Central Office Operations

Owned by Robin Rodrigue
Last updated: Mar 23, 2021 by Nora Kinal
14 min read


Overview

The Operations ribbon allows you to perform customer and POS customer maintenance, auto reconcile charges, track/enter income and expenses, and generate claims.

Customer Maintenance

POS Customer Maintenance

Auto Reconcile Charges
Misc Income/Expenses
Claims
Bank Reconciliation

From the Central Office tab, locate Operations in the ribbon.

Customer Maintenance

The Customer Maintenance option allows you to add new customers, edit existing customers, edit subscriptions to other cafeterias, and merge student records.

The Customer Maintenance screen displays the following information about a customer:

  • First Name
  • Nick-name
  • MI
  • Last name
  • Suffix
  • Student Number
  • SIS Data
  • School
  • Grade
  • Track
  • Homeroom
  • District POS ID
  • Birthdate
  • Customer Category
  • Inactive
  • Attached to FR
  • Balance
  • Special Diet

Locate and click on Customer Maintenance. Then, select one of the options, or use the Filter and Search option to find a customer.

Add New Customer

  1. Click the Add New Customer button to add a new customer to the system.
  2. Establish customer information in each tab.

 Customer Info

The Customer Info tab displays the customer's primary information, identity, and address.

Refer to the /wiki/spaces/Newton/pages/8683590 in the Tips & Troubleshooting section of this documentation to learn more about calendars.

Language

Designating a language other than English will allow the system to print letters in the appropriate language if additional letters of various languages have been established by your District.

Feeder School

A Feeder School differs from a Fed-By School. For more information, refer to Newton's FAQ section.

*Asterisks indicate an editable field.

First name - Enter the customer's first name.
MI - Enter the customer's middle initial.
Last name - Enter the customer's last name.
Nick name* - Enter the customer's nickname.
Suffix - Enter the customer's suffix (Jr., III)
Birthdate - Enter the birthday or select the drop-down menu to use the calendar tool.
Student Number - Enter the student number.
SIS Data - Enter SIS data.
School - Use the drop-down menu to select the customer's primary school.
Feeder School - Use the drop-down menu to select the correct feeder school (if applicable).
Language - Use the drop-down menu to select the customer's primary language.
Feeder Group* - Use the drop-down menu to select a feeder group associated with a feeder school (if applicable).
Grade - Use the drop-down menu to select the grade.
Homeroom - Enter the customer's homeroom.
Track - Use the drop-down menu to select the appropriate school track (if applicable).
District POSID* - Enter the customer's District POSID number.
Legacy POSID* - Enter the customer's Legacy POSID number.
POS Pin* - The PIN number associated with the student for Vending Stores.

Head of Household - The head of the Customer household will be imported from DataCenter and listed here.
Address 1 - Enter the customer's address.
Address 2 - Enter additional address information (apartment, suite, building)
City - Enter the customer's city.
State - Enter the customer's state.
Zip - Enter the customer's zip code.
Phone 1/Phone2 - Enter the customer's phone numbers.
Fax - Enter the customer's fax number.
Email - Enter the customer's email address.


Inactive - If the customer is inactive, select the checkbox.
Pending Deletion - If the customer account is soon to be deleted from the system, select the checkbox.
Attached To Free & Reduced - Attach the customer to the Free & Reduced program by selecting the checkbox.
Do Not Email - Disallows emails to be sent from MCS Newton to the customer's email address.

 Status

The Status tab notes the customer's current, future, and temporary override status, application and enrollment information, direct certification and verification indicators, and unallocated and reimbursable-only balances.

Override Price Category

 The customer will be charged the override price.

Unallocated & Reimbursable-Only Balance

The unallocated and reimbursable only balances will display as 0.00 until after the customer has been established and payment has been made.

Effective Category - Reflects the permanent category status. Not editable.
Permanent Category - Use the drop-down menu to select the customer's permanent status category.
Permanent Status Date - Displays the date the customer is entered into the system/given a status. Not editable.
Override Price Category - Use the drop-down menu to select an override price category status.
Future Category - Reflects if a customer's category status is due to change. Not editable.
Change Date - Reflects the date of the future status change. Not editable.
Change Reason - The reason the customer's status will change may appear in the box. Not editable.

Customer Kind - Use the drop-down menu to select a customer kind (Normal, Function Key, Multi-Reimbursable).
Application Number - Displays the application number of the customer. Not editable.
Enrollment Date - Displays the date the customer was enrolled. Not editable.
DC - A checkmark appears in the box if the customer is Directly Certified (DC). Not editable.
In Verification - A checkmark appears in the box if the customer has been selected for verification. Not editable.

Temporary Status Override - If a customer has been granted a temporary status override, establish the following options by clicking the Edit button.
Category - Use the drop-down menu to select a category.
User - Reflects the user logged into the system and making changes. Not editable.
Date - Reflects the date the status override is implemented. Not editable.
Comments - Enter comments why a customer has been granted a temporary override status.

Unallocated Balance - Not editable.
Reimbursable-Only Balance - Not editable.

 POS Customers

The POS Customer List will display the customer's primary cafeteria. If a customer is part of a feeder group (fed by another school) or is subscribed to another cafeteria (eats at another school) the additional school(s) will be displayed.

 See Manager

The See Manager tab creates a message that will be displayed on the serving line of all cafeterias.

Select Edit See Manager, then write comments in the text field.
Existing comments can be viewed and edited from the Comments and Work Log tab.

 Allergies & Special Diets

The Allergies and Special Diets tab specifies customer special diets and/or allergies and provides the appropriate warning on the serving line.

Select Edit Allergies/Diet to make changes to this page.


Special Diet - Use the drop-down menu to select the special dier associated with the customer.

Some districts may choose to create a generic "Special Diet" for all customers.

Allergies If the customer has an allergy, select the checkbox for the appropriate allergen.

 Spending & Charge Limits

Established spending and change limits at the customer level.

Select Edit Spending Limits to make changes to this page.

Require Meal Purchase before A la Carte & Allocate Overpayments to Reimbursable Only

For Require Meal Purchase before Alacarte and Allocate Overpayments to Reimbursable Only options, note that checked means always require/allocate, unchecked/blank means the options do not apply, and shaded/squared (depending on your operating system) means use default in cafeteria settings.

 

Alacarte Spending Limits - Establish spending limits for à la carte sales by entering amounts in each category.
Daily, Weekly, Breakfast, Lunch, Snack, Supper.

Charge Limit - Establish charge limit rules.
Use Cafeteria Default Limit - Charges are limited by the amount established for the cafeteria.
No Charging - No charging is allowed.
Specific Limit - Establishes a maximum amount of charges. Enter the amount. Any overpayment of funds will apply the balance to the reimbursable-only balance.

Disallow Alacarte on specific days-of-week - Use the drop-down menu to select which days the customer cannot purchase à la carte sales.

Require Meal Purchase before Alacarte - A reimbursable meal purchase must be made prior to à la carte sales.
Allocate Overpayments to Reimbursable-Only - Overpayment balances are applied to the reimbursable-only balances.
Allow Alacarte Vending - À la carte vending purchases are allowed.
Allow Reimbursable Meal Vending - Reimbursable meal vending purchases are allowed.
Ignore Vending Fraud Limit - Does not suspend vending service if the student exceeds normal spending limits.

Disallow Charges -Select each applicable checkbox in which charges are not allowed.

 Photo

Connects a photo of the customer with the account. Once a photo is established, the image will appear on the POS Serving Line.

Photos may also be taken (with capable equipment) on the Serving Line.


If the customer has an existing photo file, it may be applied to the record by following the steps below.

    1. Click the Change Photo button to establish a photo for the customer.
    2. Click the Import button.
    3. Locate the file from your local or network drive. Select the picture file. Then, click Open.
    4. Click Close.

The customer's photo should now appear in the Photo tab.

 Biometrics

The Biometrics tab allows customers to opt-in or opt-out of biometric enrollment. The "not specified" option is set by default and enrollment is allowed. If a student has chosen to "opt-out" of biometric enrollment, the serving line will not allow the process to be performed. 

Select Edit to make changes to this page.
Select View Biometric History to view historical Biometric information.
Select Delete Biometric History to remove Biometric information.

Allow Biometric Enrollment - Toggle through the options to select the correct one.

Biometric Enrollment

Note that checked means always Allow, unchecked means do not allow, and shaded/squared (depending on your operating system) means use default in cafeteria settings. If a customer has opted out of biometric enrollment and an attempt to enroll the customer has been made, the following message will appear:



Enrollment Information (not editable)
Date Captured - Displays the date and time the enrollment was captured.
Enrolled By - Displays the use who captured the enrollment.
Enrollment Type - Displays the type of enrollment device utilized to capture enrollment.
Enrolled on Line - Displays the serving line in which enrollment occurred.

 View History

The Biometric Enrollment Report displays all biometric enrollment dates and details.

 

 Delete Biometric Data
Delete Biometric Data allows the option of deleting all biometric data for the student.
  1. The Delete all biometric data window appears. Click Yes to continue.
  2. You will receive a message once the data has been successfully deleted.
 Comments and Work Logs

The Comments and Work Logs tab allows you to view and edit comments and work logs on the customer account.

Select a comment or work log and then choose an option from the top ribbon.


Add Comment - Allows you to add a comment to the customer account.
Log Action - Allows you to add a work log to the customer account.
Edit - Allows you to edit a comment or work log.
Remove - Allows you to delete a comment or work log.

Once you have established all the necessary information for the customer, click Ok.

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Edit Subscription

It may be necessary to subscribe a customer to a secondary cafeteria if the customer eats at a different cafeteria.

  1. Click the Edit Subscription button to add a new customer to the system.
  2. Establish customer subscription options. Then, click Ok.
    1. Cafeteria - Use the drop-down menu to select the secondary cafeteria.
    2. Guest - If the student is a guest at the secondary cafeteria, place a checkmark in the box.
    3. Expiration Date - Enter an expiration date for the subscription. If there is no expiration for the subscription, leave the cell blank.

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Merge

It may be necessary to merge duplicate customer records from time to time.

  1. Click the Edit Subscription button to add a new customer to the system.

  2. In the Merge Customers window, establish Old Customer and New Customer records with the Pick button. Then, click Ok.

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POS Customer Maintenance


The Customer Maintenance option allows you to add new POS customers, edit existing customers and POS customers, review letter and record history, apply payments, transfer money, give refunds, make corrections, edit subscriptions to cafeterias, and print account statements.

Locate and click on POS Customer Maintenance.

Add

Allows you to add an existing customer as a POS customer. After you have completed Steps 1 and 2, continue with Step 2 under Central Office Operations#View.

  1. Select the new POS customer's primary school by using the drop-down menu to select the correct cafeteria. Then, click Add New POS Customer.

  2. Select how to create the new POS Customer. Then click Ok.

    POS Customer records are created automatically from central-office Customer records that are enrolled in a school fed by your cafeteria, or when you manually subscribe them.

    1. Create a new customer record - Creating a new customer record will bring up the Edit Customer window. Complete the information as you would when completing Customer Maintenance.

       Click here to view the Edit Customer window.

    2. Subscribe to an existing customer record - Subscribing to an existing customer record will bring up the Pick Customer window. 

       Click here to view instructions for the Pick Customer window.

      Enter Pick Customer information. Then, click Refresh.

      Select the customer. Then, click Ok.

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View / Edit POS Customer

Allows you to select, view, and edit POS Customer information.

  1. Locate and select the POS Customer.
    1. From the Filter and Search section, use the drop-down menu to locate a cafeteria.
    2. Enter customer information and click Refresh.
  2. Select the POS Customer. Then, click View/Edit POS Customer.

  3. From the Edit POS Customer Dashboard, complete any necessary actions.

View / Edit Customer - Select to edit Customer data. For more information on how to make changes, refer to Customer Maintenance.
Edit - Select to edit POSID, POS Group, and Homeroom.



  1. Customer Photo - Click the Edit / Change Photo button to remove, add, or change a customer's photo.


 Action Ribbon - POS Customer actions and Account Balance actions

Edit Subscription - Subscribes a customer to a secondary cafeteria. Refer to Edit Subscription instructions under Customer Maintenance.
Merge - Merges duplicate records. Refer to Merge instructions under Customer Maintenance.
Delete - Deletes Customer record. Customer records may not be deleted while attached to a school.
View/Print - View or Print customer reports.

 View/Print

Account Statement - The account statement creates a report for all customer activity for an established period of time. Establish statement options. Then, click Ok.


Customer Record History - Shows changes to customer record information, POS customer record information, and POS ID changes.


Letter History - Shows a History of all printed letters.

Cancel - Cancels any changes made.

Account Balance Options: See Adjustments.

In order to make any adjustments to account balances, an operation day must be started.

Payment - Add a payment to the POS Customer's account.
Refund - Refunds money back to the POS Customer. POS Customer refunds apply to unallocated and reimbursable-only balances, not change dispersed on the serving line.
Correction - Applies corrections to a customer's fund record.
Transfer - Transfer funds from one account to another (sibling, household member, etc.).

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Auto Reconcile Charges

To automatically reconcile charges, click the Auto Reconcile Charges button.

You will see a series of processes running as charges are reconciling.

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Misc Income/Expenses

  1. Locate and click on Misc Incomes/Expenses.
  2. Use the drop-down menu to select a cafeteria. Then, click Ok.
  3. Establish Miscellaneous Income and Expense information. Then, click Ok.
    1. Show Income and Expenses since - Use the ellipsis icon to establish a date for income and expense transactions.
    2. Enter/edit incomes and expenses.

      1. Account - Use the drop-down menu to select the income/expense account in which information is being input. (For new entries, click in the last row.)

        Account descriptions are first established in Miscellaneous Setup → Income/Expense Accounts.

      2. Date - Use the drop-down menu to select a date. By default, today's date is chosen.
      3. Type - The type is predetermined in Miscellaneous Setup → Income/Expense Account options.
      4. Amount - Enter the total amount of the income/revenue.
      5. PO Number - Enter the PO Number from the receipt.
      6. Comments - Enter any comments regarding the income or expense.

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Claims

The Claims option allows you to create a claim for federal and (if applicable) state reimbursement.

For detailed information in regards to the Claims process, please refer to the subpage of this section.

  1. Locate and click on Claims.
  2. In the Claims window, click the Add button to add a new claim.

    You may change the list of displayed claims by selecting the switches.

    1. Include Draft Records
    2. Include Current Records
    3. Include Old Records
  3. Select a claim period and click Ok.

  4. In the Edit Claim Record window, review claim record details.

    • Severe-Need Breakfast (designates a severe-need school)
    • Free Snacks
    • Free Suppers
    • Max Enrollment
    • Max Free Enrolled
    • Max Reduced Enrolled
    • Max Paying Enrolled
    • Max State Reimbursed Reduced Enrolled
    • Max Snack Enrolled
    • Max Supper Enrolled
    • Special-Milk Count (Standard)
    • Special-Milk Count (Free)
    • Special-Milk Operating Days
    • Total Milk Purchased
    • Total Milk Cost
    • Special Milk Revenue 
    • Edited By
    • Edit Comments

  5. To make changes to counts, select a cafeteria. Then, click Edit Row.

    It is recommended any changes be made before committing to a claim. Although claims can be amended after being committed, it increases the chances of audits.

    1. Enter a comment and your initials as to the reason edits are being made to a school site. When you are done, click Ok.
    2. Make any necessary changes to the cafeteria counts and figures. If you need to make adjustments to other cafeterias, follow the same procedures.
      1. Operating Days - Number of operating days in a claim period.
      2. Sum of Attendance
      3. Sum of Free Students
      4. Sum of Reduced Students
      5. Sum of Paying Students
      6. Free-Eligible Meals
      7. Reduced Meals
      8. Paying Meals
      9. Headstart Meals
      10. State-Reimbursed Reduced Meals
      11. At-Cost Student Meals
      12. Employee Meals
      13. Adult Meals
      14. At-Cost Adult Meals
      15. At-Cost Meal Revenue
      16. Alacarte Revenue
        Click on Image to Enlarge
    3. Once you have completed reviewing and editing a claim record, click the Save and Commit button. You can click the Save without Committing button if you need to make additional changes at a later time.

The newest claim period will appear that the top of the claims list.

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Bank Reconciliation

The Bank Reconciliation section allows you to review, edit, and reconcile bank deposit information for your entire district.

  1. Locate and click on Bank Reconciliation.
  2. Select a range of dates using the calendar tools. Choose to filter your results by Cafeteria, Category, or the Entire District. 

  3. View the deposits within the date range you selected. Make any changes to deposits here using the options listed in the top toolbar.

    1. You may select different filters after viewing results by selecting the Change Criteria option.


Reconcile

  1. Select a deposit that you would like to reconcile (or un-reconcile, if already reconciled). 
  2. Select Reconcile to either reconcile or un-reconcile the deposit.

Edit

  1. Select a deposit that you would like to edit.
  2. Enter or confirm the Bank Amount and the Bank Date. Enter any comments as needed. When finished, select Ok.

Quick Reconcile

If bank info has not yet been entered, you can click Quick Reconcile and click on each row to duplicate the Serve Date as the Bank Deposit Date and the Posted Amount as the Bank Deposit Amount. Make sure to only quick reconcile transactions that are concurrent with each other.

  1. Select Quick Reconcile. Once selected, the button will start to flash red to indicate that Quick Reconcile has been activated.
  2. Double-click to select a deposit that you would like to edit and reconcile.
  3. Enter or confirm the Bank Amount and the Bank Date. Enter any comments as needed. When finished, select Ok.

Import Deposits

  1. Select Import Deposits and select a bank deposit importer to use. To set up a bank deposit import, see Bank Deposit Importers.
  2. Select Ok to complete the import.

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