Restaurant Pre-Order App
Customers order ahead, choose a pickup time, and collect without waiting. Your kitchen prepares at the right time with capacity control — no rush, no chaos, no wasted food.
- Advance ordering with scheduled pickup
- Kitchen capacity limits per time slot
- Pre-order app from £499 + VAT
Pre-Order App Features
Advance ordering with time slots, capacity control, and seamless kitchen integration.
Advance Ordering
Customers place orders hours or even days in advance. An office worker orders lunch at 9am for 12:30pm pickup. A family pre-orders their Saturday takeaway on Thursday evening. The order is confirmed, paid, and scheduled — no last-minute rush, no queue on arrival. Your kitchen receives the order at the right preparation time.
Scheduled Pickup Times
Customers select their preferred pickup time from available slots. The app shows available windows — every 15 minutes, for example — and the customer chooses what suits them. When their food is ready, they receive a notification. They walk in, collect, and leave. No waiting, no queuing, no standing around checking their phone.
Kitchen Capacity Control
Set maximum orders per time slot based on what your kitchen can handle. If your kitchen can prepare 20 orders per 15-minute slot, the 21st customer sees the next available slot. This prevents the kitchen from being overwhelmed, maintains food quality, and ensures every order is ready on time. Capacity limits adjust by day and time.
Time Slot Management
Configure time slots to match your service patterns. Lunch slots from 11:30 to 14:00, dinner from 17:30 to 21:00. Set different capacities for different times — more slots during peak lunch, fewer during quiet afternoons. Block out slots for private events or maintenance. The app shows customers only what is available and bookable.
Customer Notifications
Customers receive automatic updates at every stage: order confirmed, order being prepared, order ready for collection. Push notifications and SMS keep them informed without calling the restaurant. The notification includes their order number and collection point. Customers arrive at exactly the right moment — no early arrivals cluttering the counter.
POS & Kitchen Integration
Pre-orders appear on your POS and kitchen display at the scheduled preparation time — not when they are placed. A 12:30 pickup order arrives in the kitchen at 12:10, giving exactly the preparation time needed. The kitchen works from one queue that includes walk-ins, phone orders, and pre-orders in the correct sequence.
Why Restaurants Choose Pre-Ordering
Smooth Out Kitchen Peaks
Pre-ordering spreads demand across time slots instead of concentrating it in a 30-minute lunch rush. When customers choose their own pickup times, orders distribute more evenly. Your kitchen prepares at a steady pace instead of being slammed with 50 orders at 12:15. Food quality stays consistent, staff stress reduces, and customers get their food on time.
Reduce Counter Congestion
Pre-order customers arrive, collect, and leave — they do not queue at the counter, they do not browse the menu, and they do not wait for their food. This frees the counter for walk-in customers and phone orders. During lunch peak, the collection shelf handles pre-orders while the counter handles everything else. Two flows, no bottleneck.
Capture Orders You Would Otherwise Lose
Office workers who cannot face a 15-minute queue skip your restaurant and go elsewhere. With pre-ordering, they place the order from their desk and collect without waiting. You capture the sale that the queue would have lost. Businesses near offices and campuses see 25-40% more lunchtime revenue after launching pre-ordering.
Prepaid Orders Reduce No-Collection
Customers pay when they order, not when they collect. This means every pre-order is a confirmed sale. No-collection rates for prepaid orders are under 2% — compared to 10-15% for phone orders where payment is on collection. Your kitchen prepares food that will actually be picked up and paid for.
Predictable Demand, Consistent Quality
The biggest challenge for any restaurant is unpredictable demand. Pre-ordering changes this. When customers order hours in advance, you know exactly how many meals to prepare and when. Your kitchen plans ahead, preps ingredients, and works at a steady pace instead of reacting to a sudden rush.
Capacity control is the key feature that protects food quality. You set how many orders each time slot can accept. When a slot fills up, the next customer sees the next available time. Your kitchen is never overloaded. Every dish is prepared with care, not rushed out under pressure.
For customers, the experience is convenient and reliable. They order from their phone, choose a time, pay in advance, and collect without waiting. No queuing, no uncertainty, no checking "is my order ready yet?" The notification tells them exactly when to arrive. It is the fastest way to get food — for both the customer and the kitchen.
Restaurant Pre-Order App — Frequently Asked Questions
Get Your Free ePOS Demo Today
See how Posso can transform your restaurant or venue. Book a free, no-obligation consultation with our team and get a personalised demo of our ePOS systems, self-order kiosks, and more.
Free call — available Monday to Friday, 9am–5:30pm. Or email us anytime at info@posso.co.uk