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Overview

Knowlix Lunch enables employees to browse daily food offerings, place orders, and manage meal accounts directly within the system. Managers configure vendors, products, and pricing, then coordinate order delivery and employee notifications. The module tracks individual account balances, supports overdraft limits, and sends delivery confirmations through the internal communication module. Key features:
  • Employee self-service food ordering with account balance tracking
  • Vendor and product catalog management
  • Order lifecycle management (submit, send to vendor, confirm delivery, notify employee)
  • Configurable alerts for order deadlines and announcements
  • Multi-location support

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Settings

Navigate to Lunch > Configuration > Settings to configure two global options: Lunch Overdraft - the maximum negative balance allowed per employee. Employees with balances below zero can still order up to this overdraft limit. The currency uses your company’s localization setting. Reception Notification - the message sent to employees via the internal communication module when their food arrives. The default message is: “Your lunch has been delivered. Enjoy your meal!” Customize this text as needed. If your system has multiple languages installed, a language code button appears next to translatable fields. Click it to open a translation window and enter the message in each installed language.

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Configuration

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Locations

Each delivery location must be configured before creating vendors and products. By default, one location (Head Office) is created during installation. Navigate to Lunch > Configuration > Locations to add more. Click New, enter the location name, and fill in the delivery address. Create one location for each office, building, or floor where food is delivered.

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Vendors

Navigate to Lunch > Configuration > Vendors and click New to add each food supplier. Vendor form fields:
  • Vendor Name - the restaurant or caterer name
  • Contact information - phone, email, and address
  • Availability - the days of the week this vendor is available
  • Order deadline - the cutoff time for accepting orders
  • Delivery time - expected arrival after ordering
  • Locations - which office locations this vendor serves
  • Pricelist tab - add product options and pricing for this vendor
Configure the availability schedule and order deadline so employees know when to place their orders before the cutoff.

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Product Categories

Group related menu items for easier browsing. Navigate to Lunch > Configuration > Product Categories and create categories such as “Hot Meals”, “Sandwiches”, “Drinks”, or “Desserts”. Assign a category color for visual organization on the order screen.

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Products

Navigate to Lunch > Configuration > Products and click New to add each menu item. Product form fields:
  • Product Name - displayed on the ordering screen
  • Vendor - which vendor supplies this item
  • Category - the product category for filtering
  • Price - base cost of the item
  • Description - optional details shown to employees when browsing
  • Extras - optional add-ons with prices (toppings, sides, drink upgrades, etc.)
  • Photo - item image shown during ordering

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Alerts

Set up time-sensitive announcements visible on the Lunch module or delivered via chat notification. Navigate to Lunch > Configuration > Alerts and click New. Alert form fields:
  • Alert Name - short descriptive label (required)
  • Display - choose between Alert in app (banner visible in Lunch module) or Chat notification (message sent via internal communication module)
  • Recipients - visible only for chat notifications. Choose from: Everyone, Employees who ordered last week, Employees who ordered last month, or Employees who ordered last year
  • Locations - which locations see this alert (required; select all that apply)
  • Show Until - the date the alert expires (optional)
  • Active - toggle to enable or disable the alert
  • Message - the alert text content (required)
  • Notification Time - days of the week the alert is active. For chat notifications, also set the specific send time
Common uses: order cutoff reminders, new vendor announcements, temporary menu changes.

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Placing Orders

Employees access the ordering screen from Lunch > My Lunch > New Order or from the Lunch module homepage. The order dashboard shows available products for the day, the employee’s current account balance, and the status of any orders already placed today. Ordering a product:
  1. Browse available items by category or use the search bar.
  2. Click a product to view details and extras.
  3. Select desired extras and add a note to the vendor if needed.
  4. Click Order to add to the cart.
  5. Review the cart and click Confirm Order to submit.
The order appears in Today’s Orders with status Ordered (red indicator). Checking order status:
  • Ordered (red) - submitted, not yet sent to vendor
  • Sent (blue) - sent to vendor, awaiting delivery
  • Received (green) - delivered and confirmed

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Order Management

Lunch administrators manage the daily order cycle from Lunch > Manager.

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Today’s Orders

Navigate to Lunch > Manager > Today’s Orders to see all orders placed for the current day, grouped by vendor. Order lifecycle: 1. Send orders to vendors When orders are ready to transmit, the manager places the actual order with the vendor (by phone, online, or other means). After placing the order externally, click Send Orders next to the vendor name in the Lunch module. The status updates from “Ordered” to “Sent” for all items from that vendor. 2. Confirm delivery When the vendor delivers the order, click Confirm Orders next to the vendor name. The status updates to “Received”. Individual items can be confirmed separately if a partial delivery arrives. 3. Notify employees After confirming delivery, click the Send Notification button at the end of each product line to alert the employee that their food is ready. Notifications are sent individually. The message uses the template configured in Settings. Cancelling an order: Click the Cancel button at the end of any order line with “Ordered” status. Only unconfirmed orders can be cancelled.

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Control Vendors

Navigate to Lunch > Manager > Control Vendors to view all orders across all dates, not just today. This view is useful for vendor reconciliation, billing verification, and historical reporting. All order management actions (cancel, send, confirm, notify) work the same way as on Today’s Orders.

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Employee Accounts

Each employee has a lunch account balance that decreases when orders are placed. Administrators can add funds to employee accounts, set overdraft limits, and review spending history. Navigate to Lunch > Manager > Cash Moves to add credits to employee accounts. Create a new cash move, select the employee, enter the amount, and add an optional description (e.g., “Monthly lunch benefit”, “Expense reimbursement”). Employees can view their own balance on the order dashboard or from Lunch > My Lunch > My Account.

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Reporting

Access lunch reports from Lunch > Reporting to analyze usage patterns, track spending by employee or vendor, and review order history. Filter by date range, location, vendor, or employee to focus on specific data sets. Export results for payroll reconciliation or budget planning.

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Best Practices

Set order deadline alerts to remind employees to submit orders before the cutoff time. Pre-configure products and prices at the start of each week if menus change regularly. Use the account balance system to manage monthly lunch benefits by adding credits at the start of each period. Review the Control Vendors report monthly to verify vendor invoices match the system’s order records. Your Knowlix: “Show me today’s lunch orders” or “Which employees have a negative lunch balance?” or “How much did we spend on lunch last month?” or “List all orders from this vendor this week”