Direct Sale mode is the default order setting for counter service workflows. While in Direct Sale mode, users can process an order and payment at the same time. This type of workflow is useful for take-away and quick-service environments such as coffee shops and pubs—essentially any environments where seating or coursing are not required. From Direct Sale mode, you can also easily move to Table Service mode or put the order on hold to come back to later. To place an order in Direct Sale mode, a sales period must be opened and a user clocked in so they can log in to the Register screen.

Opening a sales period

A sales period must first be opened on the POS to access the Register screen and process a transaction. When starting up Lightspeed (K Series) POS, you are prompted to start a sales period so other POS users can access the ordering screens. From the Start screen, specified users (shift managers) can open a sales period, and other POS users (who do not access the ordering screens) can clock in. Please note that only shift managers can open or close a sales period - these permissions are configured from the Back Office. For more information on interacting with sales periods, see Opening or closing a sales period. 

Logging on to the Register screen

Once a sales period is opened, the Home screen is where users can clock in (to start a user shift) and log in to the ordering screens. To clock in, a user taps the Clock in/out button at the bottom of the screen. If a user is already clocked in to their shift, they will see their name on the Home screen. Only clocked-in users who are designated to process transactions will view their names from the Home screen. To access the ordering screens, a user simply taps their name. 

For more information on the layout and components of the Register screen, see Understanding the Register screen.

Processing orders in Direct Sale mode

As mentioned at the top of this tutorial, Direct Sale mode is the default ordering mode of Restaurant (K Series) POS. So when a user accesses the Register screen, they are automatically in Direct Sale mode. This means that they can add and send order items and collect payment at the same time. This is useful in environments where seating or coursing is not required - for instance, in a coffee shop where a customer orders a beverage and pays after they order. 

From the Register screen, use the keypad to enter an item quantity or payment amount to speed up the ordering process. For example, tap 5 on the keypad and then tap an order item on the right of the screen to add five order items. Or, tap a payment amount and then select Cash to quickly settle the transaction. Whatever the function, simply tap the number first to apply that number to the following button's action. To remove the entire order, tap C to clear.  

Menus and their sub-categories are configured on the Back Office and displayed here as dynamic buttons. Use the main screens (menu on center of the screen) and sub-categories (dynamic subscreen buttons on the right) to specify order items. For instance, tapping the Beers button on the main screen opens draught sub-categories on the right: you can further select the Draught Beer, Draught Cider, or Bottles buttons to select an item within the specified sub-category. Remember, you can use the keypad to specify an amount and then tap an item button to speed up the quantity of ordered items.

Main menu buttons (middle section of the screen) can also represent custom actions, such as sending a message to the kitchen or performing cash deposits (depending on how these buttons are configured on the Back Office). 

On the left-hand side of the screen, you can view an overview of the ordered items. The box of ordered items represents your order view. On the top of the order view, you can verify you are in Direct Sale mode, add an order tag, assign a customer or enable order actions:

• Order tags: tap to apply an order-type tag to the order (such as Takeaway, Dine in, or Delivery, according to what has been configured in the Back Office). For more information on adding an order tag, see Editing or Reviewing orders.
• Assign customer: tap to add a customer to the order. For more information on adding a customer to an order, see Adding a customer to an order.
• Actions: tap to open the Actions menu for applying a discount or order tag, according to what has been configured in the Back Office. Keep in mind that some order actions (such as transferring the order to another table) are unavailable while in Direct Sale mode. For more information on using order Actions, see Editing or Reviewing orders.

If you add multiple, various order items, you may want to expand the Order view so you can view the entire order. To review the order, simply tap the Edit order button beside the keypad. This will collapse the keypad so you can review the order. While in Edit mode, you can also select multiple order items and tap Remove to remove the selected items from the order. Other edit actions (such as Assign to and Transfer) are only available while in Table Service mode. When you are finished reviewing the order, tap Done to return to the Register screen.  

To edit individual order items, tap an item line on an order. This will open available transaction actions for the selected order item. From here, you can remove the entire order line, add or remove individual order items, or add a discount. For more information on transaction actions, see Editing or reviewing an order. 

Once all the order items have been added, you can process a payment. You can process the payment either by tapping Cash or Pay. Selecting the Cash button will automatically resolve the amount due as paid in cash. This is useful in quick-service restaurants where you want to minimize the steps for processing a transaction. 

If the payment is not cash or you need to further specify payment details, you can tap Pay and go to the Payments screen. The Payments screen gives you an overview of the order items and amount due (left-hand side of the screen), possible payment methods (center of screen), and received payment and tip amounts (right-hand side of the screen). To enter a payment or tip amount, tap the number on the right-hand side of the line. To print a copy of the customer receipt, make sure to toggle on Print Receipt. Once you have applied the correct payment method and received amount, select Pay (bottom right of screen) to finalize the order. 

Please note that it's not possible to split checks while in Direct Sale mode. You can only split checks while settling an order in Table Service mode. For more information, see Splitting a check. For more detailed information on processing payments, see About payments.

If at any time you need to put the order on hold and come back later for payment, tap On hold beside the keypad.

To give the order a specific name, tap Tab name and then enter a custom name in the pop-up window. To specify a table number, tap the Table button beside the keypad. Note that naming the order or assigning the order to a table will then place the order in Table Service mode. For more information about ordering in Table Service mode, see Adding orders in Table Service mode.

Adding combos and modifiers 

Adding modifiers to your orders will depend on the setup of the items in the Back Office. With Lightspeed (K Series), an item that is automatically grouped with other items is called a combo. Each product with an attached modifier is created as a combo so that when a user selects an item, the attached available modifiers are displayed. Modifiers can have a set added price applied to all modifier options, include different prices per item, or be included in the main item’s price. 

Modifiers are not always an attached sub-item: sometimes modifiers are more so attached instructions for the order. When a modifier includes a preparation note for the ordered item, these are called production instructions.  

For example, the item button Latte can have an attached combo of Small, Regular, and Large sizes (production instructions) or milk types (item modifiers). When a user selects Latte, the combo buttons will automatically display on the screen so the user can then further specify the beverage size or milk type.

What's next?

Learn more about Table Service workflows. See Adding orders in Table Service mode.

Learn more about the various ways a user can edit an order. See Editing and reviewing orders.

Learn how to enable and use the bar tabs feature. See Opening bar tabs for more information.

Learn how to modify bar tabs and close them out for payment. See Managing and closing bar tabs for more information.

Learn more about interacting with a floor plan and tables. See Understanding the Tables screen.

Learn more about searching for orders on the POS. See Understanding the Order management screen.