The waiter's phone: how a waiter ordering app works.

Part 7 of the deep-dive series is the waiter's phone. Like every part, it follows one real story and stops at every button.

It covers taking the order at the table, a bell on the phone the moment food is ready, several waiters working different floors at once, the manager's controls, and who gets how much of each tip.

Rush hour, every table full. This restaurant has two floors: the Ground floor downstairs and a Rooftop upstairs.

Before, waiters stood outside the kitchen asking whether their order was ready, nobody knew which table belonged to whom, and the shift ended with arguments about tips. This guide follows one family's table from the order all the way to payment and the tip.

Aman's section is the Ground floor. Priya is on the Rooftop. Sunny helps on both floors, wherever the rush is. Kabir is the cashier at the counter, and Rahul is the manager.

The manager sets up this split in the system before the shift starts, so that is where the guide begins.

On the manager's laptop, open Settings from the left menu. In the list of tabs on the left, choose Waiters & Floor.

Every rule about waiters lives in this one tab.

WhereSettings (left menu) → Waiters & Floor

The first setting is Order access mode, and here it is set to Open. Open means any waiter can take an order on any table; the floor simply shows who started each order.

This suits a small café where two people handle the whole floor.

WhereSettings → Waiters & Floor → Order access mode

Where every waiter has a fixed area, switch on Section mode. The note below the switch explains it: anyone who takes an order outside their own section is asked whether they are covering that table.

Nobody is blocked; the cover is just recorded. Managers, supervisors and owners are never asked this question.

WhereSettings → Waiters & Floor → Order access mode → Section mode

Further down is the Section Manager. The sections come from your floor plan; here they are Ground and Rooftop.

At the top is the Shift date, set to today. The roster is separate for each day, so Aman can be on the Ground floor today and on the Rooftop tomorrow.

WhereSettings → Waiters & Floor → Section Manager → Shift date

Under Ground, pick Aman from the Assign waiter list. Under Rooftop, pick Priya. Sunny is put on both.

One waiter can be in more than one section, and one section can have several waiters. Each name is saved the moment you pick it.

WhereSettings → Waiters & Floor → Section Manager → Assign waiter

The Tip sharing policy has three options. First, the whole tip goes to the table's server; this is the default. Second, the tip is split evenly between everyone who worked the table. Third, it is split by how much each person added to the order.

In this video the manager picks the even split and presses Save. The same Save also applies Section mode.

WhereSettings → Waiters & Floor → Tip sharing policy → Save

Say a table leaves a ₹100 tip. Aman took the order, and Sunny added two shakes midway.

With the first option, all ₹100 goes to Aman. With the even split, ₹50 each. With the third option the split follows the price of the items: Aman added ₹600 of food and Sunny ₹200, so Aman gets ₹75 and Sunny ₹25.

A second example from a different kind of place: a big banquet table of twelve, with two waiters taking orders from different guests, and a ₹300 tip.

The even split gives ₹150 each. Split by value, where one waiter took ₹2,400 of orders and the other ₹1,200, it becomes ₹200 and ₹100. In a small café where one person handles everything, the first option is enough.

At the top of the tab is one more switch: whether a waiter can replace an item. It covers the guest who changes their mind after ordering, while the item has not been made yet.

By default it is off, and then only the manager can do it. In this video it is switched on and saved.

WhereSettings → Waiters & Floor → waiter replace item switch (top) → Save

On Aman's phone, logging in takes the waiter straight to the floor. At the top are counts: how many tables are free, occupied, reserved and cleaning.

Below them are buttons for each floor, here Ground and Rooftop. One tap switches floors.

WhereWaiter phone → Floor (opens after login) → Ground / Rooftop

Each table's colour tells its state. Green is free. Blue means guests are seated but no order yet. Orange means an order is placed.

A table where this waiter has an order shows a U, like T02 where a couple is sitting. T06 is orange too but has no U, because it is Sunny's table.

WhereWaiter phone → Floor

Notice that the floor shows no bill amount on the tables. The whole floor's sales are visible only to people you give the financial view permission, such as the manager or cashier. This is a role setting and you can change it.

For a big floor there is also a Table numbers view at the top: just large number buttons, which is the fastest in a rush.

WhereWaiter phone → Floor → Table numbers view (top)

A family of four arrives. Aman seats them at T09, a four-seat table. Tap the table and the menu opens.

The table name is shown at the top, so the order does not go on the wrong table.

WhereWaiter phone → Floor → tap table

Search is at the top. In a rush there is no need to type the full name; the first three letters are enough. In this restaurant's menu, P-E-P brings up Peppy Paneer Pizza.

WhereWaiter phone → menu → search (top)

The pizza has sizes, so tapping it asks which size: Medium. Then a topping on top: Extra Cheese. The total updates on its own below. Press Add to Order.

This restaurant's menu has this pizza; your menu will have your own dishes and their sizes.

WhereWaiter phone → menu → item → size → toppings → Add to Order

The rest of the items are added one by one from search: White Sauce Pasta, Cheese Fries, two Chocolate Shakes for the kids, a Choco Lava Cake, and Paneer Fingers for the grandmother.

Each tap adds the item to the order, and the bar at the bottom shows the count and total growing together.

WhereWaiter phone → menu → search → tap item

Press View Order to open the order sheet. It says New, not yet fired: these items are only on Aman's phone and have not gone to the kitchen.

While the guests are still deciding, you can keep adding and removing at ease.

WhereWaiter phone → View Order

The mother wants the pasta less spicy. On the pasta line, tap + Notes. Ready-made chips appear; tap Less Spicy.

That note goes straight to the kitchen screen.

WhereWaiter phone → View Order → item line → + Notes

The grandmother's Paneer Fingers are to be taken home. Tap Pack on that line.

The kitchen now knows this item goes in a box, not on a plate, even though the rest of the order is served at the table.

WhereWaiter phone → View Order → item line → Pack

It is the younger son's birthday, so the lava cake is on the house. Tap Comp on that line.

Its price will not be added to the bill, but the kitchen still makes it, and there is a record of who made it free.

WhereWaiter phone → View Order → item line → Comp

Everything is confirmed, so press Fire to Kitchen. One tap sends the whole order. The top now reads All items fired.

Back on the floor, T09 is orange and shows a U.

WhereWaiter phone → View Order → Fire to Kitchen

On the kitchen screen on the wall, Aman's order has arrived: a large token number, Dine-in, and table T09.

This restaurant has auto-accept on, so the order starts cooking straight away and nobody needs to press Accept. You can keep this setting off if you prefer.

The kitchen card carries everything Aman entered on the phone. The pasta has a red Less Spicy chip, and the Paneer Fingers sit in a separate part marked Pack to-go.

The chef does not have to come out and ask.

The chef has made the pizza and both shakes and ticks the box next to each item. The count at the top changes too: how many items out of how many are ready.

On Aman's phone, open the Kitchen tab at the bottom. It shows only his own orders, with filters at the top: All, Ready, Cooking.

Each card shows the table and how long it has been cooking. Every item is marked Ready or Cooking, and the bottom says how many are ready and how many are still awaited. Aman does not have to walk to the kitchen to ask.

WhereWaiter phone → Kitchen tab (bottom) → All / Ready / Cooking

The mother changes her mind: Red Sauce Pasta instead of White Sauce. The pasta has not been made yet, and the replace setting is on. In My Orders, on this table's card, tap Edit Items. A sheet opens from the bottom with each line of the order and its own buttons. On the pasta line, tap Replace.

Pick the new item from the menu: search Red Sauce and tap Red Sauce Pasta. The bar at the top says the new pasta is ₹10 cheaper, and that if the bill had already been paid this amount would be returned in cash. Press Replace. The old pasta leaves the kitchen and the new one arrives.

WhereWaiter phone → My Orders → table card → Edit Items → Replace

The Cheese Fries are no longer wanted. Open Edit Items again and tap Void on the fries line. A small sheet asks for the reason, because the reason is recorded in reports. Pick Customer changed order and press Void Item. The line is removed from the kitchen too.

One rule: a waiter can void only orders they placed, not someone else's.

WhereWaiter phone → My Orders → table card → Edit Items → Void → reason → Void Item

Two more family members arrive, making six, and T09 is too small. On the floor, use the Move button in the corner of this table. Only free tables can be picked: T10, six seats. Press Move Order.

The whole order, and all the kitchen work on it, moves to the new table.

WhereWaiter phone → Floor → table → Move → free table → Move Order

On Sunny's phone, T10 is orange but shows no U: it is Aman's table. Aman is busy at another table, and the kids ask for two more Oreo Shakes.

Sunny helps: he taps T10 and Aman's order opens.

WhereWaiter phone → Floor → teammate's table

Search Oreo and tap Oreo Shake twice for two shakes. The bottom bar says two items are new and not yet sent to the kitchen. Press Fire.

The shakes join the same order: no new order and no new bill. The system also remembers that Sunny added these two shakes, which matters later for splitting the tip.

WhereWaiter phone → teammate's table → search → Fire

On the kitchen screen it is the same ticket, now for table T10. The Oreo Shakes are marked New, so the chef knows they came later. The Cheese Fries line is gone, and under Red Sauce Pasta it says Replaced White Sauce Pasta.

The chef then finishes the pasta, Paneer Fingers and lava cake, leaving only the Oreo Shakes.

Aman's Kitchen tab shows the same ticket, and under the Oreo Shakes it says Added by Sunny. Aman knows he did not add them. Only the shakes are still pending.

WhereWaiter phone → Kitchen tab

The kitchen finishes the last item, and Aman's phone rings a bell. A strip at the top reads 1 ready, and the Kitchen tab shows the count as well. The bell rings on any tab, even while Aman is taking another table's order.

It keeps ringing until the food is served. Aman is going to pick up the tray, so he taps the strip to mute it. When the next order is ready, the bell rings again on its own.

WhereWaiter phone → ready strip (top) → tap to mute

The food is on the table. In the Kitchen tab, use the Ready filter and press Mark Served. The order is served, and the strip at the top goes away.

WhereWaiter phone → Kitchen tab → Ready → Mark Served

Upstairs on the Rooftop, on Priya's phone, choose Rooftop from the floor buttons. A party of eight is at R1; it is Priya's table and shows a U.

WhereWaiter phone → Floor → Rooftop

A guest comes up the stairs who only wants food packed, not a table. Priya does not need to go to the counter. At the very top, tap Start Takeaway Order, no table needed.

Search Spring Roll and tap it, then search Coke and tap Coke Can, and Fire. The order goes to the kitchen and straight into Priya's My Orders.

WhereWaiter phone → Start Takeaway Order (top)

Now a real test of Section mode. The Rooftop is busy, Priya's hands are full, and four new guests sit at R3. Kabir helps from the counter.

On the counter system: New Order, Dine-in, then the Rooftop floor in the table map and table R3. Two items from search, Mix Sauce Pasta and Spring Roll, appear in the cart on the right. Then Place Order.

WhereCounter: New Order → Dine-in → Rooftop → R3 → Place Order

A question appears: Cover for Rooftop? This table is in a section Kabir was not given today. The text below says he can still take the order; it will just be recorded as a cover.

Press Cover this table and the order is placed. Nobody is stopped, and nobody quietly works on someone else's table. In this video the prompt is shown on the counter screen.

WhereCounter: Place Order → Cover for Rooftop? → Cover this table

Aman's shift is over, but the family at T10 is still eating. On his phone he opens the Me tab at the bottom: his name and role at the top, and End shift today below. Tap Check out, then tap once more to confirm so it is not pressed by mistake. Aman is shown as Checked out, with the time.

On the manager's laptop, go to Staff in the left menu and open Live Floor Load. This screen shows how busy each waiter is right now.

WhereWaiter phone → Me tab → End shift today → Check out

The top shows counts: how many people are on shift, how many are free, how many orders are running, and who is busiest.

Then each waiter has a card: how many orders and tables, how many minutes the oldest order has been running, and the table names. The badge at the top, Free, Light, Busy or Slammed, shows at a glance who needs help.

WhereStaff (left menu) → Live Floor Load

Below is a warning: Clocked out but still holding open orders. Aman has checked out, but tables are still open in his name.

Without this warning, that family would be left sitting without a waiter.

WhereStaff → Live Floor Load

The manager goes to Orders in the left menu and opens the T10 tile on the board. The full order page says the order was taken by Aman. Below it, press Transfer Table. A list of all staff opens, with search; pick Sunny. It now reads Serving Sunny.

From here on the work, and the credit for the tip, belong to Sunny. This button is at the manager level; in this video a waiter cannot hand their own table to someone else.

WhereOrders (left menu) → table tile → Transfer Table

The family asks for the bill. On Sunny's phone, open My Orders. The T10 card is here because Sunny added shakes to it. The food has been served, so the card shows Settle. Tap it.

WhereWaiter phone → My Orders → table card → Settle

The full bill appears right at the table: every item, GST and round off. The lava cake is at zero because it was comped.

At the top is the customer's phone number. It sends the receipt on WhatsApp and adds the customer to loyalty. The screen notes that a number is required to settle dine-in orders; that is your setting.

WhereWaiter phone → Settle → Bill Summary → customer phone

The family is happy and leaves a ₹100 tip. Under Add a tip, choose ₹100.

The tip is added as a separate line from the bill, so food sales and tips never mix.

WhereWaiter phone → Settle → Add a tip

Under Collect payment there are four ways: UPI QR, Cash, Card, and Split for when the bill is paid two ways.

In this video the father pays it all in cash, so choose Cash. The amount is already filled in, including the tip. Press Mark as Paid.

WhereWaiter phone → Settle → Collect payment → UPI QR / Cash / Card / Split → Mark as Paid

Payment received shows the order, table, bill, tip, cash, and Settled by Sunny.

The payment is complete and the food was already served, so the order closes on its own; the top reads Closed.

WhereWaiter phone → Payment received

Below, tap View today's tips. This is Sunny's tips for today, the ones he took himself by settling bills: the total, how they came in (here, cash), and on which bills. Nobody has to remember anything at the end of the shift.

For the full split of tips, go to the manager's screen: Analytics & Reports in the left menu, then Staff & Labour. The top has labour cost cards and an hourly heatmap; scroll down to Server performance.

WhereWaiter phone → Payment received → View today's tips

The top reads Tips split: Even split among contributors, the rule chosen earlier. The Rooftop party left a ₹300 tip; Priya took the order and Sunny added the lava cakes, so ₹150 goes to Priya and ₹150 to Sunny.

T10's ₹100 tip goes entirely to Sunny, because after the transfer Sunny was that table's server. So Sunny has ₹250. The Tips earned column shows this split.

WhereAnalytics & Reports (left menu) → Staff & Labour → Server performance

Next to the tips, each waiter's covers, average ticket, and how many items they comped or voided. Along with tips, you see who is selling well and who is voiding a lot.

Remember: the waiter's phone shows the tips that waiter took personally, while this manager report shows tips split by your rule.

WhereAnalytics & Reports → Staff & Labour → Server performance

The whole shift: the manager set the sections and the tip rule. Aman took the order at the table with a note, a pack and a comp. The kitchen made it item by item, and Aman's phone kept him informed. Sunny helped, Kabir covered a table. When the shift changed, the table went to Sunny. Finally came payment, the tip, and a clear split.

Your staff can run the whole floor from their phones, without paper or shouting, and every tip is accounted for.