How to Use the Order Desk

Welcome to the Order Desk

Your all-in-one tool for managing catering orders with ease.

Whether you're a Catering Manager or part of the restaurant team, this guide will walk you through everything you need to know to confidently take and manage catering orders over the phone.

Getting Started

Who Can Use the Order Desk?

• Only Admin users can turn on the Order Desk.
• Once enabled, it's available to Admins and team members with brand-level access.

Viewing Orders

Orders Overview

When you log in, you'll land on the Orders Overview page. Here’s what you’ll see:

• Only catering orders placed through the Order Desk.
• Orders from all stores.
• A column showing the Agent (the team member who placed the order).

Filters You Can Use

• Store(s): View orders from one or multiple locations.
• Agent: See who placed the order—or find orders without an agent.
• Order Type: Choose between Catering Pickup or Delivery.

Customizing Your Column View

You can choose which columns appear in the Orders table and save your layout as your personal default. Each user's preferences are saved independently, so your changes won't affect other team members' views. All existing columns are shown by default. No setup is required to start customizing.

To customize your columns:

1. Open the Order Desk.
2. Click the column settings icon in the table header.
3. Toggle columns on or off.

Your selection saves automatically and appears the next time you open the table.

Additional columns available:

Column	What it shows
Store name	The store the order is placed at
Start prep by	When the kitchen should start preparing the order (pickup time minus prep time)
Ready by	Scheduled pickup time
Deliver by	Scheduled delivery time
Catering services	Catering fee line items applied to the order
Invoice status	House Accounts invoice status: Invoiced, Paid, Overdue, or Cancelled
Channel	External channel name (e.g., DoorDash, UberEats); blank for direct orders
Prep sheet	Download link for the kitchen preparation sheet PDF
POS ticket ID	Ticket ID from the connected POS system

Need More Info?

Click on any order to open a detailed view, including:

• Customer info (Booking and Receiving)
• Agent name
• Reorder and New Order buttons

You can also search orders by:

• Email
• Order number

Resending an Expired Payment Link

If a customer's SMS payment link has expired before they've paid, you can resend a fresh link directly from the order details drawer.

The Resend payment link button appears only when all of these conditions are met:

• The order is unpaid.
• The order has a payment link that has expired.
• The payment link has not already been used.
• You have the manage orders permission.

To resend a payment link:

1. Open the order in the Order Desk.
2. Under the payment status, click Resend payment link.
3. A confirmation dialog appears. Click Confirm.

The customer receives a new SMS payment link with a fresh expiry, and the button disappears from the order.

Placing a New Order

Step 1: Start a New Order

Click the New Order button. If you're starting from an existing order, customer info will be pre-filled.

Step 2: Find the Customer

Search by:

• Name
• Email
• Phone number

If no results appear, you can create a New Customer profile.

Step 3: Confirm Customer Info

1. You'll see the Booking Customer details (read-only).
2. If the Receiving Customer is different, toggle the switch and fill in their info.

Step 4: Begin the Order

Once customer info is confirmed, you’ll move into the ordering flow.

Step 4: Order prioritization

Choose to bypass order preparation, capacity and serving time rules to allow high value orders to be places on shorter timelines.

Ordering Process

Choose Order Type

Select Catering Pickup or Catering Delivery.

Store Selection

• For Delivery: Enter or select a saved address.
• For Pickup: Enter the customer’s address to find nearby stores.

Menu & Checkout

• The menu works just like the regular web app.

• At checkout, you can choose:

  • SMS Payment Link
  • Cash or Gift Cards (if enabled)

Applying a Manager Discount

When you're placing an order on behalf of a customer or building a catering quote in the Order Desk, you can apply a manager discount directly to the order or quote. The discount can be a flat dollar amount or a percentage of the subtotal.

Use manager discounts for situations like service recovery or one-time courtesy adjustments. Customers cannot apply this type of discount on their own.

To apply a manager discount:

1. In the checkout flow, locate the Manager Discount card.
2. (Optional) Enter a name for the discount (for example, "Service recovery"). If you leave this blank, it displays as "Manager discount."
3. Select Amount or Percentage using the toggle.
4. Enter the value. Percentage values can include decimals (for example, 12.5).
5. Click Add discount.

After you add the discount, the card shows the name, amount, and a remove button. To change it, remove the current discount and add a new one.

See also:

Key rules:

• One discount at a time. A manager discount cannot be combined with any other discount, including loyalty rewards, offers, and promo codes. If a manager discount is applied, the rewards and promo code sections are hidden. To switch discounts, remove the current one first.
• Flat discounts are capped at the order total. The order total will never go negative.
• Percentage discounts recalculate automatically. If you add or remove items after applying a percentage discount, the discount value updates to reflect the new subtotal.
• Loyalty points are not affected. Manager discounts are processed separately and do not earn or spend loyalty points.

After Placing the Order

You’ll be taken back to the Management Center, where you can review the full order summary.

Using the Catering Calendar

What It Shows

• Today + the next 3 days
• Dots under dates with catering orders
• Orders from all or selected stores

Navigating the Calendar

• Click a store to expand and view orders for 3 days.

• Each order appears as a color-coded card:

  • 🟪 Placed
  • 🟨 In Preparation
  • 🟩 Ready
  • 🟦 Completed

Each card includes:

• Time (Pickup or Delivery)
• Status
• Customer name
• Order number
• Total
• Order summary

Filters & Search

• Filter by date, store, order type, or status.
• Search by email or order number.

You're Ready to Go!

With the Order Desk, managing phone orders is faster, easier, and more organized than ever. If you need help or have questions, reach out to your PAR Ordering representative or the PAR Ordering Support Team.