The problem with crossing a border
A brand that does well in one GCC country often opens the next branch across the border: a Dubai cafe opens in Muscat, a Riyadh burger chain opens in Kuwait. Suddenly the menu has to sell in a second currency with different prices, the VAT rate is different, the clock may be an hour off, and the owner wants to see total sales without converting numbers in a spreadsheet. Many systems force a separate account per country. Wink You keeps every branch on one account and lets each branch sell in its own currency.
Each branch has its own currency and time zone
When you add a branch (Branches, then Add Branch), you check its Currency and Timezone. The branch uses them for prices, receipts, reports and opening hours. Your main currency starts as the currency of your first branch, and product, combo and option prices are typed in it. A branch whose currency differs from the main one is a branch in another currency, and it follows one simple, strict rule.
The rule: every item needs a price in that branch’s currency
A branch in another currency sells only the items that have their own price there. Wink You never converts your prices by itself, because 28 in one currency is not 28 in another, and a silent conversion would put the wrong price on a tax invoice. Until a price is set, the POS refuses the item with a clear message that it has no price for this branch yet, and the QR menu leaves it off. You set the prices in three places:
- Products: open the product, scroll to Availability and display, and type the Branch price for that branch, then Save Changes.
- Combos: in Menu Setup, Combo Meals, edit the combo and fill Prices at branches in another currency.
- Paid options: in Menu Setup, Modifiers, edit the group and fill Option prices at branches in another currency. Free options need no price.
On the QR Digital Menu, a paid option with no price at that branch is hidden. If a guest already had it in the cart, for example because they switched branch, the cart takes it off and tells them, and a required choice reopens so they can pick another option. These extra price fields only appear once you have a branch in another currency; a single currency business sees one price everywhere.
VAT, offers and gift cards per branch
- VAT is set per branch under Configure, VAT Configuration: included in the price, added at checkout, or no VAT, with its own rate. Only the business owner can change it.
- A branch’s Currency and VAT rate cannot change while that branch has an open cash drawer or unpaid orders.
- A Limited Time Offer with a Fixed Amount for All branches shows Not applied in a business with several currencies. Use a percentage, or pick one branch.
- A gift card takes the currency of its first load for life, and pays only bills in that currency.
Checklist for a branch in a new country
- Add the branch with the right Currency and Timezone. If you leave the timezone untouched, it is taken from your main branch or the branch country, so check it.
- Set the branch VAT: pricing mode, name and rate.
- Fill a Branch price for every product you will sell there, then combos and paid options.
- Check the menu on the POS and on the QR Digital Menu for that branch. Anything without a price simply will not appear, which is the quickest way to spot a gap.
- Review offers: switch fixed amount offers to that branch or to a percentage.
See all branches in one currency
When your branches really use more than one currency, Reports shows a Currency box. Keep All Branches, choose the currency, and the totals are converted at reference exchange rates, with a note giving the date of the rates. If a rate is missing, a warning says some amounts are left out and the totals are incomplete, rather than showing a number you cannot trust. Each branch’s own reports, receipts and tax invoices stay in its own currency.
When the main currency changes
The main currency follows your branches, carefully. With one active branch, changing its Currency changes the main currency too, which is how you correct a currency picked at sign up. Adding a branch in another currency, or switching one off, never changes it. Moving every branch to a new currency is done one branch at a time, and when the last branch in the old currency moves, the main currency moves with it. Prices keep their numbers when that happens, so check them afterwards. Only the business owner can change a branch’s Currency.
Frequently asked questions
Can I run branches in two GCC countries on one account?
Yes. Each branch has its own currency, time zone and VAT, and you manage them from the same Business Admin.
Why does my new branch say an item has no price?
The branch sells in another currency, so it needs its own Branch price for that product, and for combos and paid options.
How do I see total sales across currencies?
Open Reports with All Branches and pick a currency in the Currency box. Totals are converted at reference rates.
Does Wink You convert my menu prices automatically?
No. Every price at a branch in another currency is one you set, so the till and the tax invoice always show the price you chose.
Branches and currencies are managed in winkyou.com/products/business-admin. Watch winkyou.com/support/settings-and-account/how-to-add-a-branch, winkyou.com/support/menu-and-products/how-to-set-a-different-price-at-one-branch and winkyou.com/support/menu-and-products/how-to-price-combos-and-add-ons-in-another-currency.
