ISU Dining has changed its chosen mobile ordering app from GET Mobile to Transact Mobile Ordering.
Transact Mobile Ordering is an app that allows students and staff to order food around campus and view their dining dollars. The app replaced the previously used GET Mobile app, which the university has been using since January 2016.
ISU Dining began the transition to a new mobile ordering system in 2025; according to Karen Rodekamp, director of ISU Dining, the university typically changes systems every 10 years. The change was necessary to upgrade point-of-sale systems.
“We could not upgrade our point-of-sale without doing a competitive bid process,” Rodekamp said. “When we did a competitive bid process for a new point-of-sale system, Transact Mobile was the successful bidder.”
The work transitioning from GET to Transact started in March after Transact was selected as the bidder for the project. The transition was a big undertaking behind the scenes as many hours of work were put into the project.
“It was an incredible amount of work,” Rodekamp said. “An entire database had to be redeveloped. Every menu, every click on the app was a decision made by our team. The point-of-sale was an entire upgrade that took hours and hours of preparation to transition for a school our size, and we had nearly 50 point-of-sale systems that needed to be transferred out.”
The new point-of-sale system will allow for changes to be implemented more smoothly.
“Our old point-of-sale had its own database, and then GET had its own database, and the two did not talk to each other,” Rodekamp said. “Now, with the new system, it’s just one database to update and maintain, which has its benefits behind the scenes.”
ISU Dining plans to further expand on the Transact app in the future to add benefits for consumers.
“Once our team gets their feet on the ground and we feel the app is functioning at 100 percent, we will then be able to start rolling out rewards,” Rodekamp said. “We can create coupons and digital punch cards that can be used straight from the app, so that’ll be a benefit to come to our students and meal plan holders.”
Returning ISU students, who had experience with the GET Mobile app, were asked about their thoughts on the Transact App.
“The GET app was nice because I think you could see your balance easier, but it was a little glitchy,” Lucas Hanna, a junior studying meteorology, said. “I like how the new app looks visually. It also has the times when each food order opens, and it gives you a more accurate pickup time than the previous app.”
Another ISU student had a different experience with the new Transact app.
“Not a big fan of the app; I just got used to [GET Mobile] and how easy it was to order and see my dining dollars,” Katelyn Jones, a junior in management information systems, said. “With the new app, I haven’t been able to see much of that. I tried to order at Convos, but it was like, ‘No, you don’t have a meal plan, even though I have dining dollars.’”
Students can reach out to ISU Dining with any questions or feedback about the new app at dining@iastate.edu.