Manage order timing
- Sellers with the orders permission to pause orders and update prep times. Set permissions in Square Dashboard.
About order timing
Order timing refers to the management of pickup or delivery times for orders. It allows you to adjust the timing of when customers can pick up their orders or when local delivery couriers can collect them. Once enabled, you can view the remaining time in busy mode on your Orders page. You can also exit busy mode to resume regular prep times or extend the duration if needed.
Before you begin
Order delays are accepted per service and integration type, so check with any third-party integrations that you can delay your orders if needed.
Pause online orders
From the navigation bar, tap Orders. If you don’t see Orders, tap ≡ More > Orders.
Tap the clock icon on the Order Manager screen to view your Order Timing settings.
In the Pause Orders section, select Pause for pickup or delivery orders. Tap Save.
Choose when you want to resume online orders and tap Save.
You can see the remaining pause time and resume orders instantly from the Orders tab.
Delay pickup time of an order
During busy shifts with more orders coming in than expected, you may want to delay the pickup time so that your customer or local delivery courier knows they can pick up their order at a later time. Delay orders as soon as you know you can’t make the expected time to avoid customers or couriers waiting.
To adjust and delay the pickup time for an order:
- From your Square app, go to ≡ More > Orders.
- Select the order you need to delay.
Note: For orders that can be delayed, you’ll see a right-pointing arrow next to the time. - Select Edit.
- Choose from a preset list of time intervals (by 15-minute increments), or select Other to manually select a time period.
- Tap Save to send the update to the integration partner (where your customer ordered). The partner will then let the customer or local deliver courier know that the order is delayed.
To adjust the ready/shipping time for a Square Online or third-party integration order:
- Sign in to your Square Dashboard, then go to Items & orders > Orders.
- Select an order that you would like to delay.
- For orders that can be delayed, you will see a right-pointing arrow next to the time. Select Edit.
- Select from a pre-selected list of time intervals (by 15 minute increments) or select Other to manually select a time period.
- Tap Save. We will send an update to the integration (where your customer ordered) and then the integration will let the customer or courier know that the order is delayed.
Extend prep times
You can temporarily increase your location’s prep time during busy periods to give yourself more time to complete active and incoming orders. This can be increased by 15 minutes, 30 minutes or 1 hour. To do so from the Square POS app on iOS devices:
From the navigation bar, tap Orders. If you don’t see Orders, tap ≡ More > Orders.
Tap the clock icon on the Order Manager screen to view your Order Timing settings.
In the “Prep time” section, toggle on Busy Mode.
Select how long you want Busy Mode to last. While Busy Mode is on, 15 minutes will be added to your current location prep time.
Tap Save.
Once enabled, you can see the remaining time in Busy Mode on your Orders page. You can also select Exit Busy Mode to resume your regular prep times or select Extend to extend the duration of Busy Mode.
Busy Mode can also be extended from the Order Timing settings page by selecting Extend > Save.