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Service charge on one order type only

How to apply a service charge to dine-in but not takeaway — the two-menu pattern, with a worked example. Configuration only today — the till does not add it to a bill yet.

A common goal is to charge service on dine-in orders but not on takeaway. The rule to understand first:

A service charge lives on a menu, not on an order type. So a charge applied to a menu covers every order that menu serves. If one menu serves both dine-in and takeaway, the charge would cover both.

Heads up

Service charges are configuration only today — the till does not add them to a bill yet. This article shows you how to arrange your menus so the charge lands where you want it. That arrangement is saved and ready, but no charge is currently added to an order or shown on a customer's receipt. Applying charges at the point of sale is still to come, so you can set this up now without anything reaching a customer in the meantime.

To charge service on dine-in only, you separate the two order types into two menus:

  1. Build a Dine-in menu and apply your service charge to it (its Settings → Service charge).
  2. Build a Takeaway menu with the same products but no charge applied.
  3. The device shows the right menu for the order type the staff member picks, so once charges go live your dine-in orders will carry the charge and your takeaway orders won't.

The same products can sit in both menus — you're not duplicating your catalogue, just arranging the same items into two menus with different charge settings. For the full picture of how the device decides which menu serves which order type, see Order types, menus and service charges.

Worked example — 10% on dine-in only

You run a café that does eat-in and takeaway and want a 10% service charge on eat-in only.

  1. 1

    Create the charge

    Under Store settings → Service charges, create a Percentage charge called "Service" and set it to 10.

  2. 2

    Apply it to the dine-in menu

    Under Items → Menus, open (or create) your Dine-in menu, go to Settings → Service charge, and pick "Service". It applies as soon as you choose it — there is no Save step for this picker. (The Save button in that page's top bar belongs to the Available at locations card, and only multi-site accounts see it.)

  3. 3

    Leave the takeaway menu clean

    Open (or create) your Takeaway menu and leave its Settings → Service charge set to none.

  4. 4

    Check the mode capabilities

    In Store settings → Modes, make sure the mode your device runs has the right capabilities for each order type (Dine in for table service, Takeaway for takeaway). See Modes.

  5. 5

    Check your setup in the portal

    Open each menu's Settings → Service charge and confirm the dine-in menu shows "Service" and the takeaway menu shows none. That's as far as you can check today — there is nothing to look for on the device yet, because the till doesn't add the charge to a bill (see the note above).

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