Case studyFeatured
NFC Lunch App – Tap-to-Buy Canteen System
Replaced cash handling at the company canteen with NFC tap-to-buy. Employees tap badges, purchases sync to payroll, and the canteen eliminated cash entirely.
Full-stackInternal toolsIntegrationHardware
PHPMySQLNFC Web APIMaterializeCSSAzure AD / MSALPDO
Client
Dialogue One A/S
Industry
Internal operations
Role
Full-stack developer
Timeframe
2020
Location
Copenhagen, Denmark
Published
Jun 1, 2020
Context
The company canteen used paper lists and cash to track lunch purchases. Staff queued to pay, totals were tallied manually, and reconciliation was slow and error-prone. We needed a faster, cashless system that tied purchases directly to payroll.
Approach
- NFC tap-to-buy: Staff tap their badge (NFC chip) at checkout. The app reads the chip ID, links it to their employee profile, and logs the purchase instantly.
- Azure AD SSO: Authentication via MSAL ensures only employees can access the system, with admin screens for canteen staff.
- MySQL with stored procedures: Purchases are recorded with timestamps and item details. Stored procedures generate reports by date range or employee for payroll deduction.
- MaterializeCSS frontend: Clean, responsive UI for product selection, checkout, and admin dashboards.
Highlights
- One-tap checkout eliminates queuing and cash handling friction.
- Reports are generated instantly for payroll integration. No manual tallying.
- On-premise hosting keeps employee data within company infrastructure.
- Admin screens let canteen staff manage products, prices, and suppliers.
Impact
- Eliminated cash handling at the canteen entirely.
- Faster checkout via NFC reduced queue times significantly.
- Accurate payroll integration through automated reporting.
- Still in daily use years after deployment with minimal maintenance.