Displays

Under Display in the bessa Manager, you can customize the user interface of your bessa POS system. Here you manage your order screens and arrange articles, functions, and links on a visual tile grid – exactly as they will appear on the register.

Order Screens

Order screens are the categories or menu pages of your register interface. In addition to the default/start screen, you can create any number of additional order screens and nest them within each other. For example, you can create a main screen with categories like "BEER", "FOOD", or "COFFEE/TEA", each linking to sub-screens containing individual articles.

Overview

The overview page displays all created order screens in a table with the following columns:

• Name – Name of the order screen (e.g., Bakery, Cold Beverages, Food)

• Edit – Opens the edit dialog (pencil icon)

• Delete – Deletes the order screen (trash icon)

Use the + New Order Screen button (top right) to create a new order screen. Clicking on a row in the table directly opens the edit dialog.

Create an Order Screen

Click + New Order Screen to open the "Create Order Screen" dialog. The dialog contains two tabs:

Tab "General":

• Order Screen Name (required) – Enter a descriptive name, e.g., "Hot Beverages" or "Starters".

• Online Orders (checkbox) – Determines whether this order screen should also be available for online orders. Enabled by default.

Tab "Display":

• Order Screen Image – Optionally upload an image that visually represents the order screen on the register. Click the upload area or drag and drop an image file.

Click Save to create the new order screen, or Cancel to abort. The Save button is only active once a name has been entered.

Edit an Order Screen

Click the pencil icon in the row or directly on the row to open the edit dialog. The dialog is structured identically to the creation dialog but shows the previously saved values. Modify the desired fields and click Save.

Delete an Order Screen

Click the trash icon in the corresponding row. A security dialog with name confirmation will appear:

1. Read the warning carefully.

2. Enter the exact name of the order screen in the text field.

3. The Delete button only becomes active once the entered name matches.

This additional security prompt prevents accidental deletion of complex display configurations.

Arrange Articles

In the Arrange Articles section, you design the layout of your order screens using a visual tile editor. Here you define which articles, functions, and links appear at which position on the register interface.

Toolbar

At the top you will find two selection fields and two action buttons:

Selection (left):

• Order Screen (dropdown) – Select the order screen whose layout you want to edit (e.g., Standard, Bakery, Hot Beverages).

• Device (dropdown) – Select the target device: Tablet or Smartphone. Separate layouts can be created per device type for each order screen – e.g., one layout for the main register (tablet) and another for the waiter device (smartphone).

Actions (right):

• Auto-fill (green button) – Opens a dialog to automatically fill the order screen with articles from a specific article group (see "Auto-fill" section).

• Clear (red button) – Resets the current layout and removes all placed tiles.

The Tile Grid

The grid consists of rows and columns of tiles. On the right and bottom edges, permanently visible expansion arrows (→ / ↓ / ↘) allow you to extend the order screen in the corresponding direction by one row or column. The layout grows dynamically with your needs. When saving, the grid is automatically reduced to the outermost occupied tile – empty edge rows and columns are removed.

There are three types of tiles:

• Occupied tiles – Colored background with the article or function name. Clicking opens the configuration panel on the right side.

• Empty tiles – White/gray with a + symbol. Clicking also opens the configuration panel to assign a new tile.

• Expansion arrows – Arrows at the grid edges (→, ↓, ↘) that extend the grid in the respective direction.

Example of a typical layout (Standard / Tablet):

In this example, order screens have been placed as tiles, each linking to the corresponding sub-screens with individual articles. The color coding helps staff navigate quickly.

Configuration Panel

When you click on a tile, a configuration panel appears on the right. Use the "Choose Type" dropdown to define what the tile should display:

Type: Article

Assign a specific article to the tile.

• Choose Article (required) – Search for the desired article using free text.

• After selection, the following read-only article data is displayed: Tax (e.g., VAT 20%), net price, gross price, input mode, free text option, and free price option.

• Background Color – Choose a color from the palette (21 colors available).

• Text Color – Choose the font color for the tile text.

Type: Order Screen

Link the tile to another order screen. Tapping this tile on the register switches the view to the linked order screen.

• Choose Order Screen (required) – Search for the desired order screen.

Type: Function

Assign a register function to the tile:

• Choose Type – Select from the following functions:

  • Main Menu – Returns to the main menu

  • Back – Navigates one level back

  • Open Cash Drawer – Opens the connected cash drawer

  • Discount – Applies a discount to the entire receipt

  • Item Discount – Applies a discount to a single item

• Background Color – Choose a color from the palette.

• Text Color – Choose the font color.

Color Palette

For background and text colors, 21 colors are available: White, Black, Red, Pink, Light Purple, Dark Purple, Indigo, Blue, Light Cyan, Dark Cyan, Teal, Green, Light Green, Yellow-Green, Yellow, Gold/Amber, Orange, Dark Orange, Brown, Gray, and Blue-Gray. The default background color is White, and the default text color is Black. The selected color is marked with a checkmark.

Reset Tile

Use the Reset button (red) in the configuration panel to restore a single tile to its empty state. The article, order screen, or function is removed from the tile.

Auto-fill

Use the green Auto-fill button in the toolbar to open a dialog that lets you quickly populate an order screen with articles from a specific article group.

Dialog fields:

• Article Group (required) – Select from all article groups configured in your system (e.g., Beer, Bakery, Wine/Sparkling Wine). All articles in this group will be automatically placed on the grid.

• Columns – Set the number of columns in which the articles should be arranged.

• Append (checkbox) – Controls the fill mode:

  • Disabled (default): The entire layout is regenerated and the existing tile configuration is overwritten. A pink warning message is displayed: "Warning: The current arrangement will be overwritten!"

  • Enabled: Articles are only placed in empty tiles. Existing tiles remain untouched – ideal for gradually expanding an existing layout.

• Background Color – Choose the background color for the newly filled tiles (default: White).

• Text Color – Choose the text color for the newly filled tiles (default: Black).

Click Fill to place the articles, or Cancel to abort. The Fill button is only active once an article group has been selected.

Tips & Best Practices

• Logical grouping: Arrange related articles and categories next to each other, e.g., all beverages in one row and all food items in another.

• Use color coding: Apply consistent colors for similar categories (e.g., yellow for soups and starters, green for salads). This speeds up day-to-day operations.

• Plan your nesting: Use order screen tiles to navigate from an overview page to detail pages (e.g., "BEER" → individual beer varieties).

• Position function tiles: Place frequently used functions like "Back" or "Discount" at consistent positions so staff can find them quickly.

• Tablet vs. Smartphone: Create separate layouts per device type for each order screen. The tablet layout (e.g., main register) can display more tiles than the smartphone layout (e.g., waiter device).

• Auto-fill: Use the auto-fill feature as a starting point, then manually adjust the arrangement. With the "Append" option, you can add additional article groups later without losing the existing layout.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Can I nest order screens? Yes. You can place tiles of the type "Order Screen" on an order screen that link to other order screens. This allows you to build multi-level menu structures.

What happens with auto-fill? The function opens a dialog where you select an article group. All articles in that group are then automatically placed on the grid. With the "Append" option, you can choose whether to overwrite the existing layout or only fill empty tiles.

Can I restore a deleted order screen? No. Deleting an order screen is permanent. That is why the deletion process requires manual entry of the order screen name as a safety confirmation.

Do online orders depend on the display layout? The "Online Orders" checkbox in the order screen configuration determines whether an order screen is also displayed in the online ordering system. The visual arrangement in the tile editor only affects the on-site register interface.

Related Topics

• Articles – Create and manage articles

• Article Groups – Create and organize article groups

• Article Options – Configure additional article options

• Printing Groups – Print assignment for kitchen/bar display

• Pricing Levels – Set up different price tiers

• Course Groups – Course management for gastronomy