Time-based tariffs (tarificator) — Paloma POS 2

This article is about Paloma POS 2 — the new touchscreen Paloma cash-register app. It covers the tarificator: selling time on rentable resources (rooms, booths, tables, play zones and so on). It explains how time tariffs work, how to bind a product and resources to a tariff, how to start and stop the timer, add food and drinks to a rental, and take payment for a timed line. If you are not sure this is your app, start with “How to tell you have Paloma POS 2”.

Overview

• The tarificator sells time: a guest rents a resource, the register measures the duration and charges by the tariff. Open it with the Tarificator tile on the main menu screen.
• A tariff sets the price per time interval. You can configure tariffs in the web dashboard or right on the register — in the Tariffs settings. A tariff is always bound to a Product (the rental is billed as that product) and to one or more Resources.
• Tariff modes: Bill per minute — the guest pays for the actual minutes; Prepaid (blocks) — the guest pays for time up front and it counts down; Price per person — a block costs “guests × price per person”.
• You can add ordinary menu items (food, drinks) to a rental — they land on the same check. Building the order and taking payment are covered in “Quick sale” and “Taking payment”.
• Rental history is collected in the Rentals report — see the report section below.
• The shift must be open, otherwise payment cannot be taken.

Step 1. Set up a tariff and its bindings

You can create a tariff in the web dashboard or on the register. On the register open Settings → the back-office section → Tariffs (subtitle Rates for rentable resources and their bindings). Tap + and fill in:

1. The tariff Name.
2. Default interval, min and Default price. The default price applies only when no rate band matches.
3. Rate bands — tap Add rate band to set a price per interval by time of day and weekday (for example a day and an evening rate).
4. Mode: Bill per minute, Prepaid (blocks) or Price per person — pick the one you need.
5. Product — tap and choose an item in the list (Select product). A rental cannot start without a bound product.
6. Resources — check the floor objects this tariff applies to. Only a bound resource appears on the Tarificator screen.
7. Turn on Require cleaning after release if needed.

Tap Save. Resources with no tariff are not shown on the tarificator screen.

Step 2. Open the tarificator screen

On the main menu screen tap the Tarificator tile. A board of resources opens with tabs by state:

• Available — resources ready to rent (the card reads Free).
• Running — a rental is in progress; the card shows the remaining time ({time} left).
• Time is up — the paid time has ended (Time up).
• Needs cleaning — the resource was released and awaits cleaning confirmation (when the tariff requires cleaning).

The Refresh button re-reads the resource list.

On the Running and Time is up tabs the cards are sorted by start time — the earliest rental is on top.

Step 3. Start a tariff

1. Tap a free card and the Start tariff action (short label Start).
2. If several tariffs are bound to the resource, the register asks you to Choose a tariff — tap the one you need.
3. Prepaid (blocks) and price per person: the How much time to pay for? sheet opens — set the Guests and how much time the guest takes, then tap Start. The time charge goes onto the check immediately and the register sends you to payment: the rental only starts counting after that check is paid. A note with the party size and paid time is added to the check automatically.
4. The tariff line on the start (and extension) check cannot be removed — the register shows “Pay the check to start this rental — its item can't be removed.” If you leave the check with Back, the register asks Save current order?: choosing Cancel check frees the resource (the rental will not start), while Save keeps it occupied — the check can be paid later.
5. A per-minute tariff starts right away — the timer begins on tap.

After the start, the card moves to the Running tab and shows the remaining time.

Step 4. Add food and drinks to a rental

While the timer runs you can add ordinary items to the resource:

1. On the card tap Add to check (short label To bill), or Order / View to open the resource’s order.
2. Add menu items the same way as in a normal order — see “Quick sale”.
3. Food and drink lines land on the same check as the time charge.

Step 5. Extend the time

If the guest wants to stay longer:

1. On the card tap Extend tariff (short label Extend).
2. In the Add time sheet choose how much time to add.
3. Confirm — the remaining time is recalculated.

Step 6. Finish and pay

1. When the guest leaves, tap Finish (short label Stop).
2. The register asks Finish the session? and warns that the timer for the resource will stop. Confirm.
3. If an unpaid check remains on the resource, the register shows Open check on the table and offers Open check or Finish anyway. Settle the payment before finishing.
4. For a per-minute tariff the total is computed from the actual minutes. The time charge and the added items are paid on one check — see “Taking payment”.
5. If the tariff requires cleaning, the resource moves to the Needs cleaning tab. After cleaning tap Cleaned and confirm — the resource becomes free again. The confirmation is recorded in the rentals report journal: the rental's card gets a Cleaning done entry with the employee's name.

You can turn service on the timed line on or off with the Charge service on tariff setting: when it is off, service is not applied to the time charge, while food and drinks are still charged service.

Rentals report

Rental history is collected into a dedicated report. To open it, tap the Reports tile on the main menu screen and choose the Rentals report row. The row appears in the report list only when at least one tariff is configured; the Reports tile itself is available to employees with the right to view reports.

One report card is one rental. The card header shows:

• the cabin name, and a Running badge while the rental is still in progress;
• the tariff name and the rate in the {price} / {minutes} min format;
• the start time → end time and the duration;
• Opened by {name} — who opened the rental.

Below is a time-ordered journal of the rental's events. Possible entries: Opened rental, Stopped, Extended, Cleaning started, Cleaning done, Reopened, Extra check #{id} (a separate food-and-drinks check opened on this cabin during the rental), and payments: Payment (cash), Payment (card), Payment (other). Each entry shows which employee performed it.

The card footer shows the totals: Tariff (the time charge), Extra checks (food and drinks) and Total.

The Filters button opens a panel with three filters:

• Period — Today, 7 days, 30 days or Custom… (your own date range). The last 7 days are shown by default.
• Cabin — only rentals of the chosen resource, or All.
• Employee — only rentals the chosen employee took part in, or All.

If nothing matches the filters, the report shows “No rentals in the selected period.”

Good to know about the report:

• The report is local. It shows rentals run on this register; rental history is not shared between registers — each register has its own report.
• Rentals started before the app update are shown without the event journal — only with the totals.
• An extra check lands on a rental's card when it is opened on the same cabin during the rental.

Common problems

• "Эту аренду нельзя продлить" — this rental cannot be extended; start a new one.
• "Доп. счёт: {sum} · не оплачено" — the object has an unpaid extra bill: close it before ending the rental.
• "Не удалось вернуть деньги гостю. Ничего не изменено." — the refund for an early leave did not go through and nothing changed; retry.
• "Не удалось привязать браслет", "Не удалось создать гостя", "Не удалось выдать браслет" — issuing the wristband did not finish; repeat from the start.
• "Не удалось загрузить тарифы.", "Не удалось сохранить тариф.", "Цена не может быть отрицательной." — rate editing; check the fields and retry.
• “No rentable resources configured” — no resource is bound to a tariff. Create a tariff in Tariffs and check its resources (step 1), or configure tariffs in the web dashboard.
• “This tariff has no product bound. Bind a product to the tariff in settings.” — the chosen tariff has an empty Product field. Open the tariff, choose a product (Select product), then start again.
• “Could not load rentable resources” — the register could not read the list. Tap Refresh; if that does not help, check the connection and wait for sync.
• “Could not start the session” — the start did not go through. Retry, and make sure the shift is open and the resource is free.
• A resource will not rent again — it is on the Needs cleaning tab. Confirm cleaning with Cleaned and it returns to Available.
• No Tarificator tile on the main screen — the employee lacks the Rentals right. An administrator grants it in the access settings.
• A rental from another register is missing from the report — that is expected: the rentals report is local, each register shows only its own rentals.

FAQ

How is the tarificator different from a normal table order?

A normal order sells items; the tarificator sells time — the register measures the rental duration and charges by the tariff. You can still add ordinary items to the rented resource; they go on the same check.

Does the guest pay up front or at the end?

It depends on the tariff mode. With Prepaid (blocks) and Price per person the guest pays for time at the start — the rental only begins after payment. With Bill per minute the timer starts right away and the actual minutes are charged at finish.

How do I add food to a rental?

Open the resource’s check with Add to check and add menu items as in a normal order. Food and drinks land on the same check as the time charge.

Why does the register refuse to start a tariff and ask to bind a product?

A rental is billed as a specific product, so the tariff must have its Product field filled in. Open the tariff in Tariffs, choose a product and start the rental again.

How does a resource become free again after a guest?

If the tariff requires cleaning, after finishing the resource goes to the Needs cleaning tab. Tap Cleaned and confirm — it returns to Available. Without a cleaning requirement the resource frees up immediately.

Where can I see the rental history?

On the main menu screen open the Reports tile and choose Rentals report: one card per rental, with the event journal, extra checks and totals. Each register keeps its own report — rentals run on another register do not appear in it.