Stellar POS — Operator Manual

Section 01

Daily Opening Checklist

Complete these steps every morning before opening for the day.

Power on the POS tablet

Tap the Stellar POS app icon. Wait ~5 seconds for the login screen.

Staff PIN login

Each staff member enters their 4-digit PIN. Every transaction is linked to the logged-in staff member.

🔑 Forgot your PIN? Ask your manager — they can look it up in Dashboard → Staff → Edit.

Clock in for your shift

Staff tab → Your name → Clock In. Your time is now tracked for payroll.

Verify menu is loaded

All categories and items should appear on the POS home screen. Pull down to refresh if anything is missing.

Check PAX terminal

PAX Q30 should show "Ready." If the POS shows "PAX Offline," check the USB or network cable.

⚠️ If PAX is offline, cash payments still work normally. Card payments will queue and process when reconnected.

Section 02

Taking Orders

The main POS workflow — from customer greeting to cart ready for payment.

Select order type

Tap the order type button at the top: Dine In, Takeout, or Delivery. For Dine In, also tap the table number.

Add items to cart

Tap a category tab to filter items. Tap any item card to add it — you'll feel a light haptic vibration confirming it was added to the cart.

💡 Use the search bar at the top to find items by name instantly.

Adjust quantities & modifiers

In the cart, tap + or − to change qty. Tap × to remove — a 5-second "Undo" toast appears so you can reverse it.

Apply discount (optional)

Tap Discount and enter the promo code. The amount is deducted automatically.

Tap PAY

The large gold PAY button at the bottom right shows the running total. Tap it to proceed to the payment screen.

💡Speed tip: Barcode scanner is built in. Tap the 📷 icon in the search bar and scan a product barcode — it finds and adds the item instantly.

Section 03

Processing Payments

Cash, card, gift card, and split payment workflows.

Cash payment

Tap Cash. Quick-amount buttons appear (exact total, nearest $5, $10, $20). Tap the amount received — change due is calculated automatically.

Card payment (PAX terminal)

Tap Card. The PAX Q30 activates — the customer taps/swipes/inserts their card. The transaction completes automatically.

⚠️ If PAX takes longer than 30s, tap "Use Cash Instead" to switch payment methods without losing the order.

Tip selection

For card payments, the Customer Display (CDS) shows tip options: 15%, 18%, 20%, Custom, or No Tip. The customer selects directly on the CDS screen.

Receipt

Choose: Print, Email (enter customer email), or No Receipt. The order is sent to the kitchen automatically.

Split payment

Tap Split and enter the number of people. Each person pays their portion separately. If a split is abandoned partway through, a manager PIN is required to void prior charges.

Section 04

Refunds, Voids & the 3-Tier Protection System

Stellar POS uses a 3-tier confirmation system to protect staff and prevent unauthorized refunds.

Tier	When It Triggers	What Appears on Screen	Who Can Approve
Tier 1 — Low	Remove single item from cart (before payment)	No popup — item removed instantly. Gold "Undo" toast for 5 seconds.	Anyone
Tier 2 — Medium	Refund under $50 · Comp item · Delete menu item · Delete discount	Bottom sheet slides up from screen bottom. Select reason. Tap Confirm.	Anyone (reason is recorded)
Tier 3 — High	Void entire order · Refund $50+ · Deactivate staff · Abandon split payment	Select reason → Manager PIN keypad appears. Wrong PIN shakes and shows error.	Manager or Owner only

🔐 Default Manager PINs: Set during initial setup. Change them anytime in Dashboard → Staff → Edit each manager.

Default PIN 1: 1234 | Default PIN 2: 2345
Change these immediately in production!

ℹ️ Cancel is always safe. Tapping Cancel or closing any confirmation screen does nothing — the original order or transaction is completely unchanged.

How to process a refund step by step:

Go to Transactions

Tap the Transactions tab on the POS → Find the order by date, amount, or table number.

Tap Refund

A bottom sheet slides up from the bottom of the screen. Select a reason (Wrong item / Customer complaint / Manager comp / Quality issue / Other).

Enter manager PIN (if over $50)

A PIN keypad appears. Ask your manager to enter their 4-digit PIN. Wrong PIN shows a shake animation and "Incorrect — ask your manager."

Refund processed

Card refunds go back to the customer's card within 3-5 business days. Cash refunds open the drawer — hand the cash to the customer manually.

Section 05

Kitchen Display System (KDS)

How kitchen staff manage, prioritize, and complete orders on the KDS screen.

Order age color coding

Each order card has a colored left border:
🟢 Green — Fresh (under 8 minutes)
🟡 Yellow — Getting old (8–15 min)
🔴 Red — Overdue (15+ min, needs attention)

Tap BUMP to complete

When the order is ready, tap the large BUMP button at the bottom of the card. The order disappears and the POS shows it as ready.

👐 BUMP is intentionally large (64px+) so it's easy to tap with wet or gloved hands.

Filter orders by station

Use the filter chips at the top: All, Dine In, Takeout, Delivery, or specific stations (Grill, Salad, etc.).

⚠️ If you see "No matching orders" — check your filters. Active filters can hide orders from the queue.

New order alert

A sound plays and the screen briefly flashes when a new order arrives. Orders are sorted oldest-first so the most urgent is always at the top-left.

Section 06

QR Table Ordering

Customers scan a QR code at the table and order directly from their phone.

Print table QR codes

In Dashboard → QR Codes → Print all tables. Each table gets a unique QR code. Laminate and place on each table.

Customer flow

Customer scans QR → Phone shows your menu → They add items → Tap "Place Order" → Order appears on KDS and POS immediately.

Call Waiter button

After ordering, customers see a "🔔 Call Waiter" button. Tapping it sends an alert to the POS and KDS so staff knows table 5 (for example) needs attention.

Order tracking

After ordering, customers see their order status: Received → Preparing → Ready. Updates in real-time every 15 seconds.

🌐 QR Order URL format: https://stellar-pos-production.up.railway.app/qr/[STORE_ID]/[TABLE_NUMBER]
Example: /qr/cmp8qakqc.../5 for table 5

Section 07

Clock In / Clock Out

Accurate time tracking is required for payroll. Every minute must be recorded.

Clock in at the start of your shift

Staff tab → Find your name → Tap Clock In. A confirmation shows your clock-in time.

🕐 Clock in the moment you arrive — even 5 minutes matters for your paycheck.

Clock out at the end of your shift

Staff tab → Tap Clock Out. The system shows your total hours worked for the day.

Forgot to clock in or out?

Tell your manager immediately. They can fix it in Dashboard → Payroll → Fix Punch. All manual adjustments are permanently logged with the reason.

⚠️ Missing punches = delayed paycheck. Always check before you leave.

Section 08

End of Day Closing

Steps to properly close out every night.

All staff clock out

Make sure every staff member clocks out before closing. Check Dashboard → Payroll → Live Labor to see who is still clocked in.

Run EOD Report

Dashboard → EOD Report → Generate. Reviews all sales, tips, refunds, and labor cost for the day.

Close the day

Click "🔒 Close Day" to finalize. This locks the day's totals and triggers batch settlement with the payment processor.

⚠️ Close Day cannot be undone. Make sure all orders are correctly entered first.

Export and print

Click "📥 Export CSV" to save the report to Excel. Click "🖨️ Print" to print a physical copy for your records.

Section 09

Owner Dashboard Guide

Everything available at stellarpos.us/dashboard

Page	What It Shows	Key Actions
🏠 Home	Today's sales, orders, labor %, avg ticket	Live overview
📊 Reports	Sales by day/week/month, heatmap, item breakdown	Export CSV, date range
🍽️ Menu	All categories and items	Add, edit, delete, set prices
👥 Staff	Employee list with roles and PINs	Add/edit staff, set hourly rates
💵 Payroll	Hours, wages, tips, OT by employee	Export CPA CSV, fix punches
📦 Inventory	Stock levels, low-stock alerts	Adjust quantities, link to menu items
🎟️ Discounts	Active promo codes	Create/delete codes, set expiry
⭐ Happy Hour	Time-based discount rules	Set days/times/discount %
📅 Reservations	Upcoming bookings	Add reservation, mark seated, cancel
📧 Marketing	Email campaigns and customer segments	Send re-engagement, create campaigns
💰 Payroll	CA-compliant wage calculation	Export CPA Excel, manual adjustments

📱 Mobile access: The dashboard works on your phone. Open stellarpos.us/dashboard in Safari/Chrome. Tap the hamburger ☰ button at the top left to access the menu on small screens.

Section 10

Payroll & CPA Export

Running biweekly payroll and exporting QuickBooks-ready files for your accountant.

🏛️ California Labor Law (2025): Minimum wage $16.50/hr · Overtime (1.5x) after 8h/day or 40h/week · Double time (2x) after 12h/day · All calculations are automatic.

Open Payroll

Dashboard → Left sidebar → Payroll

Select pay period

Choose Bi-Weekly from the dropdown, or enter custom start/end dates. The system calculates everything automatically.

Review the pay table

Each employee shows: Regular Hours · OT Hours · Regular Pay · OT Pay · Tips · Gross Total · Deductions · Net Pay. Min-wage compliance flagged automatically in red if below $16.50/hr effective rate.

Export for CPA

Click "📥 Export for CPA (.csv)". File downloads with BOM encoding (Excel opens correctly). Email to your accountant — formatted for QuickBooks import.

📋 CSV includes: Employee name, role, all hours, gross wages, tips, FICA (6.2%), Medicare (1.45%), CA SDI (0.9%), federal withholding estimate, and employer total cost.

Fix a missed punch

Click "⚙️ Fix Punch" → Select employee → Enter correct clock-in and clock-out → Type a reason. All adjustments are permanently logged.

Drill down to individual time cards

Click "🕐 Cards" next to any employee to see every individual clock-in/out entry, with daily pay calculated. Export individual time cards as CSV.

Section 11

Handling Difficult Customers

Stellar POS is built to protect your staff in high-pressure situations.

🛡️ You are always protected. A cashier can never be forced to approve a high-risk action alone. The system physically requires manager approval for refunds over $50 and for voids.

"Give me a refund or I'll call the police"

Stay calm. Say: "I'd be happy to help. For any refund, our system requires my manager's approval — let me get them."

The system will ask for a manager PIN automatically. You are not making the decision.

"I'm going to chargeback this"

Every transaction has a complete record: timestamp, staff name, exact items, payment method, amount. Go to Transactions → Find the order → Email or print the receipt as evidence.

"This employee gave me free food before"

The owner can check Dashboard → Reports → Refund History at any time. Unusual refund patterns (more than 3 per week or over $100) trigger an automatic alert to the owner's dashboard.

When to call the manager

Any refund request over $50. Any void of a completed order. Any customer who becomes verbally aggressive. You do not need to handle these alone.

Section 12

API Reference

All available endpoints. Base URL: https://stellar-pos-production.up.railway.app

Method	Endpoint	Description	Auth
POST	/api/auth/login	Staff POS login (returns JWT)	—
POST	/api/partner/login	Owner/partner login	—
GET	/api/staff	List all active staff	✅
POST	/api/staff/clock-in	Clock in a staff member	✅
POST	/api/staff/clock-out	Clock out, calculates hours	✅
GET	/api/staff/clock-status	How many staff currently clocked in	✅
POST	/api/staff/verify-pin	Verify manager PIN (SmartConfirm)	✅
GET	/api/menu/items	All menu items with prices	✅
GET	/api/menu/categories	Menu categories	✅
POST	/api/orders	Create new order	✅
POST	/api/payment/process	Process cash or card payment	✅
POST	/api/refund/process	Process refund (with reason)	✅
GET	/api/payroll/summary	Full payroll calc all staff	✅
GET	/api/payroll/export/csv	QuickBooks-ready CPA CSV download	✅
GET	/api/payroll/live-labor	Real-time labor cost %	✅
POST	/api/payroll/adjust	Manual punch correction	✅
GET	/api/payroll/timecards/:staffId	Individual time cards per employee	✅
GET	/api/dashboard/home	Dashboard home metrics	✅
GET	/api/report/eod	End of day report	✅
GET	/api/dashboard/item-profitability	Margin per menu item	✅
GET	/api/dashboard/server-performance	Sales by staff member	✅
GET	/api/orders/stress-test/refund-abuse	Detect unusual refund patterns	✅
GET	/api/qr/menu/:storeId	Public QR menu (no auth)	—
POST	/api/qr/call-waiter	Customer calls waiter from QR page	—
GET	/api/reservations	List upcoming reservations	✅
POST	/api/reservations	Create reservation	✅
GET	/api/marketing/stats	Customer segments for campaigns	✅

Appendix A

QA Audit Results

Automated test results as of May 21, 2026

100%

46 / 46 tests passing · Zero failures

✅ All critical workflows verified: Auth · Staff · Clock in/out · PIN verify · Menu · Orders · Cash payment · Payroll · CSV export · Live labor · Refund abuse · Dashboard reports · Public pages · Security (auth required)

Table of Contents

Daily Opening Checklist

Taking Orders

Processing Payments

Refunds, Voids & the 3-Tier Protection System

How to process a refund step by step:

Kitchen Display System (KDS)

QR Table Ordering

Clock In / Clock Out

End of Day Closing

Owner Dashboard Guide

Payroll & CPA Export

Handling Difficult Customers

API Reference

QA Audit Results