Pairing and the Card Reader

A kiosk needs two connections before it takes orders: the tablet is paired to the kiosk, and a Stripe card reader is registered to it. The tablet never holds a staff login.

Open Settings → Ordering Kiosks and choose the kiosk.

Before you start

• Card payments are set up. The Payments section shows Card payments: Set up. If it says Not set up, click Set up payments first.
• The location's address is complete. The reader is registered to the location's street, city, state and ZIP code. Fix any gaps in Settings → Locations.
• The location is in the United States and charges US dollars. Kiosks and card readers are US-only for now.

Recommended hardware: a Stripe WisePOS E or S700 reader, and an iPad or Android tablet.

Pair the tablet

1. On the tablet, open the browser the kiosk will run in and go to your PrepStation address followed by /kiosk. A keypad appears.
2. On a staff computer, in the kiosk's Pairing section, click Generate pairing code.
3. Type the six digits on the tablet's keypad. The kiosk opens its start screen.

The code expires after 10 minutes and works once. Click Generate a new code if it runs out.

The Pairing section shows when the tablet was paired and which browser it uses. If the tablet is lost or replaced, click Sign tablet out. Pairing a new tablet also signs the old one out.

Lock the tablet to the kiosk

Customers shouldn't be able to leave the kiosk screen:

• iPad: add the kiosk to the home screen, open it from there, and turn on Guided Access (Settings → Accessibility).
• Android: run the kiosk in a kiosk browser app such as Fully Kiosk Browser.

The kiosk keeps the screen awake while it's open.

Register the card reader

1. On the reader, open its settings and choose Generate pairing code.
2. In the kiosk's Payments section, under Register a card reader, enter the Registration code the reader shows. Reader name defaults to the kiosk's name.
3. Click Register reader.

The section then shows the reader's status and when it was last checked. The tablet checks in every minute, and Check reader now asks Stripe straight away.

To swap readers, use Replace the card reader with the new reader's code.

Test mode

In Stripe test mode, enter simulated-wpe as the registration code to create a simulated reader. Start a payment on the tablet, then click Simulate card tap to pay with a test card.

When the kiosk shows "Ordering unavailable"

Whenever the kiosk can't take orders, the tablet shows "Ordering unavailable. Please order at the counter." The reason appears next to the kiosk on Settings → Ordering Kiosks:

Staff controls on the tablet

Tap Staff at the bottom of the start screen and enter the kiosk's exit PIN. The staff menu offers:

• Test card reader: checks the reader with Stripe now
• Pause ordering / Resume ordering
• Reload kiosk: reloads the start screen
• Unpair this tablet: signs it out; it needs a new pairing code

The menu stays unlocked for five minutes. Five wrong PINs lock the keypad for five minutes.

If no exit PIN is set, the staff screen says so. Set one under Screen → Exit PIN.

Common Questions

Q: The tablet keeps showing the keypad after I paired it.
A: It was probably paired in a different browser, or a home-screen web app. Pair again from the browser the kiosk runs in.

Q: The kiosk lost its internet connection. What do customers see?
A: A "Reconnecting…" screen covers the kiosk until it's back online. Orders already paid still reach the kitchen.

Q: Can two kiosks share a reader?
A: Give each kiosk its own reader. A reader handles one payment at a time, so two kiosks sharing one would block each other.

Next Steps

• Setting Up an Ordering Kiosk: menus, ordering options and the start screen
• Kiosk Orders: what happens after a customer pays