WP InPlate is a WordPress plugin that turns your venue's website into an online ordering channel. It runs on WooCommerce: products, the cart, payments and orders are standard WooCommerce features, and WP InPlate adds everything a food business needs on top of them.
Orders and customer data stay in your WordPress database. WP InPlate takes no commission on orders.
What the system is made of
| Part | For whom | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Online menu | Customer | The menu on your website, a dish window with add-ons, the cart |
| Order form | Customer | Choosing the fulfillment method, time, address and payment |
| Delivery checker | Customer | A window where customers check whether you deliver to their address |
| QR table ordering | Guest in your venue | A QR code on the table leads to the menu, and the order reaches the kitchen with the table number |
| Kitchen display (KDS) | Kitchen, counter, manager | Live orders, status changes, archive, shift summary |
| Manager panel | Manager | Running the menu from a tablet – products, prices, categories, tags, schedule and TV screens – without the WordPress dashboard |
| Courier app | Courier | Orders to pick up, the amount to collect, navigation, label scanning |
| TV screens | Guests in your venue | The menu on TV screens, updated automatically |
| Radio | Venue | Music in your venue with playlists for different times of day |
| WordPress dashboard | Owner, administrator | Settings, schedule, delivery zones, QR tables, add-on templates |
You don't have to use everything. You can start with pickup and the kitchen display only and turn on the rest later.
How an order travels
- The customer visits your venue's website or scans the QR code at the table.
- Optionally, they check whether you deliver to their address.
- They browse the menu, choose add-ons and get “goes well with” suggestions.
- In the order form they choose the fulfillment method (pickup, delivery, dine-in) and the time.
- They pay online or choose to pay at the venue, at the table or to the courier.
- The order appears in the KDS with a sound and, if you turn them on, with a push notification.
- The kitchen moves the order along: New → In preparation → Ready.
- For pickup, the customer gets a “Ready for pickup” email and the staff hand over the order (Delivered).
- For delivery, the courier takes the order in the courier app (On the way, the customer gets an email) and marks it Delivered after handing it over.
- Completed and cancelled orders go to the archive.
Order statuses
| Status in the KDS | Meaning | Status in WooCommerce |
|---|---|---|
| New | Order placed, waiting for the kitchen | unchanged (set by the payment) |
| In preparation | The kitchen is working on the order | unchanged |
| Ready | Ready to hand over or for the courier to pick up | unchanged |
| On the way | The courier is delivering the order (delivery only) | “On the way” (a status added by WP InPlate) |
| Delivered | Handed over to the customer or delivered | “Completed” |
| Cancelled | Cancelled with a reason | “Cancelled” |
Allowed transitions: New → In preparation, In preparation → Ready, Ready → On the way or Delivered, On the way → Delivered. Every active order can be cancelled. Who can make which transition is set in team permissions.
What is what in WordPress
- WooCommerce products are your dishes. Product categories are the sections of your menu.
- InPlate dishes (e.g. Daily dish, Soup of the day) are dishes with an active date. WP InPlate creates WooCommerce products for them automatically. See Daily specials and time-limited offers.
- Orders are regular WooCommerce orders with extra information: fulfillment method, time, table, kitchen status, assigned staff member.
- Staff members are WordPress users with WP InPlate permissions. They don't need access to the WordPress dashboard.
What WP InPlate doesn't do
- It is not a fiscal cash register or a POS system. It doesn't print fiscal receipts. Order labels are an operational document.
- It doesn't import orders from delivery platforms such as Pyszne.pl, Glovo, Bolt Food or Uber Eats. It is your own sales channel.
- It doesn't support several venues in one installation. The license and the configuration cover one website.
- It is not an inventory system. Stock quantities are handled by standard WooCommerce stock management.
- It has no app in the App Store or Google Play. The team apps are web apps that you install from the browser (PWA).
- It doesn't print automatically to a receipt printer. You print labels through the browser's print dialog.