# Go-Live Checklist

Work through this before you accept your first real customer order. Each item is quick, and each one catches a problem that's much more annoying to discover during a lunch rush.

## 1. Payments work

- [ ] **Stripe is connected and finished.** Go to **Settings → Payments**. It should say your account is fully set up — not "onboarding incomplete." A half-finished Stripe account cannot take a single payment. See [Setting Up Stripe Payments](/stripe-connect-setup).
- [ ] **You know when your first payout arrives.** New Stripe accounts hold the first payout longer than later ones. See [Payouts & Timelines](/payouts) so it isn't a surprise.
- [ ] **You've decided whether online orders must pre-pay.** **Settings → Payments → Require payment for online orders**. If off, customers can order and pay at pickup. See [Ordering Settings](/ordering-settings).

## 2. Your menu is right

- [ ] **Every item a customer can order exists**, with the correct price. See [Managing Your Menu](/menu-management).
- [ ] **Prices are what you actually charge.** Check a few against your printed menu.
- [ ] **Modifiers are attached** to items that need them (sizes, sides, temperatures).
- [ ] **Anything not available right now is marked unavailable** rather than deleted.
- [ ] **Hidden categories are actually hidden.** Anything half-built should be switched off, not published.

## 3. Hours and timing

- [ ] **Store hours match reality**, including split shifts and any day you close after midnight. See [Store Hours](/store-hours).
- [ ] **Default prep time is honest.** This drives the pickup times customers are offered. Too short and you'll be behind from the first order.
- [ ] **Kitchen cutoff before close** is set, so you don't take an order five minutes before locking up.
- [ ] **Your timezone is correct** in **Settings → Restaurant**. Everything time-related depends on it.

## 4. Orders reach the kitchen

- [ ] **You've decided how the kitchen sees orders** — the [kitchen display](/kitchen-display), printed tickets, or both.
- [ ] **If you're printing:** the printer is connected, shows online, and a test print came out. See [Receipt Printer Setup](/receipt-printer-setup).
- [ ] **If you're using the KDS:** the tablet is set up, signed in, and the screen stays awake.
- [ ] **Kitchen ticket copies** are set to the number you actually want. See [Receipt Layout](/receipt-layout).

## 5. The register (if you use it)

- [ ] **The card reader is paired and takes a test charge.** See [Using the Register](/register-pos).
- [ ] **The cash drawer opens** from the register's *Open drawer* button. See [Cash Drawer](/cash-drawer).
- [ ] **Register accounts are created** if more than one person works the till. See [Register Accounts](/register-accounts).
- [ ] **Tipping is configured** the way you want it — see [Tipping](/tipping).

## 6. Your team is ready

- [ ] **Everyone who needs access has been invited** and has signed in successfully. See [Users & Roles](/users-and-roles).
- [ ] **Roles are correct** — kitchen staff shouldn't have billing access, and a weekend cashier doesn't need Owner.
- [ ] **Someone other than you can run a shift.** If only one person knows how the register works, you have a scheduling problem, not a software problem.

## 7. Place a real test order

This is the step people skip, and it's the one that catches everything else.

1. Open your ordering page at `forklines.com/menu/your-restaurant` on your phone, on cellular data — not on your shop's wifi, and not signed in as an admin. You want to see exactly what a customer sees.
2. Add a couple of items, including one with modifiers.
3. Check out and **pay with a real card**.
4. Confirm: the order appears in [the order queue](/orders), lands on the [kitchen display](/kitchen-display), prints a ticket if you print, and the confirmation email arrives.
5. Move it through **Preparing** → **Ready** and confirm the customer notification goes out.
6. **Refund the test order** from the order detail so you're not out the money — see [Refunds & Cancellations](/refunds).

## 8. Tell people

- [ ] **Your ordering link is live** and points where you expect.
- [ ] **Add it where customers look** — Google Business Profile, Instagram bio, the door, the receipt.
- [ ] **If you're switching from a marketplace,** keep both running for a week or two rather than cutting over cold.

## Where to go next

- [Managing Orders](/orders) — running the queue day to day
- [Rewards & Loyalty](/rewards) — turn first-time customers into regulars
- [Email Marketing](/marketing-campaigns) — reach the customers you now own
- [Frequently Asked Questions](/faq)