Staff Assist POS manual

1. Start your free trial

1. Go to staffassistpos.com and tap Start free trial.
2. Enter your email and a password, then the verification code we email you.
3. Name your business. You get 14 days free. No card is needed.

Use a computer or tablet at the bar for the register. Phones work too. Everything is saved online, so every device sees the same orders.

2. First-day setup

1. Business name: click the name at the top left to change it.
2. Settings: set your tax rate, number of tables, tip choices and receipt paper (80mm receipt printer or a normal page).
3. Price password: Settings, then Price password. Staff will need it to add items or change prices.
4. Add your menu (next section), then add your team.
5. Ring a test sale with your own account, then refund it from Tickets.

3. Your menu

1. Open Items, then add an item with a name, price and category.
2. Tick Contains alcohol on every beer, wine and liquor item. This is what makes the ID lock work for guest orders.
3. Stock: type how many you have. Servers see 3 left, Only 2 left, Last one, then Sold out. Stock goes down on each sale and back up on refunds.
4. Barcodes: if an item has none, tap Generate. Print labels from the Items screen. A USB scanner works anywhere on the register screen, and a phone can be paired as a scanner from the top of the screen.

4. Your team

Everyone gets their own login. That is how the app records who unlocked alcohol and whose bill an order belongs to.

1. Settings, then Team, then Add user. Enter their name, email and a first password.
2. Tell them to sign in and change it (Settings, then Change my password).
3. Forgot a password? Use Reset password next to their name. When someone leaves, tap Remove.

5. Guest ordering from their phone

1. Settings, then Turn on patron ordering.
2. On Open orders, tap Print table QR cards. Put one on each table. Each card also prints a short web address for guests who cannot scan.
3. For a bar tab, open the tab and tap QR code.

How an order moves

1. The guest sends an order. Your register beeps and Patron orders shows a number badge.
2. No alcohol: tap Accept order.
3. Alcohol: go to the table, check ID, tap Unlock alcohol and sign in with your own email and password. Then Accept order.
4. The items join that table's bill, assigned to the person who accepted. Nothing reaches the kitchen or bar before that.

Paying: for now the guest pays you at the register. Taking cards on their phone is not switched on yet.

6. The Back Booth (guest chat)

A friendly room for the people in your bar tonight. Guests who scan a table or tab code get a second tab, The Back Booth. They pick a name, say hi, react with a beer or a clap, and invite friends. It is yours to run.

Turning it on

Settings, then The Back Booth, then Turn on. A Back Booth tab appears for staff. Turn it off the same way. It stays off until you turn it on.

What you can do

• Post and pin an announcement: specials, last call, trivia starting. Pinned posts stay at the top.
• Remove a message.
• Mute a guest for 10 minutes or for the night.
• Ban (owner only), and Lift a mute or ban if you change your mind.
• Reports: guests can report a message. A number badge shows on the Back Booth tab. Review it and remove, mute, or dismiss.
• Silent moderator: tick this so you are not listed as "here" while you watch.

7. Cash drawer and reports

• Open a shift with your starting cash. At close, count the drawer to see over or short.
• Tickets: every open, paid, refunded and voided ticket. Search by table, tab, server, receipt number or item.
• Reports: sales, tips, sales by server, and every alcohol approval with who unlocked it and when.
• Voids and refunds are always recorded with who did them.

Card payments at the register are recorded only: run the card on your terminal first, then choose Card.

8. Billing

• Price: $35 a month or $360 a year. Use Choose a plan any time during the trial.
• Manage billing (owner only) opens Stripe's page: change card, switch monthly or annual, cancel, download invoices.
• If a subscription ends, the register locks and your data is kept.

Ring up an order

1. Sign in with your own email and password. Never use someone else's.
2. Open Open orders. Tap a free table to seat it, or type a name and tap Open tab. Leave the name blank for "Tab 3".
3. On the Register, tap items to add them. Use the category buttons or the search box. A scanner reads barcodes from anywhere on the screen.
4. Tap an item's name in the order to add a note ("no ice", "medium rare") or remove it.
5. Tap Send to the kitchen or bar. A filled dot means sent. An empty dot means not sent yet.

Take payment

1. Optional: Print invoice so the guest can see the bill first. Add a name for "Bill to" if needed.
2. Discount if needed (percent or amount).
3. Tap Pay. Pick a tip and Cash, Card or Other. For cash, tap the amount received to see the change.
4. Complete sale, or Complete & print receipt.

• Leave open keeps the order for later.
• Void order cancels it. It is recorded with your name.
• Refund: Tickets, pick the paid ticket, then Refund. Items go back to stock.
• Card is recorded only. Run the card on your terminal first.

Guest orders and the ID lock

1. A guest scans the code on their table and sends an order. You hear a beep and see a number on Patron orders.
2. Open it. If it has alcohol, walk to the table and check their ID.
3. Tap Unlock alcohol and enter your own email and password. This puts your name on the approval.
4. Tap Accept order. It goes onto that table or tab and the bill is yours. Or tap Decline if you cannot take it.

The Back Booth (if your bar uses it)

• Open the Back Booth tab to see what guests are saying.
• Post a specials or last-call note, and pin it to keep it on top.
• On a message you can Remove it, or mute the guest for 10 minutes or for the night. Only the owner can ban.
• A number on the tab means guests reported something. Check it.
• Be the host, not the police: friendly, light, quick.

Handy things

Order from your phone

1. Scan the square code on your table with your phone camera. Can't scan? Type the short address printed on the card.
2. Tap what you want, then tap Send to staff.
3. A server brings it. You pay the server. Nothing is charged on your phone.

Good to know

• Drinks with alcohol: a server has to check your ID first. They will come to your table, and your order waits until they do.
• Changed your mind? Tap Cancel my order, then confirm. Once a server has accepted it, ask them instead.
• Friends at your table: only the person who started the bill can add to it. They can send a link so a friend can add too, and can approve it first.
• Another group at your table? They get their own bill.

The Back Booth

If this bar has it, you will see a second tab, The Back Booth. It is a chat for everyone in the bar tonight.

• Pick a name (it doesn't have to be your real one) and say hi.
• Tap the beer, clap, laugh, heart or fire to react.
• Invite a friend with a link. They can chat and see the menu. To order, they scan a table code.
• See something rude? Tap Report. The bar staff will look.

Something isn't working

Still stuck? Email the support address shown on the sign-in page and tell us what you tapped and what you expected.