Scheduled orders

A scheduled order is placed and paid for now but wanted at a stated time later - the school-run collection, the Friday family order placed at lunchtime, the office delivery for one o’clock. The customer side is simple. The operational catch is that the ticket has to reach the kitchen when the food needs cooking, not when the payment cleared, and it has to consume the same slot capacity as a live order.

In practice

A scheduled order is paid for in advance and wanted at a stated time — the school-run collection, the Friday family order placed at lunchtime, the office delivery for one o’clock. The customer experience is simple; the operational catch is that the ticket must reach the kitchen when the food needs cooking, not when the payment cleared.

A system that prints a scheduled order immediately produces either cold food or a slip somebody has to remember about for five hours. The ticket should appear in the queue at a lead time you set per item or per order, with the earlier arrival visible on the day’s list so nothing is a surprise.

Scheduled orders also interact with capacity: twelve pre-orders for seven o’clock means seven o’clock is already busy before a single walk-in arrives, so they should consume the same slot capacity as live orders.

Also called: pre-orders, order for later.

Questions people ask about scheduled orders

When should a scheduled order print in the kitchen?

At a lead time you set per item or per order, counted back from the collection or delivery time, not at the moment payment cleared. A system that prints it immediately produces either cold food or a slip somebody has to remember about for five hours. The day’s scheduled list should also be visible in advance so nothing is a surprise.

Do pre-orders use up capacity?

They should. Twelve pre-orders for seven o’clock means seven o’clock is already busy before a single walk-in arrives, so scheduled orders need to draw down the same slot capacity as live ones. Where they do not, the kitchen meets its own pre-orders and misses everything else.

How far ahead should customers be able to order?

Far enough to cover the orders you want and no further. A week suits cakes and large catering; a day suits most takeaway menus. The limit belongs per item, because the thing that needs a week of notice is rarely the thing somebody wants in fifteen minutes.

Where to go next

Scheduled orders and pre-orders →