Tutorials / Delivery orders — riders, zones and cash on delivery
Delivery orders — riders, zones and cash on delivery
Delivery is a third order type beside dine in and takeaway. The customer is found by mobile number, the address is saved with them, the kitchen cooks from the KOT, a rider takes the order out, and the bill is settled when it reaches the door. Along the way the customer gets WhatsApp updates: an order confirmation when you place the order, and a message with the rider's name and mobile number when it goes out.
1. Turn delivery on
A manager opens Settings → Delivery and riders. On Multi-Outlet, each outlet's manager sets up their own outlet. Tick Take delivery orders, then fill the charges:
- Flat delivery charge and GST on delivery charge (%).
- Free delivery above: an order total that waives the delivery charge. Leave it empty for never free.
- Packing charge per order and GST on packing charge (%).
- Minimum order for delivery. Leave it empty for no minimum.
GST on delivery and packing is typed here because it is often not the food rate. The bill shows each charge with its own tax. Discounts apply to food only, and the service charge does not count these charges.
Under Payment and printing:
- Allow cash on delivery and Allow UPI on delivery.
- Print the customer's number and address on the bill. The KOT shows only DELIVERY and the order number, never the address.
- Print a second bill copy for the rider.
Save the delivery settings.
2. Zones (optional)
Tick Use zone charges when the address has a zone (otherwise the flat charge). Add zone takes a name (for example Sector 62), its charge, the usual time in minutes, and whether it is active. A zone's charge replaces the flat charge for addresses in it. You choose the zone when you save a customer's address. Removing a zone keeps those addresses; they use the flat charge.
3. Riders
Add rider with a name and a mobile number. Riders are names and numbers. They do not sign in. Turn Active off for someone who has left; their past deliveries stay on the reports.
4. Take a delivery order
- On POS, tap Delivery beside Takeaway and Dine in.
- Tap Customer. The number pad opens. Saved customers show up as you type the mobile number. Tap one, or add a new customer.
- Pick the address. A number with no saved address goes straight to a new address: the address, a landmark or note for the rider, the zone, and whether it is the default address.
- Add the dishes. The ticket adds the delivery charge (or free delivery) and the packing charge, each with its GST.
- Choose how it is paid:
- Paid now, then Collect now: for a customer who has already paid. The order goes to the kitchen paid.
- Cash on delivery, then Send to kitchen: the bill stays open until the rider brings the money back.
Either way, the customer gets an order confirmation on WhatsApp with the order number, the amount, and whether it is paid or cash on delivery.
5. In the kitchen
The KOT prints like any other, marked DELIVERY. On KDS, the tabs All tickets, Dine in, Takeaway and Delivery show each kind of order with a count. Delivery tickets are blue and show the customer, the zone, and whether the order is cash on delivery or already paid. The kitchen marks the dishes ready as usual.
With centralised billing, a kitchen's own station login sees a delivery order as an ordinary kitchen ticket. The rider, the address and the payment stay with the counter.
6. Out for delivery
When every dish is ready, choose the rider on the ticket. The list says who is free and who already has orders out. Press Out for delivery. The bill prints with the address and the rider's name for the rider, twice if the second copy is on. The customer gets a WhatsApp message that the order is on its way, with the rider's name and mobile number, so they call the rider about the gate, not the restaurant.
7. Delivered
When the rider is back, press Delivered.
- A paid order closes.
- A cash-on-delivery order opens the payment screen. If the customer paid by UPI at the door instead of cash, choose UPI. The bill keeps booked as cash on delivery beside the way it was actually paid, so the change shows on the records.
8. WhatsApp updates to the customer
Delivery uses the restaurant's WhatsApp, the same one that sends bills. Two messages go to the customer's mobile number:
- Order confirmed, when the order is placed: the restaurant, the order number, the amount, and paid or cash on delivery.
- On the way, when you press Out for delivery: the rider's name and mobile number.
WhatsApp bills and notifications are on Economy and above, like delivery itself. A customer saved without a mobile number gets no message.
9. Settle the rider's cash
The riders strip above KDS shows each rider, how many orders are out, how many were delivered today, and how much cash they hold. Only the cash part of a cash-on-delivery bill counts; a bill paid by UPI at the door adds nothing. When the rider hands the cash over, press Settle cash, check the amount, and save.
10. After the day
- Customers keeps each customer's addresses, what they spend and how they usually order. New delivery there starts an order for them.
- Completed paid orders filters by Delivery and by rider, shows the address, the rider and the out and delivered times on each bill, and has stats for each order type, payment mode, hour and rider.
Read the story behind it in delivery orders that add up at the end of the night. Set the dishes up first with the menu builder.