When two staff members open the same order on two different POS devices at the same time — say, Counter and Bar both pull up Table 5 — and start adding items, you can end up with duplicate items, lost edits, or items added to the wrong order. Order locking prevents this.
When it's on, the first device to open an order owns it. Other devices viewing the same order see it in read-only mode with a clear "Open on Counter" banner. The lock automatically transfers when the first device closes the order, so the next person can edit normally.
Before you turn it on: pair your POS devices
Order locking needs at least one paired POS device to do its job. Pairing identifies each device individually (e.g., "Counter", "Bar", "Table-side iPad"), which is how the lock knows who's editing.
👉 If you haven't already, set up pairing first: Device-Based Printing walks through pairing each device.
‼️ Until you pair at least one POS device, the toggle on the Order Locking settings page stays disabled.
How to turn it on
Go to Settings → Order locking in your merchant dashboard
Flip Enable order locking on
(Optional) Toggle Allow take-over off if you want strict single-editor mode — see below
That's it. Tell your staff to refresh their POS browsers once so the new setting takes effect everywhere.
What staff see when order locking is on
Situation | What that device sees |
Opens an order nobody else has open | Edits normally |
Opens an order another device is already editing | Orange "Open on [device name]" banner; action area is dimmed and unclickable; can view but not edit |
Has the order open when the other device closes it | Banner disappears; that device now owns the edit lock |
The active editor's name (e.g., "JT is editing") also appears in the banner if they're logged in with a passcode, so staff know who to ask before taking over.
Take-over: when a manager needs to step in
Sometimes the original editor walks away with their tablet, or the connection drops, and you need to take control of the order before the lock naturally times out (about 15 seconds). Owners, admins, and managers can take over a stuck lock.
Open the order on your device
In the orange banner, click Take over
Confirm the dialog
The previous device gets a "This order was taken over by [your name]" notification and drops to read-only
The take-over is logged for audit so you can see who broke a lock and when, if it ever matters.
Strict ownership mode (Allow take-over: off)
Some venues need stricter rules — a server should own their tables for the whole service, no exceptions. Flip Allow take-over off and:
The "Take over" button disappears for everyone
Even owners and admins can't break a lock
The lock only releases when the editing device closes the order
This is the right setting if you have audit requirements or you've had recurring issues with managers undoing staff work.
What order locking does NOT affect
Customer ordering via QR menus — customers can always add items to their order, even if a staff device has it open. Their changes appear normally on the POS.
Integrations and partner orders — orders coming in from food delivery providers, the OpenAPI, etc. flow through without being affected by the lock.
Read-only viewing — anyone can still see the order, just not edit it.
Troubleshooting
The lock seems to switch devices on its own. When a paired device's tab goes into the background (you switched to another tab or another app on the iPad), the browser stops the lock's heartbeat after about 15 seconds. The lock then becomes available for any other paired device viewing the same order to pick up. Coming back to the original device, you'll see the order has moved to whoever is now actively viewing it. This is by design — the lock follows the active editor.
A device says "This device is not paired" when trying to do something. That browser doesn't have a pairing cookie. Go to Settings → Devices and pair it.
An unpaired browser (e.g., the owner's laptop from home) doesn't see the locked banner. That's expected — unpaired browsers sit outside the locking contract and can view orders normally.