Lunch Works Co. launches the country's first service that enables schools to accept lunch orders online.
August 15, 2001
Waterford MI-based Lunch Works Co., (http://www.LunchWorks.net) has released the first version of its web-based lunch ordering system.
“We are extremely proud to be the first to serve this overlooked market,” boasts Jeff Molby, Founder and President of Lunch Works. “Most school districts have to pay close attention to their budgets these days, so it is crucial for them to know exactly how many meals to prepare each day. Our system allows them to do just that without all of the paperwork that has traditionally come with the 'pre-ordering' approach.”
The system is truly elegant in its simplicity. After the lunch administrator enters the menu, the parents can log in and order for the month. Then they view or print a single statement that shows all of the orders for all of their children. At that point, the parent simply looks at the total and writes a check.
After a specified period of time, the ordering period is closed and the lunch administrator can run a multitude of reports to manage their inventory and deliver the food. Lunch Works also has reports to show any outstanding balances or credits.
Because of its web-based architecture, Lunch Works does not have to be downloaded or installed; it can be used on any computer that has Microsoft Internet Explorer version 5.5 or greater. That also means that updates can be released without any effort on the part of the schools or parents. “The chosen architecture gives us the power to update and improve our service at a pace that traditional software simply cannot match,” explains Molby.
The story of Lunch Works' origin is consummately American. In the days after this past Christmas, Jeff Molby was approached by his aunt about her school's lunch problem. Simply put, they collected a large number of orders each month and they wanted to take advantage of the incredible advances in technology. She had already spent the better part of the school year looking for solutions to no avail. Online shopping carts are a dime-a-dozen, but none of them come close to solving the problems faced by a school lunch program. By the end of January, Jeff had formed Lunch Works and agreed to tackle the problem. They are extremely proud of what they have accomplished in such a short time.
Take a test drive at http://demo.LunchWorks.net
Lunch Works Co. releases the second major version of its innovative online ordering system for school lunch programs.
August 1, 2002
Waterford MI-based Lunch Works Co., (http://www.LunchWorks.net) has released the second major version of its web-based lunch ordering system.
“We are extremely proud to continue our leadership in this market,” boasts Jeff Molby, Founder and President of Lunch Works. “Most school districts have to pay close attention to their budgets these days, so it is crucial for them to know exactly how many meals to prepare each day. Our system allows them to do just that without all of the paperwork that has traditionally come with the 'pre-ordering' approach.”
Among the variety of updates now available to all Lunch Works clients is the ability to set different permissions for each administrator. Now, each administrator has access to only the components he or she needs, leaving sensitive data on a need-to-know basis.
The biggest time saver in this batch is definitely the ability to create Exclusions. What do you do if some of the fifth grade classes have a field trip scheduled? Add an exclusion; The affected students will be barred from ordering for that day. What if you don't find out about the field trip in time? You can still add an Exclusion; Lunch Works will cancel their orders and inform the parents of the credit. Exclusions work perfectly for school cancellations as well.
There are also several new types of reports. The new Gross Sales report shows administrators exactly how much was ordered in a given time frame. It can be broken down by department, if some lunches are offered as a fund raiser. Lunch Works has also added customizable mail merges to make it easy for administrators to communicate with families.
Even with these new features, Lunch Works retains its elegant simplicity. After the lunch administrator enters the menu, the parents can log in and order for the month. Then they view or print a single statement that shows all of the orders for all of their children, even if they attend different schools. At that point, the parent simply looks at the total and writes a check.
After a specified period of time, the ordering period is closed and the lunch administrator can run a multitude of reports to manage their inventory and deliver the food. Lunch Works also has reports to show any outstanding balances or credits.
Because of its web-based architecture, Lunch Works does not have to be downloaded or installed; it can be used on any computer that has Microsoft Internet Explorer version 5.5 or greater. That also means that updates can be released without any effort on the part of the schools or parents. “The chosen architecture gives us the power to update and improve our service at a pace that traditional software simply cannot match,” explains Molby.
Page 1 | Page 3Among the many features of Lunch Works:
- An unlimited number of schools and administrators
- An unlimited number of food vendors and items
- Customizable Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
- Outstanding Balances report
- Family Statements available 24/7
- Numerous Order reports, allowing you to group and total orders
- Flexible searches, making it easier to find hard-to-spell names
- Support for items that are bought in bulk, but sold individually
The story of Lunch Works' origin is consummately American. In the days after Christmas 2000, Jeff Molby was approached by his aunt about her school's lunch problem. Simply put, they collected a large number of orders each month and they wanted to take advantage of the incredible advances in technology. She had already spent the better part of the school year looking for solutions to no avail. Online shopping carts are a dime-a-dozen, but none of them come close to solving the problems faced by a school lunch program. By the end of that January, Jeff had formed Lunch Works and agreed to tackle the problem. They are extremely proud of what they have accomplished already.
Take a test drive at http://demo.LunchWorks.net
Lunch Works Co. releases the third major version of its innovative online ordering system for school lunch programs.
December 1, 2004
Waterford MI-based Lunch Works Co., (http://www.LunchWorks.net) has released the third major version of its web-based lunch ordering system.
“We are extremely proud to continue our leadership in this market,” boasts Jeff Molby, Founder and President of Lunch Works. “Most school districts have to pay close attention to their budgets these days, so it is crucial for them to know exactly how many meals to prepare each day. Our system allows them to do just that without all of the paperwork that has traditionally come with the 'pre-ordering' approach.”
Among the variety of updates now available to all Lunch Works clients is the ability to offer discounts individuals or families. This makes it incredibly easy to handle National School Lunch Program discounts without drawing any attention to the students. It can even be used to offer staff discounts.
Lunch Works now offers a calendar-style order form as well. This new form is perfect for schools that offer a limited selection on any given day. The standard order form, which shows only one day at a time, is still available for schools that offer a wide variety of items each day.
They have also added the ability to sell milk tickets. These milk tickets can be purchased without specifying a particular lunch date, so students are free to redeem them whenever it is convenient.
Even with these new features, Lunch Works retains its elegant simplicity. After the lunch administrator enters the menu, the parents can log in and order for the month. Then they view or print a single statement that shows all of the orders for all of their children, even if they attend different schools. At that point, the parent simply looks at the total and writes a check.
After a specified period of time, the ordering period is closed and the lunch administrator can run a multitude of reports to manage their inventory and deliver the food. Lunch Works also has reports to show any outstanding balances or credits.
Because of its web-based architecture, Lunch Works does not have to be downloaded or installed; it can be used on any computer that has Microsoft Internet Explorer version 5.5 or greater. That also means that updates can be released without any effort on the part of the schools or parents. “The chosen architecture gives us the power to update and improve our service at a pace that traditional software simply cannot match,” explains Molby.
Among the many features of Lunch Works:
- An unlimited number of schools and administrators
- An unlimited number of food vendors and items
- Customizable Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
- Outstanding Balances report
- Family Statements available 24/7
- Numerous Order reports, allowing you to group and total orders
- Features to prevent conflicts due to field trips and school closings
- Customizable Mail Merges
- Support of fund raiser lunches
The story of Lunch Works' origin is consummately American. In the days after Christmas 2000, Jeff Molby was approached by his aunt about her school's lunch problem. Simply put, they collected a large number of orders each month and they wanted to take advantage of the incredible advances in technology. She had already spent the better part of the school year looking for solutions to no avail. Online shopping carts are a dime-a-dozen, but none of them come close to solving the problems faced by a school lunch program. By the end of that January, Jeff had formed Lunch Works and agreed to tackle the problem. Eight months later, they became the first company to process a hot lunch order online.
Take a test drive at http://demo.LunchWorks.net
Lunch Works Co. releases the fourth major version of its innovative online ordering system for school lunch programs.
January 15, 2006
Waterford MI-based Lunch Works Co., (http://www.LunchWorks.net) has released the fourth major version of its web-based lunch ordering system.
“We are extremely proud to continue our leadership in this market,” boasts Jeff Molby, Founder and President of Lunch Works. “Most school districts have to pay close attention to their budgets these days, so it is crucial for them to know exactly how many meals to prepare each day. Our system allows them to do just that without all of the paperwork that has traditionally come with the 'pre-ordering' approach.”
Among the variety of updates now available to all Lunch Works clients is the ability to accept payments online. Payments may be accepted in the form of credit cards and/or ACH (electronic checks). Credit Cards are certainly the most popular, but ACH payments are just as simple and significantly less expensive, so they are a great choice for districts on a tight budget. Of course, districts also have the option of passing these fees on to the family.
Lunch Works also includes the ability to set individual credit limits for each family. They can be used to force everyone to pay online, or just to limit the options of frequently delinquent families. As always, there are many new reports to accompany the new features.
They have also added the ability to sell milk tickets. These milk tickets can be purchased without specifying a particular lunch date, so students are free to redeem them whenever it is convenient.
Even with these new features, Lunch Works retains its elegant simplicity. After the lunch administrator enters the menu, the parents can log in and order for the month. Then they view or print a single statement that shows all of the orders for all of their children, even if they attend different schools. At that point, the parent simply looks at the total and writes a check.
After a specified period of time, the ordering period is closed and the lunch administrator can run a multitude of reports to manage their inventory and deliver the food. Lunch Works also has reports to show any outstanding balances or credits.
Because of its web-based architecture, Lunch Works does not have to be downloaded or installed; it can be used on any computer that has Microsoft Internet Explorer version 5.5 or greater. That also means that updates can be released without any effort on the part of the schools or parents. “The chosen architecture gives us the power to update and improve our service at a pace that traditional software simply cannot match,” explains Molby.
Among the many features of Lunch Works:
- An unlimited number of schools
- An unlimited number of administrators with customizable permissions
- An unlimited number of food vendors and items
- Outstanding Balances report
- Family Statements available 24/7
- Numerous Order reports, allowing you to group and total orders
- Features to prevent conflicts due to field trips and school closings
- Customizable Mail Merges
- Support for fund raiser lunches
- Teachers can be allowed to enter orders on behalf of their students
- Staff and student discounts
- Choice between two different order for styles
The story of Lunch Works' origin is consummately American. In the days after Christmas 2000, Jeff Molby was approached by his aunt about her school's lunch problem. Simply put, they collected a large number of orders each month and they wanted to take advantage of the incredible advances in technology. She had already spent the better part of the school year looking for solutions to no avail. Online shopping carts are a dime-a-dozen, but none of them come close to solving the problems faced by a school lunch program. By the end of that January, Jeff had formed Lunch Works and agreed to tackle the problem. Eight months later, they became the first company to process a hot lunch order online.
Take a test drive at http://demo.LunchWorks.net
Lunch Works Co. releases the fifth major version of its innovative online ordering system for school lunch programs.
April 30, 2007
Waterford MI-based Lunch Works Co., (http://www.LunchWorks.net) has released the fifth major version of its web-based lunch ordering system.
“We are extremely proud to continue our leadership in this market,” boasts Jeff Molby, Founder and President of Lunch Works. “Most school districts have to pay close attention to their budgets these days, so it is crucial for them to know exactly how many meals to prepare each day. Our system allows them to do just that without all of the paperwork that has traditionally come with the 'pre-ordering' approach.”
The headlining feature of version 5.0 is the new hybrid order form. With its subtle and elegant use of space and color, this calendar-based packs a ton of information into a single, intuitive screen. Parents will no longer have to jump between different screens to keep track of their progress.
The new order form also goes well beyond lunch. Day care, volunteer scheduling, and any other date-based item can fit into the same interface. That consistency makes it incredibly easy for parents to get comfortable and find what they're looking for. There is also a non-date-based order form, which uses all of the same design elements, that can be used to sell things like books, supplies, and milk tickets. It can even be used to collect your registration fees!
With these new features, Lunch Works has raised the bar for simple elegance. After the lunch administrator enters the menu, the parents can log in and order for the month. Then they view or print a single calendar that shows all of the orders for all of their children, even if they attend different schools. At that point, the parent simply looks at the total and writes a check or pays online.
After a specified period of time, the ordering period is closed and the lunch administrator can run a multitude of reports to manage their inventory and deliver the food. Lunch Works also has reports to show any outstanding balances or credits.
Because of its web-based architecture, Lunch Works does not have to be downloaded or installed; it can be used on any computer that has Microsoft Internet Explorer version 5.5 or greater. That also means that updates can be released without any effort on the part of the schools or parents. “The chosen architecture gives us the power to update and improve our service at a pace that traditional software simply cannot match,” explains Molby.
Among the many features of Lunch Works:
- Optional online payments
- An unlimited number of schools
- An unlimited number of administrators with customizable permissions
- An unlimited number of food vendors and items
- Outstanding Balances report
- Family Statements available 24/7
- Numerous Order reports, allowing you to group and total orders
- Features to prevent conflicts due to field trips and school closings
- Customizable Mail Merges
- Support for fund raiser lunches
- Teachers can be allowed to enter orders on behalf of their students
- Staff and student discounts
- Choice between two different order for styles
The story of Lunch Works' origin is consummately American. In the days after Christmas 2000, Jeff Molby was approached by his aunt about her school's lunch problem. Simply put, they collected a large number of orders each month and they wanted to take advantage of the incredible advances in technology. She had already spent the better part of the school year looking for solutions to no avail. Online shopping carts are a dime-a-dozen, but none of them come close to solving the problems faced by a school lunch program. By the end of that January, Jeff had formed Lunch Works and agreed to tackle the problem. Eight months later, they became the first company to process a hot lunch order online.
Take a test drive at http://demo.LunchWorks.net
