Bar and restaurant
Bar guide, part 1: signing in and opening a tab
Sign in, learn the order screen, open a tab for a guest or a table, add drinks and a note, and fix a mistake the right way.
By The Xenia team · · 3 min read
This is part 1 of 3 of the Xenia bar guide: 1. Signing in and opening a tab · 2. Tickets, happy hour and getting paid · 3. The menu, stock and closing the bar.
This guide is for the people who work in the hotel bar: bartenders, bar waiters and the person on the till. It uses a made-up hotel, Sunrise Hotel in Lagos, and its bar, The Lagoon Bar, so no real guest or figure appears. If you work in the restaurant, read the restaurant guide too.
Accept your invitation
The owner or a manager invites you by email with the Bar role. Follow the link in the email, add your name, phone number (with the country code) and a password of at least 10 characters with upper and lower case letters and a number, agree to the terms and choose Create account and join. The link works once and expires after a week.
On the welcome page, turn on two-step sign-in (the page nudges you). Every drink you ring up carries your name, and two-step sign-in stops anyone else using it.
What you can use
Orders: where you open tabs and take orders.
Kitchen and bar: the bar's tickets.
Outlets and menu: the drinks menu and its prices.
Price rules: happy hour and other time-based prices.
Store and Stock items: what is in stock.
Notifications and Security: messages for you, and your own password.
The order screen
Open Orders and choose The Lagoon Bar at the top. There are three panes:
On the left, the open tabs and tables with the number of items and the total.
In the middle, the drinks menu in categories (Drinks, Spirits). Tap a drink to add it.
On the right, the tab you have chosen: each item, the VAT and service charge, and the total.
Open a tab
Choose New table or tab.
Type who or where it is, for example "Mr Adeyemi's tab", "Pool deck" or "Bar stool 2".
Choose Open it.
Add drinks
Tap a drink to add it to the tab. Each goes straight to the bar as a ticket and shows as Sent.
More than one: use − and + above the drinks to set the number, then tap the drink.
A note: type it in the Note for the kitchen or bar box first ("no ice", "double"), then tap the drink.
Another category: choose Spirits or Drinks above the menu.
The totals are worked out for you: the items, the VAT, the service charge and the total. Do not add them yourself.
Fix a mistake
Use Void beside the drink. Xenia asks Why is it being voided?. Type a short, honest reason and choose Void it. The item stays on the tab, struck through, with your reason. A big void waits for a manager to approve.
Keep reading
Owner4 min read
Door cards guide, part 1: what you need and how it fits together
What the card encoder, the lock bridge and Xenia each do, what to buy or find before you start, who does which step, and how long it takes.
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Door cards guide, part 2: add the bridge in Xenia and set up your rooms
Sign in, add a lock bridge to get its one-time code, and set the building, floor and area of each room so the locks can find it.
See your own hotel in Xenia
Start free for 14 days with no card. Add your rooms, invite your staff, and watch the money in one place.