Informing guests automatically: confirmation, status changes and receipt

Part of the communication with the guest runs without any action from you. With payment on site the guest receives a confirmation link after ordering; if no confirmation follows, a reminder goes out after 10 minutes, and after 20 minutes the order is cancelled automatically. After that the guest sees the state of the order under „Meine Bestellungen" on the same device and picks up the receipt as a PDF there. The personal part you trigger yourself with one click: „Kunde über Annahme informieren" opens a pre-filled WhatsApp message to the guest, „Kunden anrufen" opens the phone app.

What happens without any action from you

After an order with payment on site the guest receives a confirmation link – and, if this is set up in your restaurant, an additional WhatsApp message.
After 10 minutes without confirmation the guest is reminded.
After 20 minutes without confirmation the order is cancelled automatically.
Once the guest has confirmed, you have up to 45 minutes to accept the order – otherwise it is cancelled automatically. The alert becomes more insistent after 5 minutes.
Prepaid online orders are never cancelled automatically.

The time values and your options are explained in Confirm cash payment & understand time limits.

How the guest confirms

After ordering, the guest opens the confirmation link.
The guest taps „Bestellung bestätigen". Then „Deine Bestellung ist bestätigt" appears.
If it says „Bereits bestätigt", everything is fine and nothing further needs doing.

Only then does the order reach you for acceptance. Anyone who has paid online does not confirm anything: that order is already binding. The page for your guests is Confirm order & time limit.

„Annehmen & Zeit bestätigen": the estimate becomes a promise

As long as you have not accepted an order with payment on site, the time the guest sees is an estimated guide value. With „Annehmen & Zeit bestätigen" in the Order Centre this time becomes binding for the guest – and if automatic printing is active, the ticket is printed at the same moment. After that you move the order through neu → in Bearbeitung → erledigt.

What the guest can look up

Under „Meine Bestellungen" the guest sees the most recent orders with status and details, for example the allergens. This history is stored on the device of the guest, it is not synced across devices, and the status shown there is not a live status from the kitchen. Via „Beleg anzeigen" the guest receives the receipt as a PDF – and a receipt is not automatically an invoice, as Receipt and invoice for the guest explains.

Tracking a delivery: what is stated honestly

For a delivery the guest sees – provided your restaurant offers this and the guest agrees – a map with the route and an estimated arrival time. This is an estimate for orientation; the exact location of the driver is not available. For guests this is described under Order history, receipt & shipment tracking.

When the confirmation does not arrive

You do not have to wait for the countdown:

„Per WhatsApp bestätigen lassen" or „Kunde erinnern" – for this you need a phone number and the confirmation link,
„Manuell bestätigt" – you confirm on behalf of the guest, for instance after a phone call, and accept the order,
„Unbestätigte stornieren" – the order moves to the archive and can be restored.

Declining with a reason instead of silence

If an order has to go, you choose „Bestellung ablehnen/stornieren", write a reason or tap one of the prepared reasons, and you can send it to the guest as a pre-filled WhatsApp message; a valid phone number must be on file. The order then sits in the archive „Stornierte Karten".

The cancellation window: what the guest may do

In the Storno-Fenster area you set how many minutes the guest may cancel the order online: the default is 10 minutes, adjustable from 0 to 240, and only as long as the kitchen has not started. With online payment the amount is refunded automatically. If you choose „Nein, nur telefonisch", there is no online cancellation. After the window the guest is told to get in touch with you by WhatsApp or phone. The setting is explained in Set the cancellation window for guests.

What stays manual

The personal messages are not an automated machine: „Kunde über Annahme informieren" opens a pre-filled WhatsApp message to the guest, „Kunden anrufen" opens the phone app with the number. Both are manual and available at any time, provided a number is on file. „An Fahrer senden" is likewise a pre-filled WhatsApp message with the order details to your own number – that is the only driver function; there is no dispatch or tracking system with a live location. This is described in Informing customers & „An Fahrer senden".

Who benefits from this?

Businesses where the phone rings at peak time because guests ask whether their order has arrived. The difference is clearest with payment on site: the confirmation by the guest protects the kitchen from orders nobody collects. If you only accept orders paid online, you do not need the confirmation step; the status display, the receipt and the manual messages remain.

Frequently asked questions

Does the guest automatically receive a confirmation of the order?

With payment on site the guest receives a confirmation link after ordering and thereby confirms that the order stands. Orders paid online are binding even without this confirmation.

How long does the guest have to confirm the order?

If the guest does not confirm, a reminder goes out after 10 minutes; if the confirmation still does not arrive, the order is cancelled automatically after 20 minutes. This applies only to orders with payment on site.

What happens if I do not accept a confirmed order?

Once the guest has confirmed, you have up to 45 minutes to accept the order, otherwise it is cancelled automatically; the alert becomes more insistent after 5 minutes. Prepaid online orders are never cancelled automatically.

Does the guest see the order status live from the kitchen?

No. The order history under „Meine Bestellungen" is stored on the device of the guest, is not synced across devices and shows no live status from the kitchen. The time becomes binding for the guest at the moment you press „Annehmen & Zeit bestätigen".

Does the system send WhatsApp messages to my guests on its own?

The WhatsApp messages from an order are manual: you tap „Kunde über Annahme informieren" and send the pre-filled message. The confirmation link can additionally go to the guest as a WhatsApp message if this is set up in your restaurant.

How long may a guest cancel the order without help?

You set that in the Storno-Fenster: the default is 10 minutes, adjustable from 0 to 240 minutes, and only as long as the kitchen has not started. With online payment the amount is refunded automatically.

Where does the guest find the receipt?

The guest opens „Meine Bestellungen" on your website and taps „Beleg anzeigen"; the receipt arrives as a PDF. A receipt is not automatically an invoice – depending on the restaurant, the guest can receive an invoice on request.

More on this: Order Centre · Receipt and invoice for the guest · Online ordering system