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- Meal Payments - SchoolCafé
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Meal Payments - Pay Online
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LCS Dining Services began using the app, SchoolCafé, for meal payments on March 1st, 2023. SchoolCafé is designed to provide parents with a safe and convenient way to prepay for students' meals online.SchoolCafe.com makes managing your child's school meal account easier!
- An online record of your child's eating history
- Fund your student's account online anytime
- Check your student's account balance
- Setup email notification of account balances (limit is set by user)
- Prepay with your credit card, debit card, or check
- Available 24/7 for your convenience
- No more lost or stolen money
- Quick, easy, and secure
Click on the image below to get started. You will also find links to the SchoolCafé Mobile App available on the Apple App Store and Google Play.Send Check or Cash optionFamilies can also send a check or cash to fund student meals by placing the check or cash into an envelope with the student's name, pin number, and teacher's name on the outside.Should you have questions about the system or your student’s account, please contact Dining Services at 850-717-2299.
How do I use SchoolCafé? - Training Videos
SchoolCafé Quick Card Guide
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FAQ's
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Registration
Q: What information do I need to have before registering with SchoolCafé?
- Check to see if your school district utilizes SchoolCafé for one or more services. (Yes, Leon county does)
- A valid email address and phone number for all future service communications.
Q: Why didn't I receive a confirmation email?
Some common problems are:
- Email sent may have automatically been removed or moved to your junk mail box because of your mailbox settings. In this case, check your email settings.
- The email address you provided during registration might not be correct. Please log in and verify that the correct email address is listed on your My Profile page.
- If both of the above reasons are not applicable, please contact us using the Support page on your account.
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Login - Forgot Username / Password
Login - Forgot Username / Password
Q: What should I do if the system doesn't accept my username and password?
If you do not remember your username:
- On the Sign-In screen, select the Forgot Username? link.
- Enter your email address.
- Select the Retrieve Username button. Your username will then be emailed to you.
Q: What should I do if I forgot my password?
- On the Sign In screen, select the Forgot Password? link.
- Enter your username and email address, then select Next.
- Answer your Security Question.
- Enter your new password and re-enter your new password, then select Login.
Q: What should I do if I forgot my security question and answer?
- If you have forgotten the answer to your security question, please use the Contact Us! link on your district homepage, or the Support link in the navigation menu of your account, and send a message providing us with your username and/or email address.
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Student Accounts
Q: What information do I need to add students (or, in some cases, staff) to my account?
First, it is important that you understand the Privacy Policy before you add a student or staff to your account, in order to understand how data is shared between your school district and SchoolCafé. In addition, you will need:
- A school district-provided Student ID for the student.
- Name of the school in which your student is enrolled.
- (Varies) Some districts will also require your student's birth date or other information.
Q: I get an error message starting with 'No result found...' whenever I try to add a student. What should I do?
- Ensure that all information entered matches the information on file at the school district. Sometimes, you may be entering a PIN when the district is requiring you to enter the Student ID, and these might be two different numbers.
- If you are still unable to add a student, contact your school district to verify student details. You can find their contact information on the Support page of your SchoolCafé account.
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Payments
Q: How do I transfer funds from one student to another or obtain unused funds?
- If you do not see a link to transfer funds, or a link to request unused funds, on the dashboard of your SchoolCafé account, please contact your school district’s Child Nutrition Office. SchoolCafé does not have direct access to your funds. You can find the contact information for the Child Nutrition Office on the Support page of your SchoolCafé account.
Q: How do I make a payment?
- You can make a payment using any of the payment sources accepted for your district by either entering the details or by selecting one of your saved payment sources from your Payment Info menu. On your Dashboard, select Make a Payment, or expand the student/staff details of a person on your account and select Automatic Payment.
Q: Which Payment Sources are accepted?
- SchoolCafé accepts payments by credit/debit cards with the Visa or MasterCard logo, but some districts may accept additional payment sources as well. Any payment sources accepted for your district will be displayed on many payment screens in SchoolCafé.
Q: What types of payments are available on SchoolCafé?
- Payments can be set up as either One-Time or Automatic (triggered any time your student's account falls below your pre-determined limit).
- Some districts may also allow payments to be made toward other district items, such as yearbooks or field trips, as well. Check with your school to confirm payment options regarding such items.
Q: When will my account be charged when I make a payment?
- SchoolCafé charges the payment source you chose at the time of payment, and provides transaction information immediately. Depending on the payment source and your bank, there may be a delay of at least 1-2 days before the transaction appears on your bank statement.
Q: When will the individuals on my account be able to use the monies from my online payment?
- Payments made online will generally be available to your student at the school within 20 minutes, although sometimes they may take up to 24-48 hours under certain circumstances.
Q: I just made an online payment. Why does the balance not reflect my payment?
- Normally, the balance should reflect your payment immediately. SchoolCafé requires coordination and data transfer with your school district for both payment and sales information in order to complete the process. All payment and sales data should be on the site within 20 minutes of your payments, and usually no more than 24-48 hours if there is an issue with the network at the school.
Q: What is an 'Automatic Payment' and what do I need to set it up?
- Automatic payment is designed for users who like to replenish their student's cafeteria account whenever the balance falls below a specified amount.
To set up an automatic payment:
- Add a valid payment source to your account either through the Payment Info menu (in the 'Payment Sources' tab), or on the Automatic Payment pop-up itself in the expanded details of individuals on your Dashboard.
- On the Automatic Payment pop-up, select the payment amount to be replenished, the payment threshold, and the payment source.
- Add an expiration date for the setting that ends before the payment source expires.
Q: What if I set up an Automatic Payment and the credit/debit card I used has expired?
- The payment will not be approved and you will receive an email specifying the reason. You will then need to update the credit/debit card so that payments can be approved.
Q: Can my automatic payment be removed without my knowledge?
- When a payment is processed and fails, whether it is a One-Time or an Automatic Payment, we will remove all Automatic Payment settings associated with the failed payment source.
- If any of your students' cafeteria accounts are combined by your school, and any automatic payments are affected as a result, some settings may be removed automatically. You will be notified of this by email and may need to re-enter Automatic Payment settings for your students.
Q: What are Bonus, Minimum and Maximum payment amounts?
Bonus
- Some school districts offer a bonus amount for payments exceeding a particular amount made to a student cafeteria account. Please check with your school district to see if they participate in this program.
Minimum and Maximum Amounts
- Most school districts accept online payments for school cafeteria accounts only within a specified range. Please check with your school district for these amounts. These amounts will also be shown in SchoolCafé.
Q: What is the convenience fee and how is it calculated?
- For either One-Time or an Automatic Payments, SchoolCafé adds a small fee to all online payments made (not including any applicable bonus amount). This is done in order to provide you with features such as detailed purchase history from the school cafeteria, low balance reminders, fast payment processing and more. And, as you may expect with other online services (such as purchasing movie or concert tickets), these fees cover the operational and administrative costs of providing the convenience of paying online.
- The convenience fee information is displayed on each payment page. If you have any questions regarding how it is calculated, please contact your school district. You can find their information on the Support page of your SchoolCafé account.
Q: What happens if my payment is declined due to a problem with my credit card?
- If the declined card is saved in your Payment Sources, it may be removed.
- Any Automatic payments using this credit card may be removed.
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Security
Q: How secure is SchoolCafé?
- SchoolCafé follows industry best practices in maintaining security. We use 128-bit encryption to secure data transfer between your browser and our server. From the time you login until the time you logout, all data is encrypted.
Q: How secure is my credit card information?
- All credit card information is encrypted. We make sure our systems are reliable and secure to thwart any attacks of identity theft.
- We maintain very strict security features. Our employees do not have access to your credit card information, as this data is encrypted when it is stored in our system.
Q: How secure is my account while processing payments?
- SchoolCafé uses the highest level of internet security (128 bit encryption) to assure secure, reliable transactions. We use the same security encryption as many major e-commerce web sites. You can be certain that your payment is secure.
Q: Why do I have to provide my password for certain transactions?
- SchoolCafé uses the highest level of internet security for all transactions, but certain payment transactions may require us to verify your identity again before processing. If we need your password for the transaction, you will be asked to enter it directly on the screen where you are authorizing your payment. You can be certain that your payment is secure whether you are asked for your password or not.
Contact
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Brandon WallaceIT Project Manager3397 W. Tharpe St.Tallahassee, FL 32303wallaceb1@leonschools.net
(850) 717-2287SchoolCafé Contact Information:
SchoolCafe.comOpening in a new window
1-855-PAY-2EAT / 1-855-729-2328
customercare@schoolcafe.com