Keeping orders open until food is sent (even if bill is paid)

[Rafikis]

After dealing with too many walk outs last year, we are trying to move to customers paying when we take their order at the table. We use KDS with square readers on ipads. We need the orders to stay open after they have paid and only be closed once the kitchen has sent their food. in case we need to see their order or make amendments. Is this possible?

[Sam_400º]

Hey @Rafikis - really sorry you didn’t get any answers to your question before! I realise I’m really late to the party here too. 

One an order is paid then it’s closed here in the UK. I know things work a little differently over in the US for adding stuff after the card has been used. 

Are you using the table layout? As this means at least all your tabs/tables remain the same when extras are put through. 

It’s worth joining the beta community here too as if something in in the pipe line there’s often a chance to help try it out. 

[Lou8]

Hi @Rafikis, welcome to the Community 👋.

It looks like we missed your post - I'm sorry about that!

As @Sam_400º said, there is currently no way to keep an order open after it's been paid on Square Restaurant POS. This would be a feature request, which you can file on our Ideate board. 

The only way you'd be able to keep an open tab and avoid unpaid walkouts, is by setting up Self Serve Ordering and QR codes with Square Online. Your customers will be able to order from their tables using a QR code and can opt to leave their tab open to continue ordering items. Payment information needs to be added upfront, so if a customer leaves without paying, the pre-authorised card will be automatically charged 2 hours after the last order on the tab. You'll find more information about Self Serve Open Tabs on our Support Center.

(Note that this feature requires the Square Online Plus plan at £20/month).

I hope this helps, but feel free to get back to me if you have any questions.

[Hadley]

Hi @Rafikis  - 👋 I'm reaching out from our F&B product team. Thanks for sharing this feedback. While not available yet in the UK, we will be offering pre-authorization functionality on the POS later this year. It sounds like based on your use case, this would be helpful. Keep an eye in the Seller Community and we'll be sure to share more information once we have more information. 

Hadley