Printers and receipt printing

MenuDock can print a receipt to a network thermal printer when an order comes in, so the kitchen or counter gets a ticket without anyone tapping the tablet. This article covers adding a printer, scoping it to a location, and switching automatic printing on.

Printers are set per location, and the printing itself is done by the mobile tablet app, which reads the printer list you set here. So you add and manage printers in the web admin, and the tablet on the same network does the actual printing.

Open the Printers page

1. In the sidebar, open Settings → Printers.
2. If you run more than one branch, check the location name in the section headers and use the location selector in the top bar to switch branch. The printers you add belong to the branch you're viewing.

Add a printer

1. In the Printers section, press Add printer.
2. Fill in:
   • Name — a label for staff, for example "Kitchen".
   • IP address — the printer's address on your network, for example 192.168.1.50. A hostname works too.
3. Set the two switches:
   • Active — whether this printer is in use.
   • Auto-print — whether this printer prints automatically when a new order is accepted.
4. Press Create.

Each printer connects over the network on port 9100, the standard for thermal receipt printers, so you only need its IP address, not a full URL. You can't add two printers with the same IP at the same location. To change a printer later, press Edit on its row; to remove it, press Delete.

Turn on automatic printing

Adding a printer doesn't switch on auto-printing by itself. There's a master switch at the top of the page:

• Auto-print accepted orders is the location-wide switch. It's off by default. Turn it on once you've added at least one active printer.
• Each printer's own Auto-print toggle decides whether that printer is included.

So a receipt prints automatically only when the location's master switch is on, the printer is Active, and that printer has Auto-print on. Accepting an order on the tablet then sends the receipt to every printer that matches.

When to change this

• Add one printer per place a ticket needs to land: a kitchen printer, a bar printer, a counter printer.
• Leave auto-print off on a printer you only want to use for the occasional manual reprint.
• Mark a printer Paused by switching off Active if it's down for repair, rather than deleting it.

Printers can also be managed from the MenuDock mobile app, which is handy on the tablet itself. The list is the same either way.

Related articles

• Manage orders in the admin
• Collection and delivery

Need a hand?

If receipts aren't printing automatically, run through the three conditions: the location master switch on, the printer Active, and the printer's Auto-print on. Check the IP address matches the printer and that the tablet is on the same network. Still stuck? Email support@menudock.co.uk with your store name and the printer's IP.