How to Handle In Progress Batches

Overview

This document provides details for resolving “In Progress” batches when they are encountered at the time of posting.

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When a meal is started, Newton creates an inbound and outbound connection for each serving line. Transactions are communicated between the main machine and POS machines in real time. If there is a communication interruption from a computer crash, power outage, etc., the POS machine will continue to function and save the data locally. It will resume sending data to the main machine when the connection is reestablished. In the event a connection is not established before the end of the meal, pending batches can be sent via removable drive when exiting the serving line, or saved for later submission when the network is once again available.

Below you will find a 3 phase process for handling In Progress batches:

Phase 1: Attempting Retrieve from Main Machine - Using the Retrieve Function typically resolves the issue.

Phase 2: Restarting and Closing Point of Sale - This process will flush any pending transactions.

Phase 3: Sending Archives - This process will, in the event batches were sent via diskette but not retrieved, recover these batches.

If you experience a network problem and your POS Machine is still functioning, you can still use the POS Machine to make sales. The data will be saved on the POS Machine and later transferred to the Main Machine (see below for more information)

Phase 1: Attempting to Retrieve from Main Machine

If communication is interrupted between machines during a meal, after the meal is stopped the batch may be marked as In Progress indicating that Newton has not received complete batch information from the POS machine. If network connectivity is restored prior to close of service the following steps should resolve any In Progress batches. In the event these steps do not resolve the issue, please continue on to Phase 2.
Step 1: From the Point of Sale menu, select Review Transactions.
Step 2: Check the Status column for any batches marked In Progress. Click Retrieve to gather the batch data from the POS Machine.
Step 3: Select the Offline Data option, then click Retrieve.
A message will appear with the number of batches retrieved.
Step 4: The status of the batch will change to Interrupted. Select the batch and click Toggle/Skip. The status will change to Awaiting Posting.
Step 5: Complete the posting process as usual.

Phase 2: Restarting and Closing Point of Sale

If you are still serving a meal, restarting the POS program should reestablish communication with the main machine and update the batch. If the meal has been stopped, reopen Point of Service and then close Point of Service. This should send the batch from the POS machine to the main machine.
Step 1: Open Newton POS on the POS machine. Once you see the login screen, click Cancel to access the main menu. (It is not necessary to log in and open the POS line if you are not serving a meal.)
Step 2: Quit Newton POS by clicking Exit Point-Of-Sale.
Step 3: If batches still pending, a warning message will appear. Click Yes to send the pending batches.
Step 4: If the batch is successfully sent, retrieve batch data (See How to Handle In Progress Batches).
If communication between the machines is still not available, you will be given an option to send data offline. See the Manually Transferring Data document for more information.

Phase 3: Send Archive Batches

If Newton POS loses communication with the main machine, when it is shut down it creates an archive file. If the Retrieve function and the Restart process have not sent the batch data, the next step is to send the archived batch file.
Step 1: Open Newton POS on the POS machine. Once you see the login screen, click Cancel to access the main menu. (It is not necessary to log in and open the POS line if you are not serving a meal.)
Step 2: Select Send Archived Batches from the POS menu.
Step 3: Select the archive date that needs to be sent and click Open. The file name is the archive date in YYYYMMDD format.
Step 4: Click Exit Point-Of-Sale to close the program.
POS must be closed for the batch to be sent.
Step 5: If the batch is successfully sent, retrieve batch data (See How to Handle In Progress Batches).
If communication between the machines is still not available, it may be necessary to manually transfer the batches. See the Manually Transferring Data document for more information.