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OrderRules
Free tool

How many orders per slot should I allow?

A slot's cap is the lower of two numbers: how many orders you can prepare for it, and how many you can hand over or deliver during it, with about 20% kept spare. Enter your numbers to get a per-slot cap, a daily cap and a same-day cutoff, plus the OrderRules setting each one goes into.

Runs in your browser. Nothing you type is sent anywhere.

Prepaid and staged: 1–2 minutes. Add 1–2 for ID checks or payment on collection. Opening and checking a cake takes about 2.5.

Optional. Leave blank if it isn't a limit.

0.8 keeps 20% spare for the customer who can't find their confirmation email. Use 1 for no buffer.

Result

9 orders per slot

  • Handover capacity: 9.6 per slot before rounding down
  • Handover is the limit. Another person at the counter would raise it.
  • Latest same-day cutoff: 15:00

Settings to enter in OrderRules

Delivery Dates β†’ Time slot templates β†’ Cap/day, on each slot: 9
Pickup locations β†’ your location β†’ Cutoff (HH:MM): 15:00
Plan: Advanced
How these settings work

Before you rely on the numbers

  • They're a starting point. Check them after your first busy week, and adjust.
  • A cap limits orders; it doesn't guarantee them. Two checkouts for a slot's last place in the same second can both go through.
  • Pickup and delivery slots, and caps by delivery date, need the Advanced plan.

How the calculator works

Every slot has two limits. Preparation is how many orders you can have ready for it. Handover, or delivery, is how many you can get to customers during it. The lower one is your cap. Counting only the kitchen, or only the counter, is how slots overfill.

Handover capacity is slot minutes Γ· minutes per handover Γ— staff Γ— 0.8. The 0.8 leaves room for the customer who can't find their email and the one who adds a coffee. Delivery works the same way with drivers and minutes per stop.

The same-day cutoff works back from your last slot. If the last slot starts at 17:00 and an order takes two hours to prepare, the cutoff can't be later than 15:00.

Starting points by business type

Adjust these after two weeks of real orders.

BusinessSlot lengthOrders per slotSame-day cutoff
CafΓ© or takeaway15 min4–660–90 min before the last slot
Bakery preorders30–60 min8–12Day before, 14:00–16:00
Butcher, deli or grocer60 min10–1512:00–14:00
Florist2 hours6–1011:00–13:00
Wine or liquor shop2 hours10–2015:00–16:00

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