Civica Cashless Catering

Our modern EPOS solutions mean rapid throughput at the till, with a choice of hardware and ID management options, including biometrics. Menus and prices can be quickly managed and centralised across individual or groups of sites. Stock management is integrated and can be drilled down to individual item, giving you complete oversight across your organisation, and comprehensive financial information allows you to create accurate forecasts.

Our hardware includes:

• Touch screen Our 15” EPOS touch screen is a fanless and extremely robust terminal used in 24hr outlets. It has an IP65 splash and dust rating, combined with green low power consumption. 
• Chip and PIN Fully integrated with the touch screen, transaction totals are automatically passed to a wired or wireless Chip and PIN terminal, preventing operator errors. 
• POSAnywhere Our WiFi-enabled 10” POSAnywhere tablet touch screen is the ideal choice where a small footprint is required. It can be used as a fixed touch screen or removed from its docking station for a mobile solution.

With Civica Cashless Catering pupils and parents can choose their meals in advance. This cuts down food waste, reduces your CO2 impact and can increase uptake of your service by as much as 50%.

Primaries benefit from classroom pre-ordering that’s fast and efficient for teachers, using a whiteboard browser or any web-enabled device. We also support parental pre-order via our integrated payments options.

For secondaries we recommend our CivicaEats app, which is free for pupils to download. The improved experience helps you compete with off-site options and increase uptake significantly.

Cloud means faster visibility of requirements for caterers that supply multiple schools. It also provides real time data on take-up, FSM and UiFSM for centralised teams.

Secure cloud hosting means faster implementation, improved data security and a lower total cost of ownership. There’s no need for dedicated devices or local IT infrastructure. Support and updates are simpler too, with no local IT input required.

A trust-wide cloud cashless system facilitates sharing best practice, the analysis of trends and a top-down approach to managing and your provision across schools in your Trust.

We integrate with your MIS to mitigate the risks of students purchasing restricted dietary items, keeping pupils safe and your school compliant.

Choose our digital payments option or integration with your existing provider so parents and guardians can make online payments and keep track of menu choices.

Cloud means easier and more resilient integration We integrate with more MIS, online payment and kitchen management solutions than any other cashless catering provider.

Civica Cashless Catering helps local authorities, caterers and ICT providers manage catering across their estate. You can configure the system to meet each school’s demographic, meal numbers and individual needs.

Access sales data on Free School Meals, Universal Infant Free School Meals, subsidised and cash-paying students. This reduces administration and helps you make better decisions.

Civica Cashless Catering helps manage UIFSM and accounts for the Pupil Premium investment. Parents can pre-order their child’s meal choices for complete visibility. Stakeholder reports help you make informed decisions about where to place future spend.

Civica Cashless Catering reduces the amount of cash in school, so you can speed up serving times. With each student using the same method of payment, you’ll help remove any stigma attached to Free School Meals. The system encourages students to buy food in school, reducing the risk of buying unhealthy items elsewhere. Other features include menu scheduling, meal deals, allergy alerts, pre-ordering and kiosks, alongside comprehensive stock management, forecasting and reporting.

Alongside the benefits of our primary and secondary solutions, MATs enjoy enhanced reporting and centralised menu schedules. Stock, menus and prices can be controlled at a MAT or individual academy level.

Streamline your college or university catering with an integrated payment solution. Biometric or card ID, allergy alerts, meal deals and menu scheduling speed up your institution’s meal service. Electronic ID powers door access, print management, libraries, photocopying, e-registration, vending and lockers.

A cashless catering system is a digital payment solution implemented in places where food services are provided, such as schools. Instead of using traditional cash transactions, this system relies on electronic methods to manage and process payments.

Key features of a cashless catering system typically include:

1. Electronic Payments:
   Users, such as students or employees, load funds onto their accounts electronically. This can be done through various methods, such as online payments or card readers.
2. Prepaid Accounts:
   Users prepay for their meals by depositing a certain amount of money into their accounts. This eliminates the need for physical cash transactions at the point of sale.
3. Smart Cards or Biometrics:
   The system uses smart cards or biometric information (such as fingerprints) as a means of identification and authentication at the point of sale. This adds a layer of security and convenience.
4. Transaction Tracking:
   The system keeps a record of each transaction, providing detailed information about what was purchased, when, and by whom. This information can be valuable for tracking stock, managing budgets, and analysing food preferences.
5. Parental Controls:
   Parents may have access to online portals where they can monitor and control their children's spending habits. They can set daily or weekly spending limits and receive alerts for certain activities.
6. Reduced Cash Handling:
   Since transactions are electronic, there is less reliance on handling physical cash. This can reduce the risk of theft and streamline administrative processes related to cash management.
7. Efficiency and Speed:
   The use of a cashless system can lead to faster and more efficient transactions at the point of sale. This is particularly important in busy environments like school cafeterias.
8. Integration with Other Systems:
   Cashless catering systems may integrate with other school management systems, such as student information systems, to provide a comprehensive solution.

We designed our cashless catering software to suit a wide range of organisations. Whether you’re a local authority, an individual primary or secondary school, a multi-academy trust, contract caterer or a large university, you’ll manage your meal service and gain insights into how to keep improving.

Overall, a cashless catering system offers a more convenient, secure, and efficient way to handle transactions in food service environments while providing additional features for both administrators and users.

Removing cash from the queue reduces the likelihood of theft and bullying, or stigmatising those on free school meal programmes.

With features like pre-ordering, menu scheduling and meal deals, you can give students and parents better visibility of their food choices and safeguard students with allergies, reduce kitchen waste and improve planning.

Our cashless catering system for schools integrates with a digital payments system, either from Civica or an existing provider, which parents or guardians use to ‘top-up’ the student’s account online. Meals are then paid for at point of sale using this balance, meaning the student doesn’t have to carry any cash. Alternatively, where the pupil is in receipt of free school meals, this will be used to fund the transaction instead. The most popular ID method is biometric cashless catering, which uses a fingerprint to confirm the purchaser’s identity.

A big benefit of cashless catering systems for schools is that they enable meals to be ordered in advance. This has been proven to increase take-up and allows the kitchen to purchase and prepare more efficiently. This reduces food waste and associated costs.

Pre-order can often be carried out online by parents via the online payments portal. In primary schools, meals are often pre-ordered on the classroom whiteboard, or any other web-enabled device, early in the school day. In secondary schools, pupils may order online themselves or using our popular CivicaEats mobile app.