New Deal Launch: Pipeline Overview & Installation Best Practices

New Deal Launch: Pipeline Overview, What To Do, Installation Best Practices, Timeline & Guidelines for SkyTab Orders

After a SkyTab deal is written (the application is submitted), it will be sent to the Shift4 Underwriting and Pre Launch team, where there are quite a few steps and items to be verified before the install.

Ingrid Arban is our Pipeline Manager. Her main role is to help us get deals through the pipeline faster.

If she reaches out to you with something needed for a deal (ex: alcohol menu, underwriting details, etc.) please get that to her as fast as possible to ensure your deal gets installed as quickly as possible. The faster you get Ingrid info, the faster you get paid!

Shift4 has assigned our team 2 Shift4 “Pre Launch Specialists.” The Pre Launch Specialists (PLS) will handle deals from time of application all the way to installation. We usually quote 4-6 weeks for the total process to take until installation. They will handle nearly every detail of the deal including menu programming, being the merchants main point of contact for Shift4 in that Launch window, etc.

Please note: Reps are not to contact / work with the PLS’s directly. Shift4 wants ONE point of contact for them, and that will be Ingrid. If Ingrid / the PLS cc’s you on an email for response, you are encouraged to respond/reply all to that email. But all communication emails, inquiries, etc. should go to Ingrid first.

When adding merchant information such as email, please double/triple check because only one email can be used to register for a Lighthouse account. The account management takes time to make account changes which will cause delay if the details are not correctly set.

We have a simple spreadsheet with all deals in-process. This will include any “next step” info if a deal is held up (in underwriting, menu, etc.) and you will all have view-only access to that spreadsheet. It will be your responsibility to check that regularly on where your deals are at, and get Ingrid any pertinent info ASAP.

Reps should always CC Ingrid and the Pre-Launch Specialist whenever they email Underwriting ([email protected] ) regarding hold notes.

Please complete these steps as quickly as possible.

Note that if you’ve signed multiple deals for multiple locations, these steps need to be completed for each MID:

While you’re still in the restaurant:

Make sure the merchant is clear that the install date on the application is a request, and that expectations are well adjusted. Always make sure that process usually takes about 4-6 weeks which is what we should quote to our clients. Please review install guidelines linked above.
Have the owner open the email (Welcome Email) they got from Shift4, and help them set up their Lighthouse account and fill out the first three tasks (“cards”) for them: Contact Info, Menu, and Restaurant info.
If possible, please ensure you take photos of the customer-facing menu that need to be submitted to Ingrid. The Pre-Launch Team will use these for programming the menu into the system.

CONTACT INFO NOTES:

So that you can get on all deal details, put each person’s name and contact info in. In the Launch Control tiles, there’s a page where you enter ALL contacts’ info on a given deal. These are the people who will get notified via text/email when items like shipping, install date/time confirmed, etc. happen.

Some reps end up not knowing what's happening on their deals because they aren't putting theirs AND their partner's info in there. Make sure you put all parties that are needed in contacts:

Merchant
Yourself
Ingrid
Your partner when applicable
Your trainer (if they want notifications)

MENU NOTES:

Default should always be customer facing menu as this is the fastest way for programmers to grab what they need. Always be sure to include ALL menus (including alcoholic and non-alcoholic and kids menu) as well as modifier lists (including what the modifiers go to and their cost).

Unfortunately, Shift4 will not accept links to an online menu. They will only accept photos of *customer visible / customer facing* menus like a paper menu, or a menu display on a wall or counter.
- A gentle reminder that Shift4 doesn't accept pictures of the POS screens as menu documents. Customer Facing Menus, our Excel Menu Helper, or in this case for Clover, the unedited export will be best.
Here is a hack for a restaurant that only has an online menu: copy the info from the merchant's website using copy / paste into a word document. Make sure all items are present with pricing and any descriptors. Download as a word or PDF doc and submit.
The only time we should ever do Toast/Clover exports or conversions is if the customer insists on it. Apparently these conversions actually take much longer (they said “it adds as much as two weeks”) than using a customer facing menu. So only use the conversion method if they have it so dialed in and don’t want anything to change from Toast or Clover.
When working on the tiles in Launch Control, please make sure NOT to click "Complete Launch Control" yet, so you can continue working and upload the menu. Once it's been clicked, you will no longer be able to open the tiles, and the menu will need to be sent to Ingrid and the Pre-Launch team for uploading.
Here are the steps in creating a user for Toast Menu Conversions:
- create a user using the Shift4 Email, [email protected]
- name can be anything
- you can setup with or without PIN
- job should only be GENERAL MANAGER or OWNER

*Please note that the most "important" items are the JOB and the EMAIL. Once user has already been setup, please go to the user settings and make sure that menu permissions are ENABLED.

As a BEST PRACTICE, have the owner make sure that the entire list of permissions under Section 4 ("Admin Settings") in the big list of permissions is "checked or enabled" since this is where the Menu Permissions are nested.

4. Get a physical gift card (if they have them).

5. Take a fun picture with the owner / staff!

After you’ve left restaurant:

1. Announce it to the team in Slack on the "New Deals" channel!

2. Complete the following forms:

NOTE:

For multiple locations under the same owner and using one email in Lighthouse, they need to sign up for one location first. After that, they should send Ingrid the details of the other locations and MIDs, as the Pre-Launch team will be the one to add them to Lighthouse.

3. Complete the form above and Ingrid will forward to Pre Launch Specialist and work with Shift4.

4. Complete the Equip Shift 4 New Deal Form.

5. If gift card conversion:

Click HERE for additional information.
Email gift card to Shift4 with Gift Card form filled out the Shift4 Gift Card Conversion Form.

6. A few days after the form is sent, check this spreadsheet (pin to your browser) to ensure all details are taken care of, prompt scheduling, etc.

All current deals are under the “Orders” tab.
Please be sure to save this link ^ as you’ll need to reference it often.

7. If you have any questions about the deal, please reach out to [email protected].

Over time, you will be curious about the progress of your new deal in the Shift4 pipeline. First, the please check the spreadsheet before you reach out to Ingrid with questions, as the spreadsheet will show you where your deal is in the process.

NOTE: Ingrid is not in charge of editing this Shift4 spreadsheet, she can only add notes in the notes section. It is on Shift4 to update the sheet, and sometimes the Pre Launch team can take a little time to make an update on a deal.

8. You AND merchants will be able to see the name, phone number and email of their assigned PLS by logging into the merchant's Lighthouse > clicking the Launch Control tab > clicking the headset icon at the top right in Lighthouse. Reps cab login to a merchant's Lighthouse and check this via Partner Portal > clicking on the merchant > clicking the Lighthouse login button.

NOTE: For all additional equipment orders or equipment change requests, please use the Updated Exhibit A Form and send your request via email to [email protected].

Exhibit Form A Guidelines:

New Orders: No Exhibit A Form needed — it’s auto-generated with the application.
Additional Equipment (Pre-Install): Reps must send an Exhibit A Form to Ingrid listing all desired equipment before installation.
Add-On Equipment (Post-Install): Merchants should order via their Lighthouse account (easiest). If unavailable there, Reps may place the order via Partner Portal (ask your Partner Manager for help if unsure where).
Changing Equipment (Pre-Ship): If not yet installed or shipped, submit a new Exhibit A Form showing all updated equipment.
Changing Equipment (Post-Ship): If the order has shipped (installed or not), submit an Exhibit A Form listing only the additional equipment.
Removing Equipment (Post-Ship): No Exhibit A Form needed. This follows a different return process. If needed, have the merchant contact Customer Service for return labels.

Change of Ownership Guidelines

It's better for the Rep to process a change of ownership rather than create a new order with a new MID.

If a merchant has been paid front and true up and there's a change of ownership in less than 12 months, bonuses will be retracted and the new owner will be paid. If it is past 12 months, no retraction will me made and the new owners won't get any bonuses.

Installation Timeline

It is so important to present the correct installation timeline to merchants in your pitch, as it can make merchants pretty upset if Shift4 can't meet the installation timeline you told them they'd be able to get!

One of the most common merchant issues we face is that reps aren't up to speed on current Shift4 timelines, and therefore misrepresent those to merchants, who then get (understandably) frustrated.

There is a 4-6 weeks lead-time MINIMUM on all SkyTab POS orders.

This 4-6 weeks timeline doesn't start when the application is submitted, the clock starts from the time that the Pre Launch team has EVERYTHING including all menus (alcohol, kids, etc.) and Launch Control items have been completed.

How to pitch timeline to merchants:

Make sure you’re quoting “4-6 weeks turnaround for install” to your merchants, as this gives plenty of wiggle room.

You can request for a rush install which has a timeframe of 3-4 weeks. Parameters for a rush install is either there's a grand opening or a "hard down" (merchant's current POS isn't working.)

Regarding the install date put on the application

Install dates on the application are technically just REQUESTS.

When you put in a a rough estimate for install date in the application, please keep in mind this is a request only.

Shift4 only has so many installers, and sometimes cannot fulfill a requested date.

Please make note of this in your pitch, and make sure you and the merchants stay flexible on install date. Overpromising exact install dates to merchants can create unnecessary stress.

Requests To Have A Specific Installer On A Deal

Install dates on the application are technically just REQUESTS.

When you put in a rough estimate for install date in the application, please keep in mind this is a request only. Shift4 only has so many installers, and sometimes cannot fulfill a requested date. Please make note of this in your pitch, and make sure you and the merchants stay flexible on install date. Overpromising exact install dates to merchants can create unnecessary stress.

Exception: They said if you have a $100k+ volume restaurant OR an installer has previous history with an additional location, you can put in a request (by emailing Ingrid), but even then they can’t always guarantee.

On that same note, we do have a few black-listed installers that have lost deals for us. If you have feedback about a particularly bad installer, please email detailed notes to Ingrid, and she work together with the S4 installation team to sort it out.

Installer & Programming Certification

You can also voluntarily elect to take installer training and get certified, which will allow you to know the process more thoroughly, and help merchants to a greater extent! You can access this via the learning tab on Partner Portal, that connects you into SkyTab Academy.

How to find installer training: Log in to partner portal and click on "Learning" tab (or click SkyTab Academy link above), then click the tab "Learning Paths", and then click "SkyTab Installation and Programming Certification".

What To Do During Install

Mention the $2,000 referral bonus—anyone the merchant refers today can qualify!
Make sure you/installer goes over end of day (open tickets, adjusting tips, clocking out, printing report).
Tell the owner to never update the system mid shift because it will close the open tickets and they won’t be able to adjust tips.
Cancel workforce (no business needs this)
Check batch time and funding. This can be done with installer or calling into support or going through partner portal>(merchant)>batch.
Go over app (in charge) and lighthouse (employees, reports, loyalty, menu changes, online ordering are the top ones).
Go over integrations and connect needed interventions (DD, Uber eats, Grub Hub). Be sure to remove the integrations with previous POS before integrating with ours.
Enable pay with cash AND loyalty on SkyTab mobile through merchants lighthouse.
Check and see if owner wants glasses to tip prompt.
If they have mobiles, turn on “partial payment flow” for splitting checks and “pay with cash” so they can accept (if they are doing employee bank) Both can be done from LBM (Devices>Mobile>Payments>Enable)
Give the owner Zendesk. Show them an example throughout the install of pulling up Zendesk and then give them this tool.
Check online menu to make sure no ITEMS are over $375 or $0. Remove any inactive items from online menu schedule then republish menu. Uber will not work with nested mods but SkyTab online will.

Questions to ask owners at install:

What permissions do you want the employees to have?
How do you do tips? Daily weekly?
How did you guys do it previously with ____ system?
Employee banks or drawer for servers?
When do you close/batch time?
Is there tip sharing? If so, what do you want? (Explain manual entry for tip sharing at end of shift)

Install Pro Tip

We've seen 5-10 deals get lost/have major issues just this year from one core problem: not setting up the SkyTab gear on the dedicated local network. Every install, without fail, every time, should always set up on a dedicated local network (ideally TP-Link VPN router). Make a point to double check that at EVERY INSTALL you do.

Otherwise it gets set up on the local (ATT&T or whatever) network, and all the sudden every piece of tech in the building is pulling from one network. KDS's misfire, updates don't run, ghost tickets, etc. So so many problems happen when the network gets set up wrong, and we've lost big deals over it. Don't let this be you.

Reps should also get comfortable setting up Lighthouse Transaction Manager (LTM) during prelaunch or installations. LTM allows merchants to adjust charges, modify tips, issue refunds, and more on already batched transactions, something that cannot be done through the standard LBM Transactions tab, even though it may appear otherwise.

Installer Contact Guidelines

Please don’t call/text/email prelaunch specialists (installers or service techs) directly.

For any scheduling changes or requests outside of what was requested on the initial application, send your reschedule requests to Ingrid.

Only contact an install scheduler/installer/tech during an absolute emergency/last minute change. Please do not abuse this - Shift4 has been really patient with us on this guideline that they have requested, and we want to keep a great relationship with them!

Sometimes, installers will not follow the Shift4 rules themselves and will reach out to you directly about installs in non-emergency situations. Please let them know that you have to go through our pipeline manager and can't engage with them directly on scheduling items.