The Orders tab is the heart of the app. New orders land here on their own as customers place them, grouped by where they are in the kitchen. This article covers the four sub-tabs and how to move an order from accepted to done.
The four sub-tabs
The Orders tab splits your live orders into four stages, each with a count badge so you can see at a glance how many are waiting:
| Sub-tab | What's in it |
|---|---|
| Waiting | New orders you've not accepted yet, due now or soon. |
| Preparing | Orders you've accepted and are working on. |
| Ready | Orders finished and waiting for collection or the driver. |
| Scheduled | Accepted orders due later, held back until close to their time. |
A scheduled order doesn't clutter the Waiting tab while it's still hours away. It moves into Waiting on its own as its time approaches, so staff see it when it's actually due.
Tap any order card to open its detail, where you'll find the items, the customer and the buttons to move it along.
Moving an order through
The buttons on the order detail change depending on the stage the order is at:
- A new order shows Accept and Reject. Accept it to start work, or reject it if you can't fulfil it. Both ask you to confirm first.
- An order you're preparing shows Mark Ready (or Complete, if your branch doesn't use the ready step) and Cancel. Tap Mark Ready when it's done and waiting.
- A ready order shows Complete and Cancel. Tap Complete once it's handed over or out for delivery.
Reject and Cancel both ask you to confirm before they go through, so a stray tap won't kill an order.
Status changes reach the customer
When you change an order's status, the app sends that change through MenuDock rather than writing it straight to the database. That's deliberate: it means the customer gets the right email at each step, and if you cancel an order that's been paid, the refund is handled for you. So accepting, marking ready and completing aren't just for your own tracking; the customer sees the same progress.
The order stages here mirror the web admin. For the full picture of what each status means, see Order status flow. For cancellations and refunds, see Cancel an order and refund.
Related articles
- A tour of the app
- How live updates work
- Order status flow
- Manage orders in the admin panel
- Cancel an order and refund
Need a hand?
If an order won't change status, or a customer says they didn't get an update, email us at support@menudock.co.uk with your store name and the order number and we'll look into it.