Order Management

Orders in HandyCafe are used to sell products (food, drinks, accessories, and any other items your internet cafe or gaming center offers). The order system tracks every sale from creation through payment or cancellation, with full integration into the cash report and cashier shift tracking.

Order Lifecycle

Every order follows a straightforward lifecycle:

New Order  -->  Open  -->  Closed (payment received)
                  |
                  +---->  Cancelled (voided)

• Open: The order has been created and may have items added. It is awaiting payment or further modification.
• Closed: Payment has been received and recorded. A transaction record is created in the system. The order cannot be modified after closing.
• Cancelled: The order has been voided. No transaction is created. Cancelled orders remain in the history for auditing purposes but do not affect revenue calculations.

Tab View

The Orders page organizes orders into four tabs:

Each tab shows a count badge so you can quickly see how many orders are in each state. The Open tab is the default view since those are the orders that need attention.

Creating a New Order

1. Navigate to the Orders page.
2. Click the New Order button.
3. Optionally assign the order to a specific PC by selecting a hostname or MAC address. This links the order to a particular station, which is useful for tracking deliveries to specific seats.
4. Optionally add a note to the order (e.g., a table number, customer name, or special instructions like "no ice" or "extra sugar").
5. The order is created in the Open state and ready for items to be added.

Adding Items to an Order

Once an order is created:

1. Search or browse products: Use the search bar to find products by name, or browse through your product catalog.
2. Select a product: Click on the product to add it to the order.
3. Set quantity: Adjust the quantity for each item. The default is 1.
4. Set unit price: The unit price is populated from the product catalog but can be overridden per order if needed (e.g., for a special discount or promotion).

You can add multiple different products to a single order. Each item appears as a line in the order with its own quantity and unit price.

Modifying Items

While an order is still Open, you can modify its items:

• Change quantity: Increase or decrease the quantity of any item in the order.
• Change unit price: Override the unit price for a specific item. This is useful for applying ad-hoc discounts or correcting prices.
• Remove items: Remove an item entirely from the order.

Once an order is Closed or Cancelled, its items cannot be modified.

Order Total

The order total is automatically calculated from all items in the order:

Line Total = Quantity x Unit Price
Order Total = Sum of all Line Totals

Each line item also tracks:

• Product name: The name of the product sold.
• Unit price: The price per unit at the time of sale.
• Quantity: How many units were sold.
• VAT: Tax amount applicable to the item, if configured.
• Discounts: Any discounts applied to the line item.
• Line total: The final amount for that line (quantity x unit price, adjusted for VAT and discounts).

The order total updates in real time as you add, remove, or modify items.

Closing an Order

When the customer is ready to pay:

1. Review the order items and total.
2. Click the Close Order button.
3. Select the payment method (cash, card, mobile payment, etc.). The available payment methods are configured in your system settings.
4. Confirm the payment.

When an order is closed:

• A transaction record is created in the system.
• The transaction is linked to the current cashier's shift.
• The revenue appears in the Cash Report.
• The order moves to the Closed tab and can no longer be modified.

Cancelling an Order

If an order needs to be voided:

1. Select the open order.
2. Click the Cancel button.
3. Confirm the cancellation.

When an order is cancelled:

• No transaction is created.
• The order moves to the Cancelled tab.
• It remains in the system for auditing purposes (you can see it in the All tab and in the Cancelled tab).
• Cancelled orders do not affect revenue calculations or the Cash Report.

Time Display

Orders display relative timestamps to make it easy to see how recent they are:

This makes it easy to spot orders that have been open for too long and may need attention.

Order Notifications (Client-Originated Orders)

When a customer places an order from their client PC (using the client application's ordering feature):

• A notification appears on the server application with a sound alert.
• The notification shows the order details including the items requested and the originating PC.
• The cashier can accept the order and begin preparing it.

This feature enables customers to order food and drinks without leaving their station, improving the customer experience and reducing wait times.

Required Permissions

Order management is available to cashiers with the appropriate permissions. The ability to create, view, and manage orders is controlled through the cashier role system.

Owners (Admin role) always have full access to all order management features.

Order History and Reporting

All orders, whether closed or cancelled, are stored in the system and contribute to reporting:

• Closed orders appear in the Cash Report as revenue transactions.
• Order items are tracked individually, allowing you to see which products sell the most.
• Cashier attribution: Every order records which cashier created and closed it, enabling per-cashier performance tracking.
• The Cash Report can filter transactions by category to show order-related revenue separately from session revenue.