Online ordering: catalogue links, shop links and restaurant orders

What kinds of online ordering does EasyTaskr support?

There are three, because a wholesaler, a home seller and a restaurant need different things from an order page. Each one is a link you share; none of them needs you to build a website.

How does a catalogue link work for trade customers?

A catalogue link is a price list your customers can order from. Under Catalog links you press New catalog link, choose what it covers and press Generate link.

You decide three things when you make it. First, the prices: the shop's own prices, or hidden so buyers ask for a quote. A link can carry its own price list and a discount for that link. Second, who sees the prices: Confirmed trade customers only, Anyone with the passcode, or Anyone with the link. Third, how long it lasts: a fixed expiry or never. Each link can then be copied, shared on WhatsApp, opened to check what buyers see, or revoked.

Trade customers prove who they are with a 6-digit code sent to them, so a stranger cannot see your trade prices just because someone forwarded the link. Someone you do not know can ask for access instead.

When an order comes in it lands as a draft on the customer's account. On the orders screen there is a To confirm list that says "Customers sent these. Nothing is charged or sent until you confirm." For customers you trust, auto-confirm can be switched on, and even then an order only confirms itself if it fits their credit limit.

How does a shop link work for selling to the public?

A shop link is for selling straight to buyers, often through WhatsApp. In the shop settings you switch on Take orders through my link, pick the link name buyers will see, and add the WhatsApp number that gets told when an order comes in.

Then you set how buyers pay and how they get it:

• Cash on delivery, with an optional limit so a very large order cannot be cash on the doorstep.
• Bank transfer, with your bank, branch, account name and account number.
• A Delivery charge per order, and Free delivery from a basket size you choose.

At checkout the buyer gives a name, a WhatsApp or phone number, a delivery address and a note, and chooses how to pay. Their tracking page shows Received, Confirmed, On its way and Delivered, and lets them send a photo or PDF of a bank slip.

On your side, orders follow four steps: New, Confirmed, Packed, Delivered. Confirming takes the items out of stock. A bank slip is accepted with the amount written on it, or rejected with a reason the buyer can see.

How do restaurant online orders work?

A restaurant gets an order page for Pickup, Delivery and Order from the table (QR). In the online ordering settings you set opening hours, delivery distance bands with a fee for each, your usual prep time and a minimum order.

New orders appear in the online orders inbox under Waiting for you, with a chime that repeats until someone answers it, so an order is never missed in a noisy kitchen. You accept with a prep time, or turn it down with a reason such as an item being sold out or being outside the delivery area. Accepted orders move through In the kitchen and Ready, then out for delivery, collected or served. Each order is tagged by where it came from and how it is paid, such as pays cash or pays at the counter.

For a busy service, the orders screen puts food ready to hand over at the top, then the kitchen's orders oldest first with how long each has waited. Served orders fold away so the list only shows what still needs doing.

Step by step: set up a shop link and handle the first order

1. Open the shop settings and switch on Take orders through my link.
2. Type the link name buyers will see and the WhatsApp number to tell about new orders.
3. Turn on Cash on delivery and set a limit if you want one.
4. Turn on Bank transfer and enter your account details exactly as they appear on your bank statement.
5. Set the Delivery charge and the Free delivery from amount, then save.
6. Copy the link and share it in your WhatsApp status or groups.
7. When an order arrives, open it from the New step and check the items and address.
8. Press Confirm; the stock comes off and you can tell the buyer on WhatsApp.
9. If the buyer paid by transfer, open the slip and press Accept payment with the amount on the slip, or reject it with a reason.
10. Pack the order and press Mark packed.
11. After the drop, press Mark delivered, and record Cash received if it was cash on delivery.

How should I set delivery charges?

Charge enough to cover the trip on a normal order, and use the free delivery threshold to lift the size of the basket. A worked example: a delivery costs you about 4 in fuel and time. You charge 3 a delivery, with free delivery from 40. An average order of 28 pays 3, so you lose 1 on the trip. If the threshold nudges half of those buyers up to 40, each of those orders carries 12 more in sales; at a 25% margin that is 3 more profit, which covers the free delivery. These numbers are only a sample, so put in your own margin. Our guide on how to price products shows how to work out the margin you can give away.

What should I check before going live?

Make sure product photos, names and prices are right, because the link shows them exactly as they are. Check stock counts, since confirming an order takes stock. For trade links, check each customer's credit limit before you switch on auto-confirm. For restaurants, test the order page yourself on a phone, from a table code and from the pickup page, before printing the posters. If you run a kitchen, our guide on how to run a restaurant covers the service side.

What does it not do yet?

Shop links do not take card payments yet; the setting is marked as coming later. WhatsApp messages sent on your behalf depend on your messaging connection being set up, so until then you send them from your own WhatsApp with the message already written for you.