Ordering · 6 min read
Order status and lifecycle
Every state an order moves through from submission to handoff, what each transition signals, and how the guest, kitchen, runner, and admin each see it.
Who this is for
Everyone — owners, runners, kitchen staff.
Why order status matters
In a busy restaurant, "where is this order right now?" is a question four people ask at once — the guest waiting, the kitchen cooking, the runner about to deliver, and the owner watching the floor. DashDine answers it with one shared status on every order, so everyone is looking at the same truth at the same time.
Each state below names what triggers the move and what each person sees.
The lifecycle, step by step
The guest submits the order from their phone, a kiosk, or a staff device. It appears immediately on the Kitchen Display System with a one-time audio alert. The guest sees a confirmation; the kitchen sees a new ticket.
The kitchen has the order and is working it; items can be tracked individually as they are prepared. The guest sees that their order is being made.
The kitchen marks the order complete. This is the signal the runner waits for — the order moves into the handoff queue with its destination attached: a table number, the counter, or a curbside bay and vehicle.
A runner has picked up the order and is taking it to the right place. For curbside, the runner sees the car’s colour, model, plate, and bay. This step matters most for curbside; dine-in and takeaway can skip it.
The order has been handed off. It drops off the active board and into your reporting.
Cancelled orders
Orders that do not finish end as cancelled — by the guest, by staff, or because they could not be fulfilled. The cancelled state removes the order from the active flow and records the reason. The guest sees that reason on their tracking page, and Reports track your cancellation rate as a separate metric.
Who sees what
- The guest sees a simple, friendly version — placed, being prepared, ready or on its way — with vehicle or table details shown prominently for curbside and dine-in.
- The kitchen (KDS) sees the working states — new, preparing — plus the controls to bump items and complete the order.
- The runner sees only what is ready and where it goes, so the handoff queue stays clean.
- The admin sees everything across the branch live on the Orders page, with the Live tab showing a real-time column board across all branches, plus the history in Reports.
How status changes happen
The flow is designed to move forward in order so nothing gets lost. Status changes when a staff member taps the next state on the order card — there is no auto-advance, so a forgotten "ready" order stays in that column until someone notices.
In kitchen mode, item-level progress drives the order forward: starting the first item moves a placed order to preparing, and marking the final item ready moves the whole order into the ready queue automatically. Completing in the kitchen is what releases the order to the runner.
The guest tracking page
Right after submission, the storefront opens a live order tracker showing the order reference, items, total, and the status timeline. When staff change the status, the guest’s page updates within a couple of seconds in real time — no refresh needed.
- Every order has a permanent URL the guest can bookmark and return to.
- A tap-to-dial phone number connects them to the branch for questions.
- One-tap reorder prefills the cart with the same items.
- Adding the page to the home screen gives an app-like reordering experience.
When the tracker seems stuck
If the guest’s page stops updating for more than thirty seconds, their connection probably dropped. The real-time link reconnects automatically; if it cannot, a banner asks them to refresh. Staff screens show the latest state regardless of the guest’s connection.
Frequently asked
Can an order skip a state?
The flow is designed to move forward in order so nothing gets lost. A staff member taps each transition, which keeps the board honest — a status always reflects a real action. The one exception is kitchen mode, where marking the last item ready moves the whole order to ready automatically. Completing in the kitchen is what releases it to the runner.Do we have to use the out-for-handoff status?
Only for curbside, where walking food to the vehicle is its own step worth tracking. Dine-in and takeaway orders can go straight from ready to completed to keep the board uncluttered.What happens to completed orders?
They leave the active board and feed your reporting, so the live screens stay focused on what is still in progress. Updates sync in real time, so the guest tracker, staff screens, and the admin live board all stay aligned within a couple of seconds without refreshing.