Group Ordering

With Group Ordering, guests can build an order using their own devices collaboratively. Whoever starts the group order becomes the designated "owner" and will be responsible for submitting the order and covering payment. All other guests that are part of the group order can add items but cannot submit the order. Groups can place back-to-back ("rolling") group orders to order collaboratively for multiple rounds.

To enable Group Ordering, navigate to the Owner Panel and then click on 'Tables/Location Codes' settings under the 'Restaurant Setup' heading. 

Select the Location Code(s) for which you would like to enable Group Ordering, and click the 'Edit' button in the top-right corner.

Under the 'Share' section, you will see the option to toggle group ordering on or off.

Guests will see a 'Group Ordering' button on all menu pages. On mobile, this will appear above the menu section. On a desktop computer, the button will show in the top right-hand corner. 

On Mobile:

On Desktop:

Tapping this button will prompt the guest to enter their name to start their new group order. For guests that are signed in to a Bbot account, the name will automatically show as the name associated with their account. The guest that starts the group order will be the designated owner of the order. The Group Order owner will have full control of the items in the order when it is sent and will be responsible for payment.

Once the guest taps "Create Group Order," they will see a sharing page that lays over the menu. Here, they can share a unique link associated with their group order via text, email, or by copy/pasting the link. In addition, a custom QR code will show that other guests can scan directly from the device to access the group order.

Selecting the "X" in the corner will take the guest to the menu, and now they will see the "Group Ordering" button change color and text to indicate that they are now the owner of a group order. Tapping this button will lead back to the sharing page shown above, making it easily accessible when wanting to share with additional friends.

The group order owner can add items and view their order as normal from menu pages. The checkout page will display all participants of the group order, as well as any items placed in their carts. 

All participants have status indicators to the left of their names - the person icon indicates the owner of the group order, the rolling ellipses indicate the guest has not confirmed that they are ready, and the green check mark indicates that the guest has confirmed that they're done adding items to the order. The group order owner has the power to remove any participant's items from the cart if needed

When the group order owner taps the "Ready for Checkout" button, it will lock the order and display payment details and additional fields, including promo code entry, tip selection, fulfillment time selection, guest checkout information, and payment information entry. Once a group order is locked, guests will no longer be able to add, edit, or delete items from their orders. In addition, they will be unable to leave the group order. The group order owner can unlock the order via the "Unlock Group Order" button at any time.

Once checkout is completed by the group order owner, it will be sent to the kitchen as a single order. All participants in the group will be directed to the Order Status page where they will be able to see the status of all items. Once the first group order has been placed, any member of that group order can tap "Order Again" in the top left-hand corner of the Order Status page to automatically generate a new group order with the same participants.

All Other Group Order Participants

Once a guest accesses the unique group order URL by clicking the shared link or scanning the QR code, they'll be prompted to enter their name prior to accessing the menu page.

Once they've entered their name, the guest will be taken to the ordering site. Here, they will see a new button above the menu that displays the name of the group order owner. Tapping this button will pull up the same sharing page that the group order owner used to share with them (pictured above in "The Group Order Owner Experience" section). 

Guests will be able to select items from the menu and add them to their orders as normal. Guests will see all group participants listed on this page, along with their respective items. Guests can edit their own items, but they will not be able to edit or remove items on the behalf of others. Instead of a "Ready for Checkout" button, guests will see a "Done Adding Items" button. 

This button is what changes the ellipses to the green check on the checkout page, letting the group order owner know that they are ready. Even after tapping this button, the guest will be able to add, edit, and delete items up until the point that the group order owner locks the order. Once the group order owner submits the order, all participants will be directed to the Order Status page.

Leaving/Closing a Group Order

Both participants and group order owners have the option to leave a group order after joining. This option is presented in the "Sharing" page accessible via the Group Order button, as well as on "View Order" pages.

If a group order owner attempts to leave, they will be met with a warning message. In the event that the group order owner does close the order, it will be cancelled for all participants and they will receive a notification on their respective devices.

If a participant attempts to leave a group order, they will be asked to confirm that is what they would like to do. Participants may not leave the group order once the order has been locked by the group order owner. Should a participant decide to leave the group order after it has been locked, the group order owner will need to unlock the order to release them.

When exiting a group order, both the group order owner and any participant will have the option to transfer their items into a new, individual order.

Rolling Group Orders

Once a group order has been placed, any member can select the "Order Again" option in the top left-hand corner of the Order Status page to return to the menu and automatically generate a new group order with the same participants. These "rolling" group orders will function the same as a single group order, in which the group order owner is responsible for submitting and covering the cost. Should a participant wish to order separately, they have the option to leave the group order. Should the group order owner decide they only wanted to cover that specific round, they can close the group order. Details above.

Group Orders and Tabs Interaction

Should the group order owner start a tab at the time of checkout, that group order will be placed on the tab. The group order owner can continue to place rolling group orders on their tab, allowing them to finalize payment at the end of the dining experience rather than with each order. The group order owner will be required to approve and submit each group order on the tab. The group order owner may also choose to disband the group order at any time and add their own individual orders to their open tab.

While other members will be able to add items to group orders, they will not be able to place orders directly on the group order owner's tab. As a result, asynchronous ordering on a single, shared tab is not currently available with the Group Ordering feature. If this is desired, it is recommended that the guest leverage the Party Tabs feature instead.

Group Orders and Party Tabs Interaction

Group Ordering should not be used in conjunction with Party Tabs. Guests looking for an experience that allows for all group participants to be able to order items without needing the approval of the tab/order owner should use Party Tabs rather than Group Ordering.

Expiration

Group orders will expire after four hours of inactivity.

For any questions or assistance with group orders, please contact our Support Team at support@bbot.menu.