SHIFT REVIEW NO INTERNET

[SherryP]

Two nights ago we had a storm and internet was out at closing time.  My employees could not run their shift review and therefore could not see what card tips were owed to them.  Can I run a shift review for my employees the next day? Or what is the best way to figure this out?  

Thank you, Sherry

[Rob · Accepted solution]

I'm sorry to hear about the internet outage; the following articles should be helpful for the next steps. Most likely you will need to re-open the shift review and complete it, then close it out. 

Reopen an Employee's Shift From Previous Days

Outages and Disruptions: Procedures and Checklist
What To Do After a Power Outage
Adjust Time Entries of Shifts When They Run Over

[montanamikesedi]

Should there not be a better way to complete shift reviews? Since all the data is stored locally on each tablet during a power outage, why can't each individual run their own shift review with their handheld?

The current method is to simply manually record an employee's clock out time, reopen a closed shift review from a previous day, and close it out to see what's properly owed when power/internet is restored. This suggests we have to just trust employees to leave with their sales and come back later when management has all the information.

Since the system can run in redundancy, I think it should be imperative to have a fail safe plan when internet goes down. What if my location lost power for 5 days? We're just supposed to lose all those credit card payments?

[Rob]

Thanks for reaching out to the community with this feedback. During Offline Mode, you cannot complete shift reviews because the data is stored locally and not synced with the cloud. The current method involves manually recording clock-out times and handling shift reviews once the connection is restored. While this process may seem inconvenient, it ensures that all data is accurately reconciled when the system is back online.
Essentially, the process is this way because the devices are unable to sync with the cloud, so they are stored individually. I believe work is being done to improve the communication between offline mode devices, and other safeguards are being developed to enhance this process. 
 
To mitigate potential issues, consider these best practices:
- Ensure that employees use the same device throughout their shift to maintain consistent data.
- Keep a written record of transactions and tips during Offline Mode.
- Communicate with your team about the importance of accurate record-keeping during outages.

For credit card payments, Toast's background processing allows you to store payment information locally until the connection is restored, ensuring that payments are not lost; however, since they are unable to sync correctly, there is a chance payments can be declined by the card issuer once you are back online. You have the option to disable card payments when offline, which can help reduce this issue if you choose. 

[SherryP]

Thank you!