Kiosk ordering basics

Ellich Kiosk keeps each guest in a separate ordering session and sends a confirmed order into the same POS and KDS workflow used by staff.

Start the order

1. Choose the available order type, such as dine-in or takeout.
2. When table information is requested, enter or confirm it before order submission or payment.
3. Browse the menu, choose required modifiers, and review the cart.

A Table Order Kiosk must be assigned to the correct POS table before guests use it. A standard self-service kiosk may instead request a table, tent, pager, or pickup number according to store settings.

A guest name, phone number, email address, and loyalty sign-in are optional for an ordinary kiosk order. Use Continue as guest when the guest does not want loyalty pricing, points, offers, or an emailed receipt. A typed table label can also be optional on a walk-up kiosk; the fixed table assignment is mandatory only for a Table Order Kiosk.

Choose payment

Available choices depend on store and device configuration:

• Card: follow the connected reader prompts and wait for the confirmed result.
• Pay at register: submit the order to the staff cash-payment queue and use the displayed code or order reference at POS.
• Table tab: add the round to the table's active service balance when tabletop ordering is enabled.

If the kiosk says We’re checking your previous payment. Please don’t pay again, do not start another payment. The kiosk is rechecking the original terminal request to prevent a duplicate charge.

If the card reader is unavailable, follow the kiosk message. Pay at register appears only when the store enabled that fallback. Otherwise, use Call staff and do not keep attempting card payment on an unavailable reader.

If payment may have succeeded but the order did not finish

Keep the kiosk on the recovery screen and do not ask the guest to tap, insert, swipe, or submit again while Ellich checks the previous payment. The runtime polls the original request until it reports success, failure, cancellation, or an unresolved pending state.

If the terminal showed approval but the kiosk did not reach confirmation:

1. Record the kiosk name, time, displayed error, and any order or payment reference.
2. In POS, search for the kiosk-source order and review its order and payment states.
3. Review the payment exception or terminal request before collecting another tender.
4. If payment is captured but the order is not usable, keep the kiosk out of service and escalate for reconciliation. Do not create a replacement card payment merely to produce a new order.
5. Only when the original request is explicitly failed or cancelled with no provider charge should the guest choose a payment method again.

A final kiosk error does not prove that the provider failed to charge, and a terminal approval does not by itself prove that POS and KDS received the order. Verify both sides.

If the kiosk loses its service connection before payment, it keeps the current cart and allows browsing, but payment waits for reconnection. Do not reload or start a replacement order merely to clear the connection banner.

Ask staff for help or verify age

Call staff creates a kiosk operational alert. When a table is known, the alert includes that table; tabletop calls are identified as Table Order Kiosk requests. The kiosk checks the alert status and tells the guest when staff acknowledges the request and when it is resolved. Repeatedly pressing the button is not a faster escalation path.

Age-restricted products use a separate staff verification flow:

• On a walk-up kiosk, selecting a 21+ item opens the age gate and calls staff. Authorized staff enters a staff PIN; only then is the pending item added. If checkout later returns an ID gate, staff resolves it and the guest uses Retry Payment.
• On a Table Order Kiosk, the item can be added to the table round while Kiosk calls staff to verify the guest at the table before serving.

Staff verification is required for products explicitly marked as requiring ID. The separate visibility-setting boundary is explained in Configure kiosk runtime and checkout policy.

Confirmation and receipt

Wait for the final confirmation screen and note the order or pickup number. For card checkout, Kiosk Settings currently exposes Print receipt, Email receipt, or No receipt actions. Print needs a registered kiosk device and a healthy assigned printer. Email uses the optional loyalty email when one was provided. Text/SMS receipt is not a standard option exposed by the current Kiosk Settings page, even though a protected runtime endpoint exists for compatible configurations.

The order should then appear in POS with its kiosk source and, when production items are routed, on KDS. Staff should verify this with a controlled test order before opening the kiosk to guests.

Session reset

After completion, the kiosk clears the guest cart and session for the next customer. Idle reset is paused while payment is active so a guest is not abandoned during checkout. Outside payment, the kiosk warns with a countdown before returning to the start screen.

If the previous cart or customer information remains, take the kiosk out of service and reset the kiosk session before another guest begins. Staff and guest sessions must not share the same active ordering state.