Take orders for later
Let customers order now for a later day and time.
On this page
- What it is
- Find it
- Every setting
- How do customers order?
- Which days can customers order for?
- Time window
- How much notice do you need?
- When (at checkout)
- Pre-orders on your order board
- Who can use it
- Common mistakes
- A red message says "The Until time must be later than the From time."
- Customers cannot order when I am closed
- Customers cannot pre-order at all
- My days and times are gone
- Tip
What it is
Pre-orders let customers pick a day and time for their order. They can order even when your shop is closed. This is good for cakes, trays and food you make to order. You choose the days, the times and how much notice you need. Notice is the time you need to get an order ready.
This is not the same as an item you order in from somewhere else. For that, see Sell an item as a pre-order.
Find it
- Tap Settings in the bar at the bottom.
- Scroll down to Delivery & payments.
- Tap Pre-orders. Under it, it says Now only when you start.
A sheet called Pre-orders opens. (A sheet is a panel that covers part of the screen.)
On a computer, Settings is in the bar on the left.
If you do not see Delivery & payments, your shop is a free listing. Pre-orders need a Storefront. See Free listing and Storefront.
Every setting
To start taking pre-orders:
- Tap Now or later or Pre-orders only.
- Under Which days can customers order for?, tap the days you want. To allow every day, tap none of them.
- Under Time window, tap the From box.
- Pick the earliest time customers can choose.
- Tap the Until box.
- Pick the latest time.
- Under How much notice do you need?, tap one choice, like 1 day.
- Read the blue box. It says what customers can pick. For example: "Customers can order for Fri, Sat, between 09:00 and 21:00, at least 1 day ahead."
- Tap Save at the bottom.
In Settings, under Pre-orders, you now see your choices. For example: "Now or later · Fri, Sat · 09:00 to 21:00 · 1d notice".
How do customers order?
The app shows this heading in capital letters. You have three choices:
- Now only (picked when you start): "Customers order while you are open. Ordering pauses when you close." There are no pre-orders.
- Now or later: "Customers order for now, or pick a later time. When you are closed, they can still pre-order."
- Pre-orders only: "Every order is for a day and time the customer picks. Good for cakes, trays and made-to-order food."
When you tap Pre-orders only, a green note says: "Your shop takes orders day and night. Every order is for a day and time the customer picks. Your opening hours no longer stop orders." After you save, Settings says "Accepting pre-orders only" under Logo, description & hours.
With Pre-orders only, the app also says: "Ferry, air cargo and digital orders go through as normal. Ferry orders already carry a departure time. Counter sales and pay links are not affected." The Counter is the POS tab.
If your shop is open 24/7 and you tap Now or later, the app says: "Your shop is set to Open 24/7. Pre-orders still work: customers can pick a later day or time, and you prepare it for then."
Your shop page can also show a banner about pre-orders. A banner is a coloured box on your shop page.
Customers seewith Now or later, when you are closed, a banner that says "Closed right now. You can pre-order for later, pick a time at checkout."
Customers seewith Pre-orders only, a banner called "Order ahead". It says customers pick a day and time at checkout (the last page, where customers place the order). It also shows the earliest time, like "The earliest is tomorrow, 09:00."
With Pre-orders only, your shop also shows "Pre-order" (in capital letters) in the Eveyla shop list. For all the banners, see What customers see on your shop page.
Which days can customers order for?
The app says: "The days customers can choose for their order. Leave empty to allow any day."
Tap Mon, Tue and so on to pick a day. A picked day turns green. Tap it again to take it off. When you start, no day is picked. That means any day.
Time window
The app says: "The earliest and latest time of day a customer can pick. This is not your opening hours."
There are two boxes. From starts at 09:00. Until starts at 21:00. Tap a box to pick a time. Until must be later than From, on the same day.
You may have set delivery times. If this window goes outside them, a yellow note shows. For example: "Your delivery window is 10:00 to 18:00. Times outside it are up to you to arrange with the customer." See Set delivery days and times.
How much notice do you need?
The app says: "Customers cannot pick a time sooner than this, so you have time to prepare."
Tap None, 2 hours, 4 hours, 1 day or 2 days. None is picked when you start. If it is None and you tap Pre-orders only, it changes to 1 day by itself.
With Pre-orders only and None, a yellow note says: "With no notice, a customer can order for 30 minutes from now. Most pre-order shops ask for 1 day."
When (at checkout)
This is what customers see at checkout, in the Getting it part:
- With Now or later, while you are open: "When", with two choices, "As soon as possible" and "Pick a time". "As soon as possible" is picked first.
- With Now or later, while you are closed: a line that says your shop "is closed right now, so this is a pre-order. Pick a day and a time."
- With Pre-orders only: a line that says your shop "takes pre-orders only. Pick a day and a time."
To pick a time, customers tap a "Day", like Today, Tomorrow or Fri 30 Oct. Then they tap a "Time", like 09:00 or 09:30. With "As soon as possible", they skip this. Only days and times that fit your settings show. The earliest day and time are picked first.
Customers seethe button "Place pre-order" at the bottom, with a line like "Pre-order for Tomorrow, 09:00".
Customers see"All booked" when they come back to their order page, until you accept the order. Under it is a line like "Packing starts closer to the time."
Customers do not pick a time for ferry, air cargo or digital orders. They also do not pick one if the basket has an item set as Pre-order in the item sheet. That item comes when it arrives.
Want customers to pay first? You can ask for this on items set as Pre-order. In the item's Pre-order panel, pick 25%, 50% or Full under Paid when they order. Customers then do not pick a day and time. See Sell an item as a pre-order and Check a payment slip and confirm payment.
Pre-orders on your order board
A pre-order arrives under Needs you, like any new order. After you tap Accept order, it waits under Later if it is for another day. The order shows the day and time, like "Fri 30 Oct, 16:00". See The order board.
Who can use it
Only the owner can change pre-orders. Senior managers, managers and staff do not see Settings. Everyone in the team sees pre-orders on the order board.
Pre-orders need a Storefront.
Common mistakes
A red message says "The Until time must be later than the From time."
Tap Until. Pick a time later than From, on the same day. Then tap Save.
Customers cannot order when I am closed
You have Now only. Customers then see "Closed right now, you can browse, but ordering is paused." Open Pre-orders. Tap Now or later. Then tap Save.
Customers cannot pre-order at all
Check if your orders are paused. When you pause, pre-orders stop too. Customers see "Not accepting orders right now. Browse the menu and come back later." See Pause and restart orders.
My days and times are gone
When you pick Now only and tap Save, your days, time window and notice are not kept. Pick them again when you turn pre-orders back on. Also, the X at the top right closes the sheet without saving. Always tap Save.
Tip
If you bake only on some days, tap only those days under Which days can customers order for?. Add 1 day of notice. Then customers can only pick days when you can really make their order.