How catering works

Users with appropriate permissions can search and book a space that allows catering services to be delivered to them. Once the booking is confirmed, users can add a catering order to it.

✅ Users can:

• Add catering orders to their confirmed space bookings.
• Define Service and Clean-up times for the catering order that would be different from the booking start and end times.
• Accept or decline the creation of the automated catering order that can be set up for a space.
• Add notes with allergy details or other relevant information that should be brought to the attention of the catering team.

Learn more about various aspects of catering here:

• About Catering in IBSS 
• Catering order cut-off 
• Role Permissions and Data Security Settings for Catering 
• Automatic catering orders 

Adding a catering order to a booking

To be able to add catering orders to a booking, you must book the space that allows catering first. Use the Catering search criteria to view only spaces that allow catering services to be delivered to them. 

After you've booked a space with catering options, click one of the following:

• Catering in the booking confirmation popup.
• Or start editing the booking and add your catering order from there.

The catering order page opens with three tabs:

1. Summary. Opens if there's a catering order created already, is it by you or an automated order created upon space booking where it has been set up.
2. Create/Edit Order. Opens when there are no catering orders for this booking yet.
3. Finalise Order.

The Summary tab

1. Review the summary of your booking: room, date, and time. You can edit your booking by clicking the View Booking button.
2. View Catering Order Summary. From here, you can:
   • Edit existing orders
   • Disable automated catering order if it was created upon space booking
   • Apply or edit cost codes
     ⚠️ Your default cost code(s) will be already added if you defined your default cost codes for catering. Add or remove cost codes in the popup using arrows. Learn more here: Cost Codes in Workspace.
   • Add more catering orders if this is enabled in your organisation

The Create/Edit Order tab

1. Select an available menu from the drop-down.
   ⚠️ There may be several menus available for the space that you have booked. Select one menu to choose items from it. If you select items from one menu, and then switch to another, all previously selected items will be cleared.
    
2. Check the notification underneath the menu selector: Orders from this menu available until. 
   This is the cut-off time that is set for the selected menu. Make sure to finalise your order or plan any changes so they are completed strictly by this time. If you've made the booking after the cut-off time and try adding a catering order, the message will be displayed: New orders or changes for this booking are now closed.
    
3. You can filter by allergens for the unwanted catering items to be excluded from the menu or you may want to display food that is, for example, marked as vegan, vegetarian, or kosher.
    
4. Select catering items from the lists on three tabs: Beverages, Snacks, Food.
   1. Expand the menu item to view its details if you need.
   2. Edit quantity for menu items.
      ⚠️ Note that catering items have time-bound preparation and delivery times: some items can become unavailable if it's past the cut-off time for item preparation or outside of the catering item availability period. This means that depending on when you place or modify your order in relation to your booking time, you may see a different set of items available on the menu.
      
      Users
5. Click Next after you finish adding items to your order.

The Finalise Order tab 

1. View the service and clean-up times that are needed to support your order. By default, the time set is the start and end time of your booking. You can set different delivery and clean-up times that fall within your space booking start and end time.
2. Add a relevant note to the catering team, include allergy information if available. You can add as many notes as needed.
3. View summary for the current order with the list of selected items and their quantities. 
4. Click Save Order to complete.

After you've saved the order

Approvals

Your order might need to be approved before it is processed by the kitchen depending on your organisation settings. Once it is approved, you'll receive a confirmation. If you don't need approval, your booking is set up at this point.

Adding multiple catering orders

If you have the API.Catering.MultipleOrders permission, you can also add multiple catering orders. This can be useful if you need food or drinks to be delivered and cleaned at different times during your meeting.

To add another catering order:

• Use the Add Further Orders button on the confirmation popup.
• Or click Add New Order on the catering order editing page.