SLX is designed to manage your existing school lunch program. It accounts for all meals eaten as well as money paid by students and adults. Money is deposited into an account at the office. Students fill out a lunch deposit slip and present it at the office along with cash or a check. Any amount of money may be deposited. Office personnel compare the money with deposit slip then enter the deposit into the computer or set it aside for entry later. Students must know how to write their name, their lunch number, and the money amount - a task even a first grader can handle. A copy of the receipt is given to the student. About mid-morning, the office personnel records the deposit slips on the computer. Deposits may also be made in the lunch line. SLX will print a deposit record of each deposit and keep a summary file on the disk for end-of-month accounting

At lunchtime, the teachers distribute the student's lunch cards. Students may keep their lunch card as they would keep a credit card. As a student enters the lunchroom, the card is handed to the computer operator and the card is scanned with the card reader. (Some schools collect the cards and run them through the card reader back in the office.) When the card is accepted, account information is displayed on the screen. Audible beeps signal the operator when an account is out of money, has been used previously during the lunch session, or has been closed. The computer can inform the student when they are low on lunch money. When secondary students run out of money, the operator may retain their cards. When the students deposit money, their lunch cards are returned.

At the end of the meal period a report is printed of all account activity. The report gives total on the different kinds of lunches that were served: free, reduced, adult, etc. The summary page of this report may be copied and given to the kitchen for comparison to the actual tray count. A summary of the lunch activity is saved in a summary file for an end-of-month report.

Parents may call the office at any time and receive a printed summary of their student's lunch record. This record gives the total lunches eaten, total money paid into the account, the last date the account was used for lunch, breakfast, or deposit, and the amount of the last deposit.

SLX will generate labels that can be affixed to cards that may be sent to the parents of students that owe lunch money. SLX allows students to charge lunches. The account will be balanced when the student makes a deposit. Refunds can also be given at the end of the year or when a student moves.

A non-descript lunch card is used to process students through the lunch line and serves as a back-up record in case of power failure or equipment malfunction. The student name and account number are printed on the label that is affixed to the card. A teacher's name also prints on the label in order to easily trace the student. SLX will print barcode labels on any compatible printer.

In elementary schools, the card can be held by the teacher and given to the student just prior to lunch. The student hands the card to the computer operator and the account number is typed directly into the computer or can be scanned by a card reader. Cards are returned to the teacher at the end of the day.

In a secondary school, the card may be kept by the student. The card can be retained if the computer indicates money is owed, the card is being used twice, or the card has been lost. Find a method that best works for your school.

During day-to-day operations, students are not identified by their status. Fellow students are unable to identify the status of another student, yet the status of any student is accessible to the proper personnel at any time. After every meal a report is produced that gives the name, account number and balance of each person who ate lunch. This report does not identify a student status. The report is held in confidence and is used only for accounting purposes.

A complete set of reports can be generated for daily transaction of meals eaten, deposits, status lists, delinquent information, monthly summaries, etc. An optional District Accounting program can be purchased which will combine data from each school district on a monthly basis so district personnel can evaluate the current condition of the lunch program on a district-wide basis.