Technical Note: 20050331040

Upgrade Maitre'D from 2003 to 2005

(Maitre'D 2005 and later versions of Maitre'D)

Maitre'D 2005 can only be updated from Maitre'D 2003. If your system dates back from before Maitre'D 2003, you must first upgrade it to 2003 before proceeding with the following steps.

IMPORTANT: Any Release or Service Pack must be installed at the beginning of the day.

Recommended steps to upgrade to 2005 release:

  1. For each menu, set the Linked To option to Undefined.
    (P.O.S. Control / Menu / Options)
  2. Perform an End of Day.
  3. Save a Full System Backup.
    (System Configuration / Backup / Save Full System)
  4. Shut down all workstations from the front of the house.
  5. Stop the Maitre'D server.
  6. Exit all Back-Office applications.
  7. Install the Maitre'D 2005 program and follow every step of the installation procedure. (you will find some help under: the installation and setup guide document that is located under the doc folder of your Maitre'D 2005 CD-ROM or on the Maitredpos.com web site)
  8. At the end of the Maitre'D installation, when prompted to do so, install the latest Service Pack.
  9. After the Service Pack is installed, reboot the PC when prompted to.
  10. Once rebooted the system will start updating database files and doing workstation data for all workstations. Let this procedure conclude.
  11. If the restaurant was using some Fast Access before the upgrade, because the internal program code can be different from one version to another, you MUST test them and if needed re-create them in Back-Office / Tools / Password and Access Editor.
  12. Once all workstations are up and running, you can install the Maitre'D 2005 Emergency Backup server program if needed and the Auxiliary Terminal program.
Note: It's very important to install the 2005 release and all associated programs (workstation, backup, auxiliary, and corporate communication) for your system to work properly.

Recommended verifications after upgrade to 2005 release:

1. Select TCP/IP Network

2. Import Past Sales

3. Items Grouped in Variable Lists

4. Cleanup Duplicate Preferential Screens

5. Verify Weight Modifiers

6. Add Custom Icons

7. Grant Revenue Center Access

8. Cleanup Duplicate Sales Items

9. Create Open Price Item to Replace Miscellaneous

10. Create Open Description Items to Replace Open Remarks

11. Create Upsizes to Replace Shift buttons

12. Setup Items Countdowns to Replace Decreasing Sales Units

1. Select TCP/IP Network

Server Control / View / Options / Advanced

To be able to offer so many new functionalities, we had to drop support of the NetBIOS communication through Serial Multiplexers and DOS workstations. Therefore, the only supported Lan Type is now TCP/IP. Make sure this field is set to the proper selection, and replace any obsolete equipment in your network.

2. Import Past Sales

System Configuration / Tools / Import Maitre'D 2003 Archives

After updating to 2005, the archived checks and summaries, needed for reports, are unreadable by Maitre'D because of the modified Item structure. To make these archives usable, start this function during a quiet period of the day, because depending on the number of files, it could take some time.

Note: You can disable either the Checks or Summaries if you prefer to do these on separate days.

New Structure

We modified the structure of the database so that the Sales Items are now at the core of the system, as opposed to the former structure that had the menus, or revenue centers, at the core of the system. Therefore, the concept of Linking Menus is obsolete, and Sales Items in different Revenue Centers can be ordered on the same guest and billed on the same check.

3. Items Grouped in Variable Lists

P.O.S. Control / Screens / Variable List Setup

Groups and Items Lists no longer exist. Instead, the system converts these to Variable Lists of up to 100 Sales Items and links them to buttons on Preferential Screens. You should verify all Variable Lists on all Preferential Screens to make sure all Sales Items are showing up.

4. Cleanup Duplicate Preferential Screens

P.O.S. Control / Screens / Preferential Screen Setup

Since Menus no longer exist, and have been replaced by a Revenue Center notion, you may be able to reduce the number of needed Preferential Screens if you had had identical Preferential Screens is separate Menus. Remove the extraneous ones, but if you had Buttons that linked to Preferential Screens in other Menus, make sure that these buttons now point to the proper remaining Screens.

5. Verify Weight Modifiers

P.O.S. Control / Screens / Weight Modifiers

Likewise, some Weighted Modifiers might point to buttons on the preferential screens you are removing. If so, make sure to redirect them to buttons on the remaining preferential screens.

6. Add Custom Icons

If you added your own custom icons to Preferential Screens with the Screen Editor, you will need to add them again, as the graphics tools were greatly enhanced, and now include many new icons, as well as new objects for the floor plan, and these new graphics might have overwritten your custom ones.

7. Grant Revenue Center Access

P.O.S. Control / Employees / Employees / Access

Employees Access is no longer limited to 4 Revenue Center. You can give them access to any Revenue Center by enabling the following option:

Show Selection

8. Cleanup Duplicate Sales Items

P.O.S. Control / Revenue Center / Items Setup

We divided the Items Setup into a Tree and Branches structure. During the update, the system tries to find identical items on different menus and to combine these items into a single Sales Items with different Revenue Centers. However, if similar Sales Items from different menus had a slight difference in the spelling, for example, they are considered as different items with their own records. You may want to combine these together in one item and delete the other(s), after making sure that all Preferential Screens and Variable Lists are linked to the new combined item.

P.O.S. Control / Revenue Center / Items Setup / Configuration

When selecting an Item's branch, it opens up the item's revenue center and mode configuration.

 

Use the Add button to create a new Revenue Center and Mode Configuration.

Use the Copy button to copy the currently selected revenue center and mode configuration to other revenue center and mode configurations.

Note: Enable the Replace Existing option to overwrite existing configurations.

9. Create Open Price Item to Replace Miscellaneous

P.O.S. Control / Revenue Center / Items Setup / Function

Open Price:

You must now recreate new Open Priced Sales Items and include their Buttons on your Preferential Screens, to replace any former Miscellaneous Groups. The employees must key in a price every time they select those items. This method, compared to the miscellaneous method, has the advantage of offering all other Items Setup functions, such as links and weighted modifiers.

P.O.S. Control / Screens / Preferential Screen Setup / Command Setup

Second, setup buttons for the Open Price items on a preferential screen.

Type:

Items, Item Lists, Course, Discount...

Command:

Item

Usage:

Open Price item

On the workstation, select the Open Price item and enter the price manually.

10. Create Open Description Items to Replace Open Remarks

P.O.S. Control / Revenue Center / Items Setup / Function

Open Description:

You must now recreate new Open Description Sales Items and include their Buttons on your Preferential Screens, to replace any former Open Remarks. The employees must type in a description every time they select that item. This method, compared to the open remark method, has the advantage of offering all other Items Setup functions, such as links and weighted modifiers. As well, this way, it will automatically be shown on the Order Screen, when you order and when you come back to the table later, as well as when performing a Check Inquiry.

Note: An Item cannot have both an Open Price and Open Description.

P.O.S. Control / Screens / Preferential Screen Setup / Command Setup

Second, setup buttons for the Open Description items on a preferential screen.

Type:

Items, Item Lists, Course, Discount...

Command:

Item

Usage:

Open Description item

On the workstation, select the Open Description item and enter the description manually.

11. Create Upsizes to Replace Shift buttons

You must now recreate new Upsize Buttons on your Preferential Screens, to replace any former Shift Buttons. You can use up to ten different Upsize formats.

P.O.S. Control / Screens / Screen Layout Setup / Command Setup, and/or
P.O.S. Control / Screens / Preferential Screen Setup / Command Setup, and/or
P.O.S. Control / Screens / Macro/CMD List Setup / CMD List

First, to make this option available, setup the following button:

Type:

Item Command

Command:

Upsize

Usage:

Upsize # [1 to 10]

Select Upsize First:

Enable this option to have the employee press the size button before touching the base sales item to be upsized, in the same sequence as the former Shift function.

P.O.S. Control / Revenue Center / Item Setup / Links

Upsize # [1 to 10]:

Second, in the base sales item, indicate another upsized sales item to replace it when selected in combination with the upsize button.

P.O.S. Control / Screens / Preferential Screen Setup / Command Setup

Finally, setup a button for the base sales item on the preferential screen.

Type:

Items, Item Lists, Course, Discount...

Command:

Item

Usage:

Base sales item

On the workstation, touch the base sales item (Sm. Coke) followed by the Upsize button (Large) to get the upsized sales item. (Lg. Coke).

12. Setup Items Countdowns to Replace Decreasing Sales Units

P.O.S. Control / Revenue Center / Items Setup / Links / Counter

Countdown:

Enable this field to link the Value in the field below to the availability of this item.

Note: This replaces the use of Sales Units to countdown sales items, thus keeping Sales Units for Keeping Count of Items Used or Permanent Meters.

Value:

Enter the quantity of this item currently available.

The available quantity shows besides the item description on the order screen, just as the decreasing Sales Units used to.