Skip to main content

Micros Simphony - Oracle Cloud Hosted

Updated

Micros Simphony Oracle Cloud Hosted

Simphony Cloud Hosted is supported for Sales data only.

Marriott GPOS and Starbucks Connect POS are alternate versions of Micros Simphony Oracle Cloud Hosted, all below documentation is applicable. 

Micros has multiple versions, and they operate differently. Make sure you are looking at the right POS guide for your system! This article refers to the Micros Simphony Hosted Solution, also referred to as Simphony Cloud, Marriott GPOS, or Starbucks Connect. If you have an on-premise server running Micros Simphony, review the Micros Simphony 2 (On-Premise) POS Guide.

Avero processes and presents data from your Micros Simphony Hosted POS for your analysis and insight. This article details how to handle POS changes, make updates to this data, and how to handle discrepancies or problems you might encounter. For some things, such as resending data or enabling the export, you must reach out to Oracle and for some changes, such as global category associations, you'll need to reach out to our support team. 

In this article:

 

About Micros Simphony Hosted POS

POS Type: Export

Simphony Cloud Hosted is a POS system that supplies Avero with data via a daily export containing sales files. Once your end-of-day is processed, the sales for your restaurant are exported to Avero to process and upload into Avero for your reporting and analysis. 

Differences between Simphony Hosted & Avero 

Comps/Promotions will not match up because Simphony Cloud displays the taxes associated with comps/promotions in their report, however, the export provides total tax information for the check. 

The Simphony Cloud export does not provide any information on Transferred Checks - this means that you will not see what was transferred on or off checks nor the checks it was transferred to or received from. This can limit Loss Prevention reporting and can cause discrepancies if checks are transferred between outlets or business days. When comparing Micros Sales Reports to Avero, these transfer discrepancies may make daily figures mismatch, but total revenue will balance over the complete time period. 

When reviewing your Sales, note that Avero sales will not include taxes and check-level promotions may make Category Sales appear different but the totals will match up. Net Sales between Avero and Simphony Cloud will always match. 

You can read more about this here: Understand Gross Sales and Net Sales

Installation & Reinstallation on Simphony Cloud

Simphony Cloud is a cloud-based POS and is very easy to install. Installing Simphony Cloud has two main steps:

Step 1 - Request the Export

First, you must reach out to Oracle or your POS Servicer to request the export. 

Requesting the Avero Custom GL Export

  1. Provide your Oracle or Micros contact with our documentation regarding the export: Micros Simphony Cloud Setup Instructions

  2. Note the following common issues:

    • Oracle may require a fee for enabling this export.

    • Make sure you specifically request the Avero Custom GL Export - a standard GL Export is not sufficient as it is missing much of the data required for Avero to process and display your desired reporting and analytics. 
    • The GL Code the export sends under (same as your Organization ID in Micros) MUST be a unique value - the default ("Rest") or a common name/number ("200") will likely not be specific enough for Avero to identify your export, as hundreds are received daily. Usually a property code or property code with numerics is used. Such as TSA301 or WHEEL.
    • See above instructions for other FAQ and comprehensive guidance. Share these instructions with your Oralce/Micros contact.

If Oracle doesn't provide you with your "GL Code" or you don't know it, discover it by following these instructions. 

These instructions may vary based on which version of Simphony R&A is in use at your property. Ask Oracle to provide you with the File Name for the export if you don't know the GL Code, it will be contained in the file name: CustomGLExport_GLCODE_MMDDYY.zip

Discover your GL Code / Organization ID

  1. Open EMC

  2.  Select Enterprise / Organization level

  3. Enterprise Parameters module > Reporting & Analytics tab

  4. Organization ID 

    This Organization is your GL Code for the purposes of the Avero Export, it must be a unique value and not a default (Rest) or generic (200) ID.

Step 2 - Fill Out Technical Form

Fill out this form with all your POS information.  Make sure the above step is completed before submitting the form. 

Do not fill out the form until you have confirmation from Oracle that the export is sending daily (ask which dates have been sent to be sure) and you have the correct, unique GL Code. Avero cannot verify the export or proceed with installation without all of this required information. Without the GL Code, we cannot confirm if the export is being received, because we need the unique identifier (GL CODE) to identify it. 

Provide Meal Periods

Fill out this form with all your Meal Periods information - or confirm the use of Default Meal Periods. 

The meal periods are fixed time periods that cover the entire day. Any sales occurring on checks closed during that time frame will be applied to that meal period, which is fixed on the Avero side and requires Avero team members to change and update in the future. Make sure to provide a complete list of meal periods for all outlets to avoid delays in your installation. 

 

Regular Maintenance: Making Updates and Changes for Simphony Cloud

When changes or updates are needed who is responsible? If something appears incorrect or out-of-date, how should it be updated?

Change or Add a Meal Period in Simphony Cloud

Whenever meal periods are changed in Simphony Cloud they need to be coded in by the Avero team - if you change the meal periods in your POS but do not inform Avero, your reporting may appear mismatched or incorrect. 

To inform Avero of meal period changes in your Simphony Cloud Hosted system, open a request with Avero Support and detail what is changing. We highly recommend including the complete meal periods for all venues when making changes to confirm everything is complete, there are no conflicts, and the information is thoroughly up to date. 

Important to note - Meal Period changes/additions will not automatically update your logbook or saved reports. 

Change or Add a Revenue Center in Simphony Cloud

You can change or add revenue centers to your Simphony Cloud configuration and see them reflected in Avero by informing Avero Support of new RVCs to be mapped to your export. To add new RVCs to your Avero reporting open a request with Avero Support and include the following information:

  • RVC # (from Micros) for the new RVC(s)
  • Which existing outlet/Avero Business should this new RVC report into? If this new RVC should appear as a stand-alone outlet, let them know.
  • Complete meal periods for the new RVC, if it is a stand-alone
  • The first date of sales data in the new RVC (in case rerunning back data is necessary)

Categories & Items in Simphony Cloud

Avero provides the following Global categories: Beverage, Food, Misc., Other, and Retail. The major and minor categories come from your POS. 

To make changes to items you'll need to update your POS - changing an item name, price, or moving it between categories.

To make changes to major/minor categories you'll need to update your POS - changing category names, updating which items are in a category, making categories more specific, changing minor to major category relationships. 

To make changes to global categories, you'll need to open a ticket and request Avero makes the change. For example, if Appetizers are appearing under Beverage and need to be moved to Food. 

When creating new Categories, they may default to Other and require a ticket to update this mapping.

To read more see: Categories

Common Problems 

Any issues with the export - missing days, missing outlets, missing files, timing, or content discrepancies- require effort from Oracle to repair and all export issues need to be reported to Oracle as a Service Request. Avero can only process and display the data, we are not able to make any changes or corrections to the export, nor can we retrieve exports on demand. They must be sent or resent by Oracle if there is an issue. 

Simphony Cloud Missing Data

Missing data happens. We invest ourselves continuously into making this process faster and more reliable, but it is not, and will never be, error-proof. The internet goes down; equipment fails, bugs pop up, etc. Occasional delays are to be expected. For your system, open an SR Ticket with Oracle and request the missing data be resent, then open a ticket and list the dates you need Avero Support to reprocess. 

 

You can also manually send the export using the seps below:

Steps to Resend Oracle Export Manually (must have access):

  1. Login to R&A and navigate to the side menu:
  2. Select Configuration then  Export Maintenance

  3. Select the Avero export, specify the location, and choose the relevant business date. 

    • Please note that the export will only run for one business date at a time. If the need is for the export to be generated for multiple dates then it will need to be done one date at a time.

    • The Start Date and End Date fields should both be set to the business date that you want to run the export for.

    • ​

  4. Press Execute and confirm your selections, which puts the export on a queue that can be refreshed on the same page until the record is picked up (disappears).

Data Discrepancies - Avero's sales data is not matching Simphony Cloud

If you notice your sales data is not matching up with your Simphony Cloud reports, there are three actions you need to complete:

  1. Make sure the data discrepancy exists in Avero by logging in and running a sales report. If you notice incorrect data in an emailed report, it may be related to email settings and not the data itself. See our troubleshooting guide: Troubleshooting Email Reports with Missing or Incomplete Data
  2. Review the Differences between Simphony Cloud & Avero  to make sure this isn't the discrepancy you are noticing.
  3. Run a Revenue Center Financial Report from Micros Reporting & Analytics for the date in question, Open a Data Ticket, attach the report and explain the discrepancy. Make sure to include the report, the date, and the revenue center or location if you have access to several, as well as any examples you can provide. 

Our team investigates all data discrepancies - due to the nature of our daily data extraction a single date and single-day sales report must be provided. We cannot investigate date ranges, but it is helpful to know if the issue is recurring and you can provide multiple dates. 

 

Frequently Asked Questions About Simphony Cloud

Why don't Avero's sales look the same as my Simphony Cloud reports?

  • Avero sales do not include taxes, Simphony Cloud's Gross Sales do

  • Total Avero Net sales = Total Simphony Cloud Net Sales.

  • Category totals may not match due to check-level promotions

  • Taxes may not look like they match due to Simphony Cloud separating the taxes on comps/promotions. Totals will match. 

Is there any information Simphony Cloud doesn't export to Avero?

There are some data limitations you may notice based on what we receive from Simphony Cloud.

Simphony Cloud does not send the following data points: 

  • Transferred Check Information - The Simphony Cloud export does not provide any information on Transferred Checks - this means that you will not see what was transferred on or off checks nor the checks it was transferred to or received from. This can limit Loss Prevention reporting and can cause discrepancies if checks are transferred between outlets or business days. 
  • "Cashier" - if checks are frequently closed by a cashier position, this additional information will not be available
  • Item Transaction Time - Oracle's export only provides the Check Close Time for all check details, and not the actual time each item on a check was sold, therefore, Avero cannot display accurate item sales times, only the check close times for items sold. 
  • $0 Modifiers (Read more about this here: Modifiers)
  • Authorizing Employee for voids/promos
  • Table Number/Name - check data from Simphony Cloud does not include table information so you will not be able to use the Table Performance report, nor see that information in check reprints
  • Customer Name & Last 4 of CC for credit card payments - Oracle does not provide this reference information

Does Avero allocate sales to a meal period or time based on Check Open or Check Close?

Oracle provides data to Avero via a daily export, which contains all your sales information for the day. The exports provides the time for sales, checks, and items as the check close time so this is what is available in Avero. If you notice your meal periods or hourly sales don't match exactly what is listed in Micros R&A, it is because the exported data only includes the check close time for item sales. 

Does Avero pull credit card information from my Simphony Cloud system?

No. Avero pulls payment type information, such as what type of card is used and the amount of the payment from all systems. We do not have access to, collect or store, full or partial credit card numbers and Simphony Cloud does not provide reference information like Customer Name. 

Can Avero pull back / historical data from my Simphony Cloud POS?

The integration with Simphony Cloud relies on an export supplied by Oracle. If Oracle is able to provide exports for back data in the correct format, Avero can process and load them. The amount of back data that can be supplied is up to Oracle and your configuration. 

To request additional data be run, first request Oracle provide it to Avero in the same format as the daily data export, then open a ticket and list the dates you'd like Avero Support to run. 

 

Related articles