A scheduled order is a delivery order with a set time: in the chat, the customer taps Schedule, picks the day and time, and the order waits outside the kitchen. A little before that time, allowing for prep and travel, it reaches the display by itself and prints, like any other order.
What a scheduled order is
A scheduled order is a delivery order placed now to be delivered later. The customer fills the cart from the restaurant's page, chooses At home and, instead of As soon as possible, taps Schedule. Then they pick the day and time from the ones your restaurant offers.
The times follow your opening hours: they come in 15-minute steps, up to seven days ahead, and only when the kitchen would be open to cook and deliver. With no opening hours set up, the option doesn't even show in the chat.
Why it's worth turning on
- You sell outside the rush. A customer who already knows what they want locks in the order the moment they think of it, not when hunger hits and they open another app.
- The kitchen doesn't get thrown off. A scheduled order stays a Draft, off the display and the printer, until it's the right time to start.
- Nobody has to remember anything. The time to send it to the kitchen is worked out from your real prep time plus the delivery time, and the order goes in by itself.
- PIX stays the same. If the customer pays by PIX, you confirm whenever you like; the order keeps waiting for its time.
How to take scheduled orders in 5 steps
Five steps: two to turn it on, one to see what the customer picks, and two to follow it day to day.
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Set up your opening hours
The times offered to the customer come from your opening hours. In Settings, fill in the days and the hours when the kitchen works. A day with no hours isn't offered for scheduling.
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Turn on scheduled orders
Still in Settings, with Accept home delivery orders on, turn on the Accept scheduled orders switch, right below the delivery payment options. Save.
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See the customer's choice in the chat
On a delivery order, the chat asks Is this for now, or do you want to schedule it?. Whoever schedules picks the day, then the hour and then the exact time, always with big buttons and no typing. The customer gets a confirmation with the day and time, and the tracking page shows Scheduled.
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Follow scheduled orders on the Dashboard
The Dashboard shows the Scheduled orders block, sorted by time, with name, address and amount. Need it sooner? Tap Send now and the order goes to the kitchen right away. Customer changed their mind? Cancel takes the order out of the queue.
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Let the order reach the kitchen by itself
At the right time, the order leaves the Dashboard and reaches the display and the printer, with the agreed time highlighted on the card and the ticket, for example FOR Saturday, 20:00. From then on it follows the same path as any delivery order.
Tip: Keep the kitchen display or the print agent on during opening hours: they're what pull in the scheduled order at the exact time.
Frequently asked questions
How far ahead can the customer schedule?+
The first time offered is the earliest one with enough room to cook and deliver, and the last is seven days ahead. Times go in 15-minute steps, only within your opening hours.
When does the scheduled order show up in the kitchen?+
A little before the agreed time: the delivery time minus your prep time, worked out from recent orders, and about 20 more minutes for the trip. Until then it stays on the Dashboard, off the display and the printer.
What if the customer pays by PIX?+
Payment works the same. You check it and tap Confirm payment whenever you like, and the order keeps waiting for its time. An unpaid order never goes to the kitchen, not even when the time comes.
Can guests schedule an order at the table?+
No. Scheduling is only for delivery orders placed through the chat on the restaurant's page. At the table, the order goes straight to the kitchen, as always.
Do I need an app to receive scheduled orders?+
No. qmen.us runs in the browser, on a phone or a computer, with no app from a store. The customer schedules from your page's link and you follow it on the Dashboard.
Glossary
- Accept home delivery orders
- The Settings switch that turns on delivery. It sits indented under the chat option and only shows when the chat is on.
- Opening hours
- The Settings card where you set, from Monday to Sunday, what time the restaurant opens and closes.
- Draft
- An order's first status, while the waiter is still putting the list together and nothing has gone to the kitchen yet.
- Kitchen display
- The wall screen that shows that prep station's queue live, protected by a password.
- Dashboard
- The owner's screen, at qmen.us/restaurante/painel/, with active orders, occupied tables, today's revenue and a shortcut to Settings.
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