The Order Journey

This page shows how work moves through BIZ Cafe end to end. There are two lifecycles to understand: the order journey that each order follows, and the till lifecycle that frames a cashier’s shift. Knowing the status values helps everyone read the screens the same way.

An order is placed, prepared, billed, and then closed out with feedback. The Desk workspace shows this as the Order Journey pipeline: Order Placed then Invoice then Feedback. Underneath that high-level pipeline, an order moves through a detailed set of statuses.

Cafe Order Status

Every order carries a status that tells the kitchen and counter where it stands.

Status	What It Means
Pending Payment	The order is placed but online payment has not yet completed
New	The order is confirmed and waiting for the kitchen to start
Preparing	The kitchen has started making the order
Ready	The order is made and ready to collect; the customer is notified at this point
Completed	The order has been handed over and closed
Cancelled	The order was cancelled before completion

When an order reaches Ready, the customer is automatically notified that their order is ready to collect.

The Till Lifecycle

Billing happens inside a till session. A cashier opens the till at the start of a shift, bills orders against it, and closes it at the end.

Billing is blocked until a till session is open. A cashier must open the till before they can bill any order. See Till Sessions.

Status Values Across BIZ Cafe

The records you work with each have their own status. Here is every status machine in one place.

Cafe Invoice

Status	What It Means
Draft	The bill is being prepared and has not been submitted
Paid	The bill is submitted; the sale is mirrored to accounting and stock in the background
Cancelled	The bill is cancelled; the background accounting and stock entry is reversed

Cafe Opening Entry (the till session)

Status	What It Means
Open	The till is open and accepting billing
Closed	The shift’s Closing Entry has been submitted, so the session is closed

Cafe Closing Entry

Status	What It Means
Draft	The closing figures are being entered
Submitted	The shift is closed; cash reconciliation is posted, a closing-summary alert is sent, and a cash-variance alert is sent if the till is over or short beyond the threshold
Cancelled	The closing entry is cancelled

Who Drives Each Stage

Stage	Role
Place a counter order	Cafe Cashier
Place a storefront order	Guest customer
Advance to Preparing and Ready	Cafe Kitchen
Bill the order	Cafe Cashier
Open and close the till	Cafe Cashier
Review reports and reconciliation	Cafe Admin

Upstream and Downstream Dependencies

An order needs a menu to exist before it can be placed. See Menu Management.
Billing needs an open till session. See Till Sessions.
A submitted bill feeds your accounting and stock records in the background, and a closed till feeds the cash reconciliation and the Z-report. See Reports Overview.

Best Practices

Move orders promptly through the kitchen statuses. The customer notification fires at Ready, so keep the board honest.
Do not skip Cancelled for abandoned orders. Cancelling keeps reports clean rather than leaving orders stuck in New.
Close the till the same shift it was opened. Closing posts the reconciliation and locks the session for an accurate Z-report.