Coatesville Area School District
Food Service Department

Point of Sale System (POS)

The Food Service Department of the Coatesville Area School District uses a computerized meal accountability system, or point-of-sale (POS), for the management of school meals. The POS system helps improve the efficiency of the serving lines, allowing students more time to enjoy their meal. The system also provides a convenient and secure way for parents to pre-pay for their children's meals.

Frequently Asked Questions
What is Point-of-Sale?
A Point-of-Sale is a system that will allow food service to track certain federal guidelines regarding menu planning. It also eliminates the need for students to carry cash on a daily basis, thereby speeding up meal service.

 How does the system work?
All students in grades K through 12 have a Personal Identification Number (PIN) to access their meal account. As the student goes through the cafeteria line, he/she will enter his/her PIN on the keypad at the register. This will electronically record the student's meal by category, debit the student's account or ask for money. If a PIN has already been used during that meal period for a meal, the cashier will be alerted that a meal has already been taken.

Parents/Guardians are encouraged to put money in their child(ren)'s account. For example, by putting $25.00 into your child's account he or she will be able to purchase any breakfast, lunch, milk or snack item using this money. Pre-paying will speed the cafeteria lines and will also eliminate the worry of students losing their money. This system will automatically credit or debit the student's account and tell the student when the account balance is low.

How can I deposit money in my child(ren)'s account?
There are two methods in which you may deposit money into your student's account.

1. PayPAMS (Parent Account Management System) is a pre-payment system that works with the food service software to allow parents to make deposits to their child's account via the web. Parents are able to create an account on the PayPAMS website, at www.paypams.com which allows you to securely deposit money into your child(ren)'s account. Additionally, the website allows you to monitor meal account activity, view daily balances, cash or check payments, daily spending, cafeteria purchases and have access to email notifications, and automatic payments.

2. Parents/Guardians may send a check payable to "Coatesville Area School District Food Services". Please place pre-payment money in a sealed envelope and include the following information: student's name, student's homeroom number and the dollar amount enclosed. This envelope should be given directly to the Food Service Manager at your child(ren)'s school in the morning.