What is Hold (Order Hold)?

A restaurant POS system has an "Order Hold" functionality that lets staff put an order on hold so they don't send it to the kitchen or finalize the order with the guest, but still have the ability to add additional items later or manage several customers at the same time.

When an order is held, the details of that order are retained in the POS for later access and completion. This feature allows the servers to manage their tables more effectively and efficiently when the service is busy.

Order holds are typically utilized in restaurants by guests who are not finished making their decision, by servers who need to split a bill for multiple guests, or by servers working with their diners to accommodate multiple orders placed over a longer period of time.

How Hold (Order Hold) Works?

The Order Holding feature allows you to enter items in the POS without sending them to the kitchen or processing a payment. This can be done by staff using the POS when entering items into the POS, choosing a hold option to temporarily save or hold an order by Table Number, Order Name, or Ticket Number.

The staff can go back into the POS and get the order that was placed on hold, and can review or edit the items prior to sending the order to the kitchen or processing payment. The order information is saved in the POS System until the order is completed, so mistakes are prevented, and the order will be accurate once completed.