Open the Dashboard to see who's on shift right now: the Waiters on shift block lists your team, highlights anyone with an active order at this moment and shows how many active orders each one is carrying. To start or end someone's shift, go to Manage restaurant, Waiters, and tap the button on their card.
What a shift is, and what the Dashboard block shows
In qmen.us, knowing who's on shift right now means checking two places that tell you slightly different things. The Shift is a marker on each waiter's card, on the Waiters screen: the button in the corner toggles between On shift and Off shift, and the person who changes it is you, the owner, or whoever manages the restaurant with you.
The Waiters on shift block on the Dashboard, on the other hand, is a live reading of the dining room: it highlights anyone with an active order at this moment, shows how many active orders each one has and moves that group to the top of the list. An active order is one that has been sent and isn't finished yet — sent, Preparing or Ready. Drafts don't count, and as soon as the line turns Served it drops out of the count.
Why follow your team live
- You see the dining room without asking anything. At a glance the Dashboard tells you how many waiters are serving and who's idle, without you crossing the restaurant or messaging the team's WhatsApp group.
- You can assign tables sensibly. Each waiter's card shows the orders in hand and the exact tables, like Table 4 · Table 7. The next table goes to whoever is free, not to whoever happens to be closest to the door.
- The shift is a record, not a lock. Marking someone as Off shift doesn't cut their access to the waiter app: it's there so you and the team know who's working. To actually remove access, the button is Remove.
- It updates by itself. The Dashboard redraws in real time as orders move, and on the Waiters screen the card changes state on tap, without reloading the page.
- At the end of the day it becomes a number. Each card ends with orders today and tables served, so you can compare everyone's workload without a spreadsheet.
How to see who's on shift now in 6 steps
There are six steps, from your first look at the Dashboard to ending the team's shift at the end of service.
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Open the Dashboard and look at the team block
Go to the restaurant Dashboard. In the right-hand column, below the kitchen load, is the Waiters on shift block, with a summary next to the title, like 3 of 5 serving. Each row shows the waiter's initials, name, status — serving or no orders right now — and, on the right, how many active orders they have.
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Go to the Waiters screen
The Dashboard is read-only. Scroll down to Manage restaurant and click the Waiters card, under Manage. You land on the grid of cards, one for each registered, active waiter.
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Read the summary at the top
There are four numbers: registered Waiters, On shift now in the 2 / 5 format with how many are off shift below it, Orders in hand adding up the active orders for the whole restaurant, and Orders today placed by the team.
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Start the shift for whoever just arrived
At the top of the card, to the right of the name, is the status button. It shows Off shift for anyone not working; one tap turns it to On shift, the Shift updated notice appears at the bottom and the numbers at the top adjust instantly.
Tip: The time is recorded: the card now shows when that waiter's shift started, like since 19:05. -
See who's busy and with which tables
The middle of the card shows the situation. With orders in hand: 2 active orders and, below, the tables and the start time, with a view link that takes you back to the Dashboard. With nothing in hand: On shift · free, with no orders in hand. And anyone who's off shows a faded card and the time they left.
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End the shift at the end of service
Tap the same button and it goes back to Off shift. The card fades, the On shift now counter drops and the bottom keeps the day's orders today and tables served. Anyone whose shift was never touched shows hasn't started a shift today.
Frequently asked questions
Does marking someone Off shift block the waiter's access?+
No. The shift is just an indicator of who's working — the waiter still signs in through their own link with Google or with the restaurant password. To cut access for someone who left the restaurant, use the Remove button on the card; if they already have an order history, their profile is archived and drops off the list.
Can a waiter start their own shift?+
No. The shift button is on the Waiters screen, which belongs to the owner's account (or whoever manages the restaurant). In practice, whoever opens the restaurant starts the whole team's shift at once, right there on their phone.
Why does a waiter who's On shift look faded on the Dashboard?+
Because the Dashboard block highlights whoever has an active order right now, not whoever you marked as on shift. A waiter on shift with nothing in hand shows as no orders right now — and lights up again with the first order they place.
Does the shift reset by itself at midnight?+
No. It stays exactly as you left it until someone taps the button again. That's why it's worth ending the shift at the end of service: it's what keeps the On shift now number meaningful the next day.
Who shows up on this team list?+
Only the registered, active waiters at your restaurant. Service, the virtual waiter whose name goes on the orders customers place themselves, is left out of both screens — it doesn't serve tables.
Do I need to install any app to follow this?+
No. Both screens open in the browser, on the register computer or on your phone, with your Google account. qmen.us isn't in any app store, and following your team costs nothing: the system is free for the restaurant, with no commission per order.
Glossary
- Shift
- A status that shows whether a waiter is working the floor right now, switched on their card between On shift and Off shift.
- Dashboard
- The owner's screen, at qmen.us/restaurante/painel/, with active orders, occupied tables, today's revenue and a shortcut to Settings.
- Waiter
- The person who takes orders on a phone at the waiter URL, using the staff password.
- Waiter app
- The ordering page each waiter opens through the restaurant's own link, right in the phone's browser.
- Served
- The order's status once every item has been served; the bill can still stay open.
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