Getting started guide
Welcome to the Lightspeed Restaurant (K-Series) Help Center. If you click Help in the Back Office and see K-Series listed as your product (under Troubleshooting) you're in the right place. If not, you might be using one of our other product series. This is the first article in the guide. Navigate to other articles in the guide using the carousel below.
Welcome to Lightspeed Restaurant (K-Series), the iPad-based unified point of sale and payments platform that powers the world's best hospitality businesses. We’re excited to have you onboard!
To prepare you for success, our Getting started guide covers the basics of how to set up Lightspeed Restaurant, train your employees, and start processing real orders. This initial article explains the touchpoints you’ll have with us during this journey, how to best navigate the guide, and who to contact if you need help.
Understanding the setup process
Learn what to expect and how to best navigate each stage of your experience with the Lightspeed Restaurant system: from signup, to setup, to launch.
Signup
Start your journey with Lightspeed by signing up, creating your account, and ordering hardware.
- Enter your contact information on the Lightspeed homepage to start the signup process.
- Wait for a Lightspeed sales representative to contact you and create your account.
- Set an account password and log in to the Lightspeed Restaurant Back Office by following the prompt in your account activation email.
- Order hardware, such as iPads and receipt printers, and sign up for add-ons like Order Anywhere, Lightspeed Delivery, and Lightspeed Accounting.
Onboarding and setup
After activating your account, an Implementation Consultant will contact you to begin your Lightspeed onboarding. To set up your account, you’ll use a computer. Later, you’ll need an iPad and the hardware you ordered to complete the process.
- Schedule a welcome call with your Implementation Consultant.
- Follow our Getting started guide to set up your Lightspeed Restaurant account and hardware.
- Later in the guide, learn how to use the Lightspeed Restaurant POS app on your iPad.
All accounts start in setup mode until you perform the steps to go live with Lightspeed. Orders processed while in setup mode will be deleted when you launch.
Launch
After completing setup, you're ready to launch Lightspeed Restaurant at your business.
- Ensure you set up all features relevant to your business needs and trained your staff using our launch checklist.
- In the Back Office, perform the steps to go live with Lightspeed to transition out of setup mode and start taking actual customer orders.
- After launch, visit our Help Center for resources on how to set up, use, and troubleshoot Lightspeed Restaurant features.
About the Getting started guide
The Getting started guide is organized into three main sections, each containing articles that address a specific stage in your journey. We recommend reading through in sequential order, one article at a time.
Move through the guide using the card navigation at the top to go to the next or previous article, or use the sidebar navigation for direct access to any article.
Setting up Lightspeed Restaurant
Setting up Lightspeed Restaurant covers everything you need to set up your system, from configuring menus to connecting hardware.
| Article | Description |
| Welcome to Lightspeed Restaurant (K-Series) | Review the signup, setup, and launch processes for new Lightspeed Restaurant customers, including how to navigate the guide and get help. |
| Introduction to the Back Office | Learn how to use the web-based Back Office where you add your menu, configure settings, and perform other setup tasks for your account. |
| Logging in to the Back Office | Learn how to access the Back Office, one key component of Lightspeed Restaurant. |
| Navigating business locations | Discover how to manage multiple business locations within the Lightspeed Restaurant platform. |
| Creating items and menus | Import the dishes and other items your restaurant sells and set up menus to organize them. |
| Setting up Lightspeed Payments | Submit an application, configure tip and signature settings, and connect a payment terminal to start processing credit and debit cards with Lightspeed Payments. |
| Introduction to hardware | Learn about the different types of POS hardware, like iPads and printers, and how to choose, purchase, and set up hardware. |
| Preparing your site for installation | Get your venue ready to install Lightspeed Restaurant hardware by setting up the required network hardware, running cabling, and making other physical preparations. |
| Managing users and floor plans | Set up a user for each employee to control what they can access at the POS, and set up a floor plan to manage orders by table. |
| Adjusting configuration settings | Configure your tax, business, printing, and other configuration settings to control how orders will be processed at the POS. |
| Preparing your iPad for Lightspeed | Download the Lightspeed app on an iPad or iOS device, configure its settings, and connect it to your account to activate a POS device for taking orders. |
Learning the Restaurant POS app
In Learning the Restaurant POS app, you'll see how to operate the Lightspeed Restaurant POS app on an iPad or iOS device. We cover the fundamentals, such as clocking in, starting a sales period, and basic ordering.
| Article | Description |
| About Restaurant POS | Learn more about the iPad-based Restaurant POS (K) app, the other key component of Lightspeed Restaurant. |
| Using the Home screen | Review how to log in from the Home screen, the first part of the Restaurant POS app you see after connecting it to your account. |
| Clocking in and out | Employees clock in at the beginning of their shift, and out at the end, enabling you to track their work hours, sales, and other activity. |
| Opening and closing sales periods | A manager opens the sales period at the start of the business day, and closes it at the end, to control when orders can be placed at the POS. |
| Placing basic orders | Learn how to manage a direct sale order in the Restaurant POS app. |
| Managing cash drawer operations | If you set up a cash drawer, count the cash present at the beginning and end of each sales period. |
| Understanding the Settings menu | Reload your POS app after making changes in the Back Office, run shift reports, add or remove cash from the drawer, and perform other managerial functions from the Settings menu. |
Rolling out Lightspeed Restaurant
Finally, Rolling out Lightspeed Restaurant contains a checklist for ensuring you set up every feature relevant to your business, including those not previously covered in this guide. You'll learn to train staff, exit setup mode, and read some commonly asked questions.
| Article | Description |
| Launching Lightspeed Restaurant checklist |
Ensure you've set up every feature that's relevant to your business needs and trained your staff. Go live with Lightspeed to transition out of setup mode and start processing orders for actual customers. |
| Getting started FAQ | Have questions about getting started with Lightspeed Restaurant? Here you'll find answers. |
Getting in touch with us
Whether you need to order hardware or just have a question, it's important to know which Lightspeed department to contact for the most efficient help.
For account information or to purchase add-ons:
- Contact your sales representative at the email address or phone number they provided.
- You can also reach our Sales team by calling the phone number for the closest Lightspeed office.
For help ordering hardware:
- Contact your sales representative at the email address or phone number they provided.
- You can also reach our Sales team by calling the phone number for the closest Lightspeed office.
For setup and onboarding assistance:
Connect with an Implementation Coordinator by chatting with us.
For technical support, troubleshooting, and feature questions:
- Search the Help Center for answers.
- Can't find what you're looking for? Contact our Support team by chat, email, or phone.