Branch management · 8 min read
Branch setup: locations, hours, order types, and pausing
The complete guide to configuring a branch — creating it, choosing its public URL, setting opening hours, enabling order types, and pausing orders when you need to.
Who this is for
Owners and managers responsible for store operations.
What a branch is
A branch is one physical location of your restaurant. Each branch has its own public ordering page, opening hours, order types, tables, staff PINs, and order queue. Tenant-wide details — restaurant name, logo, brand colors, supported languages — are shared across every branch, while everything operational lives at the branch level.
Every customer ordering URL has the shape https://dashdinemenu.com/{restaurant-slug}/{branch-slug}. Your printed entry codes encode this exact URL, and any direct link you share via WhatsApp, Instagram bio, or Google Business Profile points to the same destination.
Adding a branch
- 1
Open Branches in the admin sidebar.
- 2
Click Add branch. If your plan limit is reached, you will be offered an extra-branch add-on or an upgrade instead.
- 3
Fill in the branch fields — name, slug, address, phone — and pick the order types you can fulfil at that location.
- 4
Set the opening and closing times for the branch.
- 5
Save. The branch appears in the active-branch selector immediately and its ordering page goes live at its URL.
How the branch is referred to internally and on receipts (for example "City Centre" or "Pearl").
The URL fragment after your restaurant slug. Forms the public ordering URL — lowercase letters, numbers, and hyphens only.
Full street address. Shown to customers in the storefront info panel.
The branch phone. Runners may use this when a customer cannot be reached.
Controls the open/closed status customers see and whether the cart accepts orders.
Toggles for carside, dine-in, and takeaway. At least one must be enabled.
Numeric count, only relevant when dine-in is enabled.
Choosing the branch slug carefully
- Keep it short and recognisable — "pearl" beats "pearl-branch-doha". Match it to a name customers might type, not an internal code.
- Once the slug is printed on QR entry codes, treat it as permanent. There is no automatic redirect from an old slug to a new one — customers with the old URL hit a not-found page.
- If you must change a slug, update it in Branches → Edit, regenerate the entry codes for that branch, and reprint everything physical that uses the old code — table tents, carside posters, menus.
Opening hours
Hours are set per branch in Branches → Edit. When the ordering page is opened outside its declared hours, customers see a "Branch closed" notice and the cart is disabled — they can still browse the menu and read item details, so you never lose discoverability.
Hours are evaluated against the branch’s local timezone. If the branch is in Doha, "20:00" means eight in the evening Doha time regardless of where the customer’s phone is.
Order types: carside, dine-in, takeaway
Toggle order types per branch under "Order types" in the branch editor. Changes take effect on the next storefront load. A branch must keep at least one type enabled, and turning a type off mid-service is safe: open orders complete normally, only new orders of that type are blocked.
Customer parks outside; a runner delivers the food to the car. Adds vehicle colour, model, and the last plate digits to checkout — the runner sees e.g. "WHITE LAND CRUISER - 660" on the order card.
Customer orders from a table. Adds a table-number selector, or fills the table automatically when the customer scanned a table-specific code.
Customer collects from the counter. No extra fields beyond contact phone.
Pausing and resuming orders
Pausing stops new orders without touching your hours. The ordering page stays browsable but the cart and checkout are disabled, and your pause reason — if you set one — appears prominently. Use it for kitchen surges, short staff gaps, or one-off holiday closures instead of editing the schedule.
- 1
Open Branches and select the branch.
- 2
Toggle "Pause orders" on.
- 3
Optionally enter a customer-visible reason (for example "We are slammed — back in fifteen minutes").
- 4
Resume with the same toggle when you are ready.
Frequently asked
Can two branches have different menus?
Yes. Categories, items, and modifiers are managed per branch, so each location can carry its own menu and prices.What happens to an order in progress if I disable its order type?
It completes normally through the kitchen and runner flow. Only new orders of that type are blocked.Do I need to pause orders for a public holiday?
For a single-day closure, pausing is faster than editing hours and reverts cleanly — just remember to resume the next day.Is there a redirect if I change the branch slug?
No. The old URL stops working immediately, so regenerate and reprint your entry codes before customers notice.