Getting the first hundred orders through the sign.

Online ordering doesn't replace your counter. It gives the people who would rather not queue another way in — if they notice it, if it works the first time, and if the order is ready when it said it would be.

Those three things are what this guide is about.

Before you switch it on

Weigh it first.

What you gain

  • A shorter line at the busiest hour, because some of it has ordered from the pavement.
  • Orders that arrive with a name, already paid.
  • Regulars who can order on the walk in and be gone in a minute.

What it costs

  • A second stream of orders reaching the bar while the first is in front of it.
  • A ready time you have to keep. A late online order is a broken promise in writing.
  • A few minutes a day keeping the menu true: what's out, what's new, how long things take.

The bar feels this before the owner does. On a counter with one person on it, a burst of online orders at the wrong moment is stress with no extra hands. Decide beforehand who makes what when both streams are busy, and use Rush Mode rather than heroics.

  1. 01

    Rehearse before you tell anyone.

    Place practice orders with your team until the whole path is boring: the order arriving, the ready time, the handover. The first real customer should meet a routine, not an experiment.

    What it costs
    Half an hour before opening, once or twice.
    Where it lives
    Simulation Checkout places practice orders that go through the queue without a real charge. They never touch your books, your stock or your loyalty points.
    How you’ll know
    Anyone on shift can take an online order from arrival to handover without asking.
  2. 02

    Stand the sign where the queue forms.

    The counter sign is read by people who are waiting. Put it where the line starts to bend, not at the till where the wait is already over, and put a second one in the window for the people deciding whether to come in.

    What it costs
    Counter space, and a sign that needs straightening and wiping like everything else on the counter.
    Where it lives
    The counter sign prints from Overview. Visitors counts the people who arrived from it.
    How you’ll know
    Scans climbing on your busy mornings, when the queue is longest.
  3. 03

    Tell the time honestly.

    The ready time a customer is quoted starts from how long each item takes to make. Set those times to what they really are on an ordinary morning, not on your best one.

    When the counter is slammed, switch on Rush Mode and let every quote stretch. A longer time that is kept builds the habit; a short one that is missed ends it.

    What it costs
    Some customers will see a longer wait and walk in instead. That is the system working: they chose with the truth in front of them.
    Where it lives
    Make times are set per item in Menu & Items. Rush Mode is switched on from Live Store in Admin, and adds the minutes you choose to every quote.
    How you’ll know
    Orders marked ready at or before the time they were promised, and nobody at the counter asking where theirs is.
  4. 04

    Make a place for pickups.

    Every order carries a short code. Give finished online orders a shelf of their own, each with its code or name on it, where a customer can reach it without joining the queue they ordered to avoid.

    What it costs
    A shelf, and the discipline to put every online order on it rather than behind the machine.
    Where it lives
    The code is on the customer's order ticket and on the order in your queue. They are told on their lock screen or by email when it is marked ready.
    How you’ll know
    People walking in, lifting their order and leaving without stopping the line.
  5. 05

    Say it once, at the till.

    The best advertisement is a sentence from the person who just served them: next time you can order from that sign and skip this. Say it to the regulars first. They come most, queue most and gain most.

    Don't ask anyone to make an account to try it. A guest can order with only a name; the account is worth offering once the habit exists.

    What it costs
    A line to remember on a busy shift. Put it on a card by the till for the first fortnight.
    Where it lives
    Guests check out with a name for the pickup. Regulars can add your storefront to their home screen, where it opens like an app.
    How you’ll know
    The same names ordering ahead more than once a week.

Where to start

In this order.

  1. Set honest make times and run practice orders until the team is bored.

  2. Print the sign and stand it where the queue forms.

  3. Give pickups a shelf, and say the sentence at the till for two weeks.

  4. Watch one busy morning end to end. Fix what was late before you add anything.

More guides

The next thing to get used.

BakeAhead

Getting tomorrow's bake reserved tonight.

The saving, the sign by the empty tray, the pickup shelf, and the morning it asks of your bakers.

Read the guide

Tap & Tend

Bringing the table into the queue without losing the welcome.

Which tables to start with, where the codes go, and who carries the tray.

Read the guide

Loyalty

A ladder your regulars actually climb.

A first rung everyone already has, perks you'd say out loud, and a team that knows them.

Read the guide

Get started

Start small,
and watch what happens.

Start free — no card needed. Print your counter sign, put it beside the till, and see what happens.

Try the appSee pricing