Before commencing the setup of the voucher bar code and printing of the barcodes. It is important to understand how the bar code can be formatted. The format of the code is broken down into 5 parts. Each part can be as big or small as necessary to cover the requirements.

Type - This is the type code for the voucher and should be any number that identifies the type of voucher. e.g. Green Waste = 01

Season - This will be a code that represents the season. The season is separate to pricing seasons and is managed under the categories tab in the Administration program

Limit - This is used to code the maximum number of times a voucher can be used at any site.

Issue - This field is used to identify the issue number for a the barcode. So if a voucher is reissued then this number should increase to 2 . This ensures that the bar code is different to the previous issue.

Reference - This can be any number to identify the recipient of the voucher.

When about to send a new range of vouchers you should ensure that the format of the code uses these parts. The size of each part can vary but the numbers used must be padded out to the defined size of the code. e.g. You have decided to make the Limit part a maximum of 3 characters. If the limit is the 4 then the code should show 004 as this is the value 4 padded to meet the maximum file size.

Note: These parts can be placed in any order in the code. E.g. the first part could be the Issue number.

This an example of how a bar code could be defined for use by residents of a council when they are delivering green waste.

The bar code parts and max sizes will be as follows:

Season - 4 characters

Type - 2 characters

Reference - 6 characters

Issue - 1 character

Limit - 1 character

In the example code shown above the first part is the season which is identified by the code 2013, in the Administration program this will be set as starting '01/07/2013' and ending '15/07/2014' the end date extends bast the 1st to allow a grace period for usage of the old vouches.

The next part of is the type code which in this case is 01. This code is then set against the payment type in administration so that when scanned the system will automatically apply the code if it is applicable for the product selected in the transaction.

The large number in the middle is the reference number and in this case represents the rate payer rates notice identification number.

The issue part is next and is set to 0 as this is the default issue of the code and will be increased by 1 each time the customer is issued a new code for what ever reason.

The final part is the limit code and shows how many times the voucher can be used before the system will no longer accept it.

Go to the Payment Type tab in the Administration program and do the following.

1. Click on the Add button to add a new payment type
2. Enter the name of the voucher payment type
3. Check the Electronic ID Verification Required check box.
4. Check the Advanced Voucher check box.

The value for the voucher can be set as either of the following:

Variable - This will default to the total of the transaction but allow the operator to change it.

Fixed - The voucher will have a specific monetary value which will be used like cash to reduce the cost of the transaction. If the voucher is worth less than the transaction value then the remainder can be paid by another payment method.

Transaction Total - This can be set to a percentage of the the total amount. So the voucher could be for a 20% discount on the total price.

Product - Using this option will use the price of the product multiplied by the quantity value as the voucher value. This will mean that the value of a voucher could be managed by the product price season.

1. Add a message that is displayed if the voucher is selected by the operator. Leave blank for the default message.
2. Enter the code for the payment type. Should be padded to the maximum size for the part in the bar code.

The bar code is formatted using a regular expression. This is a way of coding formatting of a text value. You do not not need to know the complexity of this language, the following will provide enough knowledge to form the code.

Each part of the bar code is formatted in the following way (?<part name>\d{max size]). An example of this for the season part used in the above example would be (?<season>\d{4}) .

The \d means that only decimal values are accepted. It is possible to replace this with a coding that will restrict the values to a particular range. The simplest form is to restrict a one digit code by replacing \d with [[lowest number]-[highest number]] . Larger numbers are a bit more complex to setup but you can use the following web tool to define what the code is that should be inserted in place of the \d and { } (you will need to remove the \b from the start and end of the what this tool produces).

The part names that can be used are <type> <season> <limit> <issue> and <reference> .

Each of the bar code part formats is then combined into one long expression and a ^ symbol added to the beginning and a $ symbol added to the end.

The bar code format for the one shown above will be ^(?<season>\d{4})(?<type>\d{2})(?<reference>\d{6})(?<issue>\d{1})(?<limit>\d{1})$ .

Note: It is possible to configure a default barcode format in Configuration manager ( Payment Options section of the General tab ). Setting the format here means that any advanced voucher setup without the EID format will default to this format.

To restrict the usage of a voucher on one or more products. Use the manage favorites button to bring up the above screen. From here you can add and remove products from the usage list.

If you have a cash draw configured in Mandalay CS ticketing then it is possible for the cash draw to not be opened when a voucher is selected. Use the above option on the voucher to set this.

Once the payment type is established then a season should be configured for the voucher season you are about to issue. Go to the Categories tab and change the Filter type to Voucher Season then follow these steps.

1. Press the Add button
2. Enter the name of the season
3. Make sure the type is Voucher Season
4. Enter the valid code for the season. This is the number that will appear in the bar code to identify the vouchers valid season.
5. Enter the seasons start and end date. The bar code will only be valid during these period.
6. Click Apply