This section explains key terms used throughout this manual. Click on bold text marked with an arrow 
to view additional information.
This term is used when referring to the Polygon POS Management or Polygon Back Office software which normally runs on an office computer. This software is used for managerial activities associated with running a business such as manage sales, stock, accounts, wages etc, as well as management of the POS terminals. Polygon POS Management is a reliable and easy to use point of sale system which contains all the functionality required to provide fast, efficient and accurate service operation at the front-of-house and full management control at the back-of-house. Polygon Back Office integrates accounting, wages and stock management features with Polygon POS Management.
See sections: Polygon POS Management Introduction and Polygon Back Office Introduction for more information.
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Batch recipes are those recipes which are also ingredients for other recipes. For example, mashed potato includes potato, butter, milk and salt. However, mashed potato may also be used in another recipe. Therefore, the recipe for mashed potato can be classified as a batch recipe.
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Clients are people to whom you are prepared to extend credit to. Rather than paying for their goods at the time of purchase, they are permitted to run up accounts with you to be invoiced at a later date.
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EFTPOS stands for Electronic Funds Transfer at Point Of Sale. EFTPOS allows customers to pay for purchases electronically using credit cards or debit cards at the front of house. Two types of EFTPOS systems can be used at the front of house, these are Integrated EFTPOS and Stand Alone EFTPOS. More information about these types of EFTPOS available below.
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Integrated EFTPOS is available when the Polygon Payments Interface add-on module has been purchased. This module allows a POS Terminals to connect to and communicate with integrated EFTPOS pin-pads. Sale transaction totals are automatically sent from the POS terminal to the EFTPOS pin-pad. In comparison to stand alone EFTPOS configurations, this increases efficiency and reduces the chance of user error.
See section Polygon POS Management > Location Settings > Add on Modules > Polygon Payments Interface for instructions explaining how to enable the Polygon Payments Interface. Once you have enabled the Polygon Payments Interface you will need to configure the connection between your pin-pad(s) and your terminal(s). See section POS Peripheral Details > EFT Pinpad for instructions explaining how to configure an EFTPOS pin-pad peripheral connection .
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Stand alone EFTPOS pin-pads don't connect directly to POS terminals. Instead, POS staff need to operate the EFT pin-pad separately by entering payment details using the pin-pad's keypad.
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This term is used when referring to the point of sale area where sales transactions take place. In other words, it is where the POS Terminals reside.
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File Transfer Protocol (FTP) refers to the transmission of data from one computer (POS Terminal) to another (BOH computer) via the internet. This means updates can be sent from the BOH even when it is not at the same location as the POS terminals. FTP updates are available to users who have a remote location license.
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A keypad category groups a number of PLU’s and allows them to be viewed together in a pop-up box at the FOH. This increases ease of use at the POS terminal.
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A local area network refers to a small network of computers all in the same location. Data is transmitted via this network from one computer (POS Terminal) to another computer (BOH computer).
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The POS Terminal that is at the top of the hierarchy is referred to as the ‘Master’. This terminal communicates to the back of house and is responsible for collating all slave terminal data for an area.
See Also: POS Terminal Redundancy & Recovery - definition of master-slave/s relationship
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These are accounts that you may use to charge items for which no revenue is received but for which you want to track stock usage.
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PDE devices can be used during stocktakes to scan stock item bar codes and quickly record stock quantities. The stock quantities can then be quickly loaded into Polygon Inventory Stocktake forms.
See Also: Polygon Inventory > Using PDE Devices Polygon Inventory > Stocktakes File
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Periodic Stock Items are Stock Items which are not tracked perpetually. This means the Polygon Inventory system will not automatically calculate this item's stock quantity for stock takes.
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A perpetual stock item is a stock item which has been configured to have it's quantities tracked by the Polygon Inventory system.
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Polygon Back Office is Redcat's financial management software which cooperates with Redcat's Polygon POS Management software and provides five main functions:
1.Suppliers Recording invoices for goods & services received. Paying suppliers for those goods & services. 2.Clients Creating & recording invoices to clients Recording payments received from clients 3.Accounting Recording all the financial transactions needed to manage your business and prepare your tax return. 4.Banking Provides facilities to write cheques, record receipts and manage your bank accounts. 5.Reports Provides numerous reports needed to manage your business.
Click here to read the Polygon Back Office Introduction section.
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Polygon Customer Ordering is an optional module which enables orders to by placed by customers using a mobile app.
See Also: Addendums > Polygon Customer Ordering
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Polygon Inventory is an optional module which enables you to maintain a record of the stock level of individual stock items and to review those records at any time. Polygon Inventory calculates the value of stock on hand of each stock item using the average cost method. Polygon Inventory can generate recommended purchase orders according to existing stock levels. These purchase orders may later be used to speed up the entry of supplier invoices. Polygon Inventory provides a stock take facility that enables you to quickly identify variances between your stock records and the quantity recorded in the stock take and take the appropriate action. (ie either write on/off the variance or conduct a further search for the stock).
See section Polygon Back Office > Polygon Inventory for more information.
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Polygon Loyalty is an add-on module for Polygon POS Management which enables loyalty cards, e-gift cards and e-hybrid cards (which act as both a loyalty card and a gift card). Loyalty cards enable customers to accrue points when a purchase is made and to exchange points for goods at a later time. The Polygon Loyalty add on module includes a web based management and reporting tool.
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Polygon Payments Interface is an optional add-on module which can be purchased. When enabled, it allows POS Terminals to connect to and communicate with integrated EFTPOS pin-pads. EFTPOS payment totals are automatically sent from the POS terminal to its EFTPOS pinpad. This increases efficiency and reduces the chance of user error.
See section Polygon POS Management > Location Settings > Add on Modules > Polygon Payments Interface for instructions explaining how to enable Polygon Payments Interface. Once you have enabled the Polygon Payments Interface, you will need to configure the connection between your pinpad(s) and your terminal(s). See section POS Peripheral Details > EFT Pinpad for instructions explaining how to configure an EFTPOS pinpad peripheral connection .
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A POS area is a separate operational area of a POS Location. For example, different POS Area’s within a business may include; the Restaurant, the Bistro, the Bar and the Bottle Shop. POS Areas are created and managed from Polygon POS Management > POS Network File.
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This refers to actual to the actual physical location of a business. If you have more than one business each are considered different POS Locations. POS Locations are created and managed from Polygon POS Management > POS Network File.
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Peripherals are all the associated hardware that will be used with the POS Terminal. For example, printers, cash drawers and customer display units. POS Peripherals are created and managed from Polygon POS Management > POS Network File.
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This refers to the actual unit that the Redcat Polygon POS Terminal application runs on and is used at the front of house to process sales. POS Terminals are created and managed from Polygon POS Management > POS Network File.
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This refers to communication occurring from the BOH to the FOH. That is, when you make changes at the BOH (eg. Add a new PLU) a POS update needs to be sent to the FOH in order to apply the change. This update can be transmitted via a local area network or the internet depending on your license type. POS updates are sent from the POS Network Updates form.
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Price Look Up (PLU) refers to a unique identification number for each product that is to be sold. PLUs can be created and managed from the Polygon POS Management > PLU File.
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A class represents a group of like PLU's in the system. Classes are sorted in ‘print order’ which refers to the order in which PLU’s are printed on production dockets. PLUs can be created and managed from the Polygon POS Management > PLU Classes File
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Product keypads are the different screens that can be designed to display the required buttons to allow staff to perform the various functions at the POS Terminal. Product Keypads can be created and managed from the Polygon POS Management > Product Keypads File
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A reporting category groups a set of related PLU’s, strictly for reporting purposes. Reporting categories have no impact on how PLU’s appear on the POS Terminal. Reporting Categories can be created and managed from the Polygon POS Management > Reporting Category File.
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This refers to a POS Terminal that is not at the top of the hierarchy. In other words, all POS Terminals that are not the Master POS terminal are referred to as Slave Terminals. This is because all data on these terminals is collected by the Master.
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A Stock Take Measure Unit (SMU) is a definable unit size for a particular Stock Item. Each Stock Item can have its own SMU defined.
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Stock Items are items that you purchase from suppliers for use in your business. Stock Items need to be created and linked to PLUs in order to operate a fully perpetual stock control system.
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A Stock Type is a header that you create to organise Stock Items into groups. All Stock Items must be assigned a Stock Type, these types become available as a filter when viewing any Stock Items list. Stock Types are displayed alphabetically.
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This refers to the file that records the sales of a particular trading period. After each trading period, the sales reset is performed at the Master POS Terminal (master) and collates the sales of that POS area. This sales reset is sent to the BOH where it can be processed and loaded into the system.
See Also: FOH > Closing Procedure - Reconciling & Resetting The Terminal Polygon POS Management > POS Revenue Processing
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See Also:
Polygon POS Management Introduction