Community
Ask a questionRestaurant owners, comparing notes
Questions about running a restaurant on Get Menu, answered by the team and kept public so the next person finds them. Also see the help centre.
- 998 questions answered
- 18 topics
- Every question answered before it appears
How long do I have to accept an order from an app?Not long. Most apps give you a couple of minutes before they treat silence as a refusal, which is why Accept orders on arrival exists on each app's card. With it ticked we say yes the moment the order AnsweredWhat does Minutes to prepare actually promise?It is the time we tell the app you need once an order is accepted, and it is what they use to decide when to send a rider. Anything from 1 to 180 minutes, and it starts at 20. Set it honestly. Too low AnsweredI run several branches on the apps. Can I watch them together?Yes, if your branches are grouped. The branches screen shows each restaurant with how many app orders it took in the last day, beside its own orders and revenue. It is the quickest way to spot a branc AnsweredHow do I set the delivery time my customers are promised?Settings → Ordering rules, the field called Delivery ETA in minutes, anywhere from 5 to 480. It is quoted in the confirmation message and on the customer's status page, so treat it as a promise in wri AnsweredDoes an order from my ordering page show on the kitchen screen as well as on WhatsApp?Yes, if you have paired a kitchen screen. Every order from the ordering page appears on it as a ticket alongside counter sales, table rounds and [delivery app orders](/docs/delivery-apps), in the orde AnsweredCan I see who pressed what on an order, if two staff argue about it?Yes. Tap the order number on the board to open the order's own page. Under the money breakdown is a timeline of every recorded change: who moved the order to which status, when, and the reason given f AnsweredCan I have a food ordering app for my restaurant without paying somebody to build one?You do not need an app. Your [ordering page](/ordering-system) works on every phone in a browser, and there is nothing to install on either side. A food ordering app for restaurants has to be download AnsweredCan people order on WhatsApp by messaging me instead of using the page?Ordering happens on the page, and WhatsApp carries the messages around it. After checkout the customer can tap a WhatsApp button that sends their own order summary to the hand-off number you set under AnsweredIs there an online ordering system free to start with, or do I pay before my first order?You start free. The trial is 15 days of the full product, up to 1,000 orders, and no card is asked for. Your ordering page, your menu, WhatsApp messages, stock and reports are all there from the first AnsweredWe only deliver, no counter and no tables. Does this work as pizza delivery software on its own?Yes, and you can ignore the counter entirely. Your ordering page takes the orders, Settings → Condominiums & delivery fees holds the buildings and their fees, and the [orders board](/docs/orders) with AnsweredAn order is on the app's tablet but never reached us. Where do I look?Open Settings, then Delivery & dine-in, then Delivery apps. The app's card shows when the last order came in and any error it returned. Orders from the apps lists the recent ones with their state, and AnsweredDo app orders take my stock down?Ingredients do, always, because the recipe comes off the shelf with any sale. Dish counts come down only for lines you have matched to one of your dishes. If a count would go below zero we leave it al AnsweredDo app orders use my own order numbers?Yes. An app order takes your next order number like any other, which is what makes one board possible. The board line names the app it came from, and in your orders export the Notes column carries the AnsweredWe are slammed. How do I stop app orders for an hour?Press Pause (refuse orders) on that app's card and we refuse everything it sends until you switch it back. Be clear what that is: it stops orders reaching your kitchen, it does not close your shop ins AnsweredA customer booked an order for 7pm tomorrow. When does my kitchen actually find out?Twice. Your managers' group gets a ticket the moment it is booked, marked SCHEDULED with the day and the time, so you can plan. Then, at the slot time minus your delivery ETA, the group is told to sta AnsweredHow do I match the app's product codes to my dishes?On the Delivery apps page, scroll to Which dish is which. Choose the app, type the code the app uses for the dish, pick your dish, and Save. Do the busy dishes first and leave the long tail for a quie AnsweredMy customer says they got no message from us on an app order.That is expected. The app owns that conversation and sends its own updates, and the number an app passes on is usually a masked one anyway, so we message nobody for an app order. Your own ordering pag AnsweredHow do I add a new building to the delivery list?Settings → Condominiums & delivery fees: name, [delivery fee](/delivery-dispatch), optional staff-only note (gate code), press Add, tick "Visible at checkout". For long lists there is a Bulk import — AnsweredCan I list several restaurants on one page, like an online food ordering and delivery platform?No, and that is on purpose. Each restaurant gets its own page, its own menu, its own WhatsApp number and its own [orders board](/docs/orders), so nothing is shared by accident. An online food ordering AnsweredWhat's the difference between the GPS pin and the building dropdown?The building fixes the fee and the address; the pin fine-tunes the exact spot for the rider. Customers share the pin optionally — most do, and [riders](/delivery-dispatch) love them. AnsweredWhy does my orders board only show one week?The range is capped at seven days so a busy board stays fast; ask for more and it trims and tells you in amber. Dates run in your restaurant's own timezone, and a "Today" link appears when you have dr AnsweredCan I reorder statuses, e.g. skip 'preparing'?Skipping is fine — go straight from confirmed to out-for-delivery; nothing requires every stage. The stages exist for kitchens that want them. AnsweredMy rider says the delivery link doesn't work any more — why?Links last twelve hours, work once, and die the moment the order is closed from your board. If someone already marked it delivered, the rider sees a plain "already marked delivered" screen. Genuinely AnsweredI pressed 'Start preparing' by mistake — can I go back?Yes — the live stages move freely, backwards included, because a mis-tap at the counter must be reversible. What you cannot undo: a cancellation (final for everyone) and a delivery (only the owner can AnsweredWhy can't my manager cancel a delivered order?Deliberate: a delivered order is one where cash usually already changed hands, so undoing it is kept with the owner, recorded, and announced in the managers' group. Managers still cancel anything not Answered
How it works
Answered, then published
- Anyone can ask — you do not need an account.
- Nothing appears on the forum until it has an answer beside it.
- Your contact details are removed before anything is published.
Prefer WhatsApp
Message us instead
If it is urgent, or specific to your account, WhatsApp is faster than the forum and we answer during working hours.