Manage Orders With Toast POS

Last updated: Mar 25, 2026, 1:52 PM

In this article, learn how to navigate order screens on your POS experience to help you and your staff efficiently create, send, and manage orders.

 

In this Article:

 

Set Up Your POS Experience

Check out the Support Center article Set Up Your Toast POS to learn how to configure your restaurant's POS experience. 


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Order Screen Overview

First, let’s break down everything that’s included in your ordering screens. Note: the examples below are shown in light mode.
 

Main Menu

Your items are grouped by menus, groups, and items on the main ordering screen. By clicking on a menu, you'll be shown the specific groups for that menu and specific items for each group. In the example below, items like Signature Nachos and Wings are under Appetizers under the Food menu. 


New POS mode in order screen
 

Above your menu items, you’ll see that you can also search for any menu item using the search bar in the Search bar. We've also moved the Open Item to the main menu next to the Search bar.


search bar and open items
 

When an item is selected on the check, you'll be shown multiple options, like changing the quantity or viewing an item description. Modifiers, such as sides, will be shown at the bottom of the screen and may be mandatory to select. See below for details.
 

labeled screenshot of payment options

    1. Change quantity
    2. View item description and image
    3. Repeat the selected item
    4. Delete the item from the check
    5. Change item-level dining option and course, split the item, add a special request, or discount the item
    6. Modifiers


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Check Details 

There are some key menu actions in the check details on the left side of your screen while in Quick Order mode, starting from the top-left and moving counter-clockwise:
Table number (A5), Tab name, Server assignment (Mariana D), Service charge, Split, Discount, and Guest count. 

The Print button will also appear in the bottom left-hand corner of the check details if you have a printer connected.  

 

Note: On your Toast Go handhelds, the Service Charge, Split, and Discount buttons live in the overflow menu detailed below to provide you more space to view your orders on the smaller screen.


check details view

 
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Check Overflow Menu

The check overflow menu gives you many options for less commonly used actions that are still relevant to your server activity. Access them by selecting the vertical dots in the upper right-hand corner of the check details. The check overflow menu differs from the main menu overflow menu in the upper right-hand corner of the POS screen.

check details


Note: On your Toast Go handhelds, you will see the Service Charge, Split, and Discount buttons in the overflow menu not the check details. 

 
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Below the Check

At the bottom of the check, you’ll find options to manage your items to send to the kitchen like Hold, Stay, and Send. These options will only appear if enabled in Toast Web. 
Below that, you’ll see the Print button if a printer is connected and the Pay button. Learn more about managing your payments in this Support Center article Manage Payments With Toast POS.


hold send and stay buttons

 
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Quick Order Screen


Quick Order screens are best used if your restaurant is quick-service or fast-casual. Remember, you access the Quick Order screen by navigating from the main menu to Quick Order mode.

Quick Order screens are available in dark and light modes, depending on your restaurant's preferences and that specific terminal.

Check out the screen below and then refer to the legend to learn about the main features to your Quick Order screen.


Quick Order Screen Updates

 

  1. The check details on the left side of the screen show more relevant actions. For a breakdown, see the Check Details section of this article.
  2. The Open Item button moved to the menu side of the screen, next to the search bar, for easier access.
  3. Less frequently used actions are placed in a check overflow menu within the check details (three vertical dots in the top right of the check). Split and Guest count buttons are housed in the check overflow menu. 


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Table Order Screen

We'll cover how to manage your tables in the Support Center article Manage Tables With Toast POS, but let's touch on the slight differences in the appearance of the Quick Order screens vs. the Table Order screens here. These screens will differ slightly, with the focus mostly being on more options for table actions in Table Service mode in a full-service restaurant setting.

The biggest differences between the Quick Order and Table Order screens are the Check Details view icons. Notice there are more quick options at the top, like moving a check to another server and adding a service charge.

Check:
 

table service mode top of check
 

Overflow menu:

The overflow menu in the check details of the Table Order screen differs slightly from the overflow menu in the check details of the Quick Order screen, allowing you to change dining options and customers.
 

Table Order mode overflow menu

  
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Toast Go® 2 Order Screen 
 

 

Below is an example of the ordering screens on your Toast Go® handheld device:
 

updated tg2 screens


The image on the left shows the order screen before items are added to a check. As you build out your check, you’ll see the check details stacked on top of the menu items, as shown in the image above on the right. Check out the legend to learn about the main features of your order screen on your handheld devices.
 

  1. There is an All Checks button in the action bar for easy access.
  2. The Print and Pay buttons are always in view. 
  3. The Menu can easily be expanded or collapsed to add more items.
  4. The header automatically collapses when adding items to an order.
  5. The Hold, Stay, and Send buttons are locked at the bottom of the screen. 

 

Select an item from the order to easily edit items on your Toast Go® handheld. Then, you can make edits accordingly, like adding more items to the order or sending an item previously held. This applies to both Quick Order and Table Order screens.

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Server Item Firing 

Server item firing gives servers full control over meal pacing on the POS, allowing them to:

  • Individually hold and send items on a check
  • Use the Hold button on the order screen as a true hold, meaning that once an item is held, it will not fire until it is selected and sent
  • Add new items to the check and send those new items to the kitchen without sending held items
 

To learn more, check out this Support Center article: Use Server Item Firing at Your Restaurant.


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Required Coursing

You can enable coursing to input orders on the POS to help maintain kitchen operations. Once you enable courses in Toast Web,  you can decide if they should be Required, Optional, or Off for both Quick Order and Table Service modes.

To learn more about required coursing, check out the article Manage Course Firing Options.


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Order By Seat

Order by seat is a workflow for servers to more efficiently enter orders separated by the guests' seat numbers when the feature is enabled.  To learn more about Order by Seat, check out the article Order by Seat.


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Open View Ordering

Open view is an ordering workflow on the POS.  It's ideal and recommended for customers with small to medium-sized menus where speed and accuracy across numerous modifiers are key. It is perfect if you run a quick service, high-volume business like cafes, bars/breweries, food trucks, etc.

To learn more about open view, check out the article Get Started with Open View.


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Quick Edit Mode

To learn more, check out this Support Center article: Use Quick Edit Mode on the POS.


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Overflow Menu Actions 

As discussed in the Check Overflow Menu for the terminal, menu options for the check actions appear in the check overflow menu. When you click on the overflow menu (three vertical dots) in the top right corner of your screen, you'll be served with a list of menu actions.

For Toast Go®, since the screen is smaller, Toast has consolidated the overflow menu to include actions related to the screen you're on and some general POS settings. The image below shows the Toast Go® overflow menu, which includes options to manage your orders and your POS. Let’s break down what each menu action in the overflow menu means using the example below.
  

Overflow menu actions:

  • Switch user: Takes you back to the keypad for another user to log in 
  • All checks: Takes you back to Payment Terminal 
  • Split: Allows you to split the checks by their preference 
  • Discount: Allows you to apply a discount to an item or check
  • Guest count: Allows you to see and change the guest count on a check 
  • Server: Allows you to view and change the server on the check 
  • Transfer to table: Allows you to transfer a quick order check to a table order check
  • Change customer: Allows you to change the customer name on the check 
  • Service charge: Opens the list of service charges to add to the check
  • Tax exempt: Opens the tax exempt workflow for guests who do not need to pay tax on their check (tac exemption number required from guest) 
  • Reprint kitchen tickets: Allows users to re-send items to the kitchen for firing
  • Lookup check: Opens check search workflow, allowing you to find other checks (Note: must have permissions set to view other servers’ checks) 
  • Void order: Allows you to void the entire order (select items to void off a check, similar to Legacy POS)
  • Connect to PCI network: Checks the network the device is using to confirm it is PCI-compliant.
  • Go back to classic POS: Allows you to switch back to Legacy POS (Note: This will not be a permanent option)
  • Device status: Takes you to the Device Status page 


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