Polling Station · features and guide
Features and guide
What each screen does and how to use it: the staff counter, the customer payment Wi-Fi, and the admin dashboard.
mininetsense.nathanielschool.com/counter/
Features
Everything the system does today.
Staff counter
mininetsense.nathanielschool.com/counter/
- Every table live, on every staff phone
- Orders, the bill, cash and UPI
- Red tiles and a chime when a table waits
- Floor tablet mode and manager reports
Customer payment Wi-Fi
Network “Restaurant Payment”
- The waiter shows one QR; the phone joins with no password
- A page with Google Pay, PhonePe, Paytm and CRED
- Internet for a set number of minutes, one timer per phone
- Walking between access points never cuts it or restarts it
Admin dashboard
restaurantpayment.vercel.app/admin/
- Every phone that joined, when, and how much data it used
- Proof each phone stopped after its minutes
- Set the minutes (5 to 60) and give a phone more time
- The staff PIN, changed in one place
Customer pays on Wi-Fi
For guests with no mobile signal.
- 1
Show the QR Waiter
Show the printed Wi-Fi QR card, or the QR on your phone. The guest scans it with the camera.
- 2
The phone joins Guest
The phone joins Restaurant Payment with no password. The internet is on straight away.
- 3
They pay Guest
They tap their UPI app and pay. They can walk around the restaurant: the internet stays on until the timer ends.
- 4
Internet stops Guest
When the minutes are up, the phone is cut off on all four access points. The dashboard shows the proof, and the admin can give more time.
The admin dashboard
Same screen and same controls on any computer or phone.
- Open restaurantpayment.vercel.app/admin/ and enter the staff PIN once. The device remembers it.
- Customers lists every phone on the payment Wi-Fi today: joined, internet from, time ran out, data after that. Under 200 KB after the time means it was cut off.
- Pay & Wi-Fi sets the minutes for every customer: slide, or type an exact number like 12 or 15.
- Give more time on a phone’s row in Customers turns its internet back on for the minutes you choose.
- Change the staff PIN under Pay & Wi-Fi. Every phone signs in again with the new one.
The Wi-Fi helper
One computer at the restaurant passes the access points’ readings to the dashboard.
- 1
Install it once
Unzip it. Open chrome://extensions, turn on Developer mode, click Load unpacked and pick the ap-helper folder.
- 2
Open the four access points
Open 192.168.88.9, .10, .15 and .16 in Chrome tabs and sign in. A green note at the bottom left of each says it is reporting.
- 3
Leave the tabs open
If a note turns red, that access point signed itself out: sign in again on that tab. The helper updates itself from this website, so it never needs installing again.
Put the counter on your phone
Two minutes, once. Nothing to download from the Play Store or App Store.
Android
In Chrome
- Open mininetsense.nathanielschool.com/counter/, or scan the code above.
- Tap the ⋮ menu at the top right.
- Tap Add to home screen, then Install.
iPhone
In Safari
- Open mininetsense.nathanielschool.com/counter/, or scan the code above.
- Tap the Share button at the bottom.
- Tap Add to Home Screen, then Add.
The counter’s icon appears on the home screen. It opens the counter full screen, like an app. Then sign in with the staff PIN. Ask the manager for it. The phone remembers the PIN after the first sign-in. It only asks again if the manager changes the PIN.
A table, start to finish
The dial on the table and the counter work together.
- 1
Guests sit down Guests
The dial shows the Polling Station logo. They turn it to the menu code and scan it. The table's tile turns amber: Reading the menu, with a timer.
- 2
Take the order Waiter
Tap the table, add the dishes, tap Send to kitchen. The dishes appear on the guests' phones straight away. More orders go onto the same bill.
- 3
They ask for the bill Guests
They turn the dial to the pay code, or tap I’m done on their phone. The tile says Wants the bill.
- 4
Take the money Cashier
When they pay by UPI, the tile says which app. Check the money reached the restaurant's phone, then tap Payment received. For cash, tap Paid in cash.
- 5
Clear the table Waiter
Once they leave, wipe the table, turn the dial back to the logo and tap Table cleared. The tile turns free, and the next guests start fresh.
When a tile turns red
The counter calls you over. The phone chimes and buzzes once.
Menu open, nobody has taken the order
After 5 minutes of reading the menu with no dishes sent.
Go to the table, tap On my way.
Waiting for the bill
After 4 minutes, or when a UPI payment needs checking.
Bring the bill or check the payment, tap On my way.
Paid, table not cleared
15 minutes after paying.
Clear it, tap Cleared.
The manager can change these minutes in the settings. At the door, under the tables, shows how many tables are free and which will free up next, for guests who are waiting.
Three screens
Tabs at the top of the counter. Everyone uses the same PIN.
Waiter
On your own phone, on the floor.
- Every table and its timer
- Take an order and send it
- The bill, cash and UPI
- Show the pay code on your phone
Floor
A tablet at the counter, always on.
- Big tiles for every table
- Chimes when a table turns red
- Keeps the screen on by itself
- Full screen, plugged in
Manager
From anywhere.
- Today's takings and what sold
- The menu and prices
- Busy hours and waiters needed
- Print table cards and dial stickers
Good to know
- Turn the sound on once. Phones only allow sound after a tap: tap Alert sound off at the top of the counter and it turns on.
- Keep the counter open during service. A phone locked in a pocket can't chime. The floor tablet stays on by itself.
- Guests never see staff screens. Their phones only show their own table.
- Something looks wrong? Close the counter and open it again. Everything is saved on the server, so nothing is lost.
- New PIN. The manager changes it on the admin dashboard or the counter. Everyone signs in again with the new one.