Help with Servery

Getting started

Entering your licence code

Tap the Servery wordmark at the top left to open Service & data, then Enter licence code. You'll need two things off your invoice: your service name and the code itself. Both have to match — the code is issued to your service, so capitals, spacing and punctuation don't matter but the words do.

Until a code goes in, Servery runs as a demo on a sample centre. You can open every screen and plan a week against it, but it won't take your own children, won't import a roster, won't let you change recipes and won't export an Evidence Pack. Entering your code offers to clear the sample centre so you start with an empty roster and a blank week; the recipe library stays, because those are starters you can edit or delete.

The check happens on the iPad, so it works with the wifi off, and the same code works on every iPad in your centre. Haven't got one? Email goodday@servery.com.au with your service name.

Adding your service details

Your service name is filled in from your licence. Add your ACECQA approval number in Service & data — both are printed at the top of every Evidence Pack, and an assessor matches them against their own record.

Getting your roster in

Children → Import roster reads a CSV. Column order doesn't matter, but the first row has to name them:

first_name, last_initial, age, requirement, severity, allergens, plan_expiry

Severity is one of anaphylaxis, allergy, intolerance, texture or preference. Separate multiple allergens with a semicolon. Servery shows you exactly what it read and which rows it couldn't, before anything is added — and re-importing the same file updates children rather than duplicating them.

One requirement per row. A child with both an allergy and a texture modification needs a second pass in the child form.

Setting up the kitchen iPad

Set a passcode on it. Servery's records are encrypted while the iPad is locked, but that protection needs a passcode to work — the Service & data screen tells you which state you're in.

Common questions

Why won't the week publish?

Because something on it conflicts with a child's requirement and nothing has been decided about it. The button stays visible and tells you how many children are affected. You have two ways to resolve it, and both count: swap the ingredient, or record a separate plate. Recording a plate isn't dismissing the problem — it puts a prep step on Kitchen Today and a note in the Evidence Pack.

I swapped an ingredient and the dish changed on another day too

That's deliberate. A swap is a decision about the recipe, so it applies everywhere that recipe appears in the week you're looking at. Other weeks aren't touched, and published weeks are never rewritten.

I edited a recipe but last month's menu didn't change

Also deliberate. Once a week is published it's a record of what was actually served, so editing a recipe updates draft weeks only. To change a published week, open it and replace the dish — which returns it to draft until you republish.

Where is my data kept?

On that iPad, in the app's private storage. Nothing about a child is ever sent to us, which is why Servery keeps working with no internet.

Because it lives on the device, keep your own copies of anything you're required to retain — export the Evidence Pack for each week you publish and file it wherever you keep your other compliance records. Syncing across devices is what we're building next.

Which nutrition guideline does it use?

Whichever state you're in — all eight are loaded. Pick yours on the Service & data screen, or from the Evidence Pack. There's no national standard, and the states publish different numbers, so the pack always states which one it used and where those figures came from.

New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland come from the guideline documents themselves. ACT, the Northern Territory, South Australia and Tasmania come from a published comparison, because those guidelines sit behind member access or are no longer government-endorsed — the pack says so on its face when you use one. Western Australia doesn't publish a guideline at all, so Servery assesses against half the Australian Dietary Guidelines and says that too.

The coverage analysis is currently marked provisional. The guideline figures come from the publishers' own documents, but our estimate of what each recipe contributes hasn't been reviewed by a dietitian yet. Don't present it as a nutritional assessment until it has been.

What does “per centre” cover?

One approved service — one ACECQA service approval number. That covers every meal you serve, every child, every staff member and as many iPads as you like. It is not charged per meal service, and not per device.

It doesn't stretch across two centres, because the service approval number is printed on the records it produces. If you run several, email us — it's cheaper per centre from three.

What happens if the licence lapses?

Servery goes read-only. Nothing is deleted and nothing is hidden — every week, child and history entry stays on the iPad and stays on screen, and the allergen checks keep working, because an unpaid invoice is not a reason to stop telling a cook about a peanut. You just can't add to it or export a new pack until a new code goes in. We'll email you before it happens.

How do I remove everything?

Service & data → Erase everything. It destroys every child, week, recipe and history entry on the device, including copies set aside after a failed load. It can't be undone, so export anything you're required to keep before you do it. Your licence and service details aren't affected — you won't have to re-enter your code.

Requirements

• iPad running iPadOS 17 or later
• Designed for landscape, on the current and previous two major iPadOS versions
• No internet connection needed to plan, publish or export

Contact

Support — support@servery.com.au
Privacy — privacy@servery.com.au
Anything else — goodday@servery.com.au

Nexcentric Pty Ltd, Queensland, Australia.