Configuring Vend Prices

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:
  1. Dexter X-series Washer and Dryers, and Dexter C-series Dryers
  2. Speed-Queen Quantum Touch Washers and Dryers
  3. Maytag Gen2 control Washers and Dryers
  4. LG Washers and Dryers
  5. 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 automatically 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 first need to ensure that:
  1. The Value Add Center (VAC) is online (if there are multiple VACs, ensure that VAC01 is online as this is the primary VAC that communicates with all card readers in the location).
    To confirm VAC01 is online, log onto the Portal, click on your location address, and confirm that you see VAC01 and that it is NOT indicating a status of Offline:


    If VAC01 is currently offline, you will need to get VAC01 online before you can configure any card reader settings.
    Review our     VAC Offline and Internet Issues article for troubleshooting steps for a VAC Offline issue

  2. The card readers, that you wish to set the prices, of are Activated (using the Activation card for this specific store location),
    The card readers must be visible online on the Laundro Portal, and their status should NOT be indicating an error (like Machine/Serial Communication):

The screenshot below show's VAC01, and all readers, are online and ready to be priced:


Manage Groups Menu - Creating Custom 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 custom 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 machines, based on these custom machine groupings)

If you already have your machines grouped into custom machine groups, move on to the next section of this article.

To group all of your machines into custom machine groups
click the Manage Groups button in the top right corner of the Machines table header:



Inside the Machine Group Management page,
Click the "+ Add New Group" button to create a custom machine group.


Give the group a meaningful name, such as "18lb washers"
then click the Save button to create this new group:

  
Navigate to the newly created group, and use the dropdown menu to select a reader number that is installed on any machine that belongs in this group
Then click "+ Place Into this Group" button to add that specific reader into this group:  


Continue selecting all other readers that belong in this group (you'll do this 1 reader at a time, pressing the "+ Place Into this Group" after each reader you add)
until all of your 18lb washer readers are listed in the group. 

Then continue by making additional custom groups, for all of your different types/sizes of machines, including Dryers.
Notes
Note: unable to add a specific reader into a group it belongs in?

When adding readers into a specific machine group, you are only able to add readers, that use the exact same reader settings.
If you have machines that are not all of the same model type, it is probable the reader settings are not exactly the same, between the different model machines.
In cases like these, if you have 2 different types of 45lb Washers for example, you will need to make separate custom 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 a separate custom group for the different model machines

Setting Vend Pricing via the Bulk Pricing Menu

If you've grouped your readers, you can use Bulk Pricing menu to apply the same price changes to all readers in a specific machine group.
Click Bulk Pricing button in the top right corner of the Machines table header:


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.

If our card reader is communicating directly with the machine's control board,
you will usually see several price fields which correspond to different cycles options on the machine.

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 next to each price settings you want to change.
You will not be able to edit the price settings you see until you've clicked the check-box for that particular price setting:  



Once you've entered the price that you want each price setting to be set at,
scroll to the bottom of the page and click Submit Price Change Requests button to have the system push the same price settings to all card readers in this specific machine group.


This will send the price list to the VAC01, which will then forward it to all the individual readers in this specific machine group, one reader at a time.
The process may take a minute to finalize and be confirmed on this page. This is why it is recommended to do this only one group at a time.

Notes
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 push another bulk pricing update to 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 via the Individual Reader's Settings menu

You can also set prices on specific readers individually; Machine Groups are not required for this.
Simply click the wrench icon next to the reader you want to configure:


Click the "Edit Machine Settings" button:


This will bring up a pop up window showing the current settings this reader is using.
You can then adjust the price settings for this individual reader,
and click the Update Settings button to have the system push the new price settings to the reader:



If you only need to adjust the price settings of a single reader, it's usually faster to make the change at the individual reader, rather than using the bulk pricing menu to update it's price settings.

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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