Last updated: Mar 5, 2026, 3:51 PM
Looking for a live training experience with a Toast Training Expert? Sign up for a live Toast Classroom session to help you set-up and get started with Online Ordering! Select the button below to sign up.
Toast Classroom - Getting Started With Online Ordering
Own your profits and guest relationships by allowing guests to easily order pickup or delivery directly from you – commission-free.
Log in to Toast Web and then select the button below for a step-by-step walkthrough of online ordering setup in your Toast account by following the onboarding checklist which also includes setting up delivery.
First, you'll need to optimize your menu for online ordering. Often you have menus, groups and/or items that cannot be ordered online, so you'll need to set menu item availability.
To make changes to your menu item availability, use the following workflow.
Note: As you start to take online orders, we advise reviewing your to ensure your kitchen capacity calculation is now accounting for Online Orders.
Once you have order auto-firing enabled on one device at your restaurant location, you can select your preferred Online Ordering settings.
Note: These settings are done in Toast Web. We recommend completing these steps in Toast Web for your restaurant while going through this guide simultaneously.
First, you must turn on online ordering to accept online orders. This is also where you can temporarily snooze or disable online orders if needed.
Online ordering is now enabled, and your guests can place orders when your schedule is open.
The Approval section is where you set the behavior for incoming online orders and how they are received at your location.
To access this screen, select the back arrow in the top left corner of your device and choose Pending Orders under the Mode section of the device menu.
From the Needs Approval tab, you can select any incoming online orders listed and select Approve in the top right corner of the screen. Once approved, these orders will be fired to the kitchen.
If you select Use rules for your desired approval method, the Approval Rules section will appear. You can choose the following rules:
The next step in online ordering setup is to set your dining options. This section allows you to choose whether diners will have the ability to order curbside pickup, takeout, or delivery from your online ordering menu.
You also have the option to add a customized message to your guest for takeout, curbside, and delivery orders.
Once set up, the custom messaging will appear on the guest's order confirmation screen and e-receipt.
Note: It's important to specify dining options in the fields above. If Takeout Option and/or Delivery Option is set as Select, the online ordering hours will not be displayed properly on the online ordering hours page and guests will not be able to place orders using that dining option.
Online orders from Toast Online Ordering can either be assigned to a specific employee or they can be assigned to the POS tablet that has order auto-firing enabled.
If Assigned by auto-firing tablet is selected, the check will always be assigned to the last employee to enter their passcode and sign into the order auto-firing device. It's important to note that orders will be assigned to the last employee to enter their passcode on the order auto-firing device, even if the employee is now clocked out.
Note: We suggest setting up a generic "Online Ordering" employee to be used specifically for online orders, and select it as the Online Order Server. This will automatically assign this server to all online orders, regardless of who logs into the auto-firing device. For a guided walkthrough of this setup in your Toast account, log in to your Toast Web account and click the button below.
Or, check out this Toast Central article on .
If your restaurant uses third-party ordering channels and has scheduled orders (orders set to be prepared at a future time), those orders may not be automatically assigned to a server in Toast. If you rely on server assignment for tip tracking or reporting, we recommend one of the following options:
Online orders can be mapped to a new or existing revenue center, which is useful if you'd like online orders to be reported independently from other areas of revenue generation. Since revenue centers help you segment your sources of revenue in the restaurant, we recommend you create a revenue center called "Online Ordering." For a guided walkthrough of this setup in your Toast account, log in to your Toast Web and click the button below.
Now that we've created the "Online Ordering" revenue center, you can map online orders to it. Use the following workflow to do so:
Now, in your sales reports, all online orders will appear in the revenue center designated for online orders.
Online orders can also be mapped to existing revenue centers. For example, if you already have a revenue center for takeout/delivery orders and you'd like online ordering to be within that revenue center, you can do so by mapping your online orders to it as well.
Next, you'll see the Special Requests header. This is where you can allow customers to add special requests to individual menu items when taking an online order. An example special request could be a customer asking for an extra side of sauce.
You can customize the message in the customer-facing text box. This is what the customer will see before they enter their special request. For example, "No substitutes. Additions may cost extra."
Note: Special requests apply to all menu items and cannot be specified for specific menu items at this time. There is currently no other way to add an open response request field for online orders.
Delivery Payment Options allow you to determine whether customers can pay in-store and/or online, and what forms of payment they can use.
You also have the ability to allow or disable credit card tips. Selecting Allow tips allows customers who order online to add a tip to the order when paying by credit card. Note: At this time, it's not possible for guests to split a payment for an online order (e.g., pay for their order with two different credit cards).
| Toast Delivery Services® (TDS) is unavailable in Canada, Ireland, and the U.K. at this time. Please check back for updates. |
If you choose to offer delivery for online orders placed in your restaurant, you'll need to set up delivery or using . This can be done from the Other Setup section of Toast Web on the Takeout/Delivery page.
Note: You cannot use Delivery Using Your Own Drivers if you have signed up for Toast Delivery Services. You cannot toggle between the two services.
If you do not wish to offer delivery for online orders, proceed to the next step.
In order to receive online orders, you will need to enable Order Auto-Firing on only ONE device at your restaurant location. Order auto-firing is a configuration within Toast POS that manages schedules and online orders to fire automatically to the kitchen when ready. Order auto-firing must be enabled for your restaurant to receive online orders straight to the kitchen.
Next, you have the ability to set the hours you'd like to designate to online ordering. For example, if guests are able to order online at your restaurant from 10:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m., but online ordering is unavailable anytime after 10:00 p.m., this is the section where you can set that up. You'll also be able to set up different takeout and delivery hours for each day of the week if needed. For a guided walkthrough of this setup in your Toast account, log in to your Toast Web and select the button below.
Note: Setting up the hours for online ordering is different than setting up the hours for your restaurant. Restaurant operating hours will be used by default but Toast recommends reviewing this schedule before setting your online ordering hours to ensure times align properly.
To set hours of service for online ordering:
| | Overrides are applied to the dining option, which is set in Toast Web . For example, if an override is set for Takeout & Third-party delivery, the override will be set for pickup (including curbside), Toast Delivery Services, and third-party integration (Uber Eats, DoorDash, and Grubhub). It will not be automatically set for First-party delivery. Learn more in the Schedule Overrides section of this Toast Central article, . |
Note: On the guest's view, the restaurant hours listed in the More info section will show the restaurant's pickup and delivery hours with additional information such as operating hours and phone number. Therefore, if online ordering is turned off or an order is placed outside of your online ordering hours listed but your restaurant is still open for dine-in, your online ordering page will read as "closed" although your hours will show as "Open" in the View hours section of your online ordering page.
Customize your online ordering page by adding your restaurant logo and creating a Toast Tab URL.
To learn more about customizing your online ordering site, check out this Toast Central article on .
After you have finished setting up your online ordering site, it's recommended to place a test order to ensure online ordering approval and printing options are correctly configured. To place a test order, first notify your staff that you will be placing an order that you do not wish to be made in the kitchen. Then, follow the steps below:
Need a refresher on how to void an entire check? Check out the Void an Entire Check section of this Toast Central article,
When guests place orders, they can select Express checkout with Toast or Checkout as guest. On the next screen, the guest will enter, review, and/or edit their personal and payment info before submitting the order. When the guest enters their phone number, they will automatically receive an SMS to authenticate their Toast account (if they have one) before continuing with their order to ensure all orders are tracked properly to their profile. Guests without a Toast account will be prompted to create an account.
Note: Express checkout is not available for customers outside the U.S. at this time.
When finished, don't forget to return to the Online ordering setup page and disable Cash payments if you do not wish to offer them for online orders. If any additional settings need adjusting, don't forget to save and publish your changes!
Want to learn more about online ordering setup and best practices? Check out .