This provides explanations of Terms and Concepts that maybe used and/or referred to throughout swiftpos Products and Features, as well as in the swiftpos Knowledge Base.
Index ▼
A ▲ ▼
Account ▲ ▼
In the context of:
- Back Office - Generally refers to an Account that has been created in Back Office and is normally associated with functions, patrons, staff, etc. An Account is normally used to ensure Orders/Sales are captured, by being charged to the Account, and at a later date/time can be paid for.
- Events - Generally refers to an Account that has been created in Back Office and is normally associated with a patron who intends to book/reserve an Event Area in advance of an Event/Session.
Refer to Events for more information.
Advance Day Order (ADO) ▲ ▼
In the context of:
- Back Office and Events - Generally refers to an Order that is placed by a patron in advance of an Event. Orders can be placed either in Back Office or via the Events Portal by patrons that are assigned as the Account holder for a specific Event Session.
Refer to Events for more information.
All In One Device (Aiod) ▲ ▼
Generally refers to a hand held POS device used by hospitality Clerks/Staff to take Orders/Sales, as well as pay for an Order/Sale.
API ▲ ▼
API stands for Application Programming Interface. In the context of APIs, the word Application refers to any software with a distinct function. Interface can be thought of as a contract of service between two applications. This contract defines how the two communicate with each other using requests and responses. In the context of swiftpos the following APIs exist:
Area ▲ ▼
In the context of:
- Back Office and Events - Generally refers to a physical area that is a designated service area, That is, it is an area that is often associated with deliveries, service, ordering, etc. It can also be linked to a patron’s Account. Areas are allocated to a specific Location within a Venue and can also be assigned to specific Sessions. For example, A specific Corporate Box, Function Room, Seating Area, Suite, etc.
Refer to Events for more information.
Area Type ▲ ▼
In the context of:
- Events - Generally refers to a collection of Areas that are similar in type. For example, Corporate Boxes, Function Rooms, Seating Areas, Suites, etc.
Refer to Events for more information.
Authorisation Token ▲ ▼
In the context of:
- swiftpos Admin API - Generally refers to a swiftpos Admin API returned Authorisation Token as a result of executing an Authorisation request using the Integrator Key provided by your Reseller Representative or swiftpos Support. An Authorisation Token is required when attempting to issue swiftpos Admin API calls.
C ▲ ▼
Catalogue ▲ ▼
Generally refers to a collection of Menus and Rules that would be available for selection when placing ADO Orders. These are NOT predefined, but rather are created and defined as part of the Menu creation process. For example, Arrival Plate, Kids Selection, Cold Selection, Hot Selection, Menu Options, Liquor, Beer, Wine, Soft Drinks, Beverages, etc. In the context of:
- Back Office - Generally refers to the Catalogues & Menus menu option available within Events.
Refer to Catalogues & Menus for more information. - Events - Generally refers to a collection of Menus and Rules that are available for selection when placing ADO Orders. Catalogues can be assigned as defaults against Event Types, as well as being assigned to an Event Session.
Refer to Events for more information.
Category ▲ ▼
In the context of:
- Back Office - Generally refers to a collection of Products that are grouped together to ensure they are displayed/organised appropriately in Touch. Categories are to assign Touch POS Keys and when printing dockets for Bar/Barista/Kitchen/Order Orders.
Refer to Categories for more information.
Cloud Onboarding ▲ ▼
Cloud Onboarding refers to the establishment of a secure connection between swiftpos and the swiftpos Cloud hosted by MSL Solutions.
Refer to How To Cloud Onboard A Venue for more information.
Cloud Sync Service ▲ ▼
The Cloud Sync Service is responsible for synchronising swiftpos Back Office data to the swiftpos Cloud Database. It is automatically installed during the Cloud Onboarding process.
Refer to How To Cloud Onboard A Venue for more information.
Customer ▲ ▼
In the context of:
- Back Office - Generally refers to a patron whose details are recorded in Back Office and they are assigned a Member Number. In contrast to a Member, they DO NOT pay and hence DO NOT partake in any Membership benefits the Venue may offer it's Members.
E ▲ ▼
Event ▲ ▼
In the context of:
- Back Office and Events - Generally this refers to the Events module for which Venues will require registration. An Event is a specific time period within which a Venue will be hosting an Event. An Event may span multiple days. For example, a concert, convention, performance, show, sporting event, etc. For more information regarding the configuration and management of Events see here. An Event in swiftpos will also consist of at least one or possibly multiple Sessions.
Refer to Events for more information.
- OrderAway - Generally this refers to an Event which can be configured within OrderAway Profiles and once configured can be used to provide patrons with a URL to place orders prior to the Event. This is not to be confused with the Events module. It does NOT require registration for the Events module and functions independently of the Events module.
For example, Performing Arts Venues can provide their patrons with a URL so that they can place orders in the days prior to the Event. Then, on the Event day, patrons can quickly pickup their order without having to queue and pay for their order. This feature allows for a higher turnover of orders for the Venue, and a more conducive experience for patrons.
Refer to the Events Tab in OrderAway Profiles for more information.
Event Day Order (EDO) ▲ ▼
In the context of:
- Back Office and Events - Generally refers to an Order that is placed by a patron during an Event.
Refer to Events for more information.
Events Portal ▲ ▼
In the context of:
- Back Office and Events - Generally refers to a seamless web-based platform for patrons to access a Venue’s upcoming Events by registering their attendance, answering questions and placing/submitting pre-Event Orders.
Refer to Events Portal for more information.
Event Type ▲ ▼
In the context of:
- Back Office and Events - Generally refers to the Type of Event to which Events can be associated with. For example, Comedy Standup, Concert, Corporate Function, Dance Performance, Family Stage Show, Sporting Event, etc.
Refer to Events for more information.
F ▲ ▼
Families ▲ ▼
In the context of:
- Products - Families are generally one or more Products, that for a multitude of reasons, are grouped together. Families of Products are used extensively throughout the swiftpos software suite. A Product can be assigned to multiple Families. The reasons a Family is created and Products assigned to it are, to name a few:
- To underpin Specials/Promotions, Discounts, Member Campaigns, Mix n Match and Vouchers.
- To provide searching when using Filtered Searches at a Touch terminal.
- To provide filtering in reports.
- To prompt for age confirmation when specific Products are ordered/sold. For example, for tobacco and alcoholic Products.
- To underpin Specials/Promotions, Discounts, Member Campaigns, Mix n Match and Vouchers.
- To provide searching when using Filtered Searches at a Touch terminal.
- To provide filtering in reports.
- To prompt for age confirmation when specific Products are ordered/sold. For example, for tobacco and alcoholic Products.
Refer to Families for more information.
G ▲ ▼
Gateway Client Service ▲ ▼
The swiftpos Gateway Client Service is responsible for communication between swiftpos Back Office and the swiftpos Cloud platform and must be always running.
H ▲ ▼
Host Venue ▲ ▼
In the context of:
- Events - Generally refers to an Enterprise or Venue that would normally host Events on an ongoing basis. A Host Venue can be a Club, Convention, Stadium, etc.
Refer to Events for more information.
- Venue Hub - Generally refers to the Venue that has Venue Hub configured to ensure the hosting of multiple OrderAway instances (Vendors). Examples of a Host Venue would be a Club, Convention, Food Market, Music Festival, Stadium, etc. Once configured correctly patrons would then be able to access the OrderAway menus of the multiple Vendors via the Host Venue's single Venue Hub QR Code.
- Back Office - Generally refers to the Venue that is:
- and has:
- A Location Group (Venue) that would generally have the following attributes:
- An ID of zero (0), which is normally reserved for Head Office type Location Groups (Venues).
- Has at least one Location assigned to it.
- Is activated for operation via OrderAway.
- A Location Group (Venue) that would generally have the following attributes:
- and has:
I ▲ ▼
Integrator Key ▲ ▼
In the context of:
- swiftpos Admin API- Generally refers to a swiftpos provided key that identifies the 3rd Party Application (3PA) integrator wanting to make use of the swiftpos Admin API. An Integrator Key is generally requested by contacting your Reseller or swiftpos Support.
Item ▲ ▼
In the context of:
- Events - Generally refers to an Item that can be ordered by patrons attending an Event via the Events Portal. Items can also be included in a Menu. For example, an Item could be a beverage, food item, platter of food, merchandise, etc.
Refer to Events for more information.
L ▲ ▼
Local API ▲ ▼
Also known as the swiftpos Back Office API.
Location ▲ ▼
In the context of:
- Back Office - Generally refers to a physical location with a:
- Venue - This could be a Bar area, Restaurant, Bottle Shop, Conference Room, Function Room, Cellar, etc
- Stadium - This could be a Suite, Seating area, Corporate Box, Food outlet, Bars, etc.
Location Suffix ▲ ▼
In the context of:
- OrderAway - Each OrderAway Cloud Client ID (Location) will have it's own URL, as can be seen in the Device tab. From where an Order is being placed is referred to as the Order's location. This could be a a Room, Seat, Suite, Table, etc. Once identified, it can be suffixed to the OrderAway URL and presented to patrons in the form of a QR Code.
Refer to Branding & QR Codes for more information.
Scan the QR Code below to see an example of how a URL & Location Suffix is used to identify an Order's location for Table 12:
https://order.micropower.com.au/msl?Location=Table%2012
M ▲ ▼
Member ▲ ▼
In the context of:
- Back Office - Generally refers to a patron who is registered with a Venue. That is, their name and contact details are recorded in Back Office and they are assigned a Member Number. In contrast to a Customer, they are more than likely assigned to a Classification for which they pay Membership Fees and in return are then eligible to receive Membership benefits the Venue has on offer. For example, Member Pricing, Member Campaigns, etc.
Menu ▲ ▼
In the context of:
- Events - Generally refers to a collection of Items/Products that can be ordered by patrons of a Venue. Menus are normally associated with one or more Catalogues.
Refer to Events for more information.
N ▲ ▼
NetPOS ▲ ▼
The NetPOS service acts as an interface between the swiftpos database and Touch terminals. Venues running the NetPOS service will need to be registered for the Membership/Accounts module. NetPOS is primarily used to retrieve Member/Customer details from the swiftpos database and make them available to swiftpos Touch.
Notify ▲ ▼
NOTIFY is a notification management tool that is used in conjunction with OrderAway. Support for TouchMini is coming soon.
Refer to NOTIFY for more information.
O ▲ ▼
OrderAway ▲ ▼
OrderAway is a browser based ordering platform, allowing patrons to browse, order and pay all from their smart phone (no app required). OrderAway is a URL or QR-code initiated platform, accessible by any smart device, making it a cost effective solution for restaurants, bars, pubs, clubs and stadia.
Refer to OrderAway for more information.
Order Location ▲ ▼
In the context of:
- OrderAway - Generally refers to the place (physical location) within a Venue from where an Order is being placed. This could be a a Room, Seat, Suite, Table, etc. It is generally used when Venues provide URL's in the form of QR Codes for patron's to scan to access their OrderAway menus. This is referred to as the Location Suffix, and is added to the end of the URL.
Refer to the Branding & QR Codes for more information.
P ▲ ▼
Patron ▲ ▼
In the context of:
- Back Office - Generally refers to everyone else that is NOT a Customer or Member. Hence, is considered a patron and is therefore a guest at the Venue.
- Events - Generally refers to Customer or Member. That is, their name and contact details are recorded in Back Office and they are assigned a Member Number.
Refer to Events for more information.
POS ▲ ▼
This is an abbreviation for Point of Sale. Meaning, a cash register, Kiosk, Self Service, Touch terminal, TouchMini (hand-held) device, etc, which facilitates the finalising (payment) of an Order/Sale.
Profile ▲ ▼
In the context of:
- OrderAway - OrderAway Profiles provide Venues with the added functionality of being able to configure multiple customised OrderAway configurations (referred to as Additional Profiles) for the same OrderAway Location.
Another example maybe, a Venue may seek to make different OrderAway Profiles available to patrons at different times. For example, at Easter and Xmas, a different menu and appearance maybe required to be presented to patrons when ordering during these special occasions.
In support of this, 3 types of Profiles currently exist. These are:
The Default Config – This is the default configuration and once configured can be used to clone (overwrite) to anyone of the other types of Profiles.
The Primary Profile – This is the Venue’s main Profile and as such cannot be deleted.
Additional Profiles – These are the customised configurations created specifically by the Venue to be made available to patrons as required. Any number of Profiles can be created by a Venue, and as such can also be deleted. These Profiles use the same URL as the Primary Profile above; however, they are differentiated with their own unique suffix, which is configured when they are created. Refer to How To Create A Profile for more information.
Initially only the Default Config and the Primary Profile would be listed by default for a Venue.
Refer to Profiles and How To Manage Profiles for more information.
Q ▲ ▼
Question ▲ ▼
In the context of:
- Events - Generally refers to customised Questions that can be put to patrons via the Events Portal, when they register their attendance to an Event. The aim is to solicit responses in order to optimise preparations for the Event. Hence ensuring a superior patron experience. Each Question can be associated with one or more Question Sets.
Refer to Events for more information.
Examples of Questions are:- What time do you expect to arrive?
- How many adults will be attending?
- Will minors be attending?
Question Set ▲ ▼
In the context of:
- Events - Generally refers to a collection of Questions. Any number of Question Sets can be configured and each one can be associated with an Event Session or an Event Type.
Refer to Events for more information.
R ▲ ▼
Rest API ▲ ▼
A REST API (Representational State Transfer API) follows a set of principles for exchanging data over the web. REST APIs use standard web protocols, such as HTTP. This allows different software systems to communicate with each other. In a REST API:
- API calls are represented by URLs. For example: https://api.swiftpos.com.au/api/Product/{id}
- Action calls are requested using HTTP Methods (like GET, POST, PUT, DELETE).
Rule ▲ ▼
In the context of:
- Events - Generally refers to a collection of conditions that need to be met when placing and submitting Orders via the Events Portal. Rules can be applied to Catalogues, Menus and/or Items.
Refer to Events for more information.
S ▲ ▼
- Session
- SmartCard
- Surcharge
- swiftpos Admin API
- swiftpos Back Office API
- swiftpos Orders API
- swiftpos POS API
Session ▲ ▼
In the context of:
- Back Office and Events - Generally refers to a specific time period within an Event. An Event may have one or more Sessions. For example, a group performing at a Venue may put on a number of performances. Each performance would be defined as a Session. Think of the Wiggles performing multiple one hour Sessions within the same Event.
Refer to Events for more information.
SmartCard ▲ ▼
Used to restrict items being sold when finalising a sale with a Services Australia SmartCard. Potentially up to 4 million of these cards are in circulation in Australia and can be used for payments in Hotels/Clubs for food. They cannot be used for purchasing restricted Items/Products. Refer HERE for more information. Some Gift cards are restricted, to avoid them being converted to cash to purchase restricted Items/Products.
Refer to CDC (Cashless Debit Card) Operation for more information.
Surcharge ▲ ▼
Generally refers to a business cost that is passed on to a patron, at the time they make a payment for a service received. Examples of surcharges can include:
- Public Holiday surcharge.
- Payment provider surcharge.
swiftpos Admin API ▲ ▼
The swiftpos Admin API is a rebrand of the formerly known swiftpos Cloud API or swiftpos API. It is a Cloud based API available to 3rd Party Application (3PA) integrators to gain access to swiftpos Sales, Member, Product and Voucher information.
Refer to swiftpos Admin API for more information.
swiftpos Back Office API ▲ ▼
The swiftpos Back Office API is a rebrand of the formerly known Web API or Local API. it is hosted on-premises and provides endpoints used to communicate to the swiftpos Cloud environment via the swiftpos Admin API.
Refer to swiftpos Back Office API for more information.
swiftpos Orders API ▲ ▼
The swiftpos Orders API is a rebrand of the formerly known MSL Connect API or Connect API. It is required to submit Orders/Sales to swiftpos.
Refer to swiftpos Orders API for more information.
swiftpos POS API ▲ ▼
The swiftpos POS API is a rebrand of the formerly known Touch Web Adaptor. It is a local Web Server and Rest API running on a swiftpos Touch Terminal.
Refer to swiftpos POS API for more information.
T ▲ ▼
Terminal ▲ ▼
In the context of:
- Back Office - Generally refers to one of the following:
- Kitchen Video System (KVS Basic)
- Kitchen Video System Professional (KVS Pro)
- Menu Boards
- Mobile devices such as IPAD, Iphone, IPod, PDA, tablets, or Widefly devices that run different style of keyboards.
- Reception Terminals
- Touch POS Terminals
- Touch Lite refers to Touch POS Terminals that do NOT require a connection to Table Tracking.
- Waiter Terminals for Restaurants. Used to only take Orders.
- Web Applications (Web Apps)
Refer to Terminal Records Types for more information.
Touch ▲ ▼
swiftpos Touch is a powerful, user friendly Point of Sale application.
Refer to Touch for more information.
TouchMini ▲ ▼
TouchMini is the All-In-One Front of House Portable POS. It has been designed to provide a simple and intuitively fast POS interface. With flexible menu and product configuration, TouchMini allows venue staff to quickly adapt to any operational needs.
Refer to TouchMini for more information.
Touch Gateway Service ▲ ▼
Formerly known as the Touch Web Adaptor, it is a companion service to the swiftpos POS API and provides connectivity between swiftpos Cloud and swiftpos Touch for the Direct to POS Terminal Front of House Connection Method.
Touch Web Adaptor ▲ ▼
Now known as the Touch Gateway Service.
V ▲ ▼
Vendor ▲ ▼
In the context of:
- Venue Hub - Generally refers to a single OrderAway instance (swiftpos Location) representing a hospitality outlet that offers patrons food and/or drink services. In this context, a Vendor's menu is accessed by scanning the Venue's Venue Hub QR Code and selecting a Vendor from the list of Vendors available.
Refer to How To Configure Venue Hub For A Vendor for more information. - Back Office - Generally refers to a Location that is activated and configured for operation via OrderAway and has the Vendor's Products as active for that Location.
Venue Hub ▲ ▼
In the context of:
- Venue Hub - Generally refers to a single swiftpos Location that functions as a Venue Hub, which offers patrons a single access point to all Vendors.
W ▲ ▼
Web API ▲ ▼
Also known as the swiftpos Back Office API.
Web Based Application ▲ ▼
In the context of:
- swiftpos - Generally refers to one that can generally be accessed from any internet connected device, and which has access to a Venue's swiftpos application. Examples of Web Based Applications are Events Portal , OrderAway, TouchMini and/or 3rd Party Ordering systems.
End of article. ▲