How do I update the order status?

Go to Orders, select the order, and update the status as the order moves: preparing, ready, out for delivery or picked up, completed.

Why bother

Because the customer is watching. Someone who ordered a cake for a birthday party at four o'clock is checking that screen at two. A status that has not moved since yesterday morning reads as a problem whether or not there is one.

It is also what we see. If a customer calls us asking where their order is, the status is the first thing we look at.

Keep it honest

Mark something ready when it is ready, not when you hope it will be. An accurate status that says preparing is better than an optimistic one that says ready.

Order notes

Use the notes on the order to record anything agreed with the customer: a changed time, an accepted extra charge, a special instruction. If a question comes up later, the note is the record. See Using order notes.