Open Manage restaurant, go to Waiters and tap the status button on the card: the waiter's shift switches to On shift or Off shift right away, with the time saved. The On shift now counter at the top of the page tells you how many are on the floor; each card shows since when.
What a shift is in qmen.us
A waiter's shift is a simple marker: it tells you who's on the floor right now. Every registered waiter has a card on the Waiters page and, in the top corner of that card, a status button with only two states — On shift or Off shift. Whoever manages the restaurant taps that button to start and end it, and the time of the tap is recorded: it becomes since 19:30 for someone who came in and left at 23:10 for someone who went home.
This marker is informational, not a lock. Someone off shift can still open their link and enter orders, and someone on shift doesn't lose anything when the workday ends. To actually remove access, you do something else: change the password or remove the waiter, with the buttons at the bottom of the card. And remember it all runs in the browser — there's no app to download from any store.
Why it's worth marking who's on the floor
- One glance tells you who's on the floor. The top of the Waiters page shows the On shift now counter, like 3 / 5, with how many are off shift right below. No need to count heads or ask in the group chat.
- The time is recorded by itself. Someone who starts a shift shows since 19:30 on the card; someone who leaves shows left at 23:10. Nobody writes anything down, and the time is set by the tap on the button.
- Shift and workload show up together. On the same card you can see 2 active orders with the tables in hand, or the free line, no orders in hand. You can decide on the spot who takes the next table.
- It's one tap, with no settings screen. The card updates right away and the Shift updated notice appears. There's no form to fill in and no save button.
- Forgetting to mark it doesn't block anything. Since the shift is an indicator and not a permission, nobody is stopped from entering orders because of an outdated status — at worst, the counter at the top will be wrong.
How to mark a waiter's shift in 6 steps
Six steps: four to mark and follow the shift, one to end it, and one to understand what the waiter sees on their side.
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Open the Waiters page
On the Dashboard, scroll down to Manage restaurant and tap the Waiters card. A page opens with the title Waiters and a row of counters at the top: registered Waiters, On shift now, Orders in hand and Orders today. Everything to do with the floor team starts here.
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Find the waiter's card
Each registered waiter has their own card, with a colored circle showing their initials, the name and the word Waiter underneath. Someone off shift appears with a more faded card, which helps you spot at a glance who still needs marking.
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Tap the button to start the shift
The status button sits in the top corner of the card. If it says Off shift, one tap puts the waiter On shift right away — the card updates by itself and the Shift updated notice appears. Just below, the card now shows On shift · free, with no orders in hand · since 19:30.
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Keep track of who's on the floor
With the team marked, the counter at the top shows something like 3 / 5 under On shift now, with 2 off shift right below. When the waiter picks up work, the card swaps the free line for 2 active orders, with the tables and since 19:30. Further down are the day's numbers: orders today and tables served.
Tip: A waiter whose shift was never marked shows the notice hasn't started a shift today — a sign that nobody has tapped their button yet. -
End the shift at the end of the day
Tap the same button again and it goes back to Off shift. The card keeps the time and now shows left at 23:10. The status doesn't flip by itself when the day changes: if nobody taps it, the waiter stays marked as they were.
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See how it looks on the waiter's side
The waiter signs in through their link — the one the card shows under Restaurant app access, with a copy button — using their Google account or the restaurant password. On their home screen they see Shift · 19:42, which is the current time, and the sign out link next to the restaurant's name. That sign out ends the session on the device and doesn't touch the button on the Dashboard.
Frequently asked questions
Does the waiter start and end their own shift in their app?+
No. The button that switches between On shift and Off shift is on the waiter's card, on the Waiters page, which belongs to the restaurant's Dashboard. The waiter app has the sign out link at the top, but it only ends the session on that device — the status on the Dashboard stays as it was.
Does going off shift remove the waiter's access?+
No. Someone off shift can still open their link and enter orders as usual. To really cut access, use the bottom of the card: Change the password, or Remove. A waiter who already has orders in the history isn't deleted — they're archived, and the history stays intact.
What does Shift · 19:42 at the top of the waiter app mean?+
It's the current time, shown with the good morning, good afternoon or good evening on their home screen. It isn't the time the shift started: that shows on the Dashboard card, as since 19:30.
Does the shift reset by itself at the end of the day?+
No. The status stays exactly as you left it, so someone left On shift is still On shift the next day. It's worth getting into the habit of ending shifts at closing time, or the counter at the top counts people who already went home.
Does the Waiters on shift block on the Dashboard show the same thing?+
Not quite. On the Dashboard, the Waiters on shift block lists who has an active order right now, marked serving or no orders right now. The On shift / Off shift button, with the time recorded, is the one on the Waiters page.
Does this work as a timesheet?+
No. The shift is an indicator of who's on the floor, with the time of the last tap on the button — it's not time tracking and doesn't produce a report of hours worked. And it costs nothing: qmen.us 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.
- Waiter app
- The ordering page each waiter opens through the restaurant's own link, right in the phone's browser.
- Waiter
- The person who takes orders on a phone at the waiter URL, using the staff password.
- Restaurant password
- A short password the owner sets so a waiter can sign in to the app without a Google account.
- Dashboard
- The owner's screen, at qmen.us/restaurante/painel/, with active orders, occupied tables, today's revenue and a shortcut to Settings.
- Table
- Each spot in the dining room registered in the system, with its own QR code for opening orders.
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