Aloha Best Practices

Aloha Menu Setup:

• Sales Categories
  • All items MUST be assigned to a Master Sales Category or they will not poll into RASI
• Revenue Centers for Report Card reports will mirror what is set up in Aloha
• PLU's will generate in Aloha for each item
• Modifiers need to be built as individual items in order to generate the PLU for menu
  engineering

Aloha Employee Setup: 

• Best Practice is to assign Jobs to an employee upon setup
  • New employees must be entered into Aloha on or before the first day they work a shift
  • Polling will not pick up hours that are manually entered into Aloha prior to the day the employee is built in the system
  • If an employee is not built out in Aloha prior to the first shift, those hours will need to be manually entered into RASI
• Employee ID field in Aloha will be POS ID in RASI
  • Set up employees in Aloha and RASI on the day they are hired
  • Enter POS ID into RASI profile
  • It is important that all employees have a unique POS ID and that they are not recycled as employees are terminated and hired
  • Report Card > Employee Reports > Employee Information will display this POS ID number
• Best practice is to give dummy users (i.e.. Bar Terminal, FOH Training) and salaried employees zero dollar pay rates
  • If non-zero pay rate is assigned, these hours will need to be deleted prior to beginning payroll and the pay period repolled
  • RASI Reports are still able to show zero rate clock-ins if ever necessary
• If you are paying out credit card tips on checks and only want cash tips to display as declared tips on payroll, please reach out to Aloha to update this setting.
• If you are taking a Tip Reduction, this can be set up in Aloha and automatically polled into RASI

Aloha Discount Setup:

• Discounts will be mapped to GLs in RASI with consideration for compliance and use tax implications
  • Consider clear naming conventions for proper use by staff
  • Consider avoiding generic comps that don't give clear action to resolve in the future (i.e. Open % or Open $)
  • Important distinctions
    • Whether food, alcohol, or carbonated beverage is being discounted
    • Whether the comp is for an employee, owner, to build business, or resolve a customer issue
    • Whether 100% of the item is being comped

Aloha Paid Out Setup:

• Paid outs set up in Aloha will poll into RASI Sales Transmittal
  • Best Practice is to create specific paid-out reasons that align with your cost categories
  • Recommended Paid Outs:
    
    • Restaurant Supplies
    • Dry Goods
    • Office Supplies
  • Paid outs will show on Sales Summary Report Card Reports

Aloha Non-Cash Tenders:

• If any 3rd Party Delivery Services are used, they will need to be set up in Aloha as a non-cash tender
  • Order is placed in Aloha: Ring in the order as per normal and close it to the noncash tender in Aloha. This will poll to the Delivery Service on the Sales Transmittal in RASI
  • Payment is Received: Will be entered as a misc. deposit in RASI against the Delivery Service GL
• If Catering Deposits are Taken:
  • Set up a non-cash tender called "Applied Catering Deposit"
  • Create a sale for the Catering Deposit and close it per the tender that is used. This will poll into the catering Deposit line on the Sales Transmittal
    • If the deposit is given via check, it will be entered as a misc. deposit in RASI to the Catering Deposit GL
  • On the day of the event, the order should be rung in as per normal and closed to the non-cash tender "Applied Catering Deposit". If a balance remains, collect a form of payment and close check as per normal
  • Catering Deposits will live on the balance sheet as a liability until applied
• House Accounts - This is only to be used if the balance will be paid back. This is a person or organization that will place an order and pay for it at a later date
  • Set up the name of the House Account as a non-cash tender in Aloha
  • Ticket will be rung in as per normal and closed to the House Account non-cash tender. This will poll to the House Account line on the Sales Transmittal
  • When the balance is paid, it will be entered as a misc. deposit to the House Account GL
  • Best Practice is to have one generic House Account GL in RASI which will live as an asset on the balance sheet
  • House Account balances from Aloha can be viewed by navigating to:
    • Report Card > Payment Reports > House Accounts.

Aloha Refunds: 

• If refund is due (customer complaint, incorrect charge, chargeback, etc.):
  • Refund amount from Aloha will be manually entered as a Paid Out to GL 5320 Bad Debt Expense
  • Refund amount from Aloha must be manually subtracted from polled credit card tender totals on the RASI sales page