Express Kiosk Interface (Staff Kiosk)

This article will cover how intake staff can use the PantrySoft Staff Express Kiosk to conduct client visits.

Definition

The Express Kiosk is feature-lite interface designed to simplify the client intake process. It can be used either on a tablet or in a desktop environment. The Express Kiosk contains only the basic features needed to manually search for clients (or scan them in if using a barcode scanner), edit client information, add new clients, and conduct client visits. The Express Kiosk can be configured to perform simple quick visits or a more detailed visit that allows for inventory logging.

Note: You can click or tap Search located on the top toolbar at any time to return to the initial search screen. 

Searching & Loading a Client

Follow these steps to load a client into the Express Kiosk.

1. Log in
   Ensure you're logged in as a Kiosk Staff User account. See Users (create, edit, delete) for more information on account set-up.
   
   
2. Enter a Search Term
   You can find your client by searching for any of the following household attributes:
   First, middle or last name of any household member or proxy (see Proxies)
   - Phone number of any household member
   - Household's current address
   - Client account number
   
   A drop-down menu will load with possible matches after you've entered a few characters. Select your client and continue.
   
   Optional: If you are using a handheld scanner or camera scanner, alternatively scan the client's account number barcode to quickly log their visit.
   
   

No Results?

If you cannot find a client you're certain is in the system, log into PantrySoft using a Staff Dashboard (standard) user. There, you can have additional options for finding misplaced clients, especially the Client Browse function to get a list of clients with sortable name and address fields, and Client Reports which gives you a list of clients visiting recently in a certain time range. (If they don't, click New Client to register them for their first visit. See Client Registration for more detailed information on the registration process).

Reviewing Loaded Client Options

The following options are available once a client has been loaded into the Express Kiosk:

• New Visit. Click or tap New Visit to open the New Visit screen and save a brand new record of service for this Client.
  
• Edit Visit. Click or tap Edit Visit to edit the prior Visit (record of service) selected in the Select a Visit dropdown. This button will only appear if at least one prior Visit appears in the dropdown.
  
•  Print Ticket.  If your pantry uses the ticketing system, click or tap Print Ticket icon to print a visit ticket with a scan-able barcode.
  
• New Registration. Selecting this allows you to view & edit the latest info for the current  and additional primary household members, contact information, registration questions, and (optionally) more.  NOTE: If you make changes to anything in the Edit Client ("Registration") screen, a brand new Registration record will appear on the Dashboard.       

• New Search. Click or tap New Search to return to the search screen.
  

Conducting a "Quick Visit" (optional variant)

Admins can set up the Kiosk experience to use "Quick Visits". If they have, the Kiosk Search screen will behave differently when New Visit is pressed. Instead of opening up a detailed Visit screen, the system will simply create a visit record "behind the scenes" and attach it to the Client record. This is useful for those pantries that don't need to alter anything about a Client Visit when a client arrives at their pantry. These pantries only need to store the fact of the visit and nothing else about it.

Conducting a Visit (Standard)

Follow these steps to log a new Visit using the Express Kiosk.

1. New Visit
   After loading a Client, click New Visit. This will create a visit and show you the Edit Visit screen.
   
2. Select Visit Type
   If your pantry uses multiple Visit Types, verify or change the Visit Type appropriate for this visit.
   
   
3. Answer Any Custom Visit Questions
   If an admin has added custom visit questions to the visit screen, they will appear in a section just below the Visit Comment. Answer the questions.
   NOTE: Unanswered required questions will prevent a successful save and exit, and prompt an error message.
   
   
4. Add a Visit Comment (optional)
   NOTE: Visit comments appear on the Staff Dashboard in the event roster next to the Date and Visit Type. This means they're extremely useful for adding quick notes your colleagues will notice right from the Staff Dashboard itself. 
   
   
5. Add Visit Items (inventory feature)
   To add Visit Items, perform the steps in Visit Items: Create/ Edit/ Delete below.
   
   
6. Save and Exit
   Click Save and Exit.
   
   
7. Verify the Visit on the Dashboard
   Verify your new visit is listed in the event roster inside the Visit widget.

    

   
   

   NOTE: Violating Visit Frequency Rules. The Express Kiosk interface will check to see if a visit violates frequency rules (An example frequency rule might only allow one visit per household per month). If you try to create a New Visit for a client that would violate your pantry's visit frequency rules, the kiosk interface will refuse you, and instead report the details of why a visit is not possible at this time (see figure below).

   

   ... Proceed Anyway? You may notice that the Staff Dashboard interface would simply warn you of a potential violation, but then let you make the visit anyway. The Kiosk will refuse you outright. This is because the Express Kiosk interface is designed for lower-level users. Log into the Staff Dashboard to proceed with an "illegal" visit.

    

   Visit Items: Create/ Edit/ Delete

   If your pantry records Visit Items (inventory is distributed and attached to specific clients; see Inventory Items (Item Templates)), your Visit screens will have a Visit Item section.
   
   

   Perform the following steps to add Visit Items to a Visit while inside the New Visit or Edit Visit screens:

   1. Verify / Identify Inventory Item Section
      If your pantry is set up with Visit Inventory Items ( ), identify the section toward the bottom of the Visit called Inventory Items. The section has:
      - An Item Entry panel (see the dark gray area in the figure above)
      - An Item Table below the Item Entry panel (a brand new/ empty table just has the message "No Items Entered...").
      
      
   2. Select an Item
      Select an Item under Select an Item to Add in the Item Entry section.
      Bar Code Scanning: Alternatively, if you're using the bar code scanner, you can click into that field and scan an item bar code instead of manually selecting an item.
      Missing Items: If items you've set up for your pantry are missing from the Item field in the visit, ask an admin to revisit the item in the Inventory Item screen and ensure that both the Active and Show on Visit checkboxes have been selected.
      
      
   3. Add an Item
      Verify or edit the readied item's details (e.g. Total Weight). When you're satisfied, click Add Item.
      
      
   4. Edit an Added Item
      Once a readied item is added to the list of checkout items below, you can edit the item by clicking it. This will:
      - Highlight the edited item row
      - Load its details back into the Readied Item section
      Now you can edit the item's details again or delete the item altogether.
      Click Save Item when you're finished with your edits and the highlighted row in question will adjust itself accordingly