Setting Up Meals - Step 1 - Adding a Meal

This guide takes you through the first step to setting up a meal in Arbor. Read how to add a name for your meal and how to set the account type to use if you charge for meals.

This guide is the second in a series of eight. The other guides in this series are:

• Setting Up Meals - Introduction
• Setting Up Meals - Step 1 - Adding a Meal
• Setting Up Meals - Step 2 - Adding Provisions
• Setting Up Meals - Step 3 - Adding Prices
• Setting Up Meals - Step 4 - Scheduling Meal Sittings
• Setting Up Meals - Step 5 - Managing Attendees
• Setting Up Meals - Optional - Regular Meal Choices
• Setting Up Meals - Frequently Asked Questions and Further Reading

Adding a Meal

To get started with setting up a meal, you need to add the Meal to your Arbor.

A "Meal" in this context is best seen as a specific event where students or staff might sit down to eat food, like lunch or a mid-afternoon snack.

Meals in this context should not be confused with Provisions. Provisions are meal choices, and each meal can have different provisions, whereas a Meal encompasses everything from meal choices to the people attending and the time of the meal.

To add a meal:

• Go to School > Meals and then select Setup from the left-hand menu. If you have already created a different meal, you will be able to see that meal listed here.

• On the Setup page, click on the Create Meal button.

• On the slide-over:
  • Enter the name of the meal, for example, Lunch. You can change meal names later, so choose a recognisable name. Do not worry if you are not sure your name is appropriate; if you think you might need to change the name later, you can.

  • Enter the customer account type you want to use. Even if you do not intend to charge for meals, this field is required.

    Account types are the pots of money that parents top up to pay for meals, and where meal invoices are sent. If you intend to charge for meals, please ensure you have set up your payments for your Meals account type. For more information on what you need to check and to charge for meals, please refer to the first guide in this series, Setting Up Meals - Introduction.
    
    The account type defaults to Meals, but you can select any account type. 

  • Click the green Add Meal button to complete Step 1 of your setup.
     

Once you are happy with your Meal, proceed to the next guide in this series: Setting Up Meals - Step 2 - Adding Provisions