Preorders

Let customers order now for a later pickup or delivery time, cap how many you take, and review scheduled orders before they're charged.

Preorders let a customer order now and choose a later time for pickup or delivery: lunch ordered at 9am for noon, or a catering order set up for the weekend. Customers can place preorders even while you're closed.

Turn on preorders

Open Settings → Ordering & Payments and find Preorders:

Accept preorders: shows a "schedule for later" choice at checkout.
Auto-accept preorders: confirms scheduled orders automatically. Leave it off to review each one yourself first.
Let staff confirm preorders: lets staff accept scheduled orders, as well as managers and owners.

Control how many you take

Max Preorders per Day: the most scheduled orders you'll take for any one day.
Time Slot Length: how long each pickup or delivery window is, for example 15 minutes.
Max Orders per Slot: how many orders can book the same window. Leave it blank for unlimited.
Max Items per Slot: caps the total number of items in a window, so one 50-sandwich order doesn't book like a single coffee. An order bigger than this cap can still book an empty window, but always waits for your review.
Accept Orders Up To: how many days ahead customers can schedule.

Customers only see windows that still have room.

Reviewing preorders

If auto-accept is off, a new preorder waits in the Preorder inbox on the Orders board. The customer's card is authorized, but not charged, when they order:

Accept the preorder and the card is charged. The order then enters the kitchen at its prep time ahead of the scheduled window.
Reject it and the hold on the customer's card is released. They aren't charged.

Decide promptly. A card hold lasts about seven days, and a preorder still unreviewed when its hold expires is cancelled automatically.

With auto-accept on, the card is charged when the order is placed.

On the day

The Open & Close page lists today's preorder schedule and anything still waiting for a decision. You can't sign off your opening review while preorders are waiting. You can also change today's preorder capacity there, for one day only, when you're short-staffed or expecting a rush. That change needs the manager PIN.

Turn on preorders

Open Settings → Ordering & Payments and find Preorders:

Accept preorders: shows a "schedule for later" choice at checkout.

Auto-accept preorders: confirms scheduled orders automatically. Leave it off to review each one yourself first.

Let staff confirm preorders: lets staff accept scheduled orders, as well as managers and owners.

Control how many you take

Max Preorders per Day: the most scheduled orders you'll take for any one day.

Time Slot Length: how long each pickup or delivery window is, for example 15 minutes.

Max Orders per Slot: how many orders can book the same window. Leave it blank for unlimited.

Max Items per Slot: caps the total number of items in a window, so one 50-sandwich order doesn't book like a single coffee. An order bigger than this cap can still book an empty window, but always waits for your review.

Accept Orders Up To: how many days ahead customers can schedule.