Guides

About 9 min

Hey, you made it! Selflane® is a software solution where you can manage all your restaurant needs in one ecosystem.

Whether you’re seasoned or just starting out, we'll walk you through our services and provide an overview of the required steps to launch Selflane for your restaurant.

This quick start guide includes setup for all baseline features.

For all the nitty-gritty details about features, step-by-step tutorials, and troubleshooting articles, check out our guides.

Getting Help is Easy

Need more help or unsure how to start? Don't hesitate to reach out to us.

Getting Started

Next Steps

Get started with onboarding.

Onboarding

Learn how to set up your business profile and online ordering.

Business Profile and Online Information

On our Sign Up page, you can either use a Google account or another email to sign in. Once you've signed up, you'll receive a verification email.

Log in to the Back Officeopen in new window.
Enter your business's name, address, phone number, and website. If it's been established, Google Search will populate details for the rest of the form.
Set the hours for your business, then click Create a Business.
If it's your first time creating a business on Selflane, you'll see the Guide page. Go to Settings > Profile.
Select and upload your business logo. We recommend using SVG files or transparent PNG files (256px x 256px).
Edit your basic business information. Select a general price range, enter your website, and then select your cuisine categories. Lastly, enter a description for your restaurant. Click Save.
Enter the preferred email for online order notifications.

To receive a phone call notification for online orders, enter your phone number and click Save. Please note: The auto-call service costs 10 cents per call. We deduct from the order payment.

Edit the information for how your business profile information will display to customers on Selflane. Select the attributes that best match your business. Enter lead times if relevant, then click Save.
Toggle and edit Catering settings if your business offers this service.
Upload and submit your business licenses (e.g. certificate of occupancy, food service license, liquor licenses, etc.).

Online Order Initial Setup

To start taking online orders, you'll need to enter your taxpayer information and confirm your payout accounts.

We process customer payments through Stripe for online ordering. See our Selflane Paymentsopen in new window guide for more information.

To set up your payout account and taxpayer information, you'll sign up for a Stripe account with us. Your account should be approved in a few minutes if your information is accurate.

Go to Owner's Portal > Payments. Click Start Now.
Enter your business taxpayer information. If you agree to Terms of Use, click Save.
Under Payout Account, click Update Company Information. Enter your business name and EIN.
Add your business owners' names and addresses.
Add your business payout bank accounts.
Your information should populate the Payments homepage.

eGift Card Setup (optional)

The eGift Card Program lets customers purchase virtual gift cards online. You can set a minimum purchase dollar amount and choose to apply a discount percentage.

Go to Performance > Gift Cards.
Toggle the On switch for the eGift Card Program.
Click Edit. Then, set the minimum purchase amount.
Optionally, enter the discount percentage and associated minimum qualified purchase.
Click Save.

Next Steps

Set up your menus and tax rates.

Business Setup

Learn how to set up your menus and tax rates.

Menus

Create, update, and manage multiple menus for online ordering and the Selflane POS app.

Level	Description	Example
Menu	Menus are the highest level of our hierarchy, which means they can't be assigned under any other hierarchal category.	Lunch, Dinner, and Wine Menu
Course	Courses are the second level of our hierarchy and they break your menu down into sections. They can be assigned to multiple menus.	Appetizers (can be assigned to both Lunch and Dinner)
Dish	Dishes are individual menu items, which fall under Courses.	"6-pc Wings" (can be assigned to Appetizers).
Modifiers	Use modifiers or matrix modifiers to give customers the choice to customize their dish.	"Honey mustard, BBQ, teriyaki, and spicy mayo" are all sauce modifiers that can be applied to designated dishes.

Go to Settings > Menu.
Start with the types of menus your restaurant offers. For example, you might offer Lunch, Dinner, and Wine menus. Click Add to add a menu.
Enter the name of the menu and set Special Hours, if relevant.
Toggle menu features:
- Run Out (86'd) - toggle this on when an dish or course runs out. This setting turns off visibility of 86'd dishes and courses online and in the POS app.
- In-store only determines whether your menu is available for online ordering.
- Sync to Third Party lets you to sync to a third-party integration (e.g. DoorDash)
Click Save.

Courses

In the horizontal navigation, select Courses.
Click Add to add a course.
Enter the name of the course. Then, choose a classification (e.g. Food, Beverage, Merchandise, or Alcohol).
Toggle the course features, and then click Save.

Dishes

In the horizontal navigation, select Dishes.
Click Add to add a dish.
Enter the name of the dish and price.

If you've opted into online ordering with Selflane and another platform, enter your upcharge.

Assign your dish to the appropriate menu(s), and then assign to the appropriate course.
Assign your dish to a printer.
Use the tags to denote if a dish is spicy, gluten-free, or vegan.
Toggle the dish features, and then click Save.

Modifiers and Matrix Modifiers

In the horizontal navigation, select Modifiers or Matrix Modifiers for the appropriate dish.

Use matrix modifiers to customize choices individually. For example, you may have three choices for poke bowl toppings: furikake, onion crisps, and sesame seeds. Customers may want extra furikake, onion crisps on the side, and lite sesame seeds.

Click Add to add modifiers.
Enter the title for your modifier and the maximum selections a customer can make. Check the Required box if the dish requires customization.
Select the dish(es) for which modifiers will be applied.
Enter a list of modifiers, separated by commas.
Click Save.

Tax Rates

Set up inclusive and exclusive tax rates at a granular level.

Go to Settings > Profile.
In the horizontal navigation, Select Tax Rates.
Click Add to add a tax item.
Name the tax item. Then, enter the tax rate and the appropriate settings.

Select the On/Off status to turn tax items and their rates on and off.

Click Save.

Next Steps

Set up and configure hardware for the point of sale system.

Point of Sale (POS) - Hardware & Configuration

**Ensure you have the right hardware and configure your POS system with the recommended settings.

For a full list of features and a walkthrough, check out our extensive point of sale guideopen in new window.**

Our POS app runs on iPads and is compatible with all major payment processors, including First Data, Heartland, T-SYS, Gravity Payments, and Global Payments.

Hardware

Shop our online hardware storeopen in new window to see all your options.

See the table below for our recommendations.

Hardware	Recommendations
iPad	Mini, Air, or Pro (iOS 15 or upopen in new window)
Printer(s)	Epson thermal, impact, and label/barcode printers Recommended models: TM-T20IIopen in new window, TM-T20IIIopen in new window, TM-T80open in new window, TM-M30open in new window, TM-U220open in new window, and TM-L90open in new window Most Star Printers ⛔ The app doesn't support USB or serial connection printers.
Credit Card Terminal(s)	Most Pax Terminals Recommended models: PAX S300open in new window, PAX S920open in new window, or PAX D220open in new window Stripe Readers
Kitchen Display System	iPad Mini, Air, or Pro (optional)

For more information, check out our hardware guideopen in new window.

POS Configuration

Configure your preferred POS settings and then test them in real-time using the Selflane POS app.

If you haven't already, download the Selflane POSopen in new window app onto your iPad and log into your account (using your online credentials).

Go to Settings > Point of Sale.
Toggle your General settings.
In the horizontal navigation, select To Go. Add Custom To-Go types, such as "DoorDash Pickup" or "Curbside Pickup."
In the horizontal navigation, select Printing.
Toggle your printing settings. Optionally, upload your restaurant logo and a graphic receipt message.
In the horizontal navigation, select Payment.
Under Acceptable Methods, toggle the appropriate settings for payment.
Under Gratuity, toggle settings for gratuities and tip display.
Optionally, under Tip Sharing, enter the names of staff and sharing rates.
Click Save.

Connecting Credit Card Terminals

Hardwired Terminals You'll need to use an ethernet cable to connect a hardwired terminal to your network router.

Wireless Terminals Connect to your Wi-Fi network manually by entering the SSID (the network name) or by scanning for nearby networks on your wireless terminal. Enter your Wi-Fi password to finish connecting.

Linking Terminals to the POS

On your terminal, find and write the IP address.
Open the Selflane POS app. Then, go to ⋯ More > Payment Settings.
In the PAX Terminal box, tap the 🔗 link icon.
Enter the terminal IP address. Tap Save.

For recommended terminal settings, see Credit Card Terminals.

For recommended models, see Hardware.

Connecting Printers

Before you start 👉 Ensure your iPad is connected to the same network as your printers. 👉 For Printers with WiFi Interfaces: Ensure that Bluetooth is enabled on your iPad. 👉 For Printers with Ethernet Interfaces: Ensure that there's an open LAN port on your network router for the printer's ethernet cable.

        Your iPad must be connected this router's network.

Open the Selflane POS app. Then, go to ⋯ More.
Tap + to add a printer.
Select your printer on the Discover Printer page to set it up. If your printer doesn't show up, tap ↻ to search for printers again. Or, tap + to add it manually.

Kitchen Display System (optional)

Our Kitchen Display System app (KDS) is $20/per month/per station and runs on iOS and Android. Choose a compatible device and display orders.

To get started with KDS, download the Kitchen Display System app from the App Storeopen in new window or Google Storeopen in new window.

Open the Kitchen Display System app on the display device. Then, log into your business account.
Tap the gear icon to set the Station for the display. Setting station numbers for each display will let you tag orders and report sales by station.

Navigation
- To refresh the KDS, tap the refresh icon in the upper-left.
- To show new orders, toggle the switch in the header.
- To exit the display, tap the door icon in the upper-right.

Next Steps

Set up your staff and seating.

Point of Sale - Staff Management & Seating

Learn how to set up your staff and seating layout for the POS app.

Adding Staff

Go to Employee > Team.
Click + Staff to add an employee.
Enter the employee's name and passcode. Then, enter optional information, if relevant.
The passcode is for clocking into the POS app and for modules or tasks that require permission.
Toggle Advanced Access, Access to All Orders, and Turn Off Clock In on an individual level.
Assign the role for the employee and enter their wage.
Click Save.

Adding Custom Roles

Don't see a role that fits your employee? Create a custom role.

From Emplloyee > Team, select Roles in the horizontal navigation.
Scroll to the bottom of the role list and click Add More.
Enter the name of the role, toggle Can Order and Can Manage.
Turning on Can Manage means the role can perform manager functions, such as cancelling orders, applying discounts, and opening the cash drawer. Non-manager roles will require manager approval to perform these tasks.

To turn on more functions that require manager approval, toggle the settings under Extra functions needs Manager Approval.

Scroll to the bottom of the page and click Save.

Setting Up Payroll

Manage employee payroll, overtime pay, and timecards.

Go to Employee > Payroll.
Click Add + to create a time card. Enter and confirm details and click Save.

Though many employees may punch into the POS app and automatically generate time cards, you can create time cards manually if needed.

To adjust overtime pay, click OT BOOST. Then, drag the slider to set the overtime boost percentage.

Setting Up Seating

You'll add your seating through your online account and then set the layout in the POS.

Go to Settings > Seating.
Click Add + to add a table.
Enter the ID for the table and the minimum and maximum number of occupants a table. Then, enter or select the room.
Click Save.