Ghost kitchen and delivery restaurant: scheduling questions answered
How it worksA ghost kitchen has no dining room, so the schedule is about prep capacity and handoff time. Orders arrive from several apps and its own page at once, and each has a promised ready time. Customers are consumers, and demand repeats daily, peaking at lunch and dinner. The delivery model means a stop with an address, an ETA and sometimes proof the order arrived, which looks more like a route than an appointment.
How scheduling works in this trade
- Prep capacity is the real limit. A kitchen can only fire a set number of tickets per quarter hour, so offering pickup slots without a cap per slot leads to a pile-up at 6:30.
- Several channels feed one kitchen. Orders from delivery apps, a direct page and the phone must all count against the same capacity or the kitchen will promise time it cannot meet.
- Handoff to a driver has its own timing. Food that sits at the pass cools and the driver waits, so ready times need a small buffer rather than a promise to the minute.
- Pre-orders and catering are scheduled differently from walk-in orders. A tray order for next Friday needs a confirmed time, headcount and a deposit, while a burger order needs a quick slot.
Questions owners ask
How do I limit how many orders a ghost kitchen takes per time slot?
Set a maximum order count for each ten or fifteen minute slot, based on how many tickets the line can really fire. Once a slot is full it should stop offering itself. Count heavy items more than light ones if the line is the bottleneck.
Can a scheduler handle pickup times for a delivery restaurant?
It can offer pickup time slots with a cap per slot and a confirmation message, but it does not run a kitchen display or take menu orders. Keep the ordering platform for menus and tickets, and use the scheduler for time slots, pre-orders and the handoff window.
How do I schedule large or catering orders from a delivery kitchen?
Treat them as requests that need confirmation. Ask for headcount, date, time and address, check the line for that day, and confirm with a deposit. A pending request holds nothing, so a large order cannot silently block lunch. Set a minimum notice per service.
How do I give customers a delivery estimate that holds?
Base it on prep time plus a realistic drive time, and widen it when the kitchen is busy. A short text when the driver leaves gives the customer something firm. Promising to the minute usually fails during a rush, so quote a small window.
How do I handle a customer who is not home for a drop-off?
Ask for drop instructions at ordering, text the customer when the driver is close, and decide your policy in advance: leave at the door, call, or return. Take a photo at the door for proof when the policy allows it. Write the rule on the order page.
Can a ghost kitchen take a deposit for pre-orders?
Yes, for catering and large pre-orders, a deposit or full prepayment at booking protects the kitchen from a cancelled tray order. State the cancellation window clearly. Small same-day orders usually take payment at checkout through the ordering platform the kitchen already uses.
What should a ghost kitchen move off paper first?
Start with the pre-order and catering calendar, since those are the orders that get lost between a text and a notebook. Then add slot limits for peak hours. Daily menu orders should stay in the ordering platform that already handles tickets.
How do I handle a delivery that arrives late or wrong?
Keep a note on the order of what happened and tell the customer early, with a clear remedy. Repeat late arrivals from one route point to a prep or capacity problem, not a driver problem. A report of delays per slot shows where to lower the cap.
Can I schedule my own drivers or use gig drivers?
A scheduler can assign your own drivers to a route and show each stop in order. Gig drivers from another network sit outside it. For your own staff, give each driver a day list and an on-my-way tap so the kitchen sees handoffs without a phone call.
What does a field scheduler not do for a restaurant?
It does not run a menu, a kitchen display, tipping at the table, inventory by ingredient or health inspection logs. It schedules time slots, routes and customer messages. Plan to keep your point-of-sale system and use the scheduler only for the parts it handles.
What owners dislike in an old scheduler, for ghost kitchen and delivery restaurant
Each item carries a label. Sourced items adapt a complaint with evidence links in our evidence register. Searched by owners items come from real search suggestions. Our read items are our own analysis of this trade, not measured complaints.
- SourcedOwners report calendars that accept more than the kitchen can fire. In a delivery kitchen an uncapped slot becomes a wall of tickets and late food. Evidence item 2 (3 sources)
- SourcedOwners report route logic that makes drivers cross town twice. For hot food, an extra loop is not an inconvenience, it is a refund. Evidence item 13 (4 sources)
- SourcedOwners report texts marked delivered that customers never see. A missing 'driver is outside' message turns into a missed handoff and cold food. Evidence item 4 (3 sources)
- SourcedOwners report surprise fees that take a bite from every payment. Restaurants run thin margins, so each added percentage on a small order matters. Evidence item 17 (5 sources)
- SourcedOwners report tools that break on the busiest day. A kitchen's busiest hour is the one hour it cannot afford a stuck screen. Evidence item 19 (5 sources)
- SourcedOwners report stitching three tools together. A kitchen taking calls, texts and app orders ends up with three separate lists to watch. Evidence item 14 (5 sources)
- SourcedOwners report customers still getting messages after replying STOP. Promotional texts to delivery customers are easy to over-send and hard to undo. Evidence item 18 (3 sources)
- SourcedOwners report each feature turning into another add-on charge. A restaurant wanting only pickup slots can end up buying a bundle. Evidence item 16 (5 sources)
- Our read, not a measured complaintMost field scheduling products are built for a visit to a home. A kitchen's problem is minutes, capacity per quarter hour and a driver at the pass, which those templates ignore.
- Our read, not a measured complaintDelivery apps own the customer relationship. A kitchen with only app orders has no list to rebook, which is the biggest long-term pain.
How Apex fits ghost kitchen and delivery restaurant
In progress
Apex can offer slots with a capacity limit, show only real availability, and apply a minimum notice per service for catering and pre-orders.
- BK17Group classes / capacity-based booking(In progress)
- BK04Show real availability to visitors(Built, rolling out)
- BK35Per-service minimum notice and booking limits(In progress)
Built, rolling out
Drivers can see a route in order with drive time between stops, and the customer can get an on-my-way text with an ETA once texting is connected.
- SC05Route optimization (daily)(Built)
- SC28Drive-time between jobs shown(Built)
- SC20ETA text on the way(Built, rolling out)
In progress
A moving and delivery pack with proof of delivery is built, though not connected to real data yet, and the delivery proof flow is still being filled in.
- IP12Moving / delivery pack (proof of delivery)(Rolling out)
- SC26Required photos before closing job(In progress)
Badges come from our feature audit dated 2026-10-07. Apex Flow Scheduler is early access with no outside customers yet.
Honest limits
A ghost kitchen is a poor fit for a field scheduler. Apex does not take menu orders, run a kitchen display or handle food safety logs, and proof of delivery is not finished. Use it only for pre-order and catering slots, and check local food rules with your health department.
Related trades
Apex price for a small crew: see pricing or pricing explained.