Before changing pricing
- Export or record current rates, taxes, account types, and POS settings.
- Check whether the venue uses prepaid codes, member accounts, manual timers, or mixed billing.
- Make changes during quiet hours so staff can test real customer scenarios before reopening.
Three billing modes
Archived CyberCafePro installations generally support three ways to charge for a session. Play and pay lets a customer sit down, use the computer, and settle the bill at the front desk once finished, which is the simplest option but does not guarantee payment before use. Timecode mode is prepaid: a minimum five-character alphanumeric code is stored on the server, the client checks it continuously during the session, and unused time carries forward, so a customer who buys an hour and leaves after twenty minutes can return later for the remaining forty. Account mode works the same way as timecodes but ties prepaid time to a username and password instead of a one-time code, which suits membership pricing and repeat customers better than an anonymous code.
Account and timecode setup
Timecode and account defaults are configured from the admin console under accounts and codes setup, an area that should be limited to trusted staff since it controls how every sale on the location is charged. The setup screen covers:
- The length of each generated timecode.
- The default amount of time added when staff issue a new code or account top-up.
- Whether two or more timecodes can be merged into one.
- The minimum amount of time deducted the moment a session starts, which discourages very short logins used only to check something quickly.
- Whether a session can continue into overtime once purchased time runs out.
- How much time is deducted for each print job.
- Whether customers can edit their own account details from the client screen.
Preventing time theft
A known gap in older client-billing software involves programs that launch automatically with Windows and reach the internet outside the timed session, since the client only closes programs it recognizes as non-essential at session end. The practical fix is to keep client PCs free of unrelated software configured to start with Windows, aside from security tools such as antivirus, and to offer any additional programs as launcher shortcuts instead so they only run inside a paid session. A periodic review of installed programs on each client is the most reliable way to confirm none have been added with that startup behavior.
Restricting internet access
Internet access can be restricted at two levels. Location-wide, each account type, meaning user accounts, timecodes, or play and pay, can have desktop access, internet access, and launch pad access enabled or disabled independently, which allows a location to offer a cheaper desktop-only or gaming-only rate alongside full internet pricing. Per account, an individual user account can also be marked with no internet access regardless of the location-wide default, which suits venues such as community centers or study rooms that want computer access without general internet browsing.
Pricing areas to review
- Hourly rates, time blocks, discounts, free minutes, and promotional periods.
- Account and time-code behavior, including expiration and partial balances.
- Tax setup, receipt text, product categories, and product-level pricing.
- Manual timers, open sessions, and how extensions are handled at the cashier desk.
Operational checks
- Start and end a test session on a client PC and confirm the expected charge.
- Sell a product through POS and verify receipt, tax, and shift reporting.
- Test a refund or correction workflow so staff know what to do under pressure.