Turn on guest ordering
Switch ordering on for the organization, then complete each location's readiness checklist so guests can order from their table.
Guests order from the menu at their table, and each order reaches your Orders page as soon as it is sent. You switch ordering on once for the organization; each location then starts taking orders as soon as its readiness checklist is complete.
Who can do this: Owner and Admin, and at their location: Location manager
Before you start
- Guest ordering is in your plan. On Pro and Ultimate.
- The menu guests will order from is served at the location — see Locations, menus and the catalogue.
- Enable cart & ordering is on in SettingsTaxes & tips. It is on unless someone switched it off; without it, guests can't add dishes to an order. The same page holds VAT and the service fee — see Set VAT and the service fee.
Turn it on step by step
Set the organization's defaults
Open SettingsOrdering. Switch on Guests can order, then choose How guests pay, Where guests get their order and Guest requests, and select Save. Every location starts from these defaults.
- Guests can order switches ordering on for every location.
- How guests pay: guests pay your staff, in cash or by card terminal. The online options can't be chosen.
- Where guests get their order: at their table, at the counter, or both.
Further down the same form:
Setting What it does Guests can pick their table A guest who opened the menu without a table's code chooses their table from a list. Your staff confirm these orders; they are never accepted automatically. Ask guests to rate their order Once an order is done, its status page asks the guest for a rating. Tips Whether the bill offers a tip, and which percentages — see Table service. Accept orders automatically New orders skip the wait for a member of staff and go straight to the kitchen. Escalate unaccepted orders after An order nobody accepted in this many minutes, from 1 to 60, is flagged to your staff. Give the location a time zone
Open the location from Locations. On its Details tab, under Region & clock, pick its Time zone and save. Order numbers, the business day and sales reports follow this clock.
Add tables
If guests order at their table, add the location's tables on its Tables tab and print their codes — see Add tables and print their codes. A location that offers only pickup needs no tables.
Check the readiness list
Open the location's Ordering tab. What guests need to order lists every requirement; a missing one links to where you fix it.
The status at the top tells you where the location stands:
Status What it means Ordering is off Ordering is switched off, or your plan doesn't include it. Guests can browse the menu. Not ready for orders yet Something on the checklist is missing. Ordering is paused Someone paused new orders — see Pause new orders. Taking orders Guests can order. Change what this location does differently
This step is optional. Under What this location does differently on the same tab, switch a setting from Inherited to Overridden and choose this location's value — pickup only, say, or no waiter calls. Select Save ordering. A setting left inherited keeps following the organization.
Invite the people who take orders
Give floor and kitchen staff a role at this location, so they see its orders and nothing else — see Set up your floor and kitchen staff.
Check that it works
When every item is done, the location's status reads Taking orders. Scan one of its table codes with your phone: the menu opens with the table's name and the Call a waiter button. Tap it, and the call appears on the Orders page. What guests do from there is on How guests order from their table.
Switch it off
To stop orders for a while, pause them — see Pause new orders. To stop for good, switch off Guests can order in SettingsOrdering, or override it on one location's Ordering tab. Guests can still browse the menu; orders already placed stay on the Orders page.