Selling Items by Weight on the Orda Kiosk

This guide is for merchants and staff who configure their menu in Square. It explains how to set up a weighed item (salad bar, hot bar, bulk, deli - anything priced by weight) so it works with the Star Micronics scale and the Orda Express kiosk.

The one rule that makes everything work: a by-weight item must be set up in Square as sold by a measurement unit (Ounce, Gram, or Pound) with a decimal precision. A normal item priced "per Each" cannot be sold by weight - the kiosk needs the measurement unit to know how to price the weight. The rest of this guide walks through exactly that.

How it works

1. The customer taps your weighed item (e.g. "Salad Bar") and picks a container.

2. The kiosk tells them to place the container on the scale.

3. The scale measures the gross weight; the kiosk subtracts the container's tare (so the customer pays for food, not the container).

4. The kiosk sends the net weight to Square, and Square multiplies it by your per-unit price and adds tax.

5. The customer sees the price and taps Add Item.

For this to work, each weighed item variation needs the following in Square:

A measurement unit (Ounce / Gram / Pound) + precision

Lets Square accept a decimal weight and price it

Square item Unit type (Step 3)

A per-unit price (price per oz / g / lb)

Square multiplies this by the weight

The variation price (Step 4)

orda-units (custom attribute)

Declares the unit - oz / g / lb - so the kiosk and scale agree

Orda attribute (Step 5)

orda-tare-units (custom attribute)

The empty-container weight to subtract

Orda attribute (Step 5)

Before you start

• The scale must be paired to the kiosk (a staff member does this once on the kiosk's Connect Scale screen - see your install instructions).

• Decide your unit: ounces (oz), grams (g), or pounds (lb). It must match the unit the scale displays. If your scale shows ounces, use Ounce in Square.

• Decide your price per unit (e.g. $0.50 per ounce) and your container tare weights.

Step 1 - Create the item

In Square Dashboard → Items & Orders → Items → Create an item.

• Name it clearly for customers, e.g. Salad Bar.

• Add an image, category, and tax as you would for any item (tax applies automatically to the weighed price).

Step 2 - Create a variation for each container

Each variation is a container/vessel choice the customer can pick - because different containers have different tare (empty) weights.

• Add a variation per container, e.g. 1st container, 2nd container (or "Small bowl", "Large box", etc.).

• If you only have one container, a single variation is fine - the customer won't have to choose.

Step 3 - Set the unit type to a weight unit (with precision)

This is the most important step. For each weighed variation, set how it's sold:

1. On the variation, find the Unit type (Square may call this "Sold by" / "Unit & precision").

2. Choose a weight unit:

• Ounce → the kiosk reads this as oz

• Gram → g

• Pound → lb

3. Set the Precision (number of decimal places) - how exact the weight is:

• 1 decimal place (e.g. 56.4 oz) is recommended for most food.

• Use 2 or 3 only if you need finer granularity (e.g. expensive bulk goods).

Naming a custom unit? If your Square plan has you create a custom unit instead of picking the built-in Ounce/Gram/Pound, name its abbreviation exactly oz, g, or lb - the kiosk and scale track the item by that unit, so the name must match. Built-in Ounce/Gram/Pound are preferred because they're already recognized.

Do not leave the unit as "Each." "Each" only allows whole numbers (1, 2, 3) - the kiosk can't send a weight like 56.4 to an "Each" item, and the weighed flow won't appear.

Step 4 - Set the price as the price per unit

The variation's price is the price for ONE unit of weight - per ounce, per gram, or per pound (matching Step 3).

• Example: to charge $8.00 per pound, and your unit is Ounce, set the price to $0.50 ($8.00 ÷ 16 oz).

• Example: to charge $0.50 per ounce, set the price to $0.50 with unit Ounce.

Square will calculate the line total automatically: price per unit × net weight. You don't enter a total - just the per-unit price.

Step 5 - Set the Orda attributes: orda-units and orda-tare-units

Alongside the Square measurement unit, each weighed variation carries two Orda custom attributes. These tell the kiosk how to read the scale and how much to subtract for the container.

orda-units - the unit (text)

• What it is: the unit the item is weighed and priced in - one of oz, g, or lb.

• Why: it tells the kiosk and the scale to agree on the unit. Set it to match the Square measurement unit from Step 3 and the scale's display unit - e.g. if the variation is sold by Ounce and the scale shows ounces, set orda-units = oz.

• Type: text (string).

• Case & spelling are flexible: oz, OZ, Ounce, and ounces are all understood (and likewise g/gram, lb/pound). Lower-case oz/g/lb is the tidy default, but you won't break anything by matching how Square or the scale capitalizes it.

orda-tare-units - the container tare (number)

• What it is: the weight of the empty container, which the kiosk subtracts so the customer only pays for the food.

• Why: the customer is charged on net weight (gross − tare), not the gross including the bowl.

• Type: number, in the same unit as orda-units (e.g. with orda-units = oz, a value of 2.0 means 2 ounces).

• Set it per variation - each container has its own tare.

Where to set these: orda-units and orda-tare-units are Orda custom attributes, not standard Square price fields. Depending on your account you set them through the Orda setup tool / dashboard (or, if your team uses Square custom attributes directly, as a STRING attribute named orda-units and a NUMBER attribute named orda-tare-units on the variation). Your Orda contact will show you exactly where.

Defaults if missing: if orda-tare-units isn't set, the kiosk uses 0 (the customer pays for the full gross weight including the container) - so always set it. Keep orda-units consistent with the Square measurement unit; if they disagree with the scale's unit, the kiosk will block adding and ask staff to check the setup (it never silently converts).

Step 6 - Verify on the kiosk

1. Make sure the scale is paired (staff Connect Scale screen).

2. Wait for the kiosk to refresh its menu (it picks up catalog changes automatically; this can take a few minutes - staff can force a refresh on the Connect Scale screen).

3. Tap your weighed item on the kiosk. You should see:

• The container choices you created (Step 2).

• A weight panel asking the customer to place the item on the scale.

• The Add Item button stays disabled until the weight is stable, then shows the calculated price.

4. Place a known weight on the scale and confirm the price = per-unit price × (weight − tare).

Worked example - "Salad Bar"

Setting

1st container

2nd container

Unit type (Square)

Ounce, precision 1

Ounce, precision 1

Price (per ounce)

$0.50

$0.50

orda-units

oz

oz

orda-tare-units

2.0

3.0

A customer fills the 1st container; the scale reads 11.4 oz (food + container):

net   = 11.4 oz − 2.0 oz (tare) = 9.4 oz
price = $0.50 × 9.4         = $4.70   (plus tax)

The basket shows: Salad Bar - 1st container · 9.4 oz × $0.50/oz · $4.70.

Checklist before going live

• ☐ Item created with a clear customer-facing name and tax.

• ☐ A variation for each container.

• ☐ Every weighed variation's Unit type is Ounce / Gram / Pound (not "Each"), with a precision set.

• ☐ orda-units set to oz / g / lb, matching both the Square Unit type and what the scale displays.

• ☐ orda-tare-units set per variation to the empty container's weight (same unit).

• ☐ The price is the price per unit (per oz / g / lb), not a flat price.

• ☐ Verified on the kiosk: weight panel appears, Add Item gates on stability, and the price matches price × (weight − tare).

Common mistakes & FAQ

• "The weighed screen never appears on the kiosk."The variation is probably still set to "Each." Set its Unit type to Ounce/Gram/Pound (Step 3). Also confirm the kiosk has refreshed its menu and the scale is paired.

• "The price is wrong / way too high or low."You likely set the price as a total instead of per unit. The price field is the price for one ounce/gram/pound (Step 4). Re-check against the worked example.

• "It's charging for the container weight."The tare isn't set (or is too low). Set orda-tare-units per variation to the empty container's weight (Step 5).

• "The weight unit looks wrong."The scale's display unit must match the Square Unit type. If the scale shows ounces, the variation must be Ounce. The kiosk does not auto-convert between units.

• "Can different containers have different prices?"Yes - set a different per-unit price on each variation if needed. Most setups use the same per-unit price and only differ by tare.

• "Do modifiers work?"Yes - but be careful with priced modifiers: Square multiplies a modifier's price by the weight, so a $1.00 modifier on a 9.4 oz item charges $9.40 (it acts like "+$1.00 per ounce"). Use $0.00 modifiers on weighed items (choices, preparation notes), or price a modifier only if you truly mean a per-ounce/gram/pound surcharge (e.g. "+$0.10/oz premium topping").

• "What precision should I pick?"1 decimal place is right for almost all food. Higher precision (2–3) only matters for fine/expensive bulk goods. The kiosk rounds the scale reading to whatever precision you set.