Configuring Vend Prices
In most cases, vend pricing is set through the Laundroworks system using the web Portal.
But in some cases, it is the laundry machine that controls the vend pricing directly.
The following is a list of machines where vend pricing comes directly from the machine itself, and is NOT set through the Laundroworks system:
- Dexter C-series dryers
- Speed-Queen Quantum Touch washers and dryers
- Maytag Gen2 control machines
- LG machines
- All vending machines, including VendRite
If you need to configure prices for the above machines, you'll need to do that directly through the machine's interface.
Once the price is set on the machine, the machine will instruct the Laundroworks card reader as to what price to display, and charge, to the laundry card.
For all other machines, read below.
Prerequisites
Before you can begin setting prices, you need to ensure that:
- The Value Add Center (VAC) is online (if there are multiple VACs, then ensure that VAC01 is online, since it's the primary unit that communicates with the readers).
To confirm VAC01 is online, log onto the Portal, click on your location, and confirm that you see VAC01 and that it is NOT indicating a status of Offline - The readers that you wish to set the prices of are Activated (using the Activation card for this specific store location), are visible online on the Portal, and their status is not currently indicating an error (like Machine/Serial Communication). Their status should contain OK
The above screenshot show's VAC01, and all readers, are online and ready to be priced
Manage Groups - Creating Machine Groups
Before setting any prices, it is strongly recommended that you first create Machine Groups, and add the readers, representing those machines, to these Machine Groups.
This will allow you to apply price changes, to all the readers in the same group, using one operation (another benefit of grouping is that this will allow you to run revenue reports on an entire group of machines)
To accomplish this, click the Manage Groups button in the top right corner of the Machines table:
Inside the Machine Group Management page, Click + Add New Group.
Give the group a meaningful name, such as "18lb washers".
Then use the dropdown control, in the group box, to select a reader number, that is installed on an 18lb washers, and then click +Place Into this Group button.
Continue selecting readers and pressing the +Place Into this Group button until all of your 18lb washer readers are listed in the group.
Then continue adding more groups, for all of your different types of machines, including dryers.
Note: When trying adding readers into a specific machine group, you are only able to add readers, that have the exact same reader settings.
If you have machines that are not all of the same model type, it is probable that the reader settings will be different for the different model machines.
In cases like these, if you have 2 different types of 45lb Washers, you will need to make separate groups for each type of 45lb Washer model you have.
(for example, you cannot put a 45lb Dexter Washer in the same group as a 45lb Alliance Washer)
If the system is not allowing you to add a specific reader to a group, it is most likely because that reader is installed on a different model of machine; so you will need to create separate groups so you can group the same model of machines together
Bulk Pricing - Setting Vend Pricing
If you've grouped your readers, you can use Bulk Pricing feature to apply the same price changes to all readers in the group.
Click Bulk Pricing button in the Machine header table:
Depending on the type of machine our reader is connected to, you will see different pricing fields representing the price settings that the machine allows our readers to affect.
Usually a reader has several price fields corresponding to different cycles and options on the machine. These are shown in the group boxes.
When changing the prices of your groups, it is recommended that you only change one group a time.
Chose a group, and click the check-box for all the price settings you want to change.
You will not be able to edit the price you see in these settings until you've clicked the check-box for that particular setting:
Once you've entered the price that you want each setting to be,
scroll to the bottom of the page and click Submit Price Change Request
This will send the price list to the VAC01, which will then forward it to all the individual readers in this group, one at a time.
The process may take a minute to finalize and be confirmed on this page. This is why you should do this only one group at a time.
Price synchronization
The Bulk Pricing feature is simply a way to send a ONE TIME command to all readers to have their price updated. This means that prices of readers do not automatically stay synchronized just because they are in the same group.
For example, if a year from today you add a new card reader, or you change a circuit board in an existing reader, that card reader will not automatically have its price changed - even if that reader is inside a group.
You'll need to update the reader individually (or update the pricing for the entire group)
Dryer reader's Time Unit (mins) setting:
On many dryers, you will see a setting called "Time Unit (mins)"; but this setting does NOT control the actual drying time of your dryers.
For reader's that have a Time Unit (mins) setting, you need to set the actual drying time on the machine itself, and then enter that same dry time into this reader's Time Unit (mins) setting so the reader knowns how long the dryer will run for, every time a card is placed on the reader to add top off time.
This setting is so the reader can display a busy message, for the correct amount of time while the dryer is running.
Any reader that has this setting does not communicate with the machine's control board directly, so the reader has no way of knowing how much time gets added to the dryer, whenever the card is used to add top off time, unless you enter the top off time into this setting.
Setting Vend Pricing - Individual Reader
You can also set prices on specific readers. Grouping is not required for this.
Simply click the wrench icon next to the reader you want to configure:
Then click Edit Machine Settings, set your prices, and then click Update Settings.
If you only need to adjust the price of a single reader, it's faster to make the change at the individual reader, than using the bulk pricing menu to update it's setting.
Mobile Only Bulk Pricing Settings:
This section only applies to store locations that have our LaundryCat Mobile app enabled for the store.
On select machines, where the price of the machine is controlled by the machine itself, you may see a bulk pricing setting labelled with "Mobile Only".
For stores that have the LaundryCat mobile app enabled for their store; with select machines that control the vend price, you also have to put the vend price into the reader settings so that Mobile App users are charged the same amount a Laundry Card users.
So if your bulk pricing menu has Mobile Only settings, and your store has the LaundryCat Mobile app enabled, you will want to enter the vend price in the reader settings as well as setting the price on the machine itself.
Troubleshooting
Below are common issues you may encounter when attempting price changes on your machines/readers:
Issue | Explanation and Resolution |
| Price being displayed on the Card Reader is NOT the same as the price being displayed on the Machine's Display | Explanation: If you encounter this issue, it's likely you have card readers that use Pulse communication and NOT serial communication. Pulse communication means that the card reader is simply emulating a coin being inserted into the machine, whenever a card is used to make payment. Pulse communication readers do NOT communicate with the machine's control board directly, so the reader has no way of updating the price being displayed on the machine's display. If you have Pulse communication card readers, when you adjust the price on the Laundro Portal, this will only affects the price being displayed on the card reader itself (note: whatever price the card reader displays, is the price that customers actually pay when tapping their card on that reader) Resolution: You will either need to adjust the price being displayed on the machine, or if your machine allows for this, you can simply turn off the display on the machine, so that the card reader is the only thing displaying the vend price. Note: IF adjusting the price displayed on the machine, you also NEED to adjust the machines Coin/Pulse value to match. Pulse readers are emulating a single coin being inserted into the machine to make the payment, so if you change the price setting on the machine itself, you also NEED to change the Coin Value setting on that machine to match the new Vend price. The reader ONLY sends 1 pulse (1 "coin") so you want to ensure that the value of that "coin" is enough to pay for the full machine start |
After changing the prices of my machines, the Card Readers no longer start the machine, and the Machine's display shows a balance remaining, that needs to be paid, in order to start the machine | Explanation: If this issue started happening right after changing prices, it is likely that you have Pulse communication card readers, and when you changed the price of the machine, you did not also adjust the machines Coin value setting to match Resolution: You need to adjust the machine's Coin Value setting so it matches the new vend price of the machine. When the card reader makes a payment, it only sends 1 single pulse to the machine to get it to start. The machine sees this "pulse" as a coin being inserted, so you want to make sure the machine knows that the "coin" from the card reader is equal to the full vend price of that machine |
The Bulk Pricing menu does not show any price settings for me to change | Explanation: If you have one of the following machines: - Dexter C-series Dryers - Speed-Queen Quantum Touch washers and dryers - Maytag Gen2 control machines - LG machines these machines do not allow for price changes from the Laundro Portal. Once you change the price settings on the machine itself, the machine will update the card reader with the new price. In most cases, if you have a machine like the above machines, you'll see a warning message in the Bulk Pricing page saying these readers have no price settings to configure: For all other machines, first check to ensure you're not seeing any error message, in the bulk pricing menu, about the specific card reader you're trying to price. Examples of errors message you may see include: or Resolution: In most cases, simply power cycling the machine (unplugging machine from power, and plugging power back in) will trigger the card reader to reboot, and this will clear most errors you'll see in the Bulk Pricing page. If you have an error message related to Group Membership, navigate to the Manage Groups menu, as you may have a reader grouped with other readers that use different reader settings. Once you've corrected any reader group issues, you should then be able to use the Bulk Pricing page to price the readers. |
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