{"title":"Start an open order","slug":"pos-open-orders","url":"https://support.storeconnect.com/articles/pos-open-orders","url_markdown":"https://support.storeconnect.com/articles/pos-open-orders.md","subtitle":null,"summary":"Create an open order at the register so a sale stays open on the store under a memo such as Table 12, submit its items, and free the register for the next customer.","type":"Help_Documentation","video_url":"","keywords":"open order, open orders, memo, table number, table service, hospitality pos, submit order, create order, save order and clear cart, order actions, pos cart, tab, running tab, room number, open a tab, start a tab, run a tab, bar tab, put it on my tab, table order, running order, running bill, keep the order open, add items later, order in rounds, submit items, send to kitchen, kitchen ticket, job card, workshop job, service ticket, room charge, restaurant POS, cafe POS, pub POS, brewery POS, winery cellar door, pos.open_orders.enabled","last_modified":"2026-10-25T22:50:31+0000","body_markdown":"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.\n\nAn 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.\n\n## Before you start\n\n- Open orders must be enabled for the store. See [configure open orders](configure-pos-open-orders).\n- If your store uses fulfillment stations, set up routing first so submitted items reach the right station. See [route fulfillment to a station](pos-fulfillment-station-routing).\n\n## Start an open order\n\n1.  At the register, add the items for the sale to the cart.\n2.  Select **Create order**. The button stays disabled while the cart is empty.\n3.  On the **Create open order** screen, enter a **Memo** that identifies the sale, up to 80 characters. For example, `Table 12`.\n4.  Select **Confirm \u0026 save**.\n\nThe 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**.\n\n:::note\nThe 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](configure-pos-open-orders).\n:::\n\n## Submit the items\n\nSubmitting sends the sale to the order on the store. Until you submit, the items exist only on the register.\n\n1.  Review the lines in the cart.\n2.  Select **Submit**.\n\nThe 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.\n\nTwo things to expect on the order itself:\n\n- 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.\n- 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.\n\nSubmit 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.\n\n## Free the register without submitting\n\nTo put the order down without sending anything, open **Order actions** in the cart and select **Save order \u0026 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.\n\n## What changes on a cart linked to an open order\n\n| At the register | Plain cart | Cart linked to an open order |\n|---|---|---|\n| Primary button | **Create order** | **Submit** |\n| Cart menu | **Cart actions** | **Order actions** |\n| Header | Cart total only | Memo and the time the order was opened, with **Edit** |\n| **Park cart** | Offered | Not offered, the order is already saved on the store |\n| **Empty** | Offered | Replaced by **Cancel**, which cancels the order |\n| **Save order \u0026 clear cart** | Not offered | Offered |\n\n## Working offline\n\nCreating 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](offline-sales-at-pos) and [manage POS data sync](manage-pos-data-sync).\n\nResuming an order is the exception: a register that is offline can only continue an order it already holds locally.\n\nWhen the order is ready to be paid, resume it and take payment. See [resume and submit an open order](resume-and-submit-an-open-order)."}