Online orders at the POS and kitchen: acceptance, ready times and payment
A guest has placed an order on your website or through a QR code. The operator needs to see it, the kitchen needs to start on time, and the cashier must avoid charging an already paid bill again. In cenaly.ge, the same order moves through several staff screens.
This guide connects those stages. Storefront and widget setup is covered in online ordering, courier operations in delivery, and kitchen actions in KDS.
What you need to get started#
- A configured location with a menu, prices, currency and a fulfilment option available to guests.
- Manager access to location settings and a staff member watching Orders if you use manual acceptance.
- The POS for the correct location and an open KDS screen covering the relevant stations. Paper tickets also need a connected bridge and kitchen printer.
- For online payment, a supported provider connected to this location. Payment on receipt is configured separately.
Before launch, place one check order using the storefront instructions. It is a regular order: cancel it with a reason after checking it.
Where the order arrives#
| Workspace | What to check |
|---|---|
Orders (/en/orders) |
Location, number, items, fulfilment method and payment; this is where staff manually accept guest orders |
POS (/en/pos) |
Once allowed into work, the order is available to the POS; Online orders lets you find your own online orders, including closed ones |
Kitchen (KDS) (/en/kds) |
The order is allowed into work, its items belong to this screen's station, and a scheduled order is due to start |
| Kitchen printer | The station has a print source selected, and the screen sending tickets through the bridge is open |
Handle aggregator orders in Orders. The POS Online orders window excludes them; connecting a platform and receiving its orders depends on the integration.
For automatic kitchen printing, open Kitchen (KDS) → Stations, find the station and set Printed by to This KDS screen, on arrival. Configure the bridge printer on that screen's computer and keep the station screen open.
It prints the station's kitchen items, quantities, modifiers and comments; new items print as additions. A held scheduled order prints when it enters the working rail. This does not automatically print a guest pre-bill: there is no guest pre-bill printing on online-order arrival. See kitchen printing for connection steps and ticket contents.
Choose how orders enter work#
- Open Settings → Orders (
/en/settings/orders) and select the location. - Find Guest order before acceptance.
- Set Put a guest order in work right away.
| Setting | Result |
|---|---|
| Off — the default | The order waits for staff in Orders. Select Accept to send it to the POS, KDS and courier board |
| On | The order is visible in work as soon as the guest places it, before a person separately confirms it |
For manual acceptance, set Alert if not accepted within, min. The default is 10 minutes from checkout; 0 disables the deadline. Leave the field after changing it and wait for the save confirmation.
An overdue order shows a label such as Not accepted · 12 min, and the open Orders screen keeps sounding an alert until acceptance. The server sends an owner reminder through connected notifications and tells the guest that the venue has been reminded. This neither cancels the order automatically nor promises acceptance exactly ten minutes later.
The setting belongs to the location; the same switch is available in KDS settings. The deadline applies to manually accepted orders from your own guest channels, rather than platform acceptance rules. See delivery for the everyday arrival workflow.
Promise a time and prepare a scheduled order#
In My website → Online ordering → Delivery & pickup, select the location and set separate delivery and pickup times in minutes. You can also allow guests to choose a fulfilment time. A QR code card (/en/client-codes) can override these settings for that code; check the actual link your guest uses.
- For pickup as soon as possible, the ready time runs from checkout: the pickup estimate or enabled smart kitchen time, plus any busy-mode allowance.
- For delivery, the estimate means arrival at the guest including preparation. Do not add kitchen time twice. With smart preparation enabled, the server calculates kitchen readiness separately.
- For a scheduled order, the guest's selected time is used. Busy-mode minutes do not automatically move it.
The promise is recorded at checkout: a later increase in kitchen workload does not rewrite it. Smart preparation time helps account for workload when estimating new orders.
A scheduled order stays in Upcoming on KDS until its ready deadline minus the longest dish preparation time + 5 minutes. If no dish has a preparation time, the calculation uses 15 minutes plus the 5-minute allowance. An order already started is no longer held; Start now releases it early.
Example: pickup at 19:00, with the longest dish taking 20 minutes. The order enters work at 18:35. For delivery, use the kitchen-ready deadline when available, rather than automatically using the guest's delivery time.
Check payment#
Checkout offers cash, card on delivery and online payment according to the location's settings and available provider. Delivery payment methods are set in the Payments section of online-order settings. For connection steps, see payments.
Choosing online payment does not mean the money has arrived. The order starts unpaid; a verified response from the payment provider updates its payment state.
In the POS Online orders window, check Paid, Not paid or partial payment. Payment and readiness are separate: a paid order may still be cooking. When a guest pays part of a table bill, the POS accounts for those paid portions and shows the balance; collect only that balance.
In Finance → Sales → Payment methods, compare amounts by payment method. An online payment does not become a cash sale simply because the order was handed over at the POS.
Delivery fees, tips and service charges#
The server recalculates delivery fees using location settings and applicable QR code rules: the zone, tariff and free-delivery threshold. An amount sent by the guest screen does not replace that calculation. See delivery for zone setup.
The location's regular service charge is shared by the POS and guest channels. An active table QR rule can override it. Percentage charges apply to items after discounts, coupons and loyalty points; delivery fees and tips do not increase the base. See service charges for setup.
Rouble example: items after discounts cost ₽1,000, delivery is ₽200, and a 10% service charge is ₽100. The total without tips is ₽1,300. If the guest adds a ₽100 tip where online payment is available, the payment is ₽1,400. If the free-delivery threshold applies, subtract ₽200. VAT, where applicable, is already included in the example's prices; it is not added on top.
Tips are enabled per location, while the distribution policy is selected in account payroll settings. If an online order has no waiter:
- Direct (whoever served the order) does not automatically assign the amount to a staff member.
- Pooled — by hours worked or Pooled — by role weights also currently leaves the amount unassigned when no employee is linked. The pool includes tips received through the business that are linked to an employee, then distributes them by hours worked or positive role weights.
Cash handed directly to staff and amounts with an unknown payment method do not enter that pool. Payroll payout is a separate setting — see tips.
What guests see and what they pay#
| Goal | Where to manage it |
|---|---|
| Show part of the menu through one QR code | Menu selection in the QR code card; items keep names and prices from the location's main menu |
| Sell breakfast only in the morning | Availability schedules; see scheduled menus |
| Prevent orders for a sold-out dish | The stop list for the relevant location or all locations; the server checks availability again at checkout |
| Send a different item card to a platform | Channel menu overrides in the integration: visibility, name, description, photo and price; an empty price uses the channel markup |
| Set a price for an address | The item's location price, used by that location's POS and own storefront |
The stop list applies to online availability, but an already open guest page may still display an older menu copy. The server-side check also protects that basket. See QR menus.
Distinguish your own storefront from a widget over an external catalog: that widget has separate rules for reading and changing prices — see online ordering. Aggregator overrides apply only to the selected platform.
Link an order to a table#
In the Floor plan (/en/tables), select a table and link a QR code from this location. The guest opens it and places a dine-in order linked to that table. Check the link after moving table signs. See floor plans for creating and moving code links.
Find online orders in reports#
Open Finance → Sales → Sales channels (/en/finance?tab=sales) and choose the period and location. Compare dine-in, delivery, pickup and platform channels; Payment methods is beside it. See finance for details.
QR dine-in orders and POS dine-in orders share the Dine-in row. This breakdown does not separate a guest's self-placed table order from a waiter's order. An online order with no assigned waiter has no staff assignment; it does not get a special Online employee.
Repeat the setup across locations#
| Level | What to check |
|---|---|
| Each location | Manual acceptance or immediate routing to work, acceptance deadline, delivery/pickup estimates, payment methods and provider, zones, service charge and tips |
| QR code | Location and table, menu subset, its own delivery/pickup and service-charge rules |
| KDS station and its device | Station scope, print source, bridge accessible from this computer and an open screen |
| Account | Shared catalog cards with location prices; payroll tip distribution policy |
Changing acceptance for one location does not configure the whole chain. A widget belongs to its location: use each address's own link. See multiple locations.
Limitations#
- There is no separate “hide only from this location's own storefront” flag, own-storefront price separate from the same location's POS price, or guest name separate from the POS name. QR menu subsets and aggregator settings serve different purposes.
- Tips without an assigned employee are not yet distributed automatically, even under a pooled policy. Check unassigned amounts in the payroll calculation.
- There is no separate automatic packaging fee or regular service-charge rule by online order type.
- The KDS scheduled-order allowance is fixed at 5 minutes; this scheme does not provide a separate dine-in ready-time promise. Scheduling an order is not preordering dishes for a table reservation.
- Arrival printing requires an open station screen and bridge; there is no automatic guest pre-bill on arrival.
- A coupon condition restricted to an online channel/order type is not available; see discounts and promo codes.
- Check aggregator connection readiness separately: having settings does not confirm exchange with a live platform.
- For a location whose country is Russia, guest channels block orders containing alcohol items, including self-ordering through a table QR code. Staff add those items through the POS in the supported in-person workflow.
Troubleshooting#
| Symptom | Possible cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Order is in Orders but absent from KDS and POS | Manual acceptance is enabled | Check the location and select Accept; for operation without an operator, enable routing before confirmation |
| Accepted order is missing from the expected KDS | Different station/location, or it is too early to cook | Check the station, item assignment and Upcoming; reopen the station screen if it is closed |
| Kitchen does not print an online order | POS is selected as print source, printing is off, or KDS is closed | Select printing by this screen on arrival; check the bridge and printer using the kitchen printing guide |
| Guest waits longer than promised | Late acceptance or an overloaded kitchen | Compare checkout and acceptance times and check the KDS queue; adjust estimates and busy mode for new orders |
| Guest sees a debit but the order is still Not paid | Provider confirmation is not yet reflected in the order | Match the order number and provider payment result; do not take another payment blindly |
| Order is marked Paid, but the open bill shows a balance | A different bill is open, or the payment fact and paid portions disagree | Compare the number, items and payment history; contact support before charging again if they disagree |
| Online tips were not assigned to a waiter | No employee is assigned, including under a pooled policy | Check the assignment and payroll distribution policy |
| Guest can see an item but cannot order it | It is on the stop list or outside its schedule | Refresh the menu and check availability for this location |
Frequently asked questions#
Do I need a separate employee for online orders?#
No. An order can have no waiter; use the channel report. However, its tips will not be distributed to staff automatically, even under a pooled policy.
Can guest orders go straight to the kitchen?#
Yes. Enable Put a guest order in work right away for the location. A scheduled order may still wait in Upcoming.
What happens after ten minutes without acceptance?#
With the default deadline, an alert and server reminder follow. The order is neither accepted nor cancelled automatically; 0 disables the deadline.
Will printing work if the kitchen screen is closed?#
No. In This KDS screen, on arrival mode, the open screen sends the ticket through the bridge.
Can an order be paid online while still waiting for preparation?#
Yes. Payment does not mean ready. Check both before handover.
How do I separate table QR orders from cashier orders in reports?#
The Sales channels breakdown currently combines them in Dine-in.
Related articles#
- Online ordering and widgets, QR menus — the guest entry point.
- Orders, delivery — acceptance and fulfilment.
- KDS, kitchen printing — kitchen operations.
- Payments, online-payment receipts — payments and fiscal receipts.
- Tips, service charges — additional amounts.
- Floor plans, finance, multiple locations.