Opening Hours
Your opening hours control when customers can place orders. This guide explains how to set your weekly schedule, mark closed days, and understand how opening hours affect your storefront.
Accessing Opening Hours Settings
- Go to Settings → Opening Hours in your admin panel
- Enter opening and closing times for each day
- Mark any closed days
- Click Save Hours
Changes take effect immediately.
Setting Your Weekly Schedule
How to Configure Opening Hours
- For each day of the week, enter:
- Opening time (e.g., 12:00)
- Closing time (e.g., 22:00)
- Use 24-hour format (e.g., 17:00 for 5 PM)
- Click Save Hours
Example schedule:
- Monday: Closed
- Tuesday–Thursday: 12:00–22:00
- Friday–Saturday: 12:00–23:00
- Sunday: 12:00–21:00
How it affects your storefront: Customers can only place orders during the hours you specify. Outside these times, they see a "Closed" message with your next opening time.
Marking Closed Days
If you're closed on certain days, mark them as closed.
How to Mark a Day as Closed
- Find the day in the schedule
- Toggle "Closed" or leave the time fields empty
- Click Save Hours
How it affects your storefront: On closed days, your storefront displays "Closed" and shows when you'll open next. Customers cannot place orders unless pre-orders are enabled.
💡 Tip: Mark regular closure days (e.g., Mondays) to avoid confusion. Update your hours for public holidays as needed.
How Opening Hours Affect Ordering
During Opening Hours
- Storefront displays "Open"
- Customers can browse the menu and place orders
- Checkout is available
Outside Opening Hours
- Storefront displays "Closed"
- Menu is visible but greyed out or read-only
- Checkout is disabled
- Message: "We're currently closed. We'll be open again at [time]."
Exception: If you enable pre-orders, customers can place orders even when you're closed.
Real-Time Open/Closed Status
Ordery automatically updates your open/closed status based on the current time.
How it works:
- Ordery checks the current day and time
- Compares it to your opening hours
- Displays "Open" or "Closed" accordingly
How it affects your storefront: The status updates live. At 12:00 on Tuesday, your storefront changes from "Closed" to "Open" automatically.
💡 Tip: Check your storefront at opening and closing times to ensure the status updates correctly.
Opening Hours and Scheduled Orders
If you enable scheduled orders, customers can choose a specific time slot for delivery or pickup.
How it works:
- Ordery generates time slots based on your opening hours
- Time slots are offered in 15-minute increments
- Only slots within your opening hours are available
Example: If you're open 12:00–22:00, customers can book slots like:
- 12:00, 12:15, 12:30, ..., 21:45, 22:00
How it affects your storefront: Customers see a time picker at checkout with available slots. This smooths kitchen demand and gives customers flexibility.
Opening Hours and Pre-Orders
If you enable pre-orders, customers can place orders up to 48 hours in advance, even when you're closed.
How it works:
- Pre-order toggle overrides the "Closed" restriction
- Customers can order any time, day or night
- They must select a time slot within your opening hours for fulfilment
Example scenario:
- You're closed on Monday
- Pre-orders are enabled
- A customer places an order at 10 PM Monday for Tuesday at 1 PM
How it affects your storefront: "Closed" message changes to "We're closed now, but you can pre-order for later." Checkout remains available with time slot selection.
💡 Tip: Pre-orders are great for catering orders, busy periods, and customers who plan ahead.
Temporary Closures
If you need to close temporarily (e.g., for a holiday or staff shortage), update your opening hours.
How to Close Temporarily
- Go to Settings → Opening Hours
- Mark the affected days as "Closed"
- Click Save Hours
How it affects your storefront: Customers see "Closed" for those days. They'll know when you reopen.
⚠️ Warning: Remember to reopen by updating your hours after the closure period ends.
Split Shifts
If you have split operating hours (e.g., lunch and dinner service), you'll need to choose a continuous schedule that covers both or manage this manually.
Example:
- Lunch: 12:00–15:00
- Dinner: 17:00–22:00
Current limitation: Ordery supports one open period per day. Set your hours as 12:00–22:00 and manually manage orders during the 15:00–17:00 gap (pause ordering or accept pre-orders only).
Split shifts (multiple opening periods per day) are not currently supported. Set continuous hours that cover both periods, or adjust your hours manually for the gap.
ℹ️ Note: This feature may be added in a future update.
Unsaved Changes Warning
If you make changes to your opening hours but forget to save, Ordery warns you.
What happens:
- You try to navigate away
- Ordery displays: "You have unsaved changes. Save before leaving?"
- You can choose to save, discard, or cancel
💡 Tip: Always click Save Hours after making changes to avoid losing your updates.
Best Practices
Keep Hours Accurate
- Match your actual operating hours
- Update immediately if you change your schedule
- Check hours regularly to ensure they're correct
Plan for Holidays
- Update your hours in advance for public holidays
- Mark closure days clearly
- Consider sending an email or social media post to inform customers
Use Pre-Orders for Flexibility
- Enable pre-orders to capture off-hours demand
- Customers can order ahead for busy lunch or dinner periods
- Great for catering and special events
Test Your Hours
- Place a test order during opening hours to confirm checkout works
- Visit your storefront outside opening hours to see the "Closed" message
- Verify that time slots (if enabled) align with your hours
Common Questions
Q: Can I set different hours for different fulfilment types? No, opening hours apply to all fulfilment types (delivery, pickup, table service). If you need fulfilment-specific hours, manage this manually or pause certain types temporarily.
Q: What if I need to close unexpectedly (e.g., power outage)? Update your opening hours immediately to mark the day as closed. Consider posting on social media to inform customers.
Q: Can customers see my opening hours before they start ordering? Yes, your hours are displayed on the storefront home page and in the footer.
Q: How do I handle extended hours on special days (e.g., New Year's Eve)? Update your hours for that specific day in advance. Remember to change them back afterward.
Q: Do opening hours affect existing scheduled orders? No, once an order is placed for a specific time, it's locked in. Changing your hours won't cancel existing orders.
Q: Can I set hours more than a week in advance? The opening hours settings show one week at a time. Update them as needed for special events or closures.
What's Next?
With your opening hours set, explore related features:
- Pre-Orders & Scheduling — Let customers book orders in advance
- Order Fulfilment — Configure delivery, pickup, and table service
- Best Practices — Tips for managing busy periods