Get Help With Order-Ready Text Messages

Guests or servers are not receiving order-ready texts when an order is fulfilled. Use these steps to check eligibility, settings, phone numbers, and the fulfillment trigger.

In this Article:

• Before You Begin
• Quick Fix
• If no one is receiving order-ready texts
• If guests are not receiving texts
• If servers are not receiving texts
• If texts send at the wrong time
• If guests receive two texts for one order
• Confirm the Fix
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Related Articles

Before You Begin

Applies to: Toast POS, Kitchen Display System (KDS), Toast Online Ordering, Toast Kiosk, Toast Mobile Order & Pay®

Permissions needed:

• Access to Kitchen settings in Toast Web
• Access to employee profiles in Toast Web, for server notifications

What you'll accomplish: Confirm that eligible guests and servers receive an order-ready text when an order is fulfilled on the KDS.

Note: Order-ready text messaging requires a Kitchen Display System. The text sends when an order is fulfilled on the KDS, so a restaurant without a KDS cannot use this feature.

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Quick Fix

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If no one is receiving order-ready texts

1. Confirm the order actually reaches the KDS and staff can fulfill it normally. If the order never arrives on the KDS, fix that first.
2. In Toast Web, navigate to Kitchen > Printers, tickets, & kitchen display system (KDS) > Kitchen and ticket setup.
3. Scroll to Order ready text messaging.
4. Confirm the order type you are testing is enabled under To Guest, under To Server, or under both.
5. Confirm a text-message trigger is selected.
6. Publish your changes.

Expected outcome: A test order fulfilled on the KDS sends a text to the number you used.

Note: SMS order-ready messaging is supported for US phone numbers, +1 phone numbers in Canada, +44 phone numbers in the UK, and +353 phone numbers in Ireland. Numbers outside the supported formats will not receive a text.

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If guests are not receiving texts

A guest can only be texted if a phone number was captured on the order.

1. Confirm a phone number was collected for the order you are testing.
2. For takeout orders entered on the POS, confirm the dining option prompts staff for guest information.
3. For dine-in POS orders, confirm staff used Change Customer to attach guest details to the check.
4. For kiosk orders, confirm the guest entered or confirmed a phone number.
5. For Toast Online Ordering and Toast Mobile Order & Pay® orders, confirm the phone number was entered at checkout.
6. Confirm the number is in a supported format for your country.

Expected outcome: New orders carry a guest phone number, and the guest receives a text when the order is fulfilled.

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If servers are not receiving texts

1. Confirm a server is associated with the order. An order with no assigned server has no one to notify.
2. In Toast Web, open the server's employee profile.
3. Confirm the profile contains a valid phone number.
4. Confirm To Server is enabled for that order type under Order ready text messaging.

Note: Servers will not receive order-ready texts if their employee profile does not contain a valid phone number. This is the most common reason server notifications fail while guest notifications work.

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If texts send at the wrong time

The text sends at the fulfillment stage you choose, so the trigger has to match how your kitchen actually works.

1. In Toast Web, navigate to Kitchen > Printers, tickets, & kitchen display system (KDS) > Kitchen and ticket setup and scroll to Order ready text messaging.
2. Review the selected text-message trigger. The available stages are the prep station, Expediter Level 1, and Expediter Level 2.
3. Choose the stage that represents the moment the order is genuinely ready for the guest.
4. Publish your changes and test with a new order.

Note: If your restaurant uses multi-level fulfillment, order-ready texts only send from Expediter 2 when Expediter Level 2 is selected as the trigger. If the trigger is set to an earlier stage, guests are notified before the food reaches the pass.

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If guests receive two texts for one order

Duplicate texts happen when the same order is set to notify from two places.

1. Confirm whether your restaurant manages online-order messaging in Orders Hub.
2. If it does, check whether the same online order types are also enabled under Order ready text messaging in Kitchen settings.
3. Turn the duplicate off in one of the two places, keeping whichever matches your workflow.
4. Publish your changes and test with a new online order.

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Confirm the Fix

Create a new test order with a known, supported phone number and confirm all of the following:

• The order reaches the KDS
• Staff can fulfill the order at the configured stage
• The guest or server receives one text, at the right moment
• A second test order behaves the same way

If any of these still fail, contact Toast Customer Care.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need a KDS to send order-ready texts?

You do need a Kitchen Display System to send order-ready texts. The message is triggered when an order is fulfilled on the KDS, so there is no way to send it from a printer-only kitchen.

Which countries support order-ready texts?

Order-ready text messaging supports +1 phone numbers in Canada, +44 phone numbers in the UK, and +353 phone numbers in Ireland. Guests with numbers outside the supported formats will not receive a message.

Why does my server never get a text when guests do?

A server does not receive texts when their employee profile is missing a valid phone number, or when no server is assigned to the order. Guest and server notifications are enabled separately, so check that To Server is turned on for that order type as well.

Can I change when the text goes out?

You can change when the text goes out by selecting a different text-message trigger under Order ready text messaging. You can trigger from the prep station, from Expediter Level 1, or from Expediter Level 2.

Also asked as:

• The text goes out too early
• Guests get notified before the food is ready

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Related Articles

• Item and Order Fulfillment on KDS
• Set Up KDS Two-Level Fulfillment
• Set Up an Expediter
• Toast Mobile Order & Pay® Text Fulfillment
• Manage Off-Premise Orders With Orders Hub

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