Online ordering and the storefront

Your storefront is your own ordering website: the menu, online ordering for pickup and delivery (now or scheduled), ordering from the table by QR code, table bookings, catering and private hire enquiries, events, gift cards, loyalty and customer accounts. It is built from the menu, prices, sold-out items, customers and reservation book you already use — there is nothing to copy.

Online orders are ordinary orders: they have the same numbers, go to the same kitchen and bar screens, print the same receipts and count in the same reports. Staff follow them on Online orders (/online-orders); managers set the website up on Storefront (/storefront). Delivery, once an order is accepted, is in Delivery.

The screens in this manual are the demo business: its storefront Jupita Kitchen sells from Kampala — Kololo (pickup, delivery, table ordering and bookings, round the clock) and Entebbe — Lakeside (pickup and bookings in its opening hours). New orders wait for staff to accept them. Customers pay online by mobile money or card, when they collect, or in cash on delivery.

Who can do what:

Accept an online order

Purpose

Confirm a new order from the website and send it to the kitchen with a realistic ready time, so the customer knows when to come — or when to expect the rider.

Role / permission required

Cashiers, waiters, supervisors and managers — storefront.orders. The pictures show Sam, the supervisor.

Prerequisites

• The storefront is live and taking orders (see Set up the storefront).

Steps

1. Open Online orders from the sidebar. New orders appear by themselves under New (1); the board also refreshes every 30 seconds.
2. Read the card (2): the order number (tap it for the lines, notes and e-mail), Pickup, Delivery or Table, the customer and phone, the items and total, how it is paid, when it was placed, the address, and allergies in red.
3. Tap Accept (3).
4. Choose Ready in (1): Usual time (the storefront’s pickup or delivery time) or 10 to 90 minutes.
5. Tap Accept (2).

Expected result

ORD-KLA-… accepted. The order moves to In the kitchen (1), marked Preparing with the promised time (2), and its tickets are on the kitchen screens. The customer’s tracking page changes to Being prepared with Ready at about the time you chose. A delivery order also appears on Delivery under Awaiting a courier (see Assign a delivery to a rider).

Screenshot

Common mistakes

• Leaving orders in New. The customer waits and sees waiting for the restaurant to confirm. Watch the board, or ask a manager to switch on Accept new orders automatically.
• Choosing a short ready time on a busy night. The customer comes too early. Choose the time the kitchen can really keep.
• Missing the allergies. They are in red on the card and on the kitchen ticket; read them before you accept.

Troubleshooting

• The card says Awaiting online payment and Accept is missing. The customer has not finished paying. Wait: it becomes New when the payment is confirmed. Unpaid online orders are cancelled after 30 minutes.
• A scheduled order. Accepting it moves it to Scheduled; it goes to the kitchen by itself in time for its slot. Fire now sends it early.

FAQ

Where do I see who accepted it? In the audit trail, with the user and the time (see Search the audit trail).

Reject an online order

Purpose

Refuse an order you cannot make — an item has run out, the kitchen is closing — and tell the customer why, with any online payment refunded.

Role / permission required

Cashiers, waiters, supervisors and managers — storefront.orders.

Prerequisites

• The order is still in New (not yet in the kitchen).

Steps

1. On Online orders, find the order under New and tap Reject.
2. Type the reason the customer will read in Reason (1).
3. Tap Reject order (2).

Expected result

ORD-KLA-… rejected. The order moves to Done (12 h) (1), marked Cancelled with your reason. The customer’s tracking page says Cancelled with the reason. Anything paid online is refunded in full automatically, and a delivery is cancelled.

Screenshot

Common mistakes

• A reason only staff understand. The customer reads it: write it for them (Sorry — we have run out of tilapia today).
• Rejecting instead of calling. If only one item is missing, call the customer: they may want the rest.

Troubleshooting

• Reject is missing. The order has gone to the kitchen. Void it at the till like any other order; a delivery that has not left yet is cancelled with it (see Remove a line that was sent and Cancel an order).
• Reject order stays grey. Type a reason of at least three letters.

FAQ

Can the customer cancel? Yes, from their tracking page, while the order is still new and unpaid.

Hand over a pickup order

Purpose

Give the customer their order at the counter and take payment if they chose to pay on collection — so the order closes, the kitchen’s pass is cleared and the points and stock are recorded.

Role / permission required

Cashiers, supervisors and managers — storefront.orders; taking the payment needs payments.take and, for cash, a till open. The pictures show Paul, a cashier.

Prerequisites

• The order is Ready (the kitchen marked it ready), or at least in the kitchen.
• For cash, your till is open (see Open the till).

Steps

1. On Online orders, find the order under Ready (1). Check the customer’s name and order number.
2. Tap Hand over (2).
3. If it is already paid, tap Hand over. If it is to pay on collection, choose the Payment (1) method.
4. For cash, type what the customer gives you in Tendered (2); for card or mobile money, type the Reference.
5. Tap Take payment & hand over (3).

Expected result

ORD-KLA-… collected. The order moves to Done (12 h) as Completed (1); the cash is in your drawer (change is worked out as at the till); the order closes and the customer’s page says Enjoy your meal!.

Screenshot

Common mistakes

• Handing over before the kitchen marked it ready. You are warned (The kitchen has not marked it ready yet.); check the bag is complete.
• Giving the wrong bag. Ask for the order number the customer has on their phone.

Troubleshooting

• “Open a till before taking cash.” Open your till, or take another method.
• A paid-online order still shows among the till’s open orders. It stays open until it is handed over; hand it over here.

Take orders from the table by QR code

Purpose

Let seated guests scan a code on their table, see the menu and order without waiting for a waiter; the order goes straight to the kitchen on the table’s bill.

Role / permission required

Printing and renewing the codes: general manager or owner — storefront.manage. Seeing table orders: storefront.view. The pictures show Grace, the owner.

Prerequisites

• Table ordering is on for the storefront and the branch (see Set up the storefront).
• The branch’s tables are set up (see Design the floor plan).

Steps

1. Open Storefront and tap Table QR codes (/storefront/qr).
2. Check the branch, then tap Print (1). Every table (2) has its own code with its name and area; cut them out and put each on its table.
3. If a printed code was copied or misused, tap New code (3) under it and print it again: the old one stops working at once.
4. A guest scans the code: the menu opens as Order to your table; they add dishes, type their name and phone and place the order.
5. On Online orders, the order appears marked Table (1).

Expected result

The order is on the table’s bill (a new dine-in order opens if the table has none) and its tickets are already on the kitchen screens — nothing needs accepting. The card on Online orders is for reference, marked Table and Pay at table. The bill is printed and paid at the table as usual.

Screenshot

Common mistakes

• Putting codes on the wrong tables. Orders then go to the wrong bill. Check the table name under each code.
• Leaving the old code on the table after New code. It no longer works; replace it at once.

Troubleshooting

• The code opens the menu but guests cannot order. Table ordering is off for the branch; with QR menu on, the menu is read-only.
• Table QR codes is missing. It needs storefront.manage.

Answer website enquiries

Purpose

Follow up catering, private hire, event and general enquiries sent from your website, so every lead gets an answer and colleagues see where it stands.

Role / permission required

Hosts, branch and restaurant managers, catering and events managers — storefront.enquiries. The pictures show Moses, the branch manager.

Prerequisites

• The enquiry features are on for the storefront (catering, private hire, events).

Steps

1. On Online orders, open the Enquiries tab (1). The badge counts new enquiries.
2. Read an enquiry (2): its number (ENQ-…), kind, status, when it came, the contact, the date, time, guests, budget and message.
3. Call or write to the customer.
4. Tap Update (3).
5. Choose the Status (1) — New, Contacted, Quoted, Won, Lost or Closed — and write what happened in Note (2).
6. Tap Save (3).
7. For a catering or event enquiry you will plan, tap Open as catering function instead: it becomes a function in Events & catering (see Log a catering enquiry).

Expected result

The enquiry shows the new status (Contacted) and your note (Note: Called Naomi — …) for everyone who opens the tab.

Screenshot

Common mistakes

• Answering without updating. A colleague then calls the same customer again. Always set the status and a note.
• Leaving lost enquiries open. Mark them Lost with the reason (price, date taken): it shows why you lose business.

Troubleshooting

• The Enquiries tab is missing. Your role cannot answer enquiries (storefront.enquiries).

Set up the storefront

Purpose

Make your ordering website yours — name, texts, colours, what it offers, how customers order and pay, where it is served — and keep it right as the business changes.

Role / permission required

General manager or owner — storefront.manage. Others with storefront.view can look. The pictures show Grace, the owner.

Prerequisites

• The menus you sell online have Show on the storefront on, and the items Sell online (see Add a menu item). Open-price items are never sold online; sold-out items show Sold out.
• For online payment, an integrated mobile money or card method is set up (see Payment methods).

Steps

1. Open Storefront from the sidebar. (The very first time it shows Create your storefront: type the Name and the Address, tick the branches and create it; it starts as a draft only staff can see.)
2. On General (1), set the Name, the Tagline (2), About, the Announcement bar (3) (a line across the top of every page), the Phone, E-mail, Brand colour and Accent colour.
3. Choose the Status: Draft (staff preview only), Live or Paused (visible, no ordering).
4. Under Features, tick what the website offers: Digital menu, QR menu, Online ordering, Pickup, Scheduled orders, Delivery, Table ordering, Reservations, Catering enquiries, Private hire enquiries, Events, Gift cards, Loyalty, Customer accounts, Order tracking.
5. Tap Save. Open (4) shows the website in a new tab.
6. On Ordering & payment, set Taking online orders (1) (the master switch) and Accept new orders automatically (2), the Pickup ready in (minutes) (3), Delivery lead (minutes), Schedule up to (days ahead), Time slots every (minutes), Minimum pickup order, Default location, Pay when collecting, Cash on delivery, Proof of delivery (4) and the methods under Pay online with. Tap Save.
7. On Locations, tick which branches are on the storefront and what each takes, and their Online hours (see Set up online bookings).
8. On Domains, to use your own address type it (for example order.yourrestaurant.com) and tap Add domain. Add the CNAME and TXT records shown (1) at your DNS provider, wait, and tap Verify. When it is verified, Make primary uses it in links and QR codes.
9. On Events, Add event puts a dated event on the website with Book a table, Enquiry form or Information only; only Published events show.

Expected result

Saved after each tab. The website shows the new texts and colours at once. With the demo’s settings: orders wait for staff to accept them, pickup is ready in 20 minutes, delivery in 40, customers can schedule up to 7 days ahead in 15-minute slots, and the rider confirms the hand-over with the customer’s code. The custom domain order.jupitakitchen.ug is pending until its DNS records are found.

Screenshot

Common mistakes

• Going Live before checking the menu online. Open the website in Draft (staff see a preview) and check prices, photos and what is sold online first.
• Switching Taking online orders off for a quiet evening. The menu stays but nobody can order; use Paused or the branch’s online hours, and remember to switch it back.
• Removing a feature customers use. A feature that is off disappears from the website and its forms refuse requests.

Troubleshooting

• An item is missing online. Its menu is not live or not shown on the storefront, the item is not Sell online, it is open-price, or it is not on a menu of that branch at that time.
• Customers cannot order now. The storefront is paused or not taking orders, the location is closed (they can schedule), or the feature or location switch is off.
• The domain stays pending after Verify. The TXT record is not found yet: DNS can take hours. Check the record’s name and value. Your administrator must also add the domain on the web server and give it a certificate.

What the customer sees when they order

Purpose

Know exactly what your customers see — so you can guide them on the phone, test your website after a change, and understand the tracking page they show at the counter.

Role / permission required

Anyone: the website needs no login. Staff reading this need storefront.view to follow the order on Online orders.

Prerequisites

• The storefront is live and taking orders (see Set up the storefront).

Steps

1. The customer opens your website on their phone. The home page shows the announcement bar, the basket (1) and Order online (2), Book a table and the rest of what you offer.
2. On the menu they pick a category or search, and tap Add (1) beside a dish (a dish with choices opens its options first). The Checkout button (2) at the bottom shows what was added and the total; they tap it.
3. At checkout they check the basket lines (1), choose Pickup or Delivery (2), and As soon as possible or Schedule (3).
4. They type their name and phone (and, if they like, e-mail, allergies and a note), and choose how to pay (1): Pay when you collect, Cash on delivery, or pay now online — for mobile money with the phone number (2) that receives the payment prompt.
5. They check the total (1) and tap Place order (2).
6. When paying online, they approve the prompt on their phone.
7. The tracking page opens. It shows where the order is (1) and the steps (2): Received, Preparing, Ready to collect or On the way, and Collected or Delivered.

Expected result

The order is on your Online orders board under New: Rita Nabukeera, 2 items, USh 16,000, Paid online. The customer’s page says Order received — waiting for the restaurant to confirm with Paid USh 16,000, and changes by itself as you accept it, cook it and hand it over. A delivery order also shows the 6-digit code to give the rider.

Screenshot

Common mistakes

• Telling a customer their order is confirmed when it is still New. Their page says waiting for the restaurant to confirm until you accept it.
• Asking a customer to pay again at the counter. Their tracking page shows Paid when an online payment went through; check the card on the board.

Troubleshooting

• “I’ve paid but it says Waiting for your payment”. The provider has not confirmed yet. The customer taps I’ve paid — check now. Never mark it paid by hand; take a payment at the counter if needed.
• Place order stays grey. The basket is below the minimum for pickup or for the delivery zone, the address is outside every zone, or the storefront is not taking orders now.

FAQ

Can customers see their past orders? Yes, with a customer account (Account): their orders, bookings, points, gift cards and profile.