Source: https://wpinplate.com/en/docs/introduction/

# Introduction: how WP InPlate works

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

1. The customer visits your venue's website or scans the QR code at the table.
2. Optionally, they check whether you deliver to their address.
3. They browse the menu, choose add-ons and get “goes well with” suggestions.
4. In the order form they choose the fulfillment method (pickup, delivery, dine-in) and the time.
5. They pay online or choose to pay at the venue, at the table or to the courier.
6. The order appears in the KDS with a sound and, if you turn them on, with a push notification.
7. The kitchen moves the order along: **New → In preparation → Ready**.
8. For pickup, the customer gets a “Ready for pickup” email and the staff hand over the order (**Delivered**).
9. 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.
10. 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](/en/docs/team-and-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](/en/docs/daily-specials/).
- **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.