The vendor is required to provide child nutrition department is seeking specialized software for the operation of the school nutrition program for both front of the house and back of the house services, including meal planning, nutritional analysis, point of sale operations, student management, eligibility, online parent services, inventory, and production records.
- System requirements
• All modules must be 100% browser based and work with the chrome web browser.
• Provide all of the following cloud-based modules: point of sale, online free & reduced application processing, inventory, purchasing, menu planning, online menus, and nutritional analysis, and production records, accounts payable, accounts receivable, and general ledger.
• Entire solution must be 100% cloud-based and hosted by the selected vendor in a secured datacenter located in the continental us
• Selected vendor must have at minimum a tier 2 cloud provider.
• Solution must provide a way to securely transmit data.
• Software should allow for various user permissions (e.g., cashier vs manager).
• Entire solution must be available from anywhere and from any browser with access to the internet.
• CPU, RAM, storage and bandwidth must be scalable to accommodate increased data transfer rates for the solution.
• SLA must provide guaranteed uptime of solution of at least 99% or higher.
• Vendor must conduct regular third-party security audits to ensure the security of their cloud-based infrastructure.
• Must be PCI compliant.
• All system modules must use and reference the same integrated database with real time updating between modules.
• Be modular and allow the district to add or remove modules or terminals as necessary.
• No duplicate data entry. items created in one place must be available for use throughout the system including: point of sale, online menus, menu planning, production records and inventory.
• Provide granular security permissions that can be set per user or by user group built in exports for excel, csv, word, text and pdf.
• Must provide a log or tracking of cloud-based backups.
• Must have the capability to easily create and access database backups.
- Point of sale
• Terminals must run completely inside a browser.
• Terminals must continue to run uninterrupted if internet connection is interrupted.
• Allow a serving session to run beginning to end without an active internet connection to that terminal. • Data to include student information, pictures, balances and eligibility status must be cached within the browser.
• Automatically detects id entry from students from other schools and processes their eligibility according to their eligibility at the home school.
• Item button name and color is customizable. must offer eligibility-based pricing for all items.
• Must support customizable covert codes for eligibility. for example: free shows as "2”.
• Ability to automatically generate unique pos identifiers for students and staff.
• Pos must be touch screen friendly.
• Ability to accept cash and checks for each transaction at the manager terminal or cashier line.
• Ability to deposit excess collected money as an account deposit. ability to give change by providing cashier with correct change.
• Provide a training mode that allows staff to run the pos with all current data and settings, simulating live transactions but without impacting any accounts.
• Pos must include a smart search to find students and staff.
• Smart search must automatically search with each character entered, immediately narrowing down search results.
• Ability to recall the last transaction.
• System must detect and properly handle 2nd meals.
- Point of sale reports
• Ability to create reports in all the following formats: pdf, excel, csv, word.
• Ability to create and save an unlimited number of report templates.
• Ability to share report templates with individual users or user groups.
• Ability to build custom reports.
o Build report by selecting data fields and the order of data fields.
o Set custom sort order of data fields.
o Group data by groupings such as school or grade level.
• System must continue to function normally while a report is being run. report requests must be pushed to the background while processing.
- Point of sale hardware
• Universal keypad acceptance of combo keypad/barcode scanner for entry of pin, id, or barcode. support meal and a la carte sales.
• Terminals must continue to run uninterrupted if internet connection is interrupted and they must store all entered information for easy transfer/syncing once internet connection is restored.
• Responsive technical support with help provided 24/7 with a 4-hour response time with on-site service for critical failures.
• Solution must be window 11 compatible (if applicable).
• Must include a fast processor and ample ram (minimum: quad-core CPU, 4gb ram or more) if applicable.
• Must include a solid-state drive (SSD) for quick data access.
• Prefer that the system include a ups/battery backup for the prevention of data loss and hardware damage during a power outage and to keep the system functional during a power outage.
• Must support two pin pads connected to the same terminal. both pin pads must work simultaneously to allow two lines to go through one terminal.
• Support electronic or manual cash drawers.
- CEP
• System must accurately track and report all students based on their eligibility status and not just mark them as free.
• System must support each school based on their status.
• CEP and non-cep school site in the district.
- Menus
• USDA approved nutrient standard menu planning.
• Food-based component menu planning.
• Inventory/commodity/ingredient management.
• HACCP, allergens in the ingredients, and target temperature support.
• Display costing per serving, cost per plate, and food cost percentage.
• Calendar menu can be printed and exported to other programs to allow for enhancement with graphic and additional notes.
• Allow export of menu into web-display to allow for enhancement such as allergen codes & nutrition information.
• Scale menu forecast based on entering overall meal count forecast.
• Distinguish between reimbursable meal forecast, adult, pre-k, and a la carte forecast for nutritional analysis.
• Analyze actual nutrition data after production record is complete.
• Allow user to view actual nutrient analysis based on amounts entered from production records. support unlimited nutrition categories.
• District can determine and set up categories based on needs- such as entree, vegetable, fruit, etc. each recipe is automatically an item.
• Each inventory offers the option to multiple unit definitions, food component, and links to nutrition data.
• Recipes support multiple serving units.
• Each recipe allows for multiple serving unit descriptions, food component definitions, and links to an ingredient and finished goods nutrition data.
• Every recipe is automatically a finished product upon production and can be ordered, received, counted, and wasted/spoiled.
• Downloaded ingredients and recipes cannot be edited by the user/site. users can adjust the # of servings.
• Site users cannot change recipes and ingredients other than the portions needed for production.
• Manual entry of nutrition data.
• Allow district users to add nutrition received from manufacturer specifications and labels.
• Ability to print detailed menu formatted reports showing each menu items nutrient contents, i.e., carbohydrates, fat, calories, etc. not just total nutrients for the day.
• Meal pattern contribution worksheet.
• Ability to scan and attach documents such as nutrition facts and photos to recipes.
• Ability to sort recipes into customizable categories.
• Must provide the ability to create and track an unlimited number of haccp control measures.
• Ability to customize the way a recipe appears on menus and menu board without changing the database name of that item.
• Ability to add ingredient to each step of a recipe.
• Step by step instructions must be fully customizable in a rich text/wysiwyg editor.
• Ability to drag and drop to change the order of recipe steps.
• Must include a text box to add notes to a recipe.
• Ability to print recipe that automatically scale to a user entered yield. ability to print recipes to scale to include the smallest prepared quantity.
• Recipe must automatically display the allergen information entered on its ingredients. ex: if a bread ingredient contains wheat, the recipe should automatically display a wheat allergen based on that bread ingredient.
• A recipe's nutrients must automatically calculate based on the ingredients added to that recipe.
• Ability to track multiple serving sizes on each recipe.
• System should automatically recalculate nutrients based on the weight or volume of that serving size.
• System must automatically convert measurements seamlessly between multiple measurements (pounds to ounces) and back and forth between metric and standard measuring systems (grams to ounces).
• Ability to handle recipes entered at any scale. ex: system can support a recipe for 100 sandwiches or a recipe for 1 sandwich.
- Online menus
• Online menus must be accessible without a login.
• Ability to embed the online menu on a 3rd party website.
• Online menu should include all nutritional information, allergens and recipe pictures uploaded during menu planning. must not require information to be re-entered.
• Online menus must automatically reflect any changes make to items, ingredients or recipes. on hover, menus must display the picture of each item.
• Online menu must be filterable by allergens.
- Food production
• System must by USDA approved software for menu planning and nutritional analysis ability to create and track multiple nutrient standards.
• Ability to copy menu plans.
• Provide a month calendar view of menu plans that show day by day compliance and week by week compliance on the same screen.
• Provide a daily worksheet that analyzes the offered menu and ability to print within certain date ranges.
• Ability to duplicate ingredients and recipes & ability to make changes to those.
• Activate and deactivate ingredients and recipes.
- Production records
• Production record approved by state department of agriculture.
• Print production records based on local and state guidelines.
• Production records must pull automatically from the menu plan assigned to that day. ability to print a production worksheet.
• Hide or display ingredients of recipe.
• Record target temperature, time of withdrawal of item from heating or cooling source, temperature at withdrawal, and holding temperature of serving line and leftover and discard temperature.
• Automatically return finished goods to stock or spoil finished goods after posting usage.
• Left-over management.
• Allow site managers to add leftovers to the menu.
• Allow adjustment of preparation requirements based on leftovers available.
• Allow site managers to choose between waste, freeze (with use by date), refrigerate (with use by date) and use next day (with use by date).
- Financial
• Statistical report that includes labor hours, supplemental sales, meal counts, plate cost.
- Accountability
• Complies with current USDA and state meal regulations.
• Support state reporting.
• Government reporting for claims.
• Generate USDA edit check report based on daily attendance.
• Generate USDA approved reimbursement report.
• Support community eligibility.
• Reports are displayed on screen with the option to save, print, or export the report.
• Bank deposit reconciliation.
• Shows bank deposit discrepancies
- Inventory
• Supports a perpetual inventory model.
• On hand quantities should be listed on every ingredient, item and recipe without manually running reports for that item.
• Must include totals per location, amount on order, deficits and totals.
• Ability to conduct physical counts.
• Ability to create and track custom physical count types.
• Provide a smart count feature that shows a consolidated list of only the items that are currently in inventory.
• Support blind inventory counts.
• Must not require users to enter a zero when no inventory is present for that item.
• Blanks must be counted as zeroes.
• Ability to do counts at any time at any location.
• Ability to enter manual item adjustments.
• Ability to create and track custom manual adjustments such as food spoilage or daily usage with reasons.
• Ability to create item adjustments based on item tags for faster report building.
• Ability to create, build and customize shopping lists.
• For example: build a shopping list of all required paper products so those items don't have to be added one at a time.
• Ability to create custom storage locations.
• Ability to assign multiple storage locations per school site. identify food and non-food items and their storage locations.
• Identify purchased and commodity items.
• Ability to view all active orders across the district on one screen.
• Ability to require district level approval when ordering specific items.
• Ability to require approval on any order for a specific school or district wide.
• Ability to create a safety stock "par" requirement for any item.
• Ability to generate orders by any of these factors: category (item tag), vendor, user defined shopping list, safety stock "par", back orders or production records.
• Ability to automatically generate orders and required quantities by analyzing planned production records and current inventory.
• One order can include items from multiple vendors that will be delivered across multiple days. ability to create, customize and track an unlimited number of vendors.
• When receiving items, ability to add additional items, change quantities, set a storage location, change the cost, create an order reference number, add notes to the item receipt.
• Ability to receive items manually or update receiving.
• Allow sites the option to receive all items or to enter changes for items not received.
• Allow sites to transfer product between each other and report to track the product. must be able to post receipt of items with and without a bill.
• Must support an optional barcode scanner.
- Student management
• Provide automated imports of student pictures.
• System must have a smart search to be able to lookup accounts within one window. for example: john doe id 1000 can be searched by do, j, jo, 1000, etc.
• Provide student search by student address, city, state, zip, head of household, phone, date of birth, student tag, enrollment status, school and grade from one screen.
• Ability to attach files directly to a student record.
• Files attached to students must follow them year to year, school to school.
• Ability to make and store notes directly on a student record.
• Ability to add and track an unlimited number of allergies that display to pos terminal.
• Ability to add and track an unlimited number of dietary restrictions.
• Ability to add custom alert messages to any student to display at pos.
• Provide the last five years of student account transactions on the student record.
• Solution must be compatible with region 20 - ascender (our current student information system).
• Selected vendor must provide sftp information within ten (10) business days of being selected.
• Selected vendor must comply with all FERPA, COPPA, and all student PII requirements, as applicable.
- Online parent portal
• Must be mobile responsive.
• Available in a free mobile app in the google play and app store.
• Online payments to student lunch accounts must be available for immediate use at point of sale.
• Student transactions at the point of sale must immediately be available to view on the parent portal.
• Provide student account balance transfers between students at no cost to the parent or district.
• Allow parents to link students to their account based on customizable criteria.
• District can choose which information parents must provide to link students to their account.
• Allow parents to set up payment reminders.
• Allow parents to unlink students from their account.
• Allow parents to set up recurring payments based on any of the following criteria: weekly, twice a month, monthly or when a balance reaches a specific amount.
• Recurring payments can be made on one account, or spread across multiple accounts.
• Must not have a minimum payment amount.
• No hidden cost can be passed to the district.
• All included transaction costs are visible on the parent portal.
• Low convenience fee for parents.
• Must allow parents to put money on all attached student accounts with only one transaction fee.
• Software provider must assume all liability for transactions made on the parent portal.
• Provider must provide support for parents using the parent portal.
• Provide detailed monthly banking and financial reports.
- Contract Period/Term: 1 year
- Questions/Inquires Deadline: May 14, 2025