# Troubleshooting

Problems roughly in order of how urgent they are during service.

## Orders aren't reaching the kitchen

**First, check whether the order exists at all.** Open [Admin → Orders](/orders). If it's there, the order was taken fine and this is a *delivery to the kitchen* problem. If it isn't, it's an ordering problem — skip to *Customers can't order*.

If the order exists:

1. **Check the [dashboard](/dashboard) for alerts.** A HIGH alert about an order not reaching the kitchen names the problem directly.
2. **Check the [kitchen display](/kitchen-display)** on the actual kitchen tablet. Often the order is there and the tablet went to sleep or lost wifi.
3. **Check the printer** if you print tickets — see below.
4. **In the meantime, work from [Admin → Orders](/orders) on any device.** Don't hold up food while debugging.

ForkLine retries automatically, so a brief blip usually resolves itself.

## Receipts aren't printing

This has multiple distinct causes that all look identical, so work these **in order** rather than guessing.

1. **Is the printer powered and on the network?** Check the cable and its status lights.
2. **Is there paper, and is the cover shut?** Genuinely the most common cause.
3. **Does the printer show online?** Go to **Settings → Printer**. If the indicator isn't green, the printer isn't checking in — it's a connection problem, not a ForkLine one.
4. **Send a test print** from Settings → Printer.
5. **Re-check the printer's Server URL.** This is device-side configuration ForkLine cannot see or fix. If the printer was replaced, reset, or moved, it needs pointing at ForkLine again — see [Receipt Printer Setup](/receipt-printer-setup).
6. **Restart the printer.** Fixes more than it should.

**Only one of two copies printed.** Check paper and the copy count in [Receipt Layout](/receipt-layout).

**Receipts print but look wrong** — sizing or alignment. See [Receipt Layout](/receipt-layout).

## The cash drawer won't open

**Check the cable orientation first.** The RJ12 cable's ends are labelled and it isn't symmetrical.

The trap: **a reversed cable still reports the drawer's open/closed state correctly**, so the printer looks like it can "see" the drawer. That is not proof the cable is right.

Then check the drawer is unlocked, and that the printer prints at all — no printer, no drawer. Full detail in [Cash Drawer](/cash-drawer).

## Payments are failing

**One customer's card declined.** That's between them and their bank. Ask for another card.

**Every card is declining.** Check **Settings → Payments** shows your Stripe account fully set up. If it says onboarding is incomplete, Stripe is waiting on something — see [Setting Up Stripe Payments](/stripe-connect-setup).

**The card reader isn't responding.** Confirm it's powered and on the same network. Restart it, then re-pair from Settings → Payments if needed.

**A reader payment is stuck.** Check the reader screen — it may be waiting on the customer. Stuck payments raise a [dashboard](/dashboard) alert. Don't charge again until you've confirmed the first one didn't go through; check the order before retrying.

**The reader never asks for a tip.** You almost certainly don't have **exactly three** tip presets. See [Tipping](/tipping).

## Customers can't order

1. **Is [Accept online orders](/ordering-settings) on?** The most common cause by far, usually switched off during a rush and never switched back.
2. **Are you within your [hours](/store-hours)?** Check the day's intervals, and that your **timezone** is right under Settings → Restaurant.
3. **Has the [kitchen cutoff](/store-hours) passed?** Orders stop before closing time.
4. **Is the item available?** Check it isn't marked unavailable or in a hidden category — see [Managing Your Menu](/menu-management).
5. **Open your ordering page yourself**, signed out, on cellular data. You'll see exactly what they see.

## Payouts haven't arrived

**If this is your first payout,** it's almost certainly normal — Stripe holds the first one about 7–14 days on every new account.

Otherwise, the usual cause is **Stripe needing more information**. Check the email on your Stripe account, including spam — payouts pause until you respond. Full detail in [Payouts & Timelines](/payouts).

## Sign-in problems

**A staff member can't sign in.** Confirm they're using the same Google or Apple account the invite went to. A different address is a different person to ForkLine. Re-invite the correct one — see [Users & Roles](/users-and-roles).

**Someone signed in but sees nothing.** They're probably **Pending** — an Owner needs to grant access under Admin → Users.

**A cashier is locked out of the register.** Five wrong passcodes locks the account for five minutes. Wait, or reset the passcode. See [Register Accounts](/register-accounts).

**Kitchen tablet keeps signing out.** Install the app to the home screen — sessions persist much better there. See [Kitchen Display](/kitchen-display).

## Something looks wrong in the numbers

**Revenue looks low.** Unpaid pay-at-pickup orders aren't counted as revenue, and cancelled orders and unpaid register drafts are excluded. See [The Dashboard](/dashboard).

**A customer appears twice.** Customers are matched by email where there is one and phone otherwise, so someone using different details online and in store can appear twice. See [Customer Records](/customers).

**A price is wrong and nobody knows why.** Check the [Activity Log](/activity-log) — it records who changed what.

## Before contacting support

Have ready:

- Your **restaurant name**
- The **order number**, if it's about an order
- **What you expected** and **what happened**
- **Which device** (the kitchen tablet, the register iPad, your laptop)
- Anything from the steps above you've already ruled out

## Where to go next

- [Frequently Asked Questions](/faq)
- [Go-Live Checklist](/going-live-checklist)
- [Receipt Printer Setup](/receipt-printer-setup)