Suggested gratuity on checks (Aloha)

[juancruzhurtado]

Hey everyone,

I am sure this is easy to do, but I just can't find how to do it.
We want to include "Suggested Gratuity" on the bottom of the checks (15, 18, 20). Percentage should be calculated on the Total Amount, including taxes.

Anybody knows how to do this?
I would appreciate any help.

Juan

 

[AlohaRoss]

First you need to have version 6.4 or greater

Then go to messages guest check


<VAL(5:$TIPSALE*0.20)>
<VAL(5:$TIPSALE*0.25)>
<VAL(5:$TIPSALE*0.30)>

Configuring Auto-Calculated Suggested Gratuities
Configuring auto-calculated suggested gratuities to print on the guest check requires you to create a guest check message, using supported variables, and then set up an event to print the message on the guest check.

Configuring a Guest Check Message with Variables
To print auto-calculated suggested gratuities on the guest check, you must configure a customized guest check message. You can use formulas that include variables, enclosed with lesser and greater than symbols, to insert system-generated information and calculated values. The following table lists the supported variables you can use in guest check message formulas.


To configure the suggested gratuity message to print on guest checks:

Select Maintenance > Messages > Guest Check Messages.
Type an unused number in the ‘ID’ drop-down list and press Enter.
Type a name for the message, such as ‘Suggested Tip.’
Type a title for the message to appear at the top of the guest check, if desired. Include variables to allow the system to automatically calculate values. Remember the title appears at the very first of the guest check so you may not want to fill in the title. See the Variable table for the supported variables you can use.
Type the message to appear at the bottom of the check to indicate the suggested tip. Include variables to allow the system to automatically calculate values. See the Variable table for the supported variables you can use.
Click Save. If any completed text line contains more than 30 characters, a warning appears. Some lines may require long formulas; however, the output only prints a portion of the characters. Any printed text over 30 characters might not print on the guest check as desired, depending on the printer you are using.
Click OK to continue.
Exit the Guest Check Messages function.
Using existing functionality, you can also configure your suggested gratuity message to print on all credit card vouchers.



To configure the suggested gratuity message to print on credit card vouchers:

Select Maintenance > Store Settings > Credit Card group > Voucher Printing 1 tab.
Select Print Check Message on Vouchers.
Select the message to print from the ‘Message’ drop-down list.
Click Save and exit the Store Settings function.
Activating a Suggested Gratuity Message
The system defaults to printing the guest check message defined with the lowest ID. Most likely, this message is already in use for a salutation message. If your suggested gratuity message is not the lowest ID, you must configure the existing Set Guest Chk Msg event in System Events to activate and use the message.



Technical Tip: When you perform a refund, the system assumes a ‘refund’ mode and enters items in negative amounts, including the auto-calculated suggested gratuity. To avoid this, we recommend using the existing Set Footer Message by Terminal event to activate your suggested gratuity message at each terminal, except for one terminal that you designate as where you perform refunds.



To configure an event for printing the suggested gratuity message:

Select Maintenance > System > Events. The System Events function tab appears.
Click Add Event. The Event Time & Type dialog box appears.
Select Set Guest Chk Msg from the ‘Event Type’ drop-down list.
Select Daily, or a time frequency of your choice.
Type the time the event will begin. To keep the event activated all day, leave the value at 00:00.
Click OK. The Set Guest Chk Msg dialog box appears.
Select the guest check message you created for suggested gratuity from the ‘ID’ drop-down list. The message appears as a preview.
Click OK. The event is added as an event task.
Exit the System Events function.

www.needalohahelp.com

 

[juancruzhurtado]

Thank you so much!!

 

[MisterAloha]

Has anyone else seen problems with this? We set this up as a test at our company and customers/employees have complained because the tip suggestions don't include food items ordered ToGo, which is non-tippable, or comps that are set to be included in tippable sales. Is there a way to simply show a percentage of the pre-tax check total, regardless of discounts/order mode? We simply want to make things easier for the customer by pre-calculating the tips they would normally do.

 

[AlohaRoss]

Here are other options. if you have a sales category for togo separate from menu items
you could add this
$TIPSALE
Tippable sales for the check.

#S
Total count of all sales categories for the check.

$S
Total amount of all sales categories for the check.

#Snnnn
Total count of sales category nnnn for the check where nnnn is the ID number of the category.

$Snnnn
Total amount of sales category nnnn for the check where nnnn is the ID number of the category.

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[MisterAloha]

Thanks AlohaRoss. I tried $S, but unfortunately it seems to use gross sales so things like comps and promos don't affect the tip percentage and this can cause guest confusion.

You'd think there would be a way to calculate the tip suggestions based on the check total and nothing else. This would be consistent with what guests do currently. My worry, is that when a guest sees that we aren't displaying the correct percentage (at least in their eyes) they lose confidence in our business.