Plain-English summary#
Getting your restaurant onto the customer ordering site is mostly outlet setup. The outlet's reference code becomes your storefront link. The outlet logo becomes the storefront branding. Your existing menu appears on the ordering site automatically, with per-item settings deciding what shows for dine-in, pickup and delivery. Delivery sectors set the delivery charges, and the payment methods you switch on decide how customers can pay. The master switch is the outlet's Accept Online Orders toggle — you can flip it from the counter app or admin.foodops.io, and every open counter (and the customer-facing banner) updates straight away without a refresh.
When you'd use this#
- Launching online ordering for a new outlet (the go-live checklist below)
- Pausing orders during a kitchen rush and resuming after — without changing opening hours
- Working out why a customer "can't see" an item, the delivery option or a payment method
- Re-branding: changing the storefront link or logo
- Checking a menu edit reached the customer site
Walkthrough — the go-live checklist#
1. Storefront link — the outlet reference code#
The reference code on the outlet form is your public link: customers reach the storefront at order.foodops.io/your-reference-code. Set or change it in the outlet details form — see Outlets. Changing it changes the link (old outlet links, and QR codes made from them, stop working), so print materials only once the code is final.
2. Branding#
Upload the outlet logo on the same outlet form. It appears in the storefront header. With no logo set, the Foodops wordmark shows instead.
3. Services and delivery sectors#
- Switch on the Delivery and/or Takeout services on the outlet (Services section) — these control which order-type buttons customers see.
- Create delivery sectors (a name and a delivery charge for each) in the admin app's sector form. The sector's charge is added to the customer's total. See Deliveries and Outlets.
4. Payment methods#
Payment options come from Settings → Accounting → Payment Methods, and they apply to your whole organisation, not to one outlet. At checkout customers choose Cash or Bank Transfer (slip upload). Card payment through BML is not offered at checkout: it appears as a Pay with BML button on the order page once the restaurant has accepted the order, and only if BML is connected under Settings → Integrations. Customers only see the options that are on; with none on, checkout can't finish. The outlet form also has an Allow payment without order acceptance setting. It changes the checkout button wording (Make Payment or Place Order); it does not let customers pay by card before staff accept.
5. Menu publishing — automatic, with per-channel settings#
There's no separate "publish" button: your POS menu is the storefront menu.
- Every item is online by default. Each item variant has DineIn / Takeout / Delivery settings that control which order types it appears in. Turn all three off to keep an item POS-only.
- When you edit the menu, open storefronts update automatically and customers see a short notice.
6. The master switch — Accept Online Orders#
One switch per outlet, two places to flip it:
| Where | How | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Counter app | Session Details window → Online Orders tab → "Accept Online Orders" switch ("When off, this outlet stops accepting orders from the ordering app.") | Needs a connection — disabled while the counter is offline. |
| admin.foodops.io | Outlet details → "Accept online orders" switch ("Customers can order through the app and web channels." when on) |
When you flip it, other open counters update their switch straight away.
7. What customers see while paused#
With the toggle off, the storefront shows the amber "{outlet} is not accepting online orders at this time" banner on the menu and cart, and new orders are actually refused — the banner isn't just for show. Dine-in (table QR) and group-cart orders still go through (they count as in-person), and orders already in progress carry on as normal. The exception is a closed till: while no register session is open on the outlet, every order type is blocked, dine-in and group carts included, with a "not accepting orders right now" message.
Key concepts#
- Reference code = link — the outlet's reference code is all the "website setup" you need.
- One switch, two places — the counter and admin switches are the same setting, and every screen stays in step.
- Automatic menu publishing — edit the menu and the storefront updates by itself. Nothing to sync by hand.
- Per-channel settings — DineIn/Takeout/Delivery for each variant; items can't be ordered through a channel they're not set for.
- Pause ≠ closed — the toggle is for rushes; opening hours are set separately. While paused, customers can still browse the menu (with the banner).
Common questions#
Q: What's the minimum to go live with online ordering? A: An outlet with a reference code, at least one menu item set for Takeout or Delivery, at least one payment method switched on, the matching service (Takeout/Delivery) on, the Accept Online Orders toggle on, and a register session open on the outlet (someone has opened the till). Sectors are only needed for delivery.
Q: Where do I find my storefront link to share? A: order.foodops.io/your-outlet-reference-code. The reference code is on the outlet details form — see Outlets.
Q: How do I pause orders during a rush? A: Quickest is on the counter: Session Details → Online Orders tab → flip "Accept Online Orders" off. Customers see the not-accepting banner straight away and new takeaway/delivery orders are refused. Flip it back when the kitchen catches up.
Q: Does pausing affect dine-in QR ordering at tables? A: Not by the Accept Online Orders switch — table-QR and group-cart orders count as in-person and aren't affected by it. They are blocked, like every order type, while no register session is open on the outlet.
Q: Do menu changes need a re-publish? A: No. Changes reach open storefronts automatically.