PowerLunch Initialization

On this page:

Set Prices

Set up a price list for the different categories of patrons at your school. Each category pays a different price for meals depending on their role at your school and their financial situation.

1. On the start page, choose PowerLunch under Applications in the main menu. 
2. Click Set Prices and Options under Management. 

3. Use the following table to enter information in the fields:

   Field	Description
   Patron Type	The categories of patrons.
   Breakfast Prices	Enter the price of breakfast for all categories of patrons. It is not necessary to enter a dollar sign, but you must use a decimal point. You cannot edit the Student Free Price field because students with a Free status do not have to pay for their first meal.
   Second Breakfast Prices	Enter the price of breakfast for all categories of patrons. You can charge patrons receiving free or reduced meals the full meal price in Quicksale mode when they purchase a second meal. Additionally, this will put these second meals under the paid heading on the Meal Count Listing report. It is not necessary to enter a dollar sign when entering the price.
   Lunch Prices	Enter the price of lunch for all categories of patrons. It is not necessary to enter a dollar sign when entering the price. You cannot edit the Student Free Price field because students with a Free status do not have to pay for their first meal.
   Second Lunch Prices	Enter the price of lunch for all categories of patrons. You can charge patrons receiving free or reduced meals the full meal price in Quicksale mode when they purchase a second meal. Additionally, this will put these second meals under the paid heading on the Meal Count Listing report. It is not necessary to enter a dollar sign when entering the price.
   Auto-calculate cash if the account is deficit	Select the checkbox to automatically calculate cash if the patron's account does not have enough of a balance to cover the meal (optional).
   Use single-screen lunch process (Quicksale)	Select the checkbox to have the lunch process (Quicksale) display and to set a full-priced meal as the default. This step is optional, but you are encouraged to use it. For more information about Quicksale, see Daily Activities.
   Show student photo on screen	Select the checkbox to display the patron's photo on the page (optional). This option is only available if student photos have been imported into PowerSchool.
   Don't use false balance for free lunch students	Select the checkbox if you do not use false balances for free lunch students. This allows the student's free or reduced lunch price to appear on the page. This also allows low-balance messages to appear. Selecting the checkbox can create confidentiality issues if others view the page.
   Allow students from any school through the lunch line	Select the checkbox to allow students from any school through the lunch line (optional). Often, this refers to other students in your school district. This affects all schools on your PowerSchool system.
   Disable student allergy alert	By default, the student allergy alert is enabled. If a student has an allergy, an alert appears on the Record Lunch Sale page. Select the checkbox to disable of the student allergy alert. Alternatively, deselect the checkbox to re-enable the student allergy alert.

4. Click Submit. 

Set Messages

Set up warning messages that appear when a student's account balance gets low or becomes deficit. Also, set up a message to tell the cashier if a student is eating a second meal for the day. If you do not want a message for a specific event, leave that field blank when setting up messages.

1. On the start page, choose PowerLunch under Applications in the main menu. 
2. Click Set Messages under Management. 

3. Use the following table to enter information in the fields:

   Field	Description
   When account balance drops below this level...	Enter the dollar amount of the cut-off to display a message when the patron's account balance drops below this level. This selection applies to your school only.
   …display this message	If you entered a dollar amount in the previous field, enter the message to appear on the page when the student's balance is low.
   When there is not enough money in the account, display this message…	To be warned when there is not enough money in the patron's account to pay for the meal, enter the message to appear on the page. This selection applies to all schools on your PowerSchool system.
   When patron is purchasing a 2nd meal, display this message…	To be warned when a patron is purchasing a second meal for the day, enter the message to appear on the page. This is especially important when the student purchasing the extra meal receives free or reduced lunches. This selection applies to all schools on your PowerSchool system.

4. Click Submit. 

Create Student Lunch ID Numbers

Assign numbers to a group of students or to an individual student. Lunch ID numbers may or may not be the same numbers as the student ID numbers. They are linked to the price that students pay for their meals and are used to keep track of students' meal account balances. PowerSchool administrators can assign lunch IDs at some schools.

1. On the start page, search for and select a group of students. 
2. Click the [Select Function] arrow. 
3. Under Functions, choose ID/Password Assignments. 
   Note: Alternatively, if you have a current selection of students, you can choose Special Functions under Functions in the main menu and then click Groups Functions.

4. Use the following table to enter information in the fields:

   Field	Description
   For	Select the option to indicate for whom you want to assign ID numbers. Do one of the following: Select all of the enrolled students in the current school Select the current selection of students Select a single student
   Don't overwrite any existing IDs or passwords	Select the checkbox if you do not want to overwrite any IDs or passwords already assigned in PowerSchool.
   In case of conflicts append	If there is a conflict with an existing ID, choose a suffix from the pop-up menu.
   Assign Lunch IDs	Select the checkbox to create only lunch IDs. Though options to create other IDs/Passwords appear on this page, ensure that no other checkbox is selected unintentionally, such as the Assign Web IDs and passwords checkbox.
   Each Lunch ID is	Choose the number of digits in the lunch IDs from the pop-up menu. Choose how the number will be generated from the pop-up menu.

5. Click Submit.

Lunch ID Numbers for Staff

To assign lunch IDs to staff, you must assign them one at a time by going through the Staff page: select the teacher, click Edit Information, enter the lunch ID, and click Submit. This works well for an individual teacher, but sometimes you want to export a list of several teachers, such as during the PowerSchool setup. When you export the staff list to your spreadsheet application, it will be easier to assign lunch ID numbers to each teacher and import that list back into PowerSchool.

Set Up Beginning Student Balances

Once everything else is set up and everyone has a lunch ID, you can start collecting lunch money. Most schools that use PowerSchool allow students to deposit money into their accounts so that they do not have to pay cash every day. This is advantageous for the schools because there are minimal cash transactions. The following instructions explain how to enter the first deposit into an individual student's account and subsequent deposits outside of those occurring as students pass through the lunch line. For instructions on how to handle deposits at the lunch line, see Daily Activities and Maintenance Activities.  

Note: If you are setting up PowerLunch or if you are entering the beginning balance for several students, you can enter the data in a spreadsheet application and import it to PowerSchool. Contact your PowerSchool administrator for more information.

Repeat this procedure for all students when they make their initial deposit into their meal accounts and subsequent deposits that do not occur while passing through the lunch line.

1. On the start page, search for and select a student. 
2. Choose Lunch Transactions under Administration in the student pages menu. 
3. Click New.

4. Use the following table to enter information in the fields:

   Field	Description
   Transaction Date	Enter the date of the transaction.
   Description	Enter a description for the transaction, such as Beginning Balance or Initial Deposit.
   Amount of Fee	It is not necessary to enter an amount in this field since a deposit is being made.
   Amount of Credit	Enter the amount of the deposit.
   Cash Transaction	Select the checkbox if the transaction is a cash transaction.

5. Click Submit. 
   Note: Click Lunch Transactions to display the transaction.

Set Up Beginning Staff Balances

Enter the first deposit into an individual staff member's account and subsequent deposits outside of those occurring as they pass through the lunch line.

Note: If you are setting up PowerLunch or if you are entering the beginning balance for several staff members, you can enter the data in a spreadsheet application and import it to PowerSchool. Contact your PowerSchool administrator for more information.

1. On the start page, search for and select a staff member. 
2. Click Transactions under Function in the staff pages menu. 
3. Click New. 

4. Use the following table to enter information in the fields:

   Field	Description
   Date of Transaction	Enter the date of the transaction.
   Description	Enter a description for the transaction, such as Beginning Balance or Initial Deposit.
   Debit	It is not necessary to enter an amount in this field since a deposit is being made.
   Credit	Enter the amount of the deposit.

5. Click Submit.