PhoneOrder

Comparing the licensing costs of a simple Windows based installation to a Linux based makes Linux the clear winner. I think using open source based solutions with such a Linux based installation can even improve that, reducing costs to just installation and service/maintenance support.

This is because the source code is not yet easy to use. Some settings and the printing templates are still hardcoded. You need to adjust the source code to change some settings and the printing templates. If someone wants to fix this issue, she or he is welcome to do so. Until then it is more easy for you to sync the source with the Subversion tree so your customizations are not overwritten and you can easy port them from version to version. Also, downloading by Subversion ensures you are smart enough to do such customizations to the source code.

I set myself some long-term objectives to make the system valuable and some immediate objectives to make it usable. So here are some answers what one expects from a linux POS system and which I try to keep in mind during design and development:

• Low costs for implementation and support
• Easy and/or cost-effective extensibility
• Security, safety and stability (backups, encryption, password protection…)
• Fast workflow
• Ease of use, easy access and fast learning results
• Enhancement of productivity
• Offload work to the system, like billing and accounting
• Inexpensive hardware costs
• Wide-range hardware support
• Mobile and stationary access
• Support orders via different medias: internet, phone, fax
• CTI-like support for fast caller identification
• Keep a customer database for deliveries and CTI
• Support normal and thermal receipt printers (for billing and kitchen)

Indeed this software is free, you only need hardware, a Linux installation and someone to install and setup the system. Linux does not require expensive hardware to run. And everything is open source and new hardware support can be adapted, new software extensions can be integrated easy and fast. Please use the comment function for discussion of this.

Hello!

My name is Kai Krakow and I am the initiator of this project. The project grew out of the need to manage phone orders for a pizza-by-call restaurant in my home town where I work sometimes. In its first prototype stage it supported keeping a customer database, and printing two copies of each order - one for delivery and one for the kitchen.

Meanwhile it supports a simple configuration file and hardcoded printing templates. My initial plan will finalize template seperation, configuration and add CTI features for even faster caller identification during the next two prototypes. The first beta version will then freeze features and fix remaining bugs. Starting with the next version some more advanced and needed features will be implemented. Your ideas are welcome.

Besides that I am a fulltime developer and supporter at a small company which offers web services, application development, customer support and hardware installations. I am still studying computer science but have almost finished that.

PhoneOrder is a project starting with a simple task: Support users to pickup and manage orders by phone, printing the bills and order instructions and manage a customer database. This is very simple yet and not very point-of-sale like. But future improvements are planned:

• Scriptable discount definitions to automatically calculate daily discounts
• CTI integration by recognizing callers with CAPI
• User logins and password locking
• Cash register and multiple printers support
• Mobile order pad support to easily serve tables in a restaurant
• Terminal client support by interfacing with the DB or using remote screens
• Multi-client support to support owners of more than one restaurant to use phone call redirection
• Store sensible data like credit cards data encrypted
• Accounting and bookkeeping