Integration Overview
What is a POS integration between Otter and Epos Now POS?
A POS integration is when you connect your online channels and delivery platforms with your Epos Now POS, via Otter.
It creates real-time and direct communication between the delivery platforms and Epos Now, removing most manual inputs and actions required to synchronize those systems.
What is the necessity of integrating your Epos Now POS with Otter?
When online food orders from Delivery platforms represent a significant part of the business of a restaurant, they start feeling multiple operational pain points, that all find answers and solutions with a POS integration.
Otter’s point-of-sale integration allows orders from your delivery partners to flow directly into your point of sale. This integration has numerous benefits including:
- Automatically synchronize the Menu from Epos Now POS to your delivery channels, with no manual actions
- Sending all orders to flow directly into your Epos Now KDS seamlessly
- Sending all orders to print using Epos Now POS printer
- Eliminating the manual entry of delivery platform orders into the POS
- Improving the quality of the data by reducing errors from manual entry
In conclusion, an integration with Epos Now POS can save time and money, on a daily basis, and make your business more successful.
How does the Otter & Epos Now integration work?
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Step 1: Menu Sync A POS integration with Epos Now starts by a “Menu Sync” where Otter reads the menu in Epos Now POS and then links the items in Epos Now to the items published to the delivery platforms. |
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Step 2: Order Injection A POS integration with Otter allows customers to get Online Food Ordering platform orders sent directly to their POS. This means that if you are POS integrated when you receive an online food order through Otter, the food order will automatically be sent to your Epos Now POS and be processed by the POS as any other order. |
How to Connect
Ensure you have the Epos Now API application
For each active Epos Now location that you’d like to integrate to Otter, you must have the API application in Epos Now. This comes at an additional cost per month, per location.
How to check if you have the API application
| Steps | Process | Additional Information |
| 1 | In your Epos Now back office, click Apps from the sidebar, then My Apps | |
| 2 |
Look for the API application. If you cannot see it, you do not currently have the API application. Click Apps again in the sidebar to return to the Apps homepage, from where you can search ‘API’ in the Epos Now AppStore to purchase and install it. |
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| 3 | To check if you have the correct number of API devices, click Setup under API in the My Apps page | |
| 4 | On the next page, scroll down to Your API Devices. Here, you should see one device for each location that you want to integrate. | |
| 5 | If you need to add another location, click Add or Remove API Device to be redirected to the Epos Now AppStore, from where you can purchase another API device license. |
You are new here? You can request a free demo here
For current customers, in case of doubts, reach out to your Otter POS onboarding specialist.
Adding Otter User in Epos Now
In order for Otter to be able to integrate with Epos Now, we need access to your Epos Now account. This can be achieved by creating a user profile for Otter and granting admin permissions:
How to Create a User
| Steps | Process | Example |
| 1 | From the Epos Now back office, click the drop-down next to your username in the top right | |
| 2 | Click Users | |
| 3 | On the next page, click Add Additional Login | |
| 4 |
Add a login for Otter using the following information:
All permissions boxes should be checked. |
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| 5 |
Create the account to grant Otter access to Epos Now and share the login with your Otter Onboarding Specialist. |
If you have any doubts or difficulties with the Otter User in Epos Now, please contact the Epos Now Support or the Otter Support team.
What if I previously worked with another POS integration provider? (e.g. Chowly, It's a Checkmate, Deliverect, OLO)
- Please reach out to the Prior POS integration Provider to remove integrations from all delivery partners. They cannot just be disconnected, they need to be removed or the delivery partners will not let us connect. Please set a specific time to disconnect/remove the Prior POS Integrator and we can immediately launch the Otter integration.
- Please connect with your Delivery Partners to set the “tablet order protocol”. The Prior POS Provider often has you change the order protocol so we’ll need to revert it back to the tablet. The Delivery Partners should be able to confirm/get this done quickly
- Similarly, please connect with your Delivery Partners to allow us menu edit access on all Delivery Partners.
To confirm, there is no downtime in terms of accepting orders if you follow these steps, and you can have an Order Manager running on the Otter tablet to aggregate those throughout the process. Still, we cannot link/publish to your Delivery Partners until the above steps are followed.
Menu Management
Best Practices for the Menu in Epos Now POS
Before initiating a POS integration with Otter, it's essential to ensure the usability and quality of the Menu in Epos Now POS.
Best practices include:
- Add all categories that you would like to have on your delivery channels (UberEats, Doordash, etc.) in the POS.
- Add all items and modifiers that do not already exist in Epos Now precisely as you want the guest to see them on delivery channels.
- Review and clean the names, descriptions and prices to make sure they are ready to be published to the delivery platforms.
Otter will be synchronizing with the delivery platforms menus so that they will reflect how they are in Epos Now, giving you the ability to completely control your guests’ experience directly from Epos Now POS.
Get your menu ready on Epos Now POS
For efficient editing of your delivery products, we suggest installing the free Rapid Edit app from the Epos Now marketplace.
Steps to install the free Rapid Fire app:
| Steps | Process | Additional Information |
| 1 | Log into your Epos Now Back Office with your username and password. | |
| 2 | From the panel on the left, select App Store. | |
| 3 | Type Rapid Edit on the search bar at the top and press the Enter key. Then Select Get Free. | |
| 4 | Click on Get Free App. | |
| 5 |
After the App is installed click on Setup App to launch the app. |
Select the items you want to sell online:
| Steps | Process | Additional Information |
| 1 |
Type the name of a category that contains products you want to include in your delivery menu
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| 2 |
A list of the products included in the category will appear on the screen. |
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| 3 | Repeat both steps above until all of your menu products are selected. | |
| 4 | Similar to the process done previously, all the items that belong to your online menu need to have the Sell on Till enable. | |
| 5 |
Access the product list and enable the Show Till Details to see the Sell On Till column. Then, select all the items needed - all the items used on your online menu need to be selected. |
Tips to a perfect Menu Structure
| Items |
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| Categories |
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| Modifier Groups |
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| Modifiers |
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| Photos |
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Setting up Menu Auto-Sync with Epos Now POS?
Menu Auto-Sync with Epos Now POS is the best way to ensure a reliable POS integration with minimal maintenance on the long run. It is a best practice used by most Otter customers to manage their Menus in Menusifu POS, and automate the update of all the other menus in their Delivery Platforms.
Here are the steps to enable Menu Auto-Sync with Epos Now POS :
How to set up Menu Auto-Sync with Epos Now POS
| Steps | Process | Additional information |
| 1 | Open your Otter Business Manager, if you don’t have this access, please contact Otter's Customer Support | |
| 2 | Go to the Otter Menus app, and select your menu | |
| 3 |
Click on the Settings icon in the top-right corner |
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| 4 |
Click on the Menu Sync tab to enable the "Automatic updates from POS Menu" toggle. |
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The automatic menu publish setting will be available only once you configure the Automatic updates from the POS Menu. Configure the settings by selecting the information you wish Otter to update automatically from the POS. |
When Menu Auto-Sync is enabled, it will run every 6 hours, and will ensure the Menus are kept Synced. Check more details in this article.
Use the Otter SSMM to manage your Menu
Self Serve Menu Management (SSMM) is an Otter feature that allows you to create, edit, update, manage and publish menus from Otter’s Business Manager tool.
You can find here all the helpful guides about the tool and its features.
Order Management
For these next steps, please, contact your Onboarding Specialist or the Otter Support team to enable the Order Injection.
What is required for the Order injection to work perfectly?
The order will be injected to your Epos Now POS only if the menu is Synced, meaning that all Menu items you have listed on Otter must be the same Menu items you have listed on your Epos Now POS.
Please, follow these guides to ensure your menus are Synced with Epos Now POS:
- Enable Menu Auto-Sync
- Trigger a manual Menu Sync in Update from POS
Integration FAQ
Why is my menu updating without any action from me?
Expand for further information
The menu updates automatically due to our new feature, Automated Point-Of-Sale (POS) Menu Synchronization, also known as 'Menu Auto-sync', which should be activated on your account.
This feature is designed to ensure that your menu remains updated without requiring manual intervention. It synchronizes your menu every 6 hours, ensuring that any changes made are promptly reflected in Otter and from Otter to your delivery apps.
Please, check this article for future information.
Why is my item in Epos Now POS not importing to Otter?
Expand for further information
Please, answer these troubleshooting questions:
- Is my Epos Now POS connection working? If it’s not, please make sure to have a stable internet connection and try again.
- Is my Otter Menu Auto-Sync turned on? If it is not, please follow this step to enable the menu auto-sync.
- Do my items have the Sell on Till enabled? If they don’t have the Sell on Till enabled, the items won’t be imported to Otter, please follow the steps on the Menu Management to learn how to enable them.
How will my Item Variations look on the delivery platforms?
Expand for further information
Keywords:
| Mod groups vs variations, automated renaming, menu optimization |
The item Variations will be imported as separate items into the delivery platforms. Therefore, the names of item variants will be combined with the item name.
For example, the “Large” variation of the “Vanilla” item will become “Vanilla” and “Large - Vanilla”.
If you don’t want this naming for your item variations, please create separate items for each item variation or add them as a modifier group. Please be careful of using both modifier groups and variations.
What if I have different prices online and in-store?
Expand for further information
Key-words:
| Price management, prices overrides, auto-sync prices |
Currently, if you have different pricing for in-store vs delivery platforms, there are 2 options:
Option 1: Creating new items with uplifted price for delivery/integration use only
This option here will provide better long-term integration success, as it provides specific parameters for troubleshooting post-live when needed.
Option 2: Utilizing Otter’s POS Self-serve Menu Management Tool to update them
This is the recommended route if you do not want to duplicate your items within Epos Now POS. If you would like to utilize this tool, please notify your onboarding specialist.
How to check if my Otter Menu is correctly Synced and linked to my Epos Now POS Menu
Expand for further information
Follow the next steps if you are already up and running with your Epos Now POS integration, if you’re new to POS integration, you can also contact Otter Support to set you up.
| Steps | Process | Additional Information |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Select your Menu in the App list, then select “Menus”. | |
| 2 | Click on Manage POS Links. | |
| 3 |
In “Manage POS Links”, review the “Links summary” section at the top. If all 3 boxes indicate that there are 0 unlinked items, 0 unlinked modifier groups, and 0 unlinked modifiers, it means the Otter menu is correctly Synced with Epos Now POS. |
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If any of the boxes indicates a number of unlinked items or modifier groups or modifiers, it means the Otter menu is not correctly synced with Epos Now POS. Unlinked items can result in order injection failures and missed orders. |
How can I reach out to Epos Now support if I have an issue?
Expand for further information
You can reach out to Epos Now Support if you have other questions regarding the POS system. .
How should I build my Otter menu?
Expand for further information
Please review all categories in Epos Now that you would like on your 3rd party delivery apps. Add any items/item variations/categories/modifiers that do not already exist in Epos Now precisely as you want the guest to see them.
We will be synchronizing these with the delivery app menus so that they will reflect how they are in Epos Now, giving you the ability to completely control your guests’ experience and how your 3rd party menus will appear.
Otter will import the whole menu you have in Epos Now.
How to fix printing issues?
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For printers configured by Otter the appropriate troubleshooting steps will vary depending on whether your printer is Cloud-enabled, Bluetooth-enabled, or Hardwired. Find your type of printer below, and follow the directions listed.
- Troubleshooting Cloud and Hardwired Printers
- Troubleshooting Bluetooth Printers
- How Do I Replace My Printer?
For additional help or information, you can contact Otter Support
If you are printing directly from your Epos Now POS system, please follow these steps:
- Ensure you have a stable internet connection to your Epos Now tablet.
- Make sure that there isn't a large order backlog, as this can cause delays.
Check the Epos Now guides or contact Epos Now Support for further assistance
What happens if an order is not injected?
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If there is ever an issue with an order and the order cannot be injected into Epos Now POS, then that issue will surface in the Otter tablet and appear as a NOT in POS.
This should not be expected often, but if it occurs, the order can be manually entered into Epos Now POS and then you can click on the “Manually added to POS” option on the Otter tablet.
If orders are auto-accepted in Otter, does the order need to be acknowledged in the POS?
Expand for further information
If orders are on auto-accept then the order will be imported into the POS at the time of acceptance and the order will automatically print at the appropriate time without any action from the store. To appear in the reporting, the ticket needs to be assigned a payment type and closed out.
What if an order is canceled by the customer?
Expand for further information
Order cancellations are not reflected through the integration. If an order is canceled, the cancellation will be surfaced in the Otter tablet, after which the order should be manually canceled in Epos Now POS.
To enable accurate reporting, canceled orders should be actioned upon within the point of sale.
How do scheduled orders work?
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Orders will automatically be imported into Epos Now from Otter 30 minutes before the order is scheduled to be picked up. These orders will surface in the Otter tablet 60 minutes before ready time.
Will it show which delivery partner the order is from?
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Yes, the delivery partner name and delivery partner order ID will be included in the order details once injected into Epos Now.
If Otter loses connection to my point of sale, will my delivery accounts be taken offline?
Expand for further information
No, your orders will continue to be executed within the delivery partners and within Otter. However, if the integration is offline for any reason, you should manually enter the orders into Epos Now.
How are tips accounted for?
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Tips collected in the delivery partner platforms will be routed directly to the third-party courier and will not surface in your Epos Now POS.
How is sales tax accounted for?
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Sales tax is computed within Epos Now based on the tax rules that have previously been set up in Epos Now.
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