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Basics

Your first test order

How to check that WP InPlate works: place a test order and follow it from the menu on your website through the order form to the kitchen display.

Applies to WP InPlate 1.35.2 · Updated:

Before you open ordering to customers, place one test order. It checks the menu, the order form, the schedule and the kitchen display.

Preparation

  1. Add at least one dish. A regular WooCommerce product with a price, assigned to a category, is enough. If you added sample data in the wizard, this step is already done.
  2. Check the schedule. You can place an order only within the ordering hours and on a day that isn't marked as closed. By default, online orders are accepted until 11:00, and Saturday and Sunday are closed. If you are testing later or at the weekend, change this in InPlate → Schedule (the wizard sets the hours from your answers). See Schedule.
  3. Turn on payment at the venue. In Sales panel → Settings → Payments, enable the “InPlate | Pay at the counter” method. This lets you test an order without a payment gateway.

Step-by-step test

  1. Open the kitchen display. On a tablet or in a separate browser window, go to /wp-inplate/kds/ and sign in with the operator account. Tap the screen – the browser turns sound on only after the first tap.
  2. Open the menu as a customer. Ideally in a private (incognito) window, so you are not signed in as an administrator.
  3. Add a dish to the cart and go to the order form.
  4. Choose pickup and a pickup time.
  5. Enter contact details and choose the “Pay at the counter” payment.
  6. Place the order. You will see a thank-you page.
  7. Check the KDS. The new order should appear in the New column with a sound.
  8. Take the order through the statuses: “Start” (In preparation), “Ready”, and finally hand it over to the customer (Delivered).
  9. Check the mailbox you entered in the order. Once the order is marked as ready, the customer gets a “Ready for pickup” message.

If everything worked, the system is ready. Now you can add your own menu, set up online payments and invite your team.

The order doesn't arrive?

The most common causes:

  • Page caching. Cache plugins and server caches can show an outdated menu or form. Turn off full-page caching for the menu page, the order page and the /wp-inplate/ addresses.
  • Outside ordering hours. The form shows a message that ordering has ended. Check the ordering hours and the fulfillment windows.
  • No payment method enabled for the chosen fulfillment method.
  • No sound in the KDS. Tap the screen after opening the KDS.

See Troubleshooting for more.