Pay-First Ordering

Pay-first ordering means the order is created only after payment succeeds, rather than being placed and then paid for. With place-then-pay, a declined card or a guest who walks away leaves a ticket cooking with nobody to collect it. Opero's kiosk, QR table and online ordering all work pay-first: the total is locked server-side as a pending checkout, the guest pays on the reader or by card on their phone, and only when the card clears does the server mint the order, fire the kitchen ticket, deplete inventory and send the receipt. A declined or abandoned payment leaves nothing in the kitchen, and a kiosk decline prints a slip so staff can see what the guest tried to buy.