Managing Your Catering Cut Off Times

Many catering companies require a certain amount of advance notice in order to prepare an order on time.

These Cut Offs can be easily accommodated and established within the Control Panel. They can be updated at any point to reflect a number of different timing requirements.

Here are some common examples below:

·       Cut Offs by day and time (E.G Ordering to be cut off on the previous day at 5 PM)

·       Cut Offs by minutes or hours (E.G Ordering to be cut off 24 hours in advance)

Cut Offs are accessible within the Settings section of the Control Panel, however, one of our Support Team Members can easily adjust at any point. 

Utilizing Minimums for Catering

It is very common to require that customers order a minimum amount of items or packages when placing a catering order.

Minimums can be set at either the Item-level or at the Category-level in the Control Panel.

• Setting Minimums at the Item-Level

Settings minimums at the Item-level will automatically add the designated minimum number to a user’s cart as soon as the item is selected. This makes it so that the user cannot mistakenly order less than the minimum amount. Once the menu is loaded, the minimum will also be  displayed within the item description. (See screenshot below where the Item minimum has been set to 10)

Item-level Display

Menu Display (note item description)

• Setting Minimums at the Category-Level

Settings minimums at the Category-level will have much the same functionality as setting at the Item-level, the major difference being in how the Zuppler system flags an order. When at the Category-level, a user can add an item to their cart if it is below the minimum amount, however they will be prompted with an error when going to the Checkout page to complete their order. The system will not allow the user to place the order until the item quantity has been updated to reach the required minimum. (See screenshot below where the Category minimum has been set to 10)

• Setting Multiples at the Category-Level

Along with setting minimums at the Category-level, the system can also be configured to allow ordering only in multiples of the minimum (E.G If the Category minimum is 10 and the ‘Allow Only Multiples’ feature has been checked off when assigning the minimum, then users will only be able to order the item in multiples of 10).

Defining and Using Serving Quantities and Price Per Person       

A user placing a catering order typically needs to balance many requirements and needs when utilizing an ordering platform.

Features like Price Per Person and Serving Quantities can help a user to easily assess how much of an item that they need to satisfy their party size.
 

• Price Per Person

When enabled in the Control Panel, the Price Per Person feature allows users to input their party size while ordering online.

Once a user adds an item to their cart, the system will automatically break down the approximate Price Per Person and display it above the Checkout button.  (See screenshots below where No. of People has been set to 30 and Price Person has been calculated based upon the order total and count of people)

• Serving Quantities 

This feature is ideal for catering companies, especially for those that offer different sizes of catering packages intended to serve varying amounts of people. Serving Quantities can be designated at an Item-level as well as by Item Size-level  for any item that may serve a number greater than 1. (See screenshot below where Serving Quantity has been established as 15 people in the Control Panel)

Virtual Catering Assistant - A Catering Customer’s Guide 

When combined with the Price Per Person/No. Of People feature, Serving Quantities become part of our Virtual Catering Assistant experience. 

When enabled, the system will utilize a customer’s calculated party size and an item’s Serving Quantity to provide an approximation of whether the customer is ordering enough, too much or too little of an item. (See screenshots below of how this experience renders for the user)

Example where customer has ordered too little based upon party size 

Example where customer has ordered enough to satisfy party size 

Example where customer has ordered too much based upon party size