Manage Your Takeout and Delivery Schedule

Last updated: Apr 13, 2026, 11:43 AM

Manage your online ordering schedule in Toast Web: set schedule overrides, adjust order cut-off time, configure minimum lead time, understand quote time and prep time, schedule future orders, and troubleshoot "online ordering unavailable" errors.

Your online ordering availability is controlled by three things: your Online Ordering schedule (the hours guests can order), your prep time (quote time + lead time, which affects cut-off time), and whether online ordering is toggled on. If your online ordering page is showing as unavailable, start with the FAQ below — the most common fix is reviewing your schedule and, if needed, forcing a resync. For setting up or adjusting specific features, jump to the section for your topic.

Applies to: Toast Online Ordering, managed in Toast Web. Quote time and lead time settings in Toast Web do not affect third-party ordering platforms (DoorDash, Grubhub, Uber Eats) — contact each platform's support for their timing settings.

 

In this Article: 

 

Quick Fix 

What you need to do Go to 
Temporarily change hours for a specific date or holidaySchedule Overrides
Control when guests stop being able to place orders each dayAdjust Order Cut-off Time
Understand how prep time, quote time, and lead time relateWhat is Prep Time?
Require advance notice for catering or complex ordersMinimum Lead Time
Slow down orders during a rushManage Order Volume (Delay/Snooze)
Troubleshoot "Online Ordering Unavailable" or orders coming in outside hoursFrequently Asked Questions

 

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Schedule Overrides

This feature allows you to change your open online ordering schedule temporarily for a selected date or date range. With overrides, you can adjust your open online ordering hours, or close your restaurant to online ordering. Overrides do not impact your standard business hours.


To add a schedule override, follow the steps below or watch this video:

 

  1. Log in to Toast Web and navigate to Takeout & delivery > Online ordering hours section on the page.
  2. Select + Add override.
  3. From here, you can customize your hours on specific days. For example, if you want to close early on Thanksgiving, you can add an override to make these adjustments. Times must be set in 15-minute increments.
  4. You can add an optional description for reference purposes. This description will be guest-facing.
  5. You can also set multiple intervals for one day by selecting + Add interval, and specifying whether the override applies to Takeout & Third-party delivery, First-party delivery, or both. If you don't offer first-party delivery, this option will not be available.
  6. Once you've finished setting up the overrides for the selected date, select Add.
  7. Save and Publish all changes.

The override will appear on the list below the Overrides section. You can easily remove the override by selecting the trash icon or edit it by selecting the pencil icon.

 

Important: Overrides are applied by dining option. If an override is set for Takeout & Third-party delivery, it covers pickup (including curbside), Toast Delivery Services, and third-party integrations (Uber Eats, DoorDash, Grubhub) — but it will not automatically apply to First-party Delivery. First-party delivery overrides must be set separately.


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Order Quote Time

Order quote time is the estimated time it will take to prep orders. Quote times are used to tell a guest how long their order will take and to control order firing to the kitchen. To manage your Order Quote Time, follow the steps below:

  1. In Toast Web, navigate to Takeout & delivery > Quote time strategy.
  2. Select 1 of the 4 available quote time strategies:
    1. Manual
    2. SmartQuote 
    3. Kitchen Capacity
    4. Order Price
  3. Save and publish your changes. 

 

To learn about quote time strategies and how to set it up for your restaurant, you can log in to Toast’s back-end and view this guided walkthrough or check out our Support Center article on Manage Your Quote Time Strategy.

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Adjust Order Cut-Off Time

Toast allows you to customize the cut-off time for your guests to place an online order. From the Takeout & delivery > Online ordering hours section in Toast Web, you can choose when guests can no longer place online orders for the day.

 

Order cut-off time settings in Toast Web.

 

The options are:

  • Allow guests to place orders until your restaurant's closing time minus prep time
  • Allow guests to place orders until your restaurant’s closing time


When changing your order cut-off time, make sure to select Publish all changes at the top of the Takeout & delivery page. Both configurations only apply to ASAP orders and not scheduled orders.

 

Accept orders until...Example
Closing time minus prep timeRestaurant closes at 10:00 p.m. Quote time is 30 min. Guests can place orders until 9:30 p.m. Note: For scheduled orders, the last available time slot will be 9:30 p.m.
Closing timeRestaurant closes at 10:00 p.m. Quote time is 30 min. Guests can place orders until 10:00 p.m. Note: The closing time does not consider any configured lead times.


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What is Prep Time?

Prep time = Quote time + Lead time

  • Quote time is the time you can add to takeout and delivery orders (see Manage Your Quote Time Strategy).
  • Lead time =  the largest value between the delay and the lead time. Delays are configured on a Toast device or in Toast Web. Lead time settings are configured in Toast Web.

 

Note: Quote time and lead time configured in Toast Web do not affect orders placed through third-party ordering integrations such as DoorDash, Grubhub, and Uber Eats. These platforms calculate their own expected ready/delivery times. If you're experiencing incorrect timing on third-party orders, contact the respective partner's support: DoorDash; Grubhub; Uber Eats.


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Schedule Future Orders

Toast allows you to give your guests the option to schedule orders ahead of time. You can determine how far in advance guests can schedule, set limits at the restaurant or location level, and set specific limits for Online Ordering. To navigate to Schedule Future orders in Toast Web, navigate to Takeout & delivery > Availability > Online Ordering > Online Ordering Scheduling Settings

 

See Schedule Future Orders in the Support Center for more information. 


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Minimum Lead Time

Minimum lead time allows you to specify how soon your restaurant will accept an online order for takeout and delivery. This feature is intended for restaurants that use Toast's Online Ordering for catering or other formats where all items on your menu require advance notice.

For example, if your restaurant has a Delivery Minimum Lead Time of 6 hours and a guest wants a delivery order at 4:00 p.m., the earliest they can place it is 10:00 a.m.


To manage your minimum lead time settings:
 

  1. Navigate to Takeout & delivery > Availability > Online Ordering, and scroll down to the Online Ordering Schedule Settings section.
  2. For the Enable Scheduling section, select Yes, guests may schedule future orders.
  3. Once you select the option to enable future orders, a new section named Minimum Lead Time Settings will appear. Scroll down to that section and enter your desired lead time for online takeout orders and online delivery orders in the corresponding fields. 
  4. Save your changes once you’re finished.

 

Note: If prep times are set up, they will be factored into the first available fulfillment time. For example, if the takeout minimum lead time is 6 hours and the order has a 30-minute prep time, the fulfillment time will be 6 hours + 30 minutes = 6:30 hours from when the order is placed.


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Manage Order Volume (Delay/Snooze)

If you need to slow down orders during busy hours or when the kitchen is overwhelmed, you can use the Online Ordering dashboard to add delays to quoted time and snooze incoming orders. You can do this from a Toast device or from Toast Web by navigating to:

 

  1. Takeout & delivery > Toast Online Ordering.
  2. From the blue Ordering on drop-down menu, select a snooze time of 20 minutes, 40 minutes, until the next day, or indefinitely.

 

Learn more about both of those options in this Support Center article: Manage Online Order Volume.

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Frequently Asked Questions

 

Why does my online takeout and delivery availability end too soon?

Takeout and delivery order scheduling is based on your Online Ordering schedule, prep time (quote time + lead time), and order cut-off setting. Review each of these in order:
  1. Check your order cut-off setting — see the Adjust Order Cut-Off Time section above.
  2. Check how your prep time is calculated and adjust as needed — see the What is Prep Time? section above.
  3. Check and adjust your Online Ordering schedule by referencing the Set Your Online Ordering Hours section of Get Started With Online Ordering.

 

My guests can only schedule future orders through Toast Online Ordering. Why can’t they order ASAP?

If guests cannot place ASAP orders and are only able to schedule future orders, check your minimum lead time settings. If you have anything other than 0 in either the Takeout or Delivery Minimum Lead Time box, a guest will not be able to order for the current time.

 

Note: Lead times are mainly used by bakeries and catering companies that need advance notice, not for standard restaurants expecting immediate order fulfillment. Guests who place a future order scheduled for more than 48 hours out will receive an email 24 hours before pickup/delivery time.

 

Is there a way to make menu items appear at a specific time of day?

It's not possible to make specific items available depending on the time of day, however, you can make menus available depending on time of day and day of the week. For example, a coffee and bagels menu available from 7:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. Learn more in the Toast Central article on Set Menu Availability.

 

Note: Make sure the Visible To setting is set to Online Ordering. Learn more in Manage Your Menu Visibility Settings.

 

Are there menu item prep times factored into the quoted time for Online Ordering?

Custom prep time interred for a specific menu item does not factor into the quoted time shown to guests when placing an online order. 

Even if prep times, in seconds, are entered into the Preparation field on the menu item detail page, the quoted time for online orders will still show the time entered as the quote time on the Takeout & delivery page in Toast Web. 
 

When attempting to set my restaurant's Online Ordering hours, the Takeout and Delivery isn't displayed. What should I do?

If no dining option is assigned to the Takeout Option or Delivery Option on the Online Ordering page (or if it's left as Select), then the Toast Online Ordering hours page will not display properly. To fix this, navigate to Takeout & delivery > Availability > Online Ordering and scroll down to the Dining Options section to assign the correct options.
 

An online order was placed for a time when the restaurant is closed. How do I stop this?

Verify that your restaurant's online ordering hours are correct. Navigate to Takeout & delivery and scroll down to the Online ordering hours section. Confirm that the schedule for Takeout & Third-party delivery matches your restaurant's hours. For more details, view the Set Your Online Ordering Hours section of  Get Started With Online Ordering.
 

Why does my Online Ordering page say "Online Ordering is Currently Unavailable," or that my restaurant is closed?

Work through these steps in order:

  1. Check your online ordering schedule. Navigate to Takeout & delivery > Online ordering hours and confirm the schedule is correct and published.
  2. Check if online ordering is toggled on. Navigate to Takeout & delivery and ensure the dropdown at the top of the Toast Online Ordering section is set to Ordering On.
  3. Check if online ordering was snoozed. If a manager recently snoozed orders during a rush, it may still be active.
  4. Force a resync. If your hours are correct and published but the page still shows unavailable, make a minor change to your menu (such as adding an asterisk to the name of a menu item), then select Save and Publish all changes. Once confirmed, revert the change and publish again.
 

Our managers should be able to turn online and third-party orders off, but they cannot. How do I fix this?

Enable Permission 6.6 Restaurant Operations Setup for those employees. If you would like all employees of a certain job to have this permission, enable it at the Jobs level.

 

I'm receiving an error when I try to sync my business hours with my third-party ordering platform, or my platform says my location is closed even though my hours are set correctly. What should I do?

Attempt a resync: make a minor change to your menu (such as adding an asterisk to the name of an item), then select Save and Publish all changes. Once your resync is successful and your business hours are reflected properly, return to your third-party ordering menu, revert the small change, and save and publish all changes again. If the error persists, contact the respective platform's support: DoorDash, Grubhub, Uber Eats.

 

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Before You Contact Support 

If you've worked through the relevant sections above and still need help, have the following ready before reaching out to Customer Care:

  • Which feature you were trying to configure (overrides, cut-off time, minimum lead time, etc.)
  • What the Online Ordering page is currently showing to guests (unavailable, wrong hours, etc.)
  • Whether you've published your changes in Toast Web
  • Whether the issue affects all dining options or only specific ones (e.g., only First-party Delivery)
  • Steps you've already tried from this article


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Additional Resources