Flash PARCS: Offline Mode

Modified on Fri, 1 Nov at 6:15 PM

The Flash PARCS Offline Mode enhancements allow a Flash PARCS location to continue operating when the Payment Gateway, Local ISP, or the Flash Cloud services are unavailable. The enhancements are designed to make sure the parkers' experience isn’t disrupted allowing for ingress and egress as if online, and also ensures operator revenue is protected and reported on accurately.

What is offline?

When a PARCS location goes offline, the standard functionality of kiosks, gates, and payment processing is impacted because the internet connection is necessary to carry out many of these functions.

A PARCS location is considered “offline” when any of the three essential internet connection components experience a failure. These components include:

Cloud Server Connection: Powering the cloud services that facilitate various functionalities.
Local Internet Connection: Provided by the Internet Service Provider (ISP) at the specific location.
Payment Gateway Service: Facilitating the processing of online payments.

Offline Mode Enhancements

The enhanced Offline Mode is built into the Flash PARCS application and is designed to detect offline events and automatically switch to Offline Mode to ensure the location continues its operations using the most recently stored data.

Key Developments of Offline Mode:

Connection stability detection layer
Rate Structures and calculations are available at the garage level
Parker session is synced and stored locally (Monthly, eParking, etc)
Data Hydration to cloud when systems are back online/stable
Kiosks can be restarted even if “offline”
Enhanced revenue protection during Hybrid or Store and Forward modes

Hybrid Mode

Hybrid Mode occurs when all other services are available except the connection to the Flash cloud server (Flash backend services). The Location is able to continue most functionalities because the Flash application pulls down the most recent key data from the server and acts as an interim while the cloud server is unavailable. Any transactions or parking events (entries, exits, etc) that occur during Hybrid Mode are processed in real time because the Flash Hybrid Mode bridges the connection to the other online systems. The data and activity are saved during Hybrid Mode and syndicated back to the Flash Cloud Server once the connection is re-established.

Offline and Store and Forward

If the local internet network or payment gateway is unavailable, but the Flash Cloud Server is online, all payment transactions will be captured through a store-and-forward method. The Flash system will retain encrypted credit card information while maintaining PCI compliance and will attempt to process the transaction once connectivity is restored.

Store and Forward is currently only compatible with the USAePay gateway. Windcave does not currently support stored payment information during an Offline event. In the case of a Hyrbid event (Flash Cloud Services down) transactions will continue to process in real-time for both USAePay and Windcave.

Visual Indicators

Online
Hybrid (FLASH OS is greyed out)
Offline
Data Sync

In addition to the kiosk screen visual queues, Transient tickets will print with 5 digits (instead of 8) during an offline event.

Functionality Compatibility with Offline Mode

Function		Hybrid	Offline	Store and Forward
Paper ticket / Credit Card and Mobile # Entry	Tickets issued while in Hybrid or Offline will be displayed with 5 digits.	✅	✅	✅
Reinstate SoftClosed Tickets	Previously soft closed transient tickets will be reinstated if initiated at exit.	✅	✅	✅
Transient Payments via USAePay		✅ *Real-time transactions	✅ *Store and forward	✅ *Store and forward
Lost Ticket Payments	Lost Ticket at kiosk and via LPR are supported.	✅	✅	✅
PrePay at Entry	Supported with USAepay	✅	✅	✅
PIN Access	PIN Codes linked to prices are NOT Supported on Entry, while in hybrid/offline but can be scanned on Exit. No Store and Forward for partial payments.	☑️	☑️	☑️
Printed Validations	Barcodes are supported but eValidation is Not Supported.	✅	✅	✅
eValidations	Validation portal is not available and displays Offline Message	❌	❌	✅
Coupons	Not supported for Hyrbid or Offline	❌	❌	✅
eParking Reservations		❌	❌	✅
Flash Pass		❌	❌	❌
Digital Ticket Checkout	Not supported: Payment accepted via DTC but not at recognized kiosk.	❌	❌	✅
Pay by Plate/Space (FlashMobile Kiosk)	Not Supported: Kiosk presents offline message	❌	❌	❌
Pay of Foot	Not supported: Kiosk presents offline messge	❌	❌	❌
Self Validation Kiosk or Tablet	Not supported: Kiosk presents offline message	❌	❌	n/a

Transient Functions (with Windcave EMV)

Function		Hybrid	Offline	Payment Gateway Down - EMV
Paper ticket / Credit Card and Mobile # Entry	Tickets issued while in Hybrid or Offline will be displayed with 5 digits.	✅	✅	✅
Reinstate SoftClosed Tickets	Previously soft closed transient tickets will be reinstated if initiated at exit.	✅	✅	✅
Transient Payments via WindCave	Payments are processed only in Hyrbid Mode. Store and Forward not currently available with WindCave	✅	❌ *No Store and Forward	❌ *No Store and Forward
Lost Ticket Payments	Lost Ticket at kiosk and via LPR are supported.	✅	❌ *No Store and Forward	❌ *No Store and Forward
PrePay at Entry		✅	❌ *No Store and Forward	❌ *No Store and Forward
PIN Access	PIN Codes linked to prices are NOT Supported on Entry, while in hybrid/offline but can be scanned on Exit. No Store and Forward for partial payments.	☑️	☑️	☑️
Printed Validations	Barcodes are supported but eValidation is Not Supported.	✅	✅	✅
eValidations via portal	Not Supported	❌	❌	✅
Coupons	Printed barcodes supported. eVal portal is not available.	❌	❌	✅
eParking Reservations	Current reservations supported payments processed eParking access via LPR	❌	❌	n/a
Flash Pass	Not Supported	❌	❌	❌

Overnight

Function		Hybrid	Offline	Payment Gateway
Hotel Prepay		✅	✅	✅
Hotel Passes	Supported IF passes were issued before the hybrid / offline event.	✅	✅	N/A
PMS (Hotel Key Card)	Supported IF key cards were activated before the hybrid / offline event.	✅	✅	✅
Late Checkout Fees	Not Supported	❌	❌	❌

PARCS + Valet

PARCS and Valet		Hybrid	Offline	Payment Gateway
PARCS Access		❌	❌	N/A

Monthly

Function		Hybrid	Offline	Payment Gateway
Access Credentials *Except IVR and PIN	All available credentials	✅	✅	N/A
IVR and Monthly PIN Credentials	Options are hidden while in hybrid or offline.Monthly PIN accepted at Exit if generated at entry while online.	❌	❌	N/A
Profiles	Enforced	✅	✅	N/A
Multi-Profiles	Enforced	✅	✅	N/A
Passback	Enforced	✅	✅	N/A
Nested Enforcement	Not Supported: Violations reported in error.	❌	❌	N/A
Account Status	Enforced	✅	✅	N/A
Late Fee on Kiosk	Access allowed but no overage charges at kiosk.	❌	❌	❌
Report Groups	Not Supported: Occupancy won’t update wi Offline.	❌	❌	N/A
Membership	Not Supported	❌	❌	❌

Peripheral Hardware

Function		Hybrid	Offline	Payment Gateway
Security Gate	Supported	✅	✅	N/A
Door Reader	Supported	✅	✅	N/A

The development of Offline Enhancements is progressing through multiple phases, and the current status is detailed below for the release of Phase 1. The above list will be updated as additional functions are released.