Open Settings on the Dashboard: the prep time target is the Prep time target (min) field, which shows as house target next to the day's actual average time. The same screen holds the Table or Tab wording, waiter calls, self-ordering and delivery. Click Save.
What's in Settings and what each switch changes
The prep time target is the number, in minutes, that your restaurant takes as its goal for the time between an order going to the kitchen and being ready. It lives in Settings, in the General card, in the Prep time target (min) field, and starts at 18. It's not a timer or a lock: it's the reference shown on the Dashboard, under the Average prep time card, in the format house target: 18 min, side by side with the actual average time of orders completed today.
The same General card holds the restaurant's other preferences: What to call your tables, with the options Table and Tab; Complete item by item, which decides whether the kitchen marks each line done or only the whole order; Let guests call the waiter from the table; and Self-ordering with the virtual waiter (chat), which opens the option to accept delivery orders below it. Further down the same screen come Location and Opening hours — and a single Save button stores everything at once.
Why it's worth adjusting these before you open
- You compare what you promised with what you delivered, every day. The Dashboard shows the day's actual average time on top and the house target right below. When the two numbers drift apart, you see it at a glance — no spreadsheet and no stopwatch in hand.
- Guests see your own estimate while the restaurant is new. The table screen shows Ready in about N min. Until there are enough completed orders to measure, that N comes from your target; after that, we start calculating it from the restaurant's real history and the target goes back to being an internal reference.
- Table or Tab is one word that changes the whole app. A restaurant that hands out numbered tabs doesn't have to live with the word Table on any screen. And the switch is reversible: no QR code, link or table code changes.
- Waiter calls are geofenced. The button only shows for people physically at the restaurant, so nobody across town can call your team for nothing. If you don't want the button, turn off the switch and that's it.
- One screen, one Save, zero cost. Time target, place wording, calls, self-ordering and delivery all go out together in the same form, right in the browser. qmen.us is free for the restaurant with no commission per order — we're not a marketplace.
How to set your prep time target and the rest in 7 steps
Seven steps, from the gear icon to Save — and what to check on the Dashboard right after.
-
Open Settings
On the restaurant Dashboard, the gear icon in the corner of the header takes you straight there; the top menu and the footer also have the Settings shortcut. The screen is a stack of cards: General, Location, Opening hours and, further down, Offline mode and the Danger zone. Almost everything in this article lives in the first card.
-
Enter your time target
At the end of the General card is Prep time target (min). It's a number field, accepts 1 to 240 and comes filled in with 18. Enter the time your kitchen really takes on a normal shift, from the moment the order is sent until it's READY — it's a reference for the restaurant, not a promise to the guest.
Tip: Not sure what number to use? Leave 18 for a few days, look at the Average prep time card on the Dashboard and adjust the target to what the kitchen actually delivers. -
Choose between Table and Tab
The What to call your tables field has two options: Table, the default, and Tab, for restaurants that hand the guest a number instead of seating them at a fixed spot. The choice changes the word across the whole app — titles, buttons, messages and the guest screen. Codes, links and QR codes already printed keep working.
-
Decide how the kitchen marks things done
The Complete item by item switch comes turned on. That way, the prep station marks each line READY and the waiter is alerted item by item — good for places that serve things as they come out. Turned off, the kitchen only completes the whole order at once, which usually suits restaurants that load up the tray and bring everything together.
-
Turn waiter calls on or off
Let guests call the waiter from the table also comes turned on and puts the Call waiter button on the screen the guest opens from the table QR code. It doesn't show for just anyone: the phone needs to be near the restaurant, within about 300 meters, so the restaurant's address has to be filled in with its spot on the map in the Location card. The call goes to the active waiter with the fewest orders on their hands.
-
Choose whether guests order on their own
Self-ordering with the virtual waiter (chat) lets guests build and send their own order, at the table through the QR code or through the restaurant's public page. Turning it on opens the Accept home delivery orders switch just below and, inside it, PIX payment with PIX key and Recipient name, plus Pay on delivery. PIX, Brazil's instant payment system, is arranged directly between the customer and you — we only show the key and wait for your confirmation.
-
Click Save and check the Dashboard
The Save button is at the end of the form, after the hours, and stores everything together: name, logo, photo, phone numbers, address, hours and all these switches. You're back on the Dashboard right away. Look at the Average prep time card: under it appears house target with the number you just saved, next to the actual average time of orders completed today.
Frequently asked questions
How many minutes should I set as the target?+
The field accepts 1 to 240 minutes and comes with 18. A good number is the time your kitchen delivers on a normal shift, not on its best day or its worst. If the Dashboard shows the actual average time far from the target for several days, it's a sign to change the target or change the process — either way works.
Does the target lock or rush anything in the kitchen?+
No. It doesn't change statuses, doesn't block any item and doesn't send alerts to the team. It's a comparison number on the Dashboard and the estimate guests see while the restaurant doesn't yet have enough completed orders to calculate on its own.
Does switching from Table to Tab break the QR codes I already printed?+
It breaks nothing. The What to call your tables field only changes the word the app uses in titles, buttons and messages. Codes, public links and QR codes stay exactly the same, and past orders stay tied to the same places.
Why doesn't the Call waiter button show on the guest's screen?+
There are three possible reasons: the Let guests call the waiter from the table switch is off, the restaurant's address has no spot on the map yet, or the guest is far from the restaurant — the button only shows for people nearby, within about 300 meters. And even with everything on, the call needs at least one active waiter to go to.
Does turning on self-ordering mean I have to accept delivery and PIX?+
No. Accept home delivery orders is a separate switch, under self-ordering, and PIX is yet another switch, which only applies to delivery orders. Even with PIX on, the money is arranged directly between the customer and you: qmen.us doesn't process any payment.
Who can open this screen?+
It's the owner's screen, inside the restaurant Dashboard, opened in the browser — there's no app to download. Waiters sign in at a different address, with the staff password, and don't see Settings. Making changes here is free, like the rest of qmen.us: no monthly fee and no commission per order.
Glossary
- Prep time target
- The number of minutes your restaurant sets in Settings, shown on the Dashboard as the house target. It starts at 18 and can be anything from 1 to 240.
- House target
- How that number appears on the Dashboard, under the Average prep time card, next to the actual average time of orders completed today.
- What to call your tables
- The Settings field that picks between Table and Tab and swaps that word across the whole app, without touching codes or QR codes.
- Complete item by item
- The Settings switch that decides whether the kitchen marks each line done separately or only the whole order.
- Call waiter
- A button on the table screen that alerts a waiter in real time. It only shows when the address is set up, and only for guests within 300 meters of the restaurant.
- Self-ordering
- The Self-ordering with the virtual waiter (chat) option in Settings. When it's on, guests build and send their own order from the table screen, with no waiter.
Related resources
Understanding the waiter password and the display password
Set the waiter password and the kitchen display password in minutes: where to create them, how staff sign in …
KitchenHow the default kitchen sends each item to the right station
See how an item's default kitchen sends each order to the right station's display: grill, bar and pastry get …
Delivery and pickupScheduled orders: the customer picks the delivery time
Let customers schedule a delivery for later in the chat. The order waits outside the kitchen and reaches the …