How can we help you?

1. Log in to your HDS Cloud Apps portal at my.hdscloudapps.com.
2. In the left menu, go to Products → Categories.
3. Click Add Category.
4. Enter a name and choose a colour — this is the colour the category button will appear on the till.
5. Optionally set a display order (lower numbers appear first on the till screen).
6. Click Save. The category appears immediately on the EPOS.

You can reorder categories at any time by changing their display order number. Categories with the same number are sorted alphabetically.

1. Go to Products → Products in the portal menu.
2. Click Add Product.
3. Enter the product name and selling price.
4. Select the category the product belongs to — this controls which category button it appears under on the till.
5. Set the correct VAT rate for the item (e.g. 20% for standard-rated food served hot, 0% for cold takeaway items).
6. Optionally add a barcode, SKU, and a description.
7. Click Save.

If the product does not appear on the till straight away, try refreshing the EPOS tab or pressing the sync button.

1. Go to Products → Products.
2. Find the product using the search bar or browse the list.
3. Click the product name or the Edit (pencil) icon.
4. Make your changes — name, price, category, VAT rate, or any other field.
5. Click Save.

Price changes take effect immediately. You do not need to restart the till.

1. Open the product for editing (Products → Products → Edit).
2. Toggle the Active switch to off.
3. Click Save.

The product disappears from the till immediately but remains in your database. Re-enable it the same way whenever you need it back.

1. Go to Stock → Products (or Products → Stock depending on your menu layout).
2. Find the product and click Edit.
3. Enter the current quantity in the Allocated field.
4. Set a Low Stock Threshold if you want an email alert when stock runs low.
5. Click Save.

Stock is automatically reduced with each sale. You can top up quantities here after a delivery, or use the Goods Receiving workflow if you have the Procurement module enabled.

1. Open the product for editing (Products → Products → Edit).
2. Find the EPOS, Kiosk and Mobile switches.
3. Turn each one on or off independently, then click Save.

There's only one product catalogue — these switches just control where each item is sold from, so you can keep something off the self-serve kiosk without removing it from the till.

1. Open the product and click Add Allergens.
2. Tick each allergen that applies from the list.
3. Click Save.

Tagged allergens are shown to guests automatically wherever they order — kiosk, mobile ordering or online — there's nothing further to publish.

1. Open the product for editing.
2. Enter a figure in the Calories field, and Alcohol Units for a drink.
3. Click Save.

These two fields are shown to guests on the self-serve kiosk. There isn't a field for fat, protein or carbohydrate today — only calories and alcohol units are stored.

1. Turn on tiered pricing for your business under Settings.
2. Open the staff member's profile under Staff and flag them for tiered pricing.
3. On each product, enter a staff price alongside the normal customer price.

Whenever a flagged staff member rings up a sale, the till automatically applies their price instead of the customer price — there's no manual discount to remember at the till.

1. To bulk edit: go to Products → Export to download your full catalogue as a CSV file.
2. Make your changes in a spreadsheet, then go to Products → Import and upload the file.
3. To duplicate a single product instead, open it and click Duplicate — this copies its price, modifiers and settings as a starting point for a new item.

A separate export/import pair covers just staff tiered prices, if that's all you need to update in bulk.

A modifier is a customisation or add-on attached to a product. When a staff member adds a product with a modifier to a sale, the till prompts them to make the required choice before the item is added to the basket.

HDS supports four modifier types:

• Options — forces a single choice from a list. The customer (or staff) must pick exactly one before the item can be added. Example: a jacket potato with "Butter" or "No Butter" — one must be selected.
• Extras — allows multiple selections from a list. The customer can pick as many as they like, or you can set a maximum number. Example: jacket potato fillings — Beans, Cheese, Tuna — any combination is valid.
• Packages — forces a single choice, typically used to add a companion item as part of a deal. Example: "Choose a drink" to turn an item into a meal deal — one drink must be selected from the list.
• Upgrades — optional priced add-ons. The customer can choose one or more and each carries an extra charge that is added to the item price.

There is no strict rule about which type to use — choose whichever fits the behaviour you need. Options and Packages both enforce a single selection; Extras allow multiples with an optional cap on how many can be chosen.

Modern (Tablet) view is the default touchscreen-optimised layout. Products are displayed as large colour-coded tiles grouped by category — ideal for fast-paced counter service, café, and bar environments where staff tap quickly through a menu.

Classic view uses a more traditional till layout with a product list and a separate basket column — closer in feel to a conventional till system. Some merchants coming from older EPOS systems find this more familiar, and it works well on wider desktop screens.

Both views access exactly the same products, modifiers, discounts, and payment flows — it is purely a layout preference.

1. Log in to your portal at my.hdscloudapps.com.
2. Go to Settings → EPOS Settings (or Settings → General).
3. Find the EPOS Layout or Till View option.
4. Select Modern or Classic.
5. Save, then reload the EPOS screen for the change to take effect.

The setting applies account-wide. If you want different tills to use different layouts, contact support — per-till layout overrides can be configured.

Scanner mode is a streamlined EPOS layout designed for high-volume retail environments where most products are added by barcode scan rather than tapping tiles. The interface removes the category grid and instead focuses on the scan-and-basket flow, making each transaction faster when items have barcodes.

It is best suited to shops, delis, and retail counters. Hospitality venues with a full menu are usually better served by the Modern or Classic layouts.

To enable Scanner mode, go to Settings → EPOS Settings and select Scanner as the layout.

1. Go to Settings → EPOS Settings.
2. Find the Dark Mode toggle and switch it on.
3. Save and reload the EPOS screen.

Dark mode reduces eye strain in dimly lit venues and is popular in bar and nightclub environments.

Pressing Checkout (or Pay) moves the current basket into the payment screen. At this point:

• The total is locked and confirmed.
• You choose the payment method — card, cash, voucher, on-account, QR, or any other tender type enabled on your account.
• For card payments, pressing Checkout sends a payment request automatically to the Musqet card terminal assigned to that till — the customer taps or inserts their card on the terminal and the result comes back to the till without any manual steps.
• For cash payments, you enter the amount tendered and the till calculates the change.
• Once payment is confirmed, the sale is closed, the receipt is printed (or emailed), and the basket clears ready for the next transaction.

If you press Checkout by mistake, press Back or Cancel to return to the basket without losing the items.

1. Add all items to the basket and press Checkout.
2. On the payment screen, select the first payment method and enter the partial amount being paid by that method (e.g. £10 cash).
3. The screen shows the remaining balance.
4. Select the second payment method and complete the remainder (e.g. the outstanding amount on card).
5. The sale closes automatically once the full amount is covered.

You can split across as many payment methods as needed. The till will not close the sale until the total is fully settled.

1. In the basket, tap the item you want to remove.
2. Tap the Delete / Remove button (usually a bin or × icon next to the item).
3. Alternatively, reduce the quantity to zero using the minus button — this removes the line entirely.

If a manager PIN is required to remove items (a common security setting), you will be prompted to enter the manager code before the item is deleted.

Completed sales are reversed using the Refund function rather than a void:

1. Go to Orders or Recent Transactions on the till or in the portal.
2. Find the order and tap Refund.
3. Choose a full refund or partial refund (select individual items or enter a specific amount).
4. Confirm. For card payments, the refund is sent back to the customer's original card via the Musqet terminal.

There's no manual "Send to Kitchen" button to press. Provided the Cloud Printing module is enabled and your Star printer is configured under Settings, the kitchen docket fires automatically at one of two points, depending on the order type:

• Table orders: the instant you add items to a table on the till. Only the items you've just added are printed — anything already sent to the kitchen earlier isn't reprinted — and this happens whether or not the bill has been paid yet.
• Counter, takeaway and delivery orders: automatically the moment payment is taken (cash, card, a split/part payment, or a gift card/preloaded payment), or as soon as an online or delivery-platform order is confirmed.

If dockets aren't reaching the kitchen printer, check Cloud Printing is switched on and your Star device is correctly configured under Settings before assuming it's a till issue.

There are several ways to apply a discount depending on the situation:

Percentage or fixed discount on the whole basket:

1. Add all items to the basket.
2. Press the Discount button on the till (usually in the basket controls or the bottom toolbar).
3. Select a preset percentage (e.g. 10%, 15%, 20%) or enter a custom amount.
4. The discount is applied to the basket total and shown as a separate line.

Discount on a single line item:

1. Tap the item in the basket to select it.
2. Press Discount Item and enter the percentage or fixed amount.

If a manager PIN is required for discounts above a certain threshold, you will be prompted to enter the manager code to proceed.

1. Go to Settings → Discounts in the portal.
2. You will see a list of existing discount presets (the default includes 5% through 100% in 5% steps).
3. Click Add Discount to create a new preset — enter the name and either a percentage or a fixed amount.
4. Click Save. The new discount appears in the Discount menu on the till immediately.

You can also delete presets you do not need to keep the discount menu tidy.

Loyalty account holders can be given a standing discount percentage (e.g. 10% off everything). This is applied automatically when their loyalty QR code is scanned at the till:

1. Add items to the basket.
2. Press the Loyalty or Scan Customer button.
3. Scan or enter the customer's QR/loyalty code.
4. If the customer has a discount percentage on their account, it is applied to the basket total immediately.

To set or update a customer's standing discount, go to Customers → CRM, find the customer, and edit their discount percentage.

Discounts above a threshold can be restricted to manager-level staff:

1. Go to Settings → EPOS Settings.
2. Find the Manager Override or Discount Permissions section.
3. Set the threshold above which a manager PIN is required (e.g. any discount over 10% requires manager approval).
4. When a staff member tries to apply a discount above the threshold, the till prompts for the manager code before proceeding.

The simplest way to add a service charge is to set it up as a product in your menu:

1. Go to Products → Products → Add Product.
2. Name it Service Charge (or 12.5% Service Charge, etc.).
3. Set the category to something like "Extras" or create a dedicated "Service Charge" category.
4. Set the price to a fixed amount, or set it to £0.00 and leave the price editable at the till so staff can enter the exact amount each time.
5. Set the correct VAT rate (service charges on food and drink are typically standard-rated at 20% in the UK — confirm with your accountant).
6. Save.

Staff add this product to the basket before checkout the same way they would add any item.

If you want service charge to apply automatically as a percentage of the basket total, contact support — this can be configured as an automatic line item in your account settings.

Yes, automatic service charge can be configured per account. Contact the HDS support team and they will set up a percentage-based service charge that is automatically added to every table service bill (or bills above a minimum spend threshold, if preferred).

Automatic service charge appears as a separate line in the basket and can be removed by a manager if the customer requests it.

It depends on how the service charge is set up:

• If service charge is set up as a product in your catalogue, it will follow whatever VAT rate you assign to that product.
• In the UK, a discretionary service charge added to a restaurant bill is generally subject to VAT at the standard rate (20%). However, the rules depend on whether the charge is truly discretionary — we recommend confirming with your accountant.

All VAT amounts are itemised in the end-of-day report to support your VAT return.

1. Check the terminal is powered on and connected to the internet (Wi-Fi or 4G).
2. Check the terminal's serial number matches the one configured against that till point in Settings → Payment Terminals.
3. Restart the terminal (hold the power button for 5 seconds, then power back on).
4. Reload the EPOS tab in your browser and try again.
5. If the problem persists, contact the HDS support team with the terminal serial number.

1. Go to Orders on the till (or Reports → Orders in the portal).
2. Find the original transaction using the order number, date, or customer name.
3. Tap Refund.
4. Choose Full Refund or Partial Refund (select specific items or enter a custom amount).
5. Confirm. The refund is sent to the Musqet terminal — the customer's card is credited automatically. For cash sales, issue cash from the till manually.

A manager PIN may be required to process refunds depending on your permission settings.

1. Press Checkout and select Cash.
2. Enter the amount the customer has handed over (e.g. £20.00 for a £14.50 bill).
3. The till displays the change due (£5.50).
4. The cash drawer opens automatically.
5. Hand the customer their change and their receipt.

1. Go to Staff → Users in the portal.
2. Click Add User.
3. Enter the staff member's name and email address.
4. Assign a role: Admin, Manager, Staff, EPOS-only, Kitchen, or Kitchen+Reports.
5. Set a PIN for clock-in and till identification.
6. Click Save. The staff member can log in immediately.

1. Go to Staff → Users.
2. Find the staff member and click Edit.
3. Enter a new PIN in the PIN field.
4. Click Save. The new PIN takes effect immediately.

The manager override code is a separate PIN used at the till to authorise actions that regular staff are not permitted to perform. Common situations include:

• Applying discounts above the configured threshold.
• Removing items from a basket that has already been sent to the kitchen.
• Processing refunds.
• Voiding or cancelling a sale mid-transaction.
• Accessing manager-only reports from the till screen.

The override session is temporary — it clears when the till is refreshed, so a manager does not remain unlocked indefinitely.

To set the manager override code, go to Settings → Security or Settings → EPOS Settings.

1. At the end of trading, go to Reports → End of Day (or press the Z-Report button on the till if it is shown in your layout).
2. Select the till you want to close (or choose all tills for a consolidated report).
3. Review the totals — cash, card, vouchers, and any other payment types — then press Close Period.
4. The report is generated, saved, and can be printed or emailed.

By default, the trading day resets at 4 AM, so late-night sales are captured in the correct day's report. This can be changed in Settings if your venue closes earlier.

Use the X-Report — it shows all the same information as the Z-report (sales by payment method, total takings, top products) but does not close the trading period. You can run it as many times as you like during a shift.

Go to Reports → X-Report or use the X-Report button on the till.

1. Go to Reports → Custom Reports.
2. Configure the report — choose the date range, categories, and grouping you want.
3. Click Schedule.
4. Choose the frequency: daily, weekly, or monthly.
5. Enter the email address(es) to send the report to.
6. Click Save Schedule.

The report will be sent automatically at the configured interval. You can set up multiple scheduled reports for different stakeholders.

1. Go to Contract Catering in the main menu.
2. Click Add New Customer.
3. Enter the company name and the contact's name and email address.
4. Click Save.

A welcome email is sent automatically with their own branded order-form link — there's nothing further to send manually.

1. Go to Contract Catering.
2. Find the customer in the list.
3. Click Link to resend their portal link by email.

Useful if the original email was lost, or the customer's contact changed.

1. Go to Products → Categories and edit the category you want to include.
2. Turn on the Contract Catering toggle.
3. Click Save.

Every item in that category now appears on every corporate customer's order form automatically — there's no separate catering menu to build or keep in sync.

1. Open your usual order board — contract catering orders appear there alongside table and room-service orders.
2. Each card shows the full order and event details.
3. Use Complete once it's been fulfilled, or Cancel if it needs to be withdrawn.

1. Go to Contract Catering and find the customer.
2. Click Delete.

This revokes their existing order-form link, so keep this for customers who are genuinely no longer ordering.

1. Go to Settings → Compliance.
2. Click Generate Form next to the template you want — Fridge/Freezer Temperature Log, Food Temperature Log, Hot Storage Log, Hot Service Log, or Food Wastage Log.
3. The checklist appears immediately in your Compliance Centre, ready to use.

1. Go to Settings → Compliance and open the question generator.
2. Add your own questions, choosing checkbox, multiple-choice, free-text, or numeric for each one.
3. Click Save to add it alongside your other checklists.

1. Open the Compliance Centre on a phone or tablet and tap the checklist you want to complete.
2. On a shared kitchen tablet, save the opened link to the home screen so it opens like an app in future.
3. Fill in the form and enter a name to sign it off.

No app install or login is needed — it's a simple mobile web page, so any phone or tablet works.

1. Open the Compliance Centre.
2. Use the audit-trail table to search or filter by checklist or date.
3. Click View on any row to see every answer submitted for that check.

1. Go to Settings → Compliance.
2. Enter the recipient email address(es) in the Automated Reports field.
3. Click Save.

A CSV report is generated and emailed weekly. This automatic report currently only covers the Food Wastage Log — other checklists are reviewed live in the Compliance Centre dashboard rather than emailed.

1. Go to Site Security in the main menu.
2. Click Add New Location and give it a name, e.g. "Fire Exit — Rear Yard".
3. Click Copy next to the new location to copy its unique link.
4. Turn that link into a QR code, or write it to an NFC tag or sticker, and place it at that physical location.

1. Go to Settings → Site Security.
2. Turn on Track walkarounds.
3. Set your Morning, Afternoon and Evening check windows.
4. Enter the email address(es) that should be alerted if a window passes with no completed walk-around.

1. Start a walk-around from the Site Security page, or simply begin tapping checkpoint tags with a phone.
2. Tap or scan each tag on the route — the scan is timestamped instantly.
3. Take a photo at each checkpoint as evidence.
4. If something needs reporting, toggle Any dangers? and add notes before submitting.

1. Go to Site Security and find the walk-around under Last User Progress.
2. Click Build Report.
3. Download the CSV — it lists every checkpoint, the time it was scanned, any notes, and a link to the photo taken there.

1. Go to Settings → Site Security.
2. Turn on the IP allowlist option (sometimes labelled "Tie to login").
3. Add the IP address(es) login should be restricted to.

This is a separate, optional setting from walk-around tracking — use it if you want to lock staff logins to a specific site network.

1. Go to Settings and turn on the Live Chat toggle.
2. Click Save.

Live Chat is included with your platform — there's no separate module fee.

1. Once enabled, a message option appears automatically on room-service and table-service ordering screens, including QR-code table ordering.
2. No setup is needed per guest — it's part of the ordering screen itself.

1. Go to Live Chat in the main menu.
2. New messages appear on the board with an audio alert.
3. Click Chat on a message to open the thread and reply.

1. Each staff member has their own notification setting, separate from the company-wide Live Chat toggle.
2. Check your personal notification settings and make sure message alerts are switched on.

If a team member says they "never see" messages, this per-user setting is the first thing to check.

A message is a genuine two-way conversation — click Chat to open the thread and type a reply. A service call is a one-way bell press from a guest with no conversation attached — click Confirm Call to acknowledge it, which simply clears it from the board.

1. Connect the printer to your router. Plug an ethernet cable from the printer into your router and make sure the router has an active internet connection.
2. Print the network configuration docket. With the printer off, hold down the Feed button. While holding it, turn the printer on. Keep holding until it starts printing — the last page printed will show the network connection details including the IP address.
3. Check the IP address. If the IP address reads 0.0.0.0, the printer has not received a network address — check the ethernet cable and router connection. A valid IP address (e.g. 192.168.1.50) means it is connected.
4. Open the Star portal. On a laptop or computer connected to the same network, open a web browser and type the printer's IP address into the address bar.
5. Log in. Click Login. The default credentials are username root and password public. The portal will prompt you to change these — choose something memorable. Log in again with your new credentials.
6. Enable cloud printing. Click Turn on Cloud Printing.
7. Enter the HDS endpoint. In the URL field, enter exactly:
   https://device.starprinter.online/cloudprnt/hospitalitydigital
   Set the Poll Time to 1 second. Click Save and Restart.
8. Confirm the connection. Once the printer restarts, the front light should turn green. Shortly after, a welcome receipt will print automatically — this confirms the printer has registered with your HDS account.

Once the welcome receipt prints, HDS will connect the printer to your account automatically. No further steps are needed — contact support if the light stays amber or the welcome receipt does not print within a couple of minutes.

1. Download Google Chrome. If Chrome is not already installed, download it from google.com/chrome and install it.
2. Open the HDS portal. In Chrome, go to my.hdscloudapps.com.
3. Find the install button. Look in the address bar at the top of Chrome — you will see a small install icon on the right-hand side.
4. Install the app. Click the install button. Chrome will create a shortcut icon on your desktop and the app will open in its own window, just like a native application.

Installing as an app means it launches directly without needing to open Chrome first, and runs full-screen without the browser address bar.

1. Enable Developer Mode. Go to Settings → About phone and tap Build number seven times rapidly to enable Developer Mode.
2. Download the APK. Open Chrome on your Android device and go to hdscloudapps.com/downloads. Tap Download APK next to the HDS Cloud Apps app.
3. Open the downloaded file. Open your Files app, go to the Downloads folder, and tap the APK file.
4. Allow installation from unknown sources. If prompted, tap Settings, enable Install unknown apps for Chrome, then go back and tap Install.

Only ever download APKs directly from hdscloudapps.com/downloads to ensure you have the latest signed release.

1. Check your device has an active internet connection.
2. Refresh the browser tab (F5 on a keyboard, or pull to refresh on a tablet).
3. If the problem persists, close the browser tab completely and reopen the EPOS URL.
4. Any in-progress table service orders are saved to the server, so refreshing will not lose open table data.

If you regularly experience freezing on a particular device, try clearing the browser cache. On Chrome or Edge: Settings → Privacy → Clear browsing data → Cached images and files.

HDS requires an active internet connection to process transactions. If the connection drops:

• Card payments cannot be processed until connectivity is restored — the Musqet terminal cannot reach the payment network.
• Cash transactions are generally unaffected for counter service — you can still add items and record a cash payment, though sync to the server may be delayed.
• Table service orders that have already been sent to the kitchen remain on the kitchen display.

We recommend having a 4G/LTE backup router in place to maintain connectivity if your main broadband fails. Contact support for advice on resilience options.

1. Go to Settings → Account Settings (or Settings → Business Details).
2. Update the fields you need to change: trading name, address, phone number, website, VAT number.
3. The receipt header and footer can be updated under Settings → Receipt Settings — this controls what appears at the top and bottom of every printed receipt.
4. Save. Changes apply to new receipts immediately.

HDS supports multiple till points within a single location. Each till can have its own card terminal and receipt printer.

1. Go to Settings → Till Points.
2. Click Add Till and give it a name (e.g. "Bar Till", "Main Counter").
3. Assign the Musqet terminal serial number for that till.
4. Assign a receipt printer if needed.
5. Save. Open the EPOS on the second device, log in, and select the new till point when prompted.

The quickest way to reach us is through the Live Chat button inside your HDS portal — our team is available directly from within the system so you do not need to switch tools.

You can also reach us via the contact form at hdscloudapps.com.