Scenario:

1. Do we have to use the Financial module to keep track of lunch counts?


Solution:

Gradelink lets schools record lunch orders using the daily attendance sheet. While attendance values can be linked to fees and types created in the Financial tab and be used to automatically add charges to student accounts, there is a way to track lunch orders without using any of Gradelink's Financial tools.


First, you'll need to make sure that your lunch options have been configured properly on the Daily Attendance Settings page:

  1. Each lunch option should have a title, an abbreviated title, and a report legend symbol.
  2. Make sure the boxes labeled Multi-select and Excluded Attendance checked. This ensures that you can select the lunch value in addition to other attendance values (i.e., a student can be "Present" and order lunch) as well as preventing the lunch values from accidentally preventing a student from receiving perfect attendance.
  3. Finally, make sure box labeled Billing Value is unchecked. This box would be checked if you planned on integrating your lunch values with the Financial tab, but it isn't required for the method we are going to use.



Once you're double-checked that your attendance values have been configured correctly, you can take attendance normally.


If you need to collect information about the total number of lunches ordered during a particular period of time, you have two options:

  1. The Attendance Lists Report, which is perfect if you are interested in the number of lunches ordered on a particular day
  2. The Custom Attendance Report, which is useful if you need to know the number of lunches ordered during a particular term or during a range of dates


For the Attendance Lists Report, simply select the attendance value you used to record lunch options and then select the appropriate date. The total amount will show up at the bottom. 



For the Custom Attendance Report, you'll need to select the terms or the range of dates you'd like the report to include first and then select the attendance values (or in this case, lunch values) that you would like to appear on the report.