Getting Started

Quick-start checklist

Use this in your first week. Tick as you go.

1. Create or confirm your admin login and venue name under Settings → Business.
2. Set business hours so “today’s sales” match your trading day (not midnight).
3. Add menu categories, then products (Inventory → Products).
4. Create staff with codes and roles (People → Staff).
5. Optional: add a few guest profiles or turn on loyalty later (People → Guests — see Guests & Loyalty handbook).
6. Add devices: open Tavio on a tablet/phone browser, or install the Tavio POS app from the App Store / Google Play.
7. Pair printers (Settings → Printers). Prefer network (LAN) on tablet app, or Print Agent on Windows till PCs.
8. Optional: enroll manager fingerprint (People → Staff) if you use a USB pad on the till.
9. Run a test order on the POS: add a food item, Park, confirm kitchen if used, then close with cash or card from All Orders.
10. Walk managers through Orders, Cash up, and Analytics.

Tip: Do not invent your full menu on day one. Start with your top 20 sellers, then expand.

How Tavio fits together

Tavio connects the floor, kitchen, stock, and back office:

• Admin (desktop/mobile) — menus, stock, staff, settings, reports.
• POS / New Order — staff take and park orders (tabs by customer name).
• All Orders — open tabs, transfers, combine, close payment.
• Kitchen display — food tickets (Growth+).
• Self-order kiosk: guests order themselves and pay at the counter (set up by Tavio).
• Cash up — end-of-shift money and tips.
• Stock — products and recipes deplete as orders close.

Daily loop in plain English: set up menu → staff clock in and sell → kitchen cooks → stock goes down → cash up → owner reviews sales.

Step 1 — Business setup

Settings → Business

• Venue name, location, contact details.
• Business hours — open/close for each day. Reports follow your trading day. If you close at 02:00, late sales still belong to that business day.

Settings → Categories

Create menu groups staff see on the till (Drinks, Food, Cocktails, Wine, etc.).

Settings → System (important toggles)

Settings → Printers

FOH auto-print, item-addition slips, VAT on receipts, and printer connections (LAN / Print Agent / USB).

Settings → Security

Set the admin PIN/token for sensitive floor actions (discounts, comps, unsigned closes, recalls). Give it only to managers. Managers with a USB fingerprint pad can scan instead of typing the token once enrolled under People → Staff.

In admin: People → Staff — add each person, assign a role, give a staff code for POS login, and optionally Set up fingerprint. People → Guests is optional (regulars, allergies, loyalty).

Step 2 — Devices

Tablets and phones

1. Open Chrome/Safari (or install Tavio POS from the App Store / Play Store).
2. Sign in with staff code or owner login as needed.
3. On iPad: Share → Add to Home Screen for a full-screen feel.
4. Keep devices charged and on the venue Wi‑Fi (not guest Wi‑Fi).

Printers

Tablets: Wi‑Fi/LAN 80mm ESC/POS printers on port 9100 with the native app — Admin → Settings → Printers → Network (IP Address).

Windows till: install Tavio Print Agent (same Printers screen) for silent USB or network printing from the browser. USB needs the Windows printer driver installed first.

Test print before Friday service. Full guide: Printer Setup.

Warning: Test printing before Friday service. A missing printer mid-rush is chaos.

Step 3 — First menu items

1. Go to Inventory → Products.
2. Add a simple item (e.g. Castle Lite, Cheeseburger).
3. Set price, category, and whether it should go to the kitchen.
4. For cocktails later: use Recipes so ingredients deplete correctly (Growth+).
5. For spirits by the shot: see the Inventory handbook (shot pools).

On the till: Staff open New Order → pick category → tap items → Park → close payment on All Orders when the guest is done.

Step 4 — Staff and first service

1. Add staff codes for waiters, bar, and kitchen.
2. Have each person log in once on a device.
3. Place a dummy order, park food to kitchen, complete payment (cash is fine for a test).
4. Optional: on customer name, try link guest with a test phone (or skip — name-only is fine).
5. Check Sales → Orders that the order appears closed.
6. Optional: run a small cash up so managers see the flow.

Common mistakes

• Business hours left at midnight defaults — skews “today” reports.
• Kitchen flag off on food items — tickets never appear on KDS.
• Everyone shares one staff code — you lose accountability.
• Full recipe build before a single live order — delay going live.

Good practice tips

Good practice: Appoint one “Tavio champion” (manager) who owns menu changes for the first month.

Good practice: Keep a laminated one-pager at the pass: how to advance kitchen tickets, who has the admin PIN, printer reboot steps.

Troubleshooting

Glossary