Step 3 - Lead Times
Lead Times are a very important configuration for your restaurant. There is a base lead time above the Location section. Here, you will set the lead time for your average, non-busy days/times. So, if it takes 15 minutes to make food when you don't have a busy line, then that is what you will insert into these fields.
Here is some basic information on configuring lead/prep times.
Now that the baseline is out of the way, let's talk about what to do for those busier times.
If you are using a tablet for receiving orders, you can easily change the lead time on the fly. Simply click on the current promised time, up in the top right of the screen, and you will be given options to adjust this time.
If you are using any other method of receiving orders, you will want to consider some alternatives. How to Set Variable Lead Times.
No matter which method you choose for setting your lead times, nearly every restaurant should take advantage of the option to "Add Time by Order Size." With this setting, you can set additional prep time for orders over a certain $ amount. You can set multiple thresholds, depending on what works best for you.
For example, you can say:
- Orders from $40-$60 should add 5 minutes
- Orders from $60-$80 should add 10 minutes
- Orders from $80-$100 should add 15 minutes
- Anything over $100 should add 20 minutes
This helps you to accommodate for larger orders that cannot fit into your regular timeframe