Pre-checking systems
Pre-check machines are somewhat similar in appearance to a standard cash register and are designed to operate only when a sales check is inserted into the printing table to the side of the machine.
The machine is operated in the following way.
- A waiter has his/ her own machine key.
- A check is inserted into the printing table and the particular keys, depending on the order taken, are pressed giving an item and price record as well as recording the table number, the number of covers and the waiter’s reference number.
- A duplicate is printed and issued by the machine which is then issued as the duplicate check to obtain food and/or beverages.
- For each transaction, a reference number is given on the sales check and the duplicate.
- All data is recorded on a continuous audit tape that can be removed only by authorized persons at the end of the day when the machine is cleared and total sales taken and compared to actual cash received.
The advantages of the system are:
- The sales check is made out and a record of it made on the audit tape before the specific items can be obtained from the kitchen or bar.
- Analysis of total sales per waiter is made on the audit tape at the end of each shift.
- No cashier is required as each waiter act as his/her own cashier, each keeping the cash collected from customers until the end of the shift and then paying it in.
- As each waiter has his/her own security key to operate the machine, there is restricted access to the machines and no other way by which pre-checks can be provided and used in exchange for items from the kitchen or bar.
Pre-set Pre-checking System
This is an update on the basic pre-check machine. The keyboard is much larger than the previous machines and has descriptive keys corresponding to all items on the menu which are pre-set to the current price of each item. A waiter pressing the key for, say one cheeseburger would not only have the item printed out but also the price. A control panel, kept under lock and key, would enable management to change the price of any item if required, very quickly. It is also possible to have a running count kept of each item recorded and at the end of a meal period by depressing each key, in turn, to get a print out giving a basic analysis of sales made.