Start an open order

Use an open order to keep a sale open on the store while the register moves on to the next customer. The order is saved on the store rather than held on one register, so any register in the store can pick it up, and a memo such as Table 12 identifies it.

An open order is a real Order record, so items submitted to it reach the kitchen, bar, or other fulfillment station straight away and the customer pays at the end.

Before you start

• Open orders must be enabled for the store. See configure open orders.
• If your store uses fulfillment stations, set up routing first so submitted items reach the right station. See route fulfillment to a station.

Start an open order

1. At the register, add the items for the sale to the cart.
2. Select Create order. The button stays disabled while the cart is empty.
3. On the Create open order screen, enter a Memo that identifies the sale, up to 80 characters. For example, Table 12.
4. Select Confirm & save.

The order is created on the store and linked to the cart in front of you. The cart header now shows Memo: Table 12 and the time the order was opened, and the cart’s primary button changes from Create order to Submit.

:::note The memo can be renamed to suit your business, so your register may show Room, Job #, or another label in place of Memo. See configure open orders. :::

Submit the items

Submitting sends the sale to the order on the store. Until you submit, the items exist only on the register.

1. Review the lines in the cart.
2. Select Submit.

The whole cart is sent, the register clears to a fresh cart, and a message confirms "Table 12" submitted with a Resume button that puts the order back on the register if you tapped too early.

Two things to expect on the order itself:

• Each line with a quantity above 1 is split into single-unit lines, so every unit can be tracked and prepared separately. The cart total does not change.
• Newly submitted lines that route to a fulfillment station are grouped into fulfillments by fulfillment type, stock location, and station, which is what puts them in front of the station that prepares them. Lines with no station, and delivery lines, get their fulfillments at checkout instead.

Submit always sends the whole cart, not only the lines that look new. It is the only action that commits line cancellations, notes, and a customer change, so use it after any edit. Submitting an order that has not changed does nothing.

Free the register without submitting

To put the order down without sending anything, open Order actions in the cart and select Save order & clear cart. The order stays on the store exactly as it was, the register gets a fresh cart, and any edits you had made stay on the order and come back when it is resumed.

What changes on a cart linked to an open order

At the register	Plain cart	Cart linked to an open order
Primary button	Create order	Submit
Cart menu	Cart actions	Order actions
Header	Cart total only	Memo and the time the order was opened, with Edit
Park cart	Offered	Not offered, the order is already saved on the store
Empty	Offered	Replaced by Cancel, which cancels the order
Save order & clear cart	Not offered	Offered

Working offline

Creating an open order, submitting it, editing its memo, and cancelling it all work while the register is offline. Each change is queued on the device and sent when the connection returns. See take payments while the POS is offline and manage POS data sync.

Resuming an order is the exception: a register that is offline can only continue an order it already holds locally.

When the order is ready to be paid, resume it and take payment. See resume and submit an open order.