Aloha POS: Prerequisites and Olo Service Installation Guide

Audience:

Technical Teams, Account Managers, Engineers, & Product Teams

Description: 

There are required Aloha POS versions, licensing requirements and the configuration of firewalls and records in Configuration Center in order for Olo to Aloha communication to work. Once prepared, the Olo services are required to be installed on the Aloha BOH machine, and tested. 

The Aloha environment is complex and customizable so there are sometimes scenarios not predicted that are not covered in this guide. This guide does, however, cover most common scenarios and assumes the end user has a working knowledge of configuring and supporting the Aloha POS software and its operating environment.

This document is to assist with the basic Aloha POS environment preparation, configuration and installation. In environments where third party or additional programs exist, collaborative assistance between Olo, NCR and your Organization may be required to resolve unexpected issues.

Synonymous Terms: Aloha Connect, COM, Aloha Classic

Helpful Links:

Aloha Licensing Requirements	Quick Glance: Best Practices & Requirements
Olo Firewall Requirements	Aloha Configuration
Digicert Certificate Rules	Aloha Record ID's Form
Troubleshooting Install Errors	Install the Olo Agent

Aloha Environment & Licensing Requirements:

• Aloha Connect with at least one External Interface Terminal license must be enabled on your Aloha Security Key.
• If running more than one External Interface, you are required by NCR to obtain a license for each.
• NCR has minimum Aloha POS versions that support communication for Olo thru the COM layer of Aloha POS (Aloha Connect). If you are running a lower version than the minimum requirement, please contact your NCR/Aloha reseller for upgrade information. These minimum versions are as follows:
  • 6.7.38.138 (End of Life, but Olo orders can be sent to Aloha)
  • 12.3.25.14 minimum
  • 14.1 - any version
  • 15.1 - 15.1.25.1+ and RAL 18.2.4.10+ are recommended by NCR.
    > Lesser versions will require manual manipulation to register the interface terminal.
  • 19.1-19.3 thus far work with Olo ordering via Aloha Connect. No observed obstacles with Olo.
  • 19.6.9 Olo ordering is observed to work, but there have been third party rewards issues with this version.
  • NCR recommends 19.6+ of Aloha POS. 
  • Any version used should be reviewed with NCR or your reseller for acceptance based on your tech stack. Olo is not in a position to make this choice for your brand.
• For versions above 6.7.64+ and 12.3.31+, there is an NCR provided file that must be manually copied into %iberdir%\bin on ALOHABOH. 
• The Back of House (BOH) Server: Olo recommends at least 4Gb of RAM to satisfy the Windows 7 need and at least 5Gb of free hard drive space. This may be impacted by resource usage of additional programs running on your server, so your system may require more RAM.
• .Net 4.7 or higher

Olo Firewall Requirements:

See Olo Firewall rules here

Tip!!

If using a Meraki firewall, or if the Olo services hang in Windows and won't fully start, resulting in a 1053 error, go here for additional firewall configuration requirements.

Aloha Configuration

The following records need to be configured in Aloha and the ID numbers need to be communicated to your contact at Olo. Once configured, you should communicate your ID's to your TAM via this form. In Configuration Center, the Interface Server, Interface Terminal, and Interface Employee must be set up at the store level. All other values can be created on the corporate level. 

These configuration values must be the same at each store. If there is a reason not to standardize a value, please discuss with Olo during the initial integration discussions.

Flag all configurations a 'Active' where available.

Record	Required	Example Value	Description \ Configuration
Order Mode ID	Yes	40 "Olo"	Basic Pickup orders through Olo will use this order mode. Routing rules in Aloha will determine where items are sent for production. Flag 'Active' and 'Apply to all unordered items'
Job Code ID	Yes	98  "Olo Job"	Used by the Interface Employee Flag 'Shift Required', 'Order Entry', 'Can Get Checks', 'Self Banking', 'Do Not Report', 'Ignore Labor Schedule'.
Employee ID	Yes	990  "Order, Web"	(Store Version) Interface employee. Assign the Olo Job Code and an Access level. (Tip! below)
Interface Server ID	Yes	99  "Olo Server"	(Store Version) It is preferred that this is unique to Olo; however, can be shared as the host to other 3rd party applications that use their own interface terminal. Flag 'POS' Set as Clone and Interface Server. DO NOT assign an interface employee in the configuration of this terminal in CFC. *This Interface Server will be used for the instance of Iber running on Alohaboh.
Interface terminal ID	Yes	98  "Olo Terminal"	(Store Version) Unique to Olo. Flag 'POS'. Set as Clone, Interface Terminal, and set Interface Host as the Olo server. Set the Default Printer to the physical printer where guest receipts should print. DO NOT assign an interface employee in the configuration of this terminal in CFC. Flag as Order Entry.
Queue ID	Yes (QS Only)	15  "Olo Queue"	Used by QS to place orders in a Queue that will not impact in-store orders and keep Olo orders separated for operations. We recommend ID 15 for top right corner placement of the queue when a Recall Check function is performed on FOH. Any ID above 20 will not be visible on the FOH. Set 'Max Number of Orders' to something above zero. Set the Min. and Max. Order IDs.
Olo Memo Item ID	Yes	30205 "Olo Memo"	Set the Item to 'Ask for Description'. Do not flag 'Ask for Price'. Flag 'Print on Check if Price is Zero'.  (Tip! below)
Void Reason ID	Yes	20  "Olo Void"	Olo does not do literal voids, but does clear checks when validating orders to gather pricing and taxing final values from POS. Set the Void 'For COM Use Only' and 'Do Not report'
Olo Tender ID	Yes	300  "Olo Tender"	In CFC, when adding the tender, use the down arrow next to New > select "Generic" as the tender type. Allow Tips if you will be accepting Tips online. Orders will be paid above store when a credit card or gift card is used and will route to this tender.  Will not co-mingle with in-store/EDC tenders. This tender will close these pre-paid checks. Be sure the tender is included in Tender Groups that your interface employee will use if you are using Tender Groups.
Additional Granular Tenders	Optional	301 - Olo-Visa 302 - Olo MC    303 - Olo-AmEx 304 - Olo Disc	Copy from the tender above and rename. Aloha will show the pre-paid payments by card type in your Payment Reports.

Tip!!

Employee ID
In Configuration Center, under Maintenance, Business, Additional Features, there is a setting for the maximum Employee ID digits.

**The best practice is to give the interface employee an ID with the maximum number of digits.**

 Tip!!

Access Level
It is recommended that you create a dedicated Olo Access Level in Aloha as corporate-owned for the Aloha Interface Employee that Olo uses. When your Interface Employee is required to apply or void Comps or Promos for online coupons or loyalty rewards, this will be needed. Access can be removed if not needed.

 Tip!!

Olo Memo Item
This item carries information like the Customer Name and Telephone #. If you want these to print in the kitchen or appear on a KDS screen, this must be routed like other items. Also, if you want it to print in special font, be sure to configure as desired when you build the item.

Aloha Install the Olo Agent

• Olo services must be running with Windows administrative privileges (can be changed to run with  Localsystem after it is installed, but must be installed with a user/password).

• The Windows admin account used for the Olo service needs access to the bootdrv share. It is preferred that Olo services use the same Windows account used by Aloha's ctlsvr and edcsvr.

• Olo services must be installed with the correct Olo username and password for the store (available through the Olo Dashboard).

• WARNING: Do not perform these steps at a time where a reboot will be inconvenient or interrupt store operations. During the first launch of Iber(QS) on a BOH server Aloha may install additional components or prerequisites that will force a reboot of the system which is outside of Olo's control.

Quick Steps to install the Olo Services and confirm that the services are running properly.
(Estimated time to complete: 7-10 minutes)

Step 1: Confirm that you have access to the Olo Dashboard
Step 2: Generate a Password for the current Vendor (store)
Step 3: Download the Installer and run the Install program
Step 4: Test the POS Configuration Setup
Step 5: Start the OloAlohaService and the OloUpdateService
Step 6: Confirm Store is Online Using the Olo Dashboard

Install Details

Step 1: Confirm that you have access to the Olo Dashboard
Log into the Olo Dashboard at https://my.olo.com and click “See Offline Vendors” button. The store will be listed below. 

Step 2: Generate a Password
Since it takes 2 minutes or so for the password to register with the Olo servers, generate the password before running the installer.

                                       

Tip!!

 Keep this page open as you move to the store computer for installation. 

Step 3: Download and Install

• Log in to your Olo Dashboard, on the left side menu click Brand and POS Downloads.
• Choose NCR Aloha as the POS Software. Click Download OloAloha Agent
• Double click on the downloaded OloAlohaService_live file to start the install.
• Click Next through the default install location until prompted for a username and password.

• The top two fields are for the Olo username and password found in Step 2.

Tip!!  

The Windows Administrator account name and password needs to be the same as the account for Aloha Control Service (ctlsvr) or an administrator account set up specifically for Olo that exists on the Server and all Aloha terminals. If you are unsure of the account or can’t create a new account, contact your NCR Aloha dealer to provide these parameters.

• Click Install and then Finish when done. The installer will open the "OLO Aloha Integration Service 1.0" folder which will appear like this:
  
  

Step 4: Check the POS Configuration Setup
Doubleclick on “Run Olo Aloha test.bat” to open the POS Configuration tester in a classic DOS Window. If there is a mismatch between the Aloha configuration and what Olo has configured, an error will display. e.g. 'Employee ID'

FAQ: What does the tester do?

1. Connects to Olo servers (port 443) to get cloud configuration (does not establish a TCP Connection to port 9292)
2. Checks that the Aloha directory exists
3. Based on the client directed cloud configuration, verifies the following records exist in DBF files in %iberdir\data for proper mapping:
   • employee
   • job code
   • tender
   • void reason
   • interface server/terminal
   • memo item
4. Confirms that aloha.ini exists with ACTIVATEFOHCOM=True
5. Verifies that OloAlohaService can start iber(qs) and access the API

Tip!! 

 The test will often fail on the first attempt.  An interface terminal is started during the test and may need to register local .dll files before booting iber(qs) successfully. If this occurs, run the tester 2-3 times – usually it will work by the third time at the most. If not, there is an actual error that must be addressed. Verify your configurations and then contact your TAM if the issue persists.

Step 5: Start the Olo Services using "Start_Services.bat" and exit DOS window. The store will connect to Olo and disappear from the "Offline” list in the Dashboard, which will confirm the installation has succeeded. It is not abnormal for there to be a pause before the store will show as "Online" int he Dashboard. 

Common Errors to Troubleshoot

1. Incorrect vendor name / password.

   • Be sure you’ve allowed enough time between generating the password and entering it during install. Wait at least 2 minutes between these steps.
     

2. Employee ID, Terminal ID, etc. not found. Double check your Aloha configuration and refresh data.

3. Error 0xC0068001 back from Aloha. See this article. 

4. Other errors returned from Aloha to help guide in configuration resolution when needed.