Setting Up an Ordering Kiosk
An ordering kiosk is a tablet at your counter where walk-up customers order and pay by card on their own. Paid orders go straight to the kitchen.
Open Settings → Ordering Kiosks, then click Add ordering kiosk.
Note
Ordering kiosks need card payments. Customers pay on a Stripe card reader next to the tablet, and the kiosk takes no orders without one. See Pairing and the Card Reader.
Create the kiosk
| Field | What it does |
|---|---|
| Name | What staff see, for example "Front counter". Customers don't see it |
| Location | The kitchen that makes the orders. It can't be changed later. To use another location, add a new kiosk there |
Click Create ordering kiosk. The settings page opens. Add one kiosk for each tablet.
Each section below has its own Save changes button.
General
- Ordering kiosk is on: when off, the tablet shows "Ordering unavailable". For a short break, use Pause orders at the top of the page instead.
Menus
Under Menus to show, choose one:
| Option | What customers see |
|---|---|
| Same as the online storefront | Every active menu you publish to your online store for this location |
| Choose menus for this kiosk | Only the menus you pick, each with its own days and hours, such as a breakfast menu until 11:00 |
With your own menus, the first menu that's showing opens by default. Drag rows or use the arrows to reorder them.
Some items never appear on a kiosk, because walk-up orders are made right away:
- Items with a storefront lead time (catering-only items)
- Items that need rental equipment
- Archived items
Items you mark unavailable stay on the screen as Sold out, so customers know they exist.
Tip
Items with Feature this item turned on (in the menu item's Storefront section) lead the kiosk menu in their own row. Use it for your best sellers.
Ordering
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Dining options | Takeout, Dine-in, or both. With one option the kiosk skips the "For here or to go?" question |
| Table number | Off, optional or required. Only asked for dine-in |
| Customer name | Off, optional or required. Printed with the call number so staff can call it out |
| Ask for a tip | Shows up to four tip buttons, as a percent of the order |
| Accept promo codes | Shows a promo code field in the cart |
| Let customers add a note to an item | A note field in the item customizer |
| Charge the location's service fee | Off by default, since service fees are usually a catering charge |
| Estimated prep time (minutes) | Shown on the confirmation screen as the ready time |
| Only take orders during set hours | Weekly open and close times, in the location's time zone. When off, the kiosk takes orders whenever it's on and not paused |
Taxes for dine-in and takeout. Dine-in and takeout use the same taxes unless a tax rate is limited to one of them. To charge a tax only when food is eaten in, set the rate's Applies to field to Dine-in only under tax rates, and assign it to the items it covers. The section warns you when no dining-specific rates exist yet.
Promo codes. A promotion only works on the kiosk when its Ordering kiosk (walk-up self-serve) channel is ticked. Promotions limited to one use per customer, first orders, or specific customers don't apply, because kiosk customers are anonymous.
Screen
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Welcome title and Welcome message | The greeting on the start screen. Blank fields use a standard greeting with your business name |
| Welcome image | A photo shown above the greeting, such as a signature dish. JPEG, PNG or WebP, up to 10 MB. Tick Remove this image and save to take it off |
| Idle reset (seconds) | After this long without a tap, the kiosk asks "Still there?" and then clears the order. 30 to 600 seconds |
| Confirmation screen (seconds) | How long the order number stays up after paying. 5 to 120 seconds |
| Call number prefix | Optional, up to three characters, such as "K" for K-12. Tells orders from two kiosks apart |
| Exit PIN | 4 to 8 digits. Staff enter it on the tablet to pause it, test the reader or sign it out. Leave it blank to keep the current PIN |
Common Questions
Q: Do I need an online store to use a kiosk?
A: No. A kiosk works at a location without an online store. Choose Choose menus for this kiosk and pick the menus to sell.
Q: Why is an item missing from the kiosk?
A: Check that its menu is showing (published to the store, or on the kiosk's own list during its hours), and that the item has no storefront lead time or rental requirement.
Q: Can customers pay cash?
A: No. The kiosk is card-only, and staff can't record cash on a kiosk order. Take cash orders at the counter as normal orders.
Q: Can customers use the kiosk in Spanish?
A: Yes. The start screen has English and Español buttons. The choice lasts for that customer's order. Menu item names stay as you typed them.
Next Steps
- Pairing and the Card Reader: connect the tablet and the reader
- Kiosk Orders: what customers see and where their orders go
Last updated: October 09, 2026