How to Manage Members
This guide covers creating member accounts, managing wallet balances, assigning loyalty tiers, and giving free time. Members are registered customers who can log in from client PCs, maintain a wallet balance, and accumulate loyalty points.
What You Will Need
- Admin or cashier access to the HandyCafe Server.
- The Members page accessible from the left sidebar.
- At least one payment method configured if you plan to accept wallet top-ups.
How to Create a New Member
- Navigate to the Members page using the left sidebar.
- Click the Add button in the toolbar.
- Enter the member's username. This must be unique across all members (case-insensitive). The member will use this to log in from client PCs.
- Enter a display name. This is the name shown on screen during sessions and in reports.
- Optionally fill in email, phone number, and gender.
- Set the max concurrent connections. This controls how many PCs the member can be logged into at the same time. The default is 1.
- Click Save to create the member.
Expected result: The new member appears in the members list. Their wallet balance starts at zero. They can now log in from any client PC using their username.
Note: A password is not required at creation time. The member can set their own password from the client PC's Member Panel on first login. Alternatively, an admin can set it from the server.
How to Top Up a Member's Wallet
The wallet is a prepaid balance stored in minor currency units. Members can use their wallet to pay for sessions and orders without handing cash to the cashier.
- Navigate to the Members page.
- Find and select the member you want to top up. Use the search bar if the list is long.
- Click the Top Up or payment button in the member's detail panel.
- Enter the amount to add to the wallet. This is in your base currency (e.g., 50.00 to add fifty units).
- Select the credit type:
- Paid for cash or card top-ups where money was received.
- Bonus for promotional credit.
- Manual for administrative corrections.
- Select the payment method (Cash, Card, etc.). This records how the money was received.
- Click Confirm.
Expected result: A new wallet credit is created for the member. The credit records the amount, credit type, and payment method. The member's total wallet balance updates immediately. The wallet credit appears in the member's transaction history.
Tip: Each top-up creates a separate wallet credit entry. When the member spends from their wallet, the system consumes from the oldest active credit first (FIFO). Bonus credits and paid credits are tracked separately.
How to Assign a Loyalty Tier
Loyalty tiers let you group members by spending level and apply automatic discounts.
Create a Tier
- Navigate to the Members page.
- Open the Tiers management section (accessible from the members toolbar or settings).
- Click Add Tier.
- Enter a code (e.g., "silver"). This must be unique.
- Enter a display name (e.g., "Silver Member").
- Set the threshold points. A member must accumulate at least this many loyalty points to qualify for this tier.
- Set the discount rate. Enter the discount as a percentage. For example, 5 means a 5% discount on sessions.
- Click Save.
- Repeat for additional tiers (e.g., Gold at 1000 points with a 10% discount).
Assign a Tier to a Member
- Navigate to the Members page.
- Select the member from the list.
- In the member's detail panel, locate the Tier field.
- Select the desired tier from the dropdown.
- Click Save.
Expected result: The member now has the selected tier. When this member's sessions are billed, the tier's discount will be factored into the cost calculation. The member's profile shows their assigned tier.
How to View a Member's Transaction History
The transaction history shows all wallet loads, wallet spends, session payments, refunds, and loyalty point events for a specific member.
- Navigate to the Members page.
- Select the member from the list.
- Open the member's detail panel.
- Navigate to the History or Transactions tab within the detail panel.
- The list shows all transactions in reverse chronological order with:
- Date and time.
- Transaction type (wallet load, wallet spend, session, refund, etc.).
- Amount (positive for loads, negative for spends).
- Source or context (which session or order consumed the funds).
- Cashier who performed the action.
Expected result: A complete audit trail of all financial activity for the member. You can scroll through or filter by date range to find specific transactions.
How to Give a Member Free Time
You can add a time credit to a member's account. Time credits work like wallet credit but in minutes instead of money. When the member starts a session, the system can deduct from their time balance.
- Navigate to the Members page.
- Select the member from the list.
- In the member's detail panel, locate the Time Packages or Time Credits section.
- Click Add Time.
- Enter the number of minutes to add (e.g., 120 for two hours of free time).
- Select the credit type:
- Manual for complimentary time given by the cafe.
- Bonus for promotional time from a campaign.
- Paid for time purchased through a package.
- Optionally set a device restriction (PCs only, Consoles only, or Both) to restrict where the time can be used.
- Optionally set an expiration date after which the unused time expires.
- Click Confirm.
Expected result: A new time credit appears in the member's account with the specified minutes. The member's available time balance updates. When the member starts a session, the system will offer to deduct from their time balance.
How to Check a Member's Balance
Quick balance lookup without opening the full transaction history.
- Navigate to the Members page.
- Use the search bar at the top to type the member's username or display name.
- Select the member from the filtered results.
- The member's detail panel shows the current wallet balance (in your base currency) and time balance (in minutes) at the top of the panel.
Expected result: You see the member's current wallet balance and time balance at a glance. These values reflect all loads, spends, and expirations up to the current moment.
How to Handle Member Debt
If a member is allowed to have a negative balance (debt), the debt ledger tracks how much they owe.
- Navigate to the Members page.
- Select the member who has outstanding debt.
- Open their detail panel and check the Debt section.
- The debt ledger shows individual debt entries with amounts and dates.
- To settle the debt, top up the member's wallet with the owed amount. Select "Paid" as the source kind so the payment is recorded properly.
Expected result: The wallet top-up offsets the debt. The debt ledger shows the settlement entry. The member's net balance returns to zero or positive.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Creating duplicate usernames. Usernames are unique and case-insensitive. "JohnDoe" and "johndoe" are considered the same. The system will reject duplicates.
- Confusing wallet balance and time balance. Wallet is money (minor currency units). Time is minutes. They are separate systems. A member can have wallet credit but no time credit, or vice versa.
- Setting max connections too high. If a member can log into 5 PCs simultaneously, they can consume 5x the resources. Set this to 1 for most members.
- Forgetting to select the correct credit type. Using "Paid" for a complimentary top-up inflates your revenue reports. Use "Bonus" or "Manual" for non-revenue credits.
- Not setting an expiration on promotional time. Free time credits without an expiration date never expire. If you intend promotional time to be limited, always set an expiry.
- Deleting a member instead of deactivating. Deactivating preserves history and can be reversed. Deletion is permanent and removes all associated records.