Operations

Catering

Catering plans the meals for each show (or festival day): meal times, head counts, cost per person, menus, and a check-in kiosk at the catering door that counts who actually ate. In the left menu, under Operations, choose Catering. The page lists every show with its meals, covers and cost, and the header has Caterer report, Actuals, Caterer link, Check-in departments and Department cards.

It is in every product. Owners, Company Admins, Managers, Ops and Coordinators can plan meals; Finance, Legal and View only can read. Only a Company Admin can type over a live check-in count.

How do I add a meal to a show?

1. Open Catering and choose Manage on the show's row.
2. Under Add a meal, pick the Meal (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Snack or Other). Breakfast, lunch and dinner fill in a usual start time and a three hour serving window.
3. Adjust Starts, Ends and Date.
4. Leave Head count blank to use the automatic number, or type one. Add any Extra guests.
5. Enter the Cost / person, and optionally the Vendor, Location and Notes (dietary needs, allergies).
6. Optionally type the Menu text.
7. Choose Add meal.

The meal appears in the table above the form with its time, covers, per person cost and total. The totals feed a Catering line in the budget automatically.

How is the head count for a meal worked out?

Each meal's covers come from, in order:

1. The Head count you typed on the meal, if any.
2. Otherwise the per-department allotments you set for that meal (marked "allotted").
3. Otherwise the number of crew assigned to the show (marked "auto").

Extra guests are always added on top. The hint next to Head count tells you what a blank field will use for that meal. In ActionOps, tick Include athletes to add the athletes entered in a comp that day when the count is automatic.

How do I change or remove a meal?

1. Choose Manage on the show's row in Catering.
2. In the meals table, choose Edit on the meal. The form below fills in with its details.
3. Make your changes and choose Save changes, or Cancel edit to leave it as it was.

To remove a meal, choose Delete on its row and confirm. The catering budget line updates after every change.

How do I add a menu to a meal?

1. Choose Manage on the show, then Edit on the meal.
2. Type the menu in Menu text, or under Menu PDF choose a PDF file and Upload PDF (up to 20MB).
3. Choose Save changes.

A meal with a menu shows a Menu button in the table. From there, or while editing, choose Print menu to print it. Use View or Remove next to an attached PDF to open or delete it. The PDF upload is only offered once the meal exists, so add the meal first. A caterer can also add menus through the caterer link, if you allow it.

Why does the meal date say "for per diem"?

The Date on a meal tells GigOps which day the meal is served. Travel uses it to deduct catered meals from that day's per diem, so set it to the day the meal is actually served.

How do I set up the departments crew check in under?

Departments are the buttons crew tap on the check-in iPad. They are shared by every show, so you name them once.

1. Choose Check-in departments in the Catering header.
2. Type a name in Add a department and choose Add. If you have none yet, Use this tour's departments copies the crew departments already set on the tour.
3. Use Rename or Remove on any department.

A department that already has check-ins is taken off the kiosk rather than deleted, so past counts stay attributed.

How do I run the catering check-in on an iPad?

1. Open Catering and choose Check-in on the show's row (or iPad check-in & allotments inside Manage).
2. Choose iPad link and open that link on the iPad at the catering door.
3. Crew tap their department and check in. No login is needed. They can also scan a department card or their badge.

The board shows Checked in, Allotted and Over / under for the show, and whether the kiosk link is live. The Live counts tab lists each meal by department. Choose Refresh to reload. The kiosk follows the clock to pick the meal being served.

How do I set meal allotments per department?

1. Open the check-in board (Check-in on the show's row).
2. Choose the Allotments tab. Each row is a department and each column a meal.
3. Type the head count each department is allotted for each meal. Leave a cell blank for no allotment.
4. Choose Save allotments.

Allotments become the meal's head count when no number is typed on the meal, and the board shows each department on count, over or under. You need at least one meal and one department first.

How do I correct a check-in count?

Only a Company Admin can do this. On the check-in board's Live counts tab, type the real number over the department's Checked in figure. Raising it adds hand-entered check-ins. Lowering it asks you to confirm, then deletes check-ins (hand-entered ones first, then the most recent scans), which cannot be undone. Reset to 0 clears a meal's check-ins. Under Guests & notes, Remove takes a single check-in off the count. Other seats see the counts as numbers only.

How do I print department cards for crew to scan?

1. Choose Department cards in the Catering header (also on the check-in board).
2. Design the card: front and back text, colours, logo and QR size, with a live preview.
3. Pick the Card stock (Avery 8471 business cards, Avery 5392 badges, A4 10-up, or plain Letter with cut guides) and set Cards per department.
4. Choose Save design to keep it, then Print all departments, or Print these on one department's row for a reprint.

Every card for a department carries the same code, so reprinting never stops old cards working. Reset code does stop every printed card for that department; use it only when cards go missing. Use your print dialog's "Save as PDF" if you need a file.

How do I send the caterer their head counts?

1. Choose Caterer report in the Catering header.
2. Pick the tour, and the From and To dates (today and the next six days by default).
3. Choose Group by (Day or Meal), Detail (Totals only, or Break down by department) and Changes (Show changes since last sent, or Numbers only).
4. Choose Download CSV or Print / PDF.

Exporting records what you sent, so the next report can show the caterer exactly which numbers moved.

How do I give the caterer a live link?

1. Choose Caterer link in the Catering header and pick the tour.
2. Choose whether to Show check-in counts and whether to Let the caterer add menus.
3. Choose Create the link, then Copy link and send it to the caterer only.

The page needs no login, stays current, and never shows costs. You can add a password with Add password. Rotate replaces the link at once (the old one stops working) and Revoke turns it off. You get a notification when the caterer adds a menu.

How do I compare planned meals with what was eaten?

Choose Actuals in the Catering header. Pick the tour and a date range (the last week by default), then Group by Meal or Day and Detail Totals only or by department. The report shows planned against checked-in heads and what the difference cost, which is the sheet to check a caterer's invoice against. Meals with no check-ins at all are counted at the bottom. Choose Download CSV or Print / PDF to export it.

How do I get a catering count from the show page?

On a show's page, choose Catering count to see the day's meal total by department, ready to print, or Send catering count to email it. Type the recipients' emails (comma-separated), add an optional note, and choose Send.

Why is there a Catering line in my budget I did not add?

GigOps keeps one Catering budget line in step with your meals: adding, changing or deleting a meal, or saving allotments, updates its amount. You do not need to enter catering costs in the budget by hand.