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Aloha TS Install Handbook

  • Updated

Introduction

 

Please refer to this link to fill out the Agent configuration submission form:
Aloha Integration Form

The Omnivore Aloha integration utilizes Aloha Connect (aka Aloha COM) interface to inject orders into Aloha POS through a locally installed Omnivore Agent services called the POS Agent and POS Agent Updater. This local service also pulls POS information such as menu data, employees, tenders, etc… All the data is pulled from the local dbf files located in the Data folder. Omnivore automatically caches data every half hour. 

 

Pre install Check

Check TS or QS.

Check if an Interface Server is Already Running. 

What version of Aloha am I? 



Required Configuration 

Interface Server

Reminder: There may already be an interface server programmed and running. If there is, this is not needed.

>Maintenance>Hardware>Terminals

  • Number: (typically 99)
  • Name: (typically Int SVR for easy recognition)
  • POS: should be checked
  • Model: Clone
  • Function: Interface server
  • Revenue Center: Any will do, does not matter

If you need more details please click here. 

 

Interface Terminals

>Maintenance>Hardware>Terminals

  • Number: Number you which to set (typically 101)
  • Model: Clone
  • Function: Interface Terminal

    Printers (Optional)

  •  Default: if you want checks to print, set to a receipt printer.
  • Voucher: if you want vouchers to print, set to a receipt printer.
  • Label: Not supported by Omnivore. 
  • Revenue Center: Up to location, set this to whichever revenue center you want tickets created to be in. 

If you need more details please click here. 

 

Integrations

Reminder: If another product is already launching an interface server, this is not needed!

>Maintenance>System Settings> Integrations

  • Interface Server ID: One created above. 
  • Type of Operation: TS or QS based on installed product. 
  • Start POS if not already running.
  • Force start of POS even if instance is found

If location has a dual NIC you will need to click “add” type the PC name (typically ALOHABOH) and IP address.

 

Job Code

>Maintenance>Labor>Job Codes

Jobcode

  • Name: Any unique name (typically Omnivore)
  • Shift Required 
  • Exclude from Labor Scheduling.
  • Suppress the shift time out on printed schedule on FOH

Order Entry

  • Order Entry
  • Interface
  • Order Taker
  • Check type Tables and Tabs
  • Can get checks from other employees
  • Automatically return checks to original owners

Financial

  • Allow to void own items
  • Uses Password 

If you need more details please click here.

 

Employee

>Maintenance>Labor>Employees

Click New and select "POS Only" from the drop down.

Employee

  • Number: Any number (typically 975)
  • Social security number: 000-00-0000
  • Last name: Any (typically Omnivore)

Jobode

  • Click Add
  • Jobcode: select previously created job code. 
  • Access Level: Manager access is typically selected.

Make sure any other typically required setting is properly configured. 

If your application requires an employee of their own, please make a copy of this employee and change the name to your liking. 

If you need more details please click here.

 

If no other changes to Aloha are needed, A refresh should be done. 

 

Optional Configuration

Tenders

>Maintenance>Payments>Tenders

Click New, select type "Generic" from the drop down.

  • Name: Name of tender partner wishes to use
  • Default amount behavior: Ask for amount
  • Active
  • Track
  • Can refund
  • Allow Tips
  • Maximum tip%: Typically 999 but whatever the location wants.

Maximum tip% typically 999 but whatever the location wants.

If you need more details please click here.

 

Menu item

>Maintenance>Menu>Items

Ghost item

Click New (For Config Center make sure proper store is selected or Corp)

  • Item Number: (Typically 975)
  • Type: Standard
  • Short Name: Name on button
  • Chit Name: Name that prints on kitchen printers
  • Long Name: Name that appears on Guest Check.
  • Tax Group: Any since item will be zero dollars.
  • Sales/Retail category: Food

This item MUST be placed on a submenu for us to be able to cache it. Work with the location to find a submenu they have that is not used on a menu and place item there. 

 

Open item

Click New (For Config Center make sure proper store is selected or Corp)

  • Item Number: (Typically 975)
  • Type: Standard
  • Short Name: Name on button
  • Chit Name: Name that prints on kitchen printers
  • Long Name: Name that appears on Guest Check.
  • Ask for Description: Force staff to input the name of the item when this item is ordered. 
  • Tax Group: Any item since it  will be zero dollars.
  • Sales/Retail category: Food

This item MUST be placed on a submenu for us to be able to cache it. Work with the location to find a submenu they have that is not used on a menu and place item there.

POS orderable item

Click New (For Config Center make sure proper store is selected or Corp)

  • Item Number: (Typically 975)
  • Type: Standard
  • Short Name: Name on button
  • Chit Name: Name that prints on kitchen printers
  • Long Name: Name that appears on Guest Check.
  • Tax Group: Any since item will be zero dollars.
  • Sales/Retail category: Food

Work with location to determine which submenu they would like this to be added to. 

If you need more details please click here.

Troubleshooting

After the final refresh of the Aloha BOH, please wait 5 minutes and then ask a staff member to log into a terminal in the front of the house. If they can then please submit the form, if they are not able to, follow this guide 

 

Additional Articles: 

Tender groups and why they suck. 

What a good running iber(qs).exe should look like in the task manager. 

Checking the debout for a Terminal Up status.



Check TS or QS

Check CFC/AM

You can see if you are TS or QS in the top left corner of Configuration Center or Aloha Manager. This is not always the best place to chat because if you have both in your enterprise and are utilizing a corporate or global login it could show both. If the location is QS please stop and use this guide.

 

TS means Table Service and QS means Quick Service



Check the BIN folder

Go to a file explorer search bar and type in %iberdir%. This will take you to where all of the Aloha files and folders live. Look for a BIN folder, and once inside look for the file iber.exe or iberqs.exe. If you have both in the folder then you will need to try an alternative method.

 

Iber is Table Service and iberqs is Quick Service

 

Ask the Merchant or their dealer

At the end of the day no one is going to know the system better than the people who set it up. If these ways are not able to work for you then ask the merchant or their dealer what it is setup as. TS or QS?

 

Check if an interface server is already running. 

 

From the Windows desktop, open task manager. This can be done by right clicking on the Windows logo and selecting “task Manager”. 

Open it, go to details.

 

 Look for either Iber.exe or iberQS.exe process running.

 

 If one is already running, Please open Aloha Manager or CFC and go to Maintenance>Hardware>Terminals. 

Search for a function of  “interface server” 

 

What Version of Aloha am I?

To Check which version of Aloha you are running. Log into the New Aloha Manager or Configuration Center and click Help>About. 

Local Aloha POS Version: is what you are looking for. 

 

Interface Server

  1. Interface Server Setup

>Maintenance>Hardware>Terminals

  1. Click New on the right hand side.
  2. Under Number type “99”, as this is the standard number we use for the Interface Server. If this is already in use, choose another number and make note of it
  3. In the name, type “INT SERVER”
  4. set Revenue Center to be the same as what the Operator uses on their physical terminals
  5. Make sure the configuration matches this screen shot

Also note, the revenue center will change from site to site. It is important that we verify with the restaurant operator which one they would like to use. Click Save

Back to Top

Interface Terminals

>Maintenance>Hardware>Terminals

  1. Click New on the right hand side.
  2. Type “101”, as this is the standard number we use for the Interface Terminal. If this is already in use, choose another number and make note of it
  3. In the name, type “INT TRM”
  4. set Revenue Center to be the same as what the Operator uses on their physical terminals
  5. Make sure the configuration matches this screen shot
  6. Save
  7. Repeat this process for the second interface terminal and name it “EMP INT TRM”

JobCode

 

>Maintenance>Labor>Job Codes

  1. Click New and enter a number that does not exist on the job code drop down
  2. Enter a name of the job code (975,API)
  3. Mimic the following setups according to the pictures to make the job code self banking
  4. On the Order Entry Tab - Enable Auto Return Get Checks
  5. Check Type - select Tabs and Table

 

 

 

Employee

>Maintenance>Labor>Employees

  1. Click the down arrow next to “New” and select POS Only type. 
  2. On the POS Employee Number: Type “975”, as this is the standard number we use for the Interface Server. If this is already in use, choose another number and make note of it
  3. Under the Jobcode tab, Click “Add” and select your POS Agent Jobcode with an access level of “Manager”. 

 



Tenders

                      >Maintenance>Payments>Tenders

  1. Click the down arrow next to “New” and select the type of Generic.
  2. Type a number of Tender Type you wish to add
  3. Under Name, type the name of the tender type
  • Active
  • Track
  • Can Refund
  • Enable Allow Tips
  • Set Maximum to 100%

 

 

As a caution, I would go to Maintenance> Payments> Tender Groups and the created tenders to all groups in there. Since we are not on a payment panel button it will still prevent staff from using.

Menu Item

Menu Items must be placed on a submenu for our integration to see. If you want the item to be a “Ghost Item” simply add to a Submenu that does not exist on a Menu.

Maintenance>Menu>Items

  1. Click New (For Config Center make sure proper store is selected or Corp)
  2. Item Number: (Typically 975)
  3. Type: Standard
  4. Short Name: Name on button
  5. Chit Name: Name that prints on kitchen printers
  6. Long Name: Name that appears on Guest Check.
  7. (OPTIONAL) Ask for Description: Will force staff to input name of item when this item is ordered. 
  8. Tax Group: Any as item will be zero dollars.
  9. Sales/Retail category: Food
  10. Save.

 

At this point the item will need to be placed on a New or existing Submenu.

Maintenance>Menu>Submenu

Go to the Layout of the chosen Submenu and find an open spot. Click the spot and to the right under Item click the drop down and find your created item. 

Some versions allow you to type the number of the item and it will auto sort to it. 

 

Make sure to Save. 

 

ATG 

  1. Go to Maintenance>System Settings>Integrations 
  2. Click +New
  3. Set Interface Server Terminal to our Interface Server (Term99)
  4. Make sure the proper Type of Operation is Set i.e TS or QS
  5. Click “Start the POS if not already running”
  6. Click “Force start of POS even if instance if found”
  7. If the site is using a dual NIC check IP address in case of Dual NIC.
  8.                  To determine if dual NIC simply open a cmd prompt and type ipconfig, this will list all NIC the Aloha is the one most likely not set with a gateway.
  9.       Type the name of the pc (most likely ALOHABOH)
  10.      Type the IP Address from the Aloha network
  11.       Click Save. 

 

ATO

Click the Takeout button on top.

Go to Maintenance>Takeout Configuration>Takeout System Parameters.

Look to ensure there is a default entry in place. If there is not one, make one real quick.

Click the New drop down like this:

If a default exists, click Specific Terminal 

Set the: Terminal Number, Service Host, Start POS Interface. Save

 



NIC 

This is pretty complicated and might be best to have your network administrator or POS reseller set for you. 

  1. Right click the Windows icon on task bar
  2. Select “run”
  3. Type in “cmd” (no quotes)
  5. Type in “ipconfig” (no quotes)
  6. If two network cards are present, select the one without a gateway as this is typically the Aloha network. If you need help, contact your network administrator or POS reseller and they can help 

Name of PC

Link to support.microsoft on how to get your PC name. 

 

 

 

 

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