How to require restaurant approval for Catering Orders

Some restaurants may want to accept all Catering Orders automatically into Direct Ordering, no matter their date, time, or size. Others may want a chance to review Catering orders before accepting them to confirm they will have the bandwidth available on the given date to ensure a successful order. We recommend enabling Approval for Catering Orders for the latter type of restaurant. 

How to require restaurant approval for Catering orders:

1. In your Direct Ordering Admin Panel

2. Go to Stores > select a Store

3. Go to Revenue Centers > Catering revenue center

4. Scroll down to the Initial Receipt Status field.

5. Choose an option from the dropdown:

   1. Open = All catering orders will come into Direct Ordering with an OPEN status, which is an order placed for a future date that is also automatically approved. 

      • Pending Approval = All catering orders will come into Direct Ordering with a PENDING status, which is an order placed for a future date that has not yet been approved. If you want Catering orders to require approval before the order is accepted, choose this option.

6. Click Submit to save your changes.  

See below for a screen recording demonstrating how to set up "Pending Approval" for all Catering orders:

How Customers & Restaurants experience a Catering Order workflow

Once you've set the Initial Receipt Status to "Pending Approval", the customer and restaurant will experience the workflow as shown below:

1. The customer places a Catering Order. Whether for ASAP or Future, their checkout page indicates their order is "Pending Approval".

   

   
   

2. The customer receives a confirmation email of their pending order.> PRO TIP: To customize this email and who receives it, go to Settings > in the Communications section, click Confirmation Emails > click Catering > select PENDING > customize the email within. Related Article:  Customer Email Confirmations

   

   
   

3. The restaurant receives a copy of the same email notification above, which is their indication the order requires approval from the backend. 
   > PRO TIP: If you have a specific Catering team that should receive every email, go to Stores > Select Store > Revenue Centers > Catering Revenue Center > Email Settings > Update the Revenue Center Email Notifications for "Confirmation Emails" to all the members of your Catering team (comma-separated). 
   Related Article:  Updating Email Recipients at a REVENUE CENTER Level
   

4. In the Direct Ordering Admin Panel, the restaurant reviews the pending Catering order and Approves it.

5. Upon approval, the customer receives confirmation that their order was approved:> To customize this email and who receives it, go to Settings > in the Communications section, click Confirmation Emails > click Catering > select INITIAL > customize the email within.Related Article:  Customer Email Confirmations

   

6. Then, on the day of the order, depending on the restaurant's Order Send Time settings, the order will either be sent to the POS automatically by Direct Ordering or manually from your dashboard. 
   Related Article:  When will an order be sent to my POS