An Order is one customer booking. It holds the customer details, dates, and one or more Events (each event has its own menu, guest count and costing). Everything else — raw materials, bills, payments, vendor expenses — hangs off the order.
Create an order
- Sidebar → Core → Orders, then click Add Order.
- Fill in:
- Customer Name, Contact Number-1 / -2, Email, Customer Address
- Start Date and End Date of the function
- Place — venue
- Order Type — from your Order Types Table (e.g. Wedding, Corporate)
- Order Measuring Unit — the unit used for per-head calculations (usually Plate or Person)
- Click Save. The order opens on its Manage screen.
Add the events next: see Events and Menus.
Tip: If a similar order already exists, use Duplicate Order (below) instead of starting from scratch.
The Orders list
Core → Orders lists every order with its status, customer, dates and number of events. Use the filters at the top (Status, Order Type, Custom Date Range) and click Apply; active filters are shown above the table.
For each row, the Manage button opens the order; the Actions menu gives direct access to its sub-screens.
The Actions menu
Every order (and every event) has an Actions dropdown. For an order it contains:
| Action | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Raw Materials | Materials needed for the whole order, based on menus and recipes |
| Items Based Raw Materials | Materials grouped by the item that needs them |
| Cookware, Serveware & Cutlery | Equipment allocation for the order |
| Customer Bill Details | The bill built from event costings and expenses |
| Customer Payment Details | Payments received against the order |
| Order Specific Vendors Finances | Vendor bills and payments for this order |
| Service & Misc Expenses / Menu Items Services / All External Services | Expenses and bought-in services |
| Order's Financial Summary | Income vs expenses at a glance |
| Print → Print Menus / Print Item Quantities | PDF outputs for kitchen and customer |
| Email Reports | Send menus, bills, payments and quantities by email |
Order status lifecycle
The status controls what can be edited and when inventory is affected. Change it from the Orders list (Change order status) or from the Execution tab on the order.
Enquiry / Online Enquiry ──► Booked ──► Locked ──► Executed ──► Closed ──► Archived
│ │ │ │
└──────────────────────┴───────────┴───────────┴──► Cancelled ──► Archived
| Status | Meaning | Editable? |
|---|---|---|
| Enquiry | A prospect; nothing confirmed | Yes |
| Online Enquiry | Same, received via your embedded menu/website | Yes |
| Booked | Customer has confirmed | Yes |
| Locked | Menus and quantities are final; no more edits | No |
| Executed | The function has happened; planned stock is deducted and actuals are generated | No |
| Closed | Reconciled and settled | No |
| Cancelled | Will not happen | No |
| Archived | Hidden from normal lists; end of life | No |
Allowed moves:
- Enquiry / Online Enquiry → Booked, Cancelled
- Booked → Locked, Cancelled
- Locked → Executed, Booked (unlock), Cancelled
- Executed → Closed, Locked (undo execution), Booked, Cancelled
- Closed → Archived, Executed (reopen)
- Cancelled → Archived
- Archived → no further changes
To edit a locked or later order, move it back to Booked first (Locked → Booked, or Closed → Executed → Booked). You cannot edit it in place.
Execute an order
Execution is the step that turns the plan into reality: it freezes the planned quantities, deducts stock (if inventory tracking is on) and creates the Actuals records used for wastage.
- Open the order → Execution tab. The workflow shows numbered steps.
- If the order is still Booked, click Lock Order first.
- Tick Update inventory (Materials, Items, Cutlery & Operational Resources) if you want stock deducted now. Untick it to execute without touching stock; you can click Update Inventory Now later.
- Click Execute Order.
After execution, the next steps in the workflow are Material Actuals, Item Actuals and Disposable Actuals (record what was really used), Itemware Returns (count reusable itemware back in, write off damage or loss) and then the Wastage Report. Full details: Order Execution and Actuals.
Undo execution
On the Execution tab click Undo execution. This returns the order to Locked, adds the deducted stock back, and permanently deletes every actual recorded for the order (materials, items, cutlery and operational resources). Itemware return rows with a recorded return are kept, since their write-offs have already changed stock. Re-execute afterwards if needed.
Duplicate an order
Use this for repeat customers or recurring functions.
- Orders list → the order's Actions → Duplicate Order (or open the order → Duplicate).
- Edit the Order Details (customer, dates, place) for the new order.
- Under Include, tick what to copy:
- Events and their Menus
- Itemware adjustments and Operational resource adjustments (these require Menus)
- Misc Expenses & Services
- Purchase Orders as draft copies
- Click Duplicate Order. The new order opens in Enquiry status.
Discounts
On the order details, set Discount Type to Value or Percentage and enter the Discount Value. The discount is applied to the order total on the customer bill; see Bills and Payments.
Feedback
Open the order → Feedback to log what the customer or your staff said about the function, or to generate a feedback link you can send to the customer.
Permissions
Creating, editing and changing the status of orders requires the Edit Orders permission (or an admin role). Sub-users without it can view orders but the buttons are hidden. See your account's Roles screen.