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Online Ordering Inventory

March 11, 2024

Description

How to link and manage product availability on the website to the inventory in the Back Office

What's in this article?

Online Ordering integrates with your point of sale software (Essentials or Restaurant). Use your existing Back Office items and modifiers in your web store. In the extended item setup, you can edit online selling information and customize the way items appear online versus on the POS.

Omni-channel inventory tracks sales in both your store and online, depleting your inventory count as items are sold. Using the same inventory can prevent online ordering customers from ordering an item that is out of stock.

Before you start

  • Set up your inventory in the Back Office 
  • Create your Online Ordering categories 
  • If you will be adding product images, save high quality images to your image library
  • Ensure you have the appropriate user role to add an item
To add an item to Online Ordering inventory
  1. In the Back Office, select the Inventory > Categories & Items tab. 
  2. Select the item you wish to link to Online Ordering. You can find your item by category or using search.
  3. Select Extended Item Setup
  4. Enter the following item information:
    Table of extended item setup fields and descriptions
    FieldDescription
    AvailabilitySelect This item is active Online. This field is required.
    Online TitleThe name of the item to display on the website. This name will also appear on orders and receipts. This field is required.
    Online DescriptionA description of the item for your website. This field is required.
    Maximum Purchase QuantityMaximum number that can be ordered at one time.
    Product RankDetermines the order that the item will display on the website. If ranked as 1, the item will always appear at the top of the site regardless of sort order selected by your customer.
    Calories (numeric value)A numeric value or range of values for calorie count.
    Calories (display label)The serving size for the item.
    ImageImages are NOT a requirement. A standard default image will be used until the merchant is able to upload a category or product images.
    Click Upload Image or Choose from gallery to upload an image from your hard drive. Use the highest quality photos possible for product images. The minimum accepted image size is 600x600. 
    Product AssignmentSelect the desired navigation category to assign the item to. You can add more than one category for an item to appear in.
    Click Append Category and select an Online Ordering category from the dropdown list. 
    Product Meta Title, Keywords, DescriptionYou can enter metadata, additional keywords and descriptions,  that will help your Online Ordering website appear on search engines like Google. This information does not appear on your Online Ordering website.
  5. Click Save. The item is activated on your website and available to customers.

NOTE:
When creating a new item, you will need to enter the required information for the item, in addition to the extended item details for Online Ordering. You can clear POS availability if you need to sell an item online but not on the POS. 

To set product count and inventory quantity

Managing your inventory is crucial when your Online Ordering website is active. Setting up an inventory alert will help you manage the items you have available for Pickup, Curbside or Dine In Orders. Online ordering can reflect and adhere to the inventory count that is setup within the Back Office. This prevents online ordering customers from ordering an item that is out of stock.

IMPORTANT!
An Online Order CANNOT be canceled once it is placed. See canceling an order for other options.

To set inventory count in Online Ordering:

  1. In the Back Office , select Inventory > Categories & Items.
  2. Select the item.
  3. Confirm that the Override Inventory checkbox is not enabled.
  4. (Optional) Enter a Safety Stock amount for the item. This is stock that is reserved for in store orders and online orders will not have access to.  
  5. Select Save
  6. Go to  Inventory tab > Manage.
  7. Select Count Entry or Receive, verify the product has quantity setup and update quantity if needed.
  8. Select Save

IMPORTANT! 
Inventory will deplete 20-25 minutes after the order fulfillment time.  

To deactivate an item in Online Ordering

If you receive an alert that it is time to order more inventory, you will want to deactivate that item from appearing on your Online Ordering website. The Alert Management page allows you to easily configure the alerts that are shown on your Activity Dashboard. 

NOTE:
The only way you will be able to view the alert is through the dashboard at login. No other communication is sent.

To deactivate an item:

  1. In the Back Office , select Inventory
  2. Select the item that is no longer available. 
  3. In the Extended Item Setup section, clear Active Online,
  4.  Click Save. The item will no longer be available for purchase on your Online Ordering website.

IMPORTANT!
When you replenish your inventory, go back into the Extended Item Setup to select the This is Active online checkbox to add that item back to your Online Ordering website.

To override item inventory

To set an item to always show as available regardless of the inventory count, use the override item inventory option.

To set an item as always available

  1. In the Back Office,  select Inventory > Categories & Items.
  2. Select the item you want to always be available, regardless of inventory count.
  3. In the Online Ordering section, enable the Override Inventory checkbox.
  4. Select Save.


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