.
- Assign dispatch return — Automates the assignment and return process of the default dispatch and return work flow in the system. You must 1) Select the delivery order from the Dispatch screen. 2) Select the driver that will deliver the order. 3) Close the delivery check. In this work flow, the system automatically assigns the driver to the order and returns the driver to the restaurant.
Group Bar: End Of Day
Enable scheduled EOD — Enables End-of-Day (EOD) processing, in ATO, which is separate from EOD processing in the Aloha POS system. This EOD process moves current day metrics and closed orders to historical tables, where they are available for future reference. When selected, other options appear. Required Options: You must set a scheduled time for the EOD to run in 'Scheduled time' and define a 'Poll time.'
Poll time (seconds) — Defines the number of seconds after which the ATO service checks to see if it is time to run ATO EOD. Required Options: You must select 'Enable scheduled EOD' for this option to appear.
Scheduled time — Specifies the time for the ATO EOD process to run each day. As a best practice, we recommend running EOD in ATO five minutes before EOD in the Aloha system. Required Options: You must select 'Enable scheduled EOD' for this option to appear.
Historical data retention days — Limits the size of the ATO database by retaining only the defined number of historical days data.
Note: If you disable 'Enable scheduled EOD,' ATO detects the Aloha EOD, and runs its own EOD process simultaneously.
Group Bar: Invoicing
First page item count — Defines the number of items to enter and print on the first page of a house account invoice. This number is typically smaller than for subsequent pages, to allow for header information.
Middle page item count — Defines the number of items to enter and print on middle pages of a house account invoice.
Last page item count — Defines the maximum number of items to enter and print on the last page of a house account invoice. Adjusting this number enables you to allow for routine information appearing on the last page of a typical invoice.
Auto-save invoice — Causes ATO to automatically save a copy of a house account invoice for later retrieval, after finalizing the transaction.
Auto-print invoice — Causes ATO to automatically print a copy of a house account invoice, after finalizing the transaction. Required Options: You must select 'Auto-save invoice' for this option to appear.
Include item modifiers — Enables item modifiers to print on the invoice. Clear this option to only print parent items, shortening the invoice length.
Use counter-based invoice number — Defines an alpha-numeric prefix for invoice numbers. If left blank, ATO uses the 'Site ID' number as the prefix. Override this with a store specific identifier, or other text, that distinguishes invoices from one store versus another. The maximum number of alpha-numeric prefix characters is 20.
Note: A six digit 'Counter Length' and three character 'Invoice Number Prefix' creates a nine digit invoice number.
Enable invoices for all orders — Makes the 'Print Invoice' button active at all times and allows you to print an invoice for any Aloha Takeout order. When cleared, the Print Invoice button is unavailable for all payment types except a house account.
Group Bar: Kitchen integration
The options in this section make it possible to establish estimates for speed of service reporting in environments similar to pizza operations. Aloha Kitchen (AK) provides robust order management functionality in the kitchen.
Enable Kitchen interface — Enables communication with Aloha Kitchen, when installed. When selected, other options appear. This communication is as follows, assuming Aloha Kitchen is available:
- Aloha Kitchen manages quote times on the InfoCast bar in ATO.
- ATO passes the customer name and phone number to Aloha Kitchen.
- ATO passes pager information to Aloha Kitchen, if used.
- Aloha Kitchen updates the order status in ATO.
- ATO passes the quote time to Aloha Kitchen.
- Kitchen performance updates the 'Late' status.
The Aloha Takeout information associated with the guest check and passed to Aloha Kitchen is:
- First name
- Last name
- Phone number
- Pager number
- Address (lines one and two)
- City
- State
- Zip code
- Address notes
- Order notes
Suppress POS chit printing — Disables chit printing from within ATO, when using the Kitchen Interface. The POS or Aloha Kitchen manages kitchen printing. Required Options: You must select 'Enable Kitchen interface' for this option to appear.
Oven time (seconds) — Specifies the number of seconds allowed for an item to cook. This option assumes orders are bumped from a make table when they go into an oven. This is typically used in pizza operations, where the 'Oven Time' equals the conveyor belt time of a pizza oven. Required Options: You must select 'Enable Kitchen interface' for this option to appear.
Rack time average span (seconds) — Specifies a rolling number of seconds used for tracking the average rack time. Rack time is a calculated value derived by subtracting the oven time from the bump time to dispatch time and determines how long an order sits on a rack and loses quality prior to dispatch. For example, this allows operations to view an average rack time over the past 15 minutes (900 seconds.) The calculation is as follows: Dispatch Time - Bump Time of the last item on the order) - Oven Time = Rack Time. Required Options: You must select 'Enable Kitchen interface' for this option to appear.
Use Kitchen quote times — Causes ATO to use quote times provided by Aloha Kitchen, instead of its own internal promise times. Aloha Kitchen quote times are based on the number of items in the kitchen, the cook time of those items, and constantly measured kitchen performance against cook times. Based on this information, Aloha Kitchen determines the first available time an order can be fulfilled. Quote time information appears on the confirmation screen. Future orders are also timed and displayed by Aloha Kitchen using the same metrics. ATO releases current day future orders to Aloha Kitchen immediately and allows Aloha Kitchen to manage when those orders are released. Required Options: You must select 'Enable Kitchen interface' for this option to appear.
Activate Kitchen order on applied payment — Enables all current day ATO orders to automatically activate in Aloha Kitchen when you apply a payment. The order appears on the active Aloha Kitchen screen instead of the Delayed screen, and eliminates the need for the kitchen employee to manually start the order from the Delayed screen. Required Options: You must select 'Enable Kitchen interface' to enable this option.
Group Bar: Redundancy
Enable offline support — Permits entry of takeout or delivery orders, when the ATO service host is unavailable, or is not running. This condition normally occurs when the ATO service is stopped or the file server is offline. When the terminals are functioning in offline mode, one of the ATO clients acts as the takeout server. When the file server becomes available again, the terminal functioning in place of the takeout service automatically updates new orders to the server. Order entry is permissible at any takeout terminal, but caller ID and database search capabilities are compromised when the system is functioning in offline mode. Although you must enter all customers as 'new,' these new records are not added to the database when connectivity is restored.
Group Bar: External Order Interface
Enable external order interface — Enables the C1200 display or Web ordering interface to integrate with ATO. This feature is not currently supported in production versions of ATO. Recommended Configuration: Cleared.
Group Bar: Order Confirmation
Enable order confirmation — Causes the Order Confirmation screen to appear during transition back to ATO, after creating an order in the FOH. You can use the confirmation screen to adjust items on the check, edit customer information, change the promise time, and indicate the payment method to be used. When selected, other options appear. Allow new orders to be converted to dine-in from the confirmation screen — Makes it possible to convert unordered ATO orders to dine-in orders, while still in the Order Confirmation screen. This is used when the customer is standing at the wrong counter to order a dine-in order. Required Options: You must select 'Enable order confirmation' for this option to appear.
Display confirmation screen on modified orders — Causes the Order Confirmation screen to appear once again, on the way back to ATO, after modifying an order. This option gives the server the opportunity to confirm the order modification with the customer before submitting it for preparation. Required Options: You must select 'Enable order confirmation' for this option to appear.
Order items prior to confirmation (order summary screen) — Allows the Aloha POS to send items on the order for preparation before the Order Confirmation screen appears. This allows the order mode charge, if used, to appear in the Order Confirmation screen, for confirmation with the customer. This option is primarily used in POS versions prior to v6.7. As of Aloha POS v6.7, ATO can calculate the delivery fee and pass it to the POS, making this option obsolete. Required Options: You must select 'Enable order confirmation' for this option to appear.
Calculate promise time based on order confirmation time — Calculates the promise time based on when you finish placing the order, instead of when you begin placing the order. You must confirm the order in Aloha Takeout to calculate the quote time at confirmation time. Use this option for menus you feel may anticipate several questions from the guest, such for a complex pizza environment.
Enable prepaid tender — Places a Prepaid button on the Order Confirmation Screen to tender the order to the configured prepaid tender. Operations use this to close orders placed by a delivery service or other business reasons.
Enable gift cards on order confirmation — Places gift card tenders on the Order Confirmation screen, which allows you to apply a gift card payment to the order.
Enable deposits on order confirmation — Places the Deposit button on the Order Confirmation screen, which allows you to add a deposit for a future order while on this screen. Required Options: You must select 'Enable order confirmation' under the 'Order Confirmation' group bar to enable this option.
Enable checks on order confirmation — Adds the Check payment button to the Order Confirmation screen so you can accept personal checks as a form of payment in Aloha Takeout. Required Options: You must select 'Enable order confirmation' to enable this option. Documented Version: v15.2
Group Bar: Customer Credit
Enable customer credit — Makes it possible to store a credit with a customer account for later use. This is typically a good-will compensation for trouble with an order. The credit is applied based on the POS comp configuration, up to the balance due of the order. Required Options: You must identify a Credit Comp ID. You must enable designated employees with the ability to add customer credit. To provide an employee the ability to add customer credit, select 'Can add customer credit' in Maintenance > Labor > Pos Access Levels and then assign the access level to the employee. Related Options: Select 'Rollover surplus credits' and 'Prompt to apply on payment' to display a prompt to ask a customer if they want to use any unused credits toward their check.
Credit comp ID — Identifies the compensation record you want to use for ATO orders, as previously created in the POS, in Maintenance > Payments > Comps. You must configure this compensation record to require a specific dollar amount for entry completion. Required Options: You must select 'Enable customer credit.'
Roll over surplus credits — Adds unused customer credits back onto a customer account for use on their next order. Required Options: You must select 'Enable customer credit' to roll surplus credits over on a customer account. Related Options: To display a prompt to ask a customer if they want to apply any unused credits toward their check, You must select 'Prompt to apply on payment.
Prompt to apply on payment — Displays a prompt to ask a customer if they want to apply unused credits toward their check, when tendering the check. Required Options: You must select 'Enable customer credit' to roll over surplus credits on a customer account. Related Options: You must select 'Roll over surplus credits' to receive the prompt to apply roll over credits.
Group Bar: Culture
Culture — Defines the culture used by ATO on the Front-of-House.
Use international keyboard — Replaces the standard keyboard with the international keyboard on the Front-of-House for a terminal. The settings you select here must match the settings selected in Windows Control Panel. Go to Control Panel, Region and Language, Keyboards and Languages. Required Options: You must select a 'Culture' for the international keyboard to use.
Group Bar: Auto database backup
Enable auto database backup — Enables the system to automatically create a backup of the ATO SQL database. The Windows user configured to start the ATO backup service must have access to the ATO SQL database. Required Options: You must select a 'Backup scheduled time' and identify a 'Backup path.' Related Options: 1) Selecting this option enables additional backup options. 2) To purge backup files after a number of days, identify a number of 'Backup days to keep.'
Backup scheduled time — Defines the time the system creates a backup of the ATO SQL database. Required Options: You must select 'Enable auto database backup' for this option to appear.
Backup days to keep — Defines the number of days the system stores backup files before purging them. Required Options: You must select 'Enable auto database backup' for this option to appear.
Backup path — Defines the directory to which the system stores backup files. Required Options: You must select 'Enable auto database backup' for this option to appear.
Group Bar: Loyalty
Enable manual Loyalty validation — Allows you to validate the Generic Loyalty number for a guest record by pressing the Validate button on the Relationship tab of the ATO front-of-house. Documented Version: v17.1.
Enable automatic Loyalty validation — Allows the system to automatically attempt to validate the Generic Loyalty number for a guest record when you enter it on the Relationship tab of the ATO front-of-house. Documented Version: v17.1.
Options id="future-orders-tab"> Future Orders tab
An ATO future orders is any order beyond the current quote time. This can be for later the same day or up to five years later. In addition to normal order attributes, ATO prompts for a promise date and time, as well as an order mode to which to release the order. Orders are stored in the ATO database and released by an interface terminal.
Reference: Refer to the Aloha Takeout Future Order and Deposits Feature Focus Guide - HKS360 for more information.
Group Bar: Future orders
Enable future day orders — Activates the ability to create orders for future times and dates. Selecting this option adds 'Start Delayed' to the ATO FOH Look Up screen. When selected, other options appear. Required Options: You must make a selection in 'Future order void reason.' Related Options: You can specify for the system to 'Auto release future orders' and to 'Release on check in.'
Auto release future orders — Allows the system to manage the release of future orders. Clear this option to manually release future orders. Required Options: You must select 'Enable future day orders' for this option to appear.
Release on check in — Allows the system to release future orders when a customer arrives at the site and checks in. Required Options: You must select 'Enable future day orders' for this option to appear. Related Options: To add 'Check In' to the ATO FOH, add 'Check In' from the 'Actions' group bar in Maintenance > Takeout Configuration > Takeout Settings > Panel Options for each screen.
Future order void reason — Designates the void reason to use for clearing the items from the check ATO creates in the POS when you enter a new, or recall an existing, future order. When you finalize the future order, the system stores the items on the POS check in the ATO database and passes the defined void reason code to clear items off the check; after which, the system closes the check with no items on the check. Required Options: You must select 'Enable future day orders' for this option to appear. Related Requirements: You must first create a void reason for this purpose in Maintenance > System > Void Reasons and then select it here.
Note: Enable 'For Aloha Connect Use Only' and 'Do Not Report' on the Aloha POS void reason.
Release call-in orders based on preparation time — Enables operations with short cook times to allow customers time to travel to the restaurant and receive freshly prepared orders. Call-in orders are delayed based on the current quote time less the default preparation time, similar to a future order. Clearing this option causes the release of call-in orders as they are received. When selected, if the current quote time is 20 minutes and the default preparation time is 10 minutes, ATO releases a call-in order promised for 11:20 a.m. at 11:10 a.m. Recommended Configuration: Cleared. Most operations release call in orders to the kitchen for immediate preparation.
Release current day future orders immediately — Specifies you want to allow the kitchen staff, not ATO, to control the timing of order preparation for future orders booked today, for later today. When enabled, a kitchen chit prints immediately, with the promise time stated on the chit, to assist the kitchen staff with organizing and preparing future orders, as needed. Related Options: This option enables 'Release start time.'
Release start time (in 24-hour format) — Specifies the time of day to release all future orders scheduled for the current day, but booked on a prior day, to the kitchen. Again, this is for environments in which the kitchen staff controls the timing of order preparation, not ATO. This helps ensure the orders print when the kitchen printers are online, or that someone is available to supervise the printing should problems occur. Required Options: You must select 'Release current day future orders immediately' to enable this option.
Note: In summary, these two options allow the kitchen staff to control the timing of order preparation for all future orders. Any future order scheduled for today and booked today prints immediately; all future orders scheduled for today but booked on a prior day print at the time specified in 'Release start time.'
Enable order release window restriction — Restricts the time frame when the system can release an order to the kitchen. This prevents the sending of orders to the kitchen before or after business hours when the kitchen staff is not present. For example, if the customer submits a web order to a site at 1:00 a.m., with a promise time of 5:00 p.m. the same day, Aloha Takeout sees this as a same day future order. If you also select 'Release current day future orders immediately,' the order fires to the kitchen immediately at 1:00 a.m. Subsequently, if the End-of-Day runs at 3:00 a.m., the order then closes to cash. When selected, other options appear.
Release window start time (in 15 minute intervals) — Designates the time you want the system to begin releasing orders to the kitchen. Required Options: You must select 'Enable order release window restriction' to enable this option.
Release window end time (in 15 minute intervals) — Designates the time you want the system to stop releasing orders to the kitchen. Required Options: You must select 'Enable order release window restriction' to enable this option.
Delete overdue unreleased future orders at EOD — Enables the next End-of-Day process to purge any unreleased future orders that were not sent to the kitchen before the expiration period. Required Options: You must define the number of minutes an unreleased future order remains in the queue before the system purges the order in 'Expiration period (in minutes).'
Expiration period (in minutes) — Defines the number of minutes at which a future order reaches an expired state after a guest fails to check in to pick up the order. The default value is 1440 minutes. The system adds the expiration minutes to the order time to determine if an open future order is expired. If yes, the next End-of-Day process purges the order, and marks the order as expired, not released. Required Options: You must select 'Delete overdue unreleased future orders at EOD' to enable the system to purge an unreleased future order in an expired state.
Activate future orders via server — Releases future orders from the BOH without the need for an ATO instance running on a FOH terminal. Required Options: For this new functionality to work properly, configure the ATO service to start an instance of the Aloha POS on the BOH system.
Display future eat-in and drive-thru orders — Allows an order with Eat-in and Drive-thru order modes to appear in on the Future and Pickup screen when they are future orders for a mobile ordering solution. You cannot align these types of order modes in Aloha Takeout and usually the system converts the orders to non-takeout orders. Select this option to include 'eat-in' and 'drive-thru' order modes on the Future and Pickup screen. You must use the ATO API to support this option.
Enable recurring orders — Activates the ability to create recurring orders for future times and dates. When selected, this option adds 'Recurring Orders' to the ATO FOH Look Up screen. Required Options: You must select 'Enable future day orders' for this option to appear.
Release to queue — Enables the system to release a future order to a queue other than the Aloha Takeout queue.
Enable batch release — Allows all future orders scheduled to be picked up on the date of business to release within a defined window. The "Batch release is currently in progress" message appears on the release terminal and you cannot operate the FOH from the release terminal during this time. Use this option for operations that receive future orders contain ing an exceptionally high quantity of a specific item. Related Options: This option enables the 'Batch release start time' and 'Batch release end time' options. Documented Version: v17.1.
Batch release start time — Specifies the starting time for releasing pending future orders in batches. During this time, you cannot operate the release terminal. You typically start the release batch window before the restaurant opens or when you do not receive takeout orders. Required Options: You must select 'Enable batch release' to enable this option. Documented Version: v17.1.
Batch release end time — Specifies the ending time for releasing pending future orders in batches. Required Options: You must select 'Enable batch release' to enable this option. Documented Version: v17.1.
Options id="check-in-tab"> Check In tab
Group Bar: Check in
Check in alert behavior (on order release) — Displays a check-in message on an Aloha Takeout or POS terminal to notify an employee when a check-in action occurs, usually through an API call from a mobile application.
No alert — Does not display a message when a check-in action occurs. This is the default selection.
Display notification on all terminals — Displays a message when a check-in action occurs, on all terminals running Aloha Takeout.
Display notification on release terminal — Displays a message when a check-in message occurs, on the POS terminal from which you release Aloha Takeout orders.
Display notification on list of terminals — Allows you to define a list of specific terminals at which to display a check-in alert. If you select this option and specify a terminal that does not have a logged in employee, check-in alerts display on all terminals. Related Options: This option enables the 'Alert Behavior Terminal' group bar.
Group Bar: Alert Behavior Terminal
Use the Alert Behavior Terminal group bar to define the which terminals displays a check-in alert. Required Options: You must select 'Display notification on list of terminals' from the 'Check in alert behavior (on order release) drop-down list for this option to appear. Use the >> and << arrows to move terminals between the 'Available' list and the 'Included' list.