How to take orders in person (walk up ordering)
Last updated February 5, 2025
Many chefs use Hotplate both for pre-orders and to take orders in person at markets or events. You can quickly change a setting to accept walk-up orders for any one of your Events.
How does it work?
When you enable walk-up ordering for an Event, customers can scan the Event’s QR code from their phone, quickly select items from your menu, and checkout using their credit card details or Apple Pay.
Why Hotplate rather than a traditional POS system?
If you’re already using Hotplate for pre-orders, you’ll love us for walk up ordering. Here’s a few reasons:
- Your new walk-up customers can be added to your SMS list so they hear about future sales
- All your earnings will go into one place
- You can easily keep track of current inventory and number of items sold
- You can offer discount codes or sell gift cards
Turning on walk-up orders
This is a setting you’ll turn on, likely before you head out to your in person event. Here’s how:
- Open your live Event
- Under the Info tab, toggle on Enable walk up ordering
There are two different ways you can take walk-up orders:
- Walk-ups order 'ASAP' - this means customers won't select a specific window to pickup their food, and their tickets will be marked as ASAP. This works great for baked goods or packaged food.
- Walk-ups choose a pickup time means customers will select a specific window for pickup. This works great for hot food that’s prepared on the spot.
How to take orders
Most chefs who use walk-up ordering create a poster or printout with their Event’s QR code on it. That way customers can simply scan it on the spot, complete the checkout on their phone, and leave with their order!
To find the QR code for your Event:
- Go the Share tab of your live Event
- Under “Link to this event” click QR Code
- Download and print your code!
Tip: You can always preview what this will look like for your customers by scanning the code with your own phone!
