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Send order-ready texts

Who is this article for?
  • Account owners or team members with the account & settings permission to configure service settings. Set permissions in Square Dashboard.
  • Square for Restaurants Plus and Premium subscribers or Square Kiosk app subscribers or Square KDS subscribers
  • Square Plus and Premium subscribers with advanced restaurants capabilities added. Add capabilities in Square Dashboard.
  • Sellers with quick service, full service, or bar mode enabled in the Square Point of Sale app.
  • About order-ready texts

    By texting your customers when their order is ready with order-ready texts, you can offer a relaxed dining experience to your customers and save on staffing costs without using pagers, running food to tables, or printing an order number on a ticket. You can also capture a customer’s phone number and text them when their meal is ready using Square KDS.

    Before you begin

    You can enable order-ready texts from your Square Dashboard

    Before you start sending order-ready texts, you need to complete the following:

    Once you’re ready to send order-ready texts, you can collect a guest’s phone number from the Square Restaurants POS app and Square Kiosk. When the order is marked as complete from the Square KDS app (from an Expeditor station), order-ready texts will automatically be sent from the Square KDS app.

    If you use Square Loyalty the Loyalty Customer profile number will not save the phone number when your customer inputs a phone number for ‘Text when order is ready’.

    Square KDS is only available on Android tablets.

    Enable order-ready texts

    You can enable order-ready texts from your Square Dashboard.

    Step 1. For a Square KDS device

    1. Sign in to Square Dashboard and go to Settings > Restaurant settings > Kitchen settings > Order settings.
    2. Toggle ON Automatically send order updates.
    3. Click Save.

    Step 2. For a Square for Restaurants and Square Kiosk device

    1. Sign in to Square Dashboard and go to Settings > Device management > Modes.
    2. Select your mode and click Manage under Settings.
    3. Click Customer engagement.
    4. Toggle ON Collect phone number upon tapping pay under Notify when ready.
    5. Click Save.

    Send an order-ready text

    From your Square Point of Sale app in quick service, full service, or bar mode or your Square Restaurants POS app;

    1. Open your point of sale app or Square Kiosk, build your cart then tap Pay.

    2. Tap Yes when the Notify when ready window pops up.

    3. Enter your customer phone number then click Next.

    4. Tap Confirm to confirm your customer consent.

    When the order is marked as complete from the Square KDS app, your guest will receive the order-ready text.

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