Choice Keys Setup Manual
When using the Remote Printing Module, AccuPOS on screen Choice Keys help streamline changes, preparation directions, and additions to the POS orders to help with the communication between the front of the house and the back of the house. Just like the on screen buttons, laying out the choices and additions correctly is crucial for efficient usage.
This guide will walk you through the proper procedure to set up Choice menus for ringing in certain items and will help with modifications to orders that can be used at the Point of Sale so that orders can be rung in correctly the first time to ensure proper food preparation and presentation.
All versions of AccuPOS Point of Sale may use this feature. However, without the AccuPOS Remote Printing Module also running, the modifications that the Choices menus provide will not be printed. For more information on setting up and maintaining the AccuPOS Remote Printing Module, please refer to Remote Printing Module Setup Guide.
- Getting Started
- The Add/Change Choice Keys Basics
- To Create a Choice Menu
- Adding a Choice Only Button
- Adding an Up-Charge Button
- Deleting a Button
- Attaching Inventory Items to Choice Menus
- Choice Menus at the Point of Sale
Getting Started
The first thing that must be done before any Choices Menus are created is to know exactly what types of choices you will need available for what items. Choice menus are grouped by category. For example, steaks will need an option for preferred temperature, whereas chicken will not. Also, bear in mind that any additions to orders that will also come with a price change need to have items inside the accounting software to coincide with those changes.
For example, adding shrimp to pasta will cost more money; adding more sauce may not. For more information on adding items into the accounting software, please refer to your specific accounting software inventory setup guide (Peachtree, QuickBooks).
Once the choice items are set in the accounting software, and before you start setting up the choice group pages, it is important that you know which choices will be under each category.
Doing so will help group all similar choices on the page and help set the position of the key by priority for those modifications that are more widely used, like Sauce on the side for example.
Now that all the choice items are created and the different groups are decided, it is time to create the different choice menus. To begin creating Choices menus, open up AccuPOS Management.
Go to Manage 
Choices Keys. The Add Change Choice Keys window pops up and you are ready to begin creating Choice Menus.
The Add/Change Choices Keys Basics
The Choice Keys Layout Manager, and the editing of the choice menu buttons, is very similar to the Main Screen button editor. You will see many instances where the two overlap.
Choices Group Drop-down: The Choices Group dropdown is where new Choice Menus are added and existing Choice Menus are selected to edit. This dropdown functions similar to the Page dropdown from the Main Keys Setup.
Work Shop: The Workshop is where keys are edited. Simply left click on a key and drag it to the Workshop and release the mouse button to begin editing the key.
Prev/Next: These buttons allow you to move from one page to another under a choice menu while editing that choice menu.
Copy Page/Insert Page: These buttons allow you to copy the currently selected page from the current selected Choice Menu and paste that page into another Choice Menu or the same.
Trash: The trash button allows you to delete buttons.
Clipboard: The clipboard allows you to move buttons between Choice Menu.
To Create a Choice Menu
Creating a choice menu is extremely simple:
In the Choices Group drop-down, simply enter the name of the Choice Group you want to create and select Enter.
The group name is listed at the top of the Add Change Choice Keys window, along with the current page of that Choices menu currently selected.
From here, you may add buttons to the Choice Menu.
Adding a Choice-only Button
There are two basic types of choice menu buttons: choice-only buttons and up-charge buttons. Choice only buttons only give instructions to the kitchen on the remote ticket and up-charge button give instructions to the kitchen while at the same time adding a price to the transaction. There is a limit of seventy-two 2x1 sized buttons available for each page of a Choice Menu (114 is the max number of 1x1 sized buttons). There is no limit, however, to the number of pages available for a Choice Menu. AccuPOS recommends using 2x1 sized buttons, as they are easier to select from the Point of Sale. First, to add a choice-only button:
To add a new button, simply right click in an empty space. A new button is created:
Now that the button is created, left click on it and drag it to the Workshop. The AccuPOS Key Workshop appears. You’ll notice this workshop is very similar to the Main Keys Setup Workshop.
In the Button Label field enter what will appear on the button.
In the Text field, enter what will appear on the remote ticket. Typically, this is the same as the Button Label.
Select the Button Color by choosing one of the options at the top of the Workshop.
Select the Text Color button to bring up a display to change the color of the text. By default, all text is colored black.
You may also change the Size of the button by using the size buttons. Bear in mind that buttons grow up and to the right. If the options for changing the size are grayed out you have to make room for the growth by either removing or moving nearby buttons.
Check the option for Enter (cr) after if you would like a carriage return to be used automatically after selecting the choice.
Check the option for Cannot Repeat if the button is not to be selected more than once.
Select Done when you are finished. You will be returned to the Main Choice Keys Setup Manager.
Adding an Up-charge Button
The only difference when adding an up-charge button is that an item needs to be selected to be entered into the transaction when the button is selected. A perfect example is when you want to charge $1.00 for adding mushrooms to an order. The additional steps for an up-charge item are:
Select the Lookup Item box . A list of every item in your inventory will be displayed. You may also type in the first few characters of the item if you know it into the Item field in the Workshop and then select Lookup Item to narrow the search.
Scroll through the items list to find the correct item. Highlight the item and select the Select key. The Item ID will now be listed in the Item field.
Select Done when finished.
Deleting a Button
Once a button is added to a Choice Menu, it is not stuck there permanently. Buttons can be deleted out of a Choice Menu very easily. To delete a button from a Choice Menu, simply:
Select the item to be deleted and drag it to the trash can. You will be prompted to confirm the deletion of the item. Simply select yes to confirm.
You may continue to delete buttons as needed. If all buttons from a Choice Menu are removed, the Choice Menu is deleted as well.
Attaching Inventory Items to Choice Menus
Now that the Choice Menus are set inside AccuPOS, they must be attached to items inside the accounting software. Remember that the same Choice Menu can be attached to an unlimited number of inventory items but each item may only have one Choice Menu attached to them. Before you may attach Choice Menus to Items, you must have the custom fields enabled for Inventory and the Custom Field Choices must be created. Choices must have the capital C or the items will not attach correctly. Once the custom field Choices is created, you may attach items to the Choice Menus you created inside AccuPOS.
To attach an item:
Find the item in the item list of your accounting software. Go to the Custom Fields area of the item. Enter the name of the Choices Group created in AccuPOS verbatim. If the Choices Group is called Steak Temp inside AccuPOS, the custom field Choices must have Steak Temp listed in order for the menu to attach to that item correctly. Hit OK to stop editing the item. Import the inventory into AccuPOS.
Once imported, the item(s) will display the Choice Menu at the Point of Sale when selected. Bear in mind that if the inventory is not imported, the Choice Menus will not attach. *For more information on setting up Custom Fields inside the accounting software, please refer to your specific accounting inventory setup guide (Peachtree, QuickBooks). **For more information on importing the inventory into AccuPOS, please refer to the AccuPOS Management Setup Guide.
Choice Menus at the Point of Sale
Now that the Choice Menus are created inside AccuPOS and are attached to items in inventory, it is time to see how they operate at the Point of Sale . To see the Choices Menu display at the Point of Sale :
Select the item that has a Choices Menu attached to it. The Choice Menu attached to that particular item will pop up.
Make your selections for instructions.
Note that every selection made will show a preview of how the ticket will print to the kitchen at the bottom of the Choice Menu window.
Note that there is a Free Text button that, when selected, will display a touch screen keyboard for special instructions to be typed in.
Click Done when all instructions are added.
The item will then remote print once the order is tendered out or saved.
*For more information on tendering out transactions, please refer to your specific Operations Guide (Food Service, Retail).
**For more information on saving orders and reloading, please refer to your specific Suspended Sales Guide (Food Service, Retail).
***For more information on setting up remote printing, please refer to the Remote Printing Module Setup Guide.