Step by step

1. Open Ordering settings from the left nav

   In the left-hand column, find the Ordering group and click Ordering settings. This takes you to the commerce settings area of your admin panel.

2. Open your organisation's settings row

   The list shows one row per organisation — duplicate rows are not permitted. Click your organisation's row to open it in the edit form.

3. Option A — tick Ordering paused to stop orders immediately

   Tick the Ordering paused checkbox. The website will continue to show your menu but will refuse any new orders. Once ticked, a Paused reason field appears — type an optional message for customers, for example 'We are too busy to take more orders tonight.' Leave it blank if you prefer no message. The reason field is hidden when the checkbox is clear.

4. Option B — add opening-hours rows to restrict ordering to set times

   Scroll to the When orders may be placed section and click Add Opening. For each row, choose the day of the week, the opens-at time, and the closes-at time in 24-hour format. Add one row per service window; two rows on the same day create a split service. A closing time earlier than the opening time means the window runs past midnight. Leaving the list empty means orders are accepted at any time.

5. Save the record

   Click Save. The hours enforcement requires no database hook for the checkout decision — the system reads your saved hours, your organisation's timezone, and the current time each time an order is attempted, with no further action needed from you.

What happens next

If you ticked Ordering paused, your website keeps showing the menu but refuses new orders straight away, and any reason you typed is shown to customers. If you set opening-hours rows instead, orders are refused outside those windows and customers are told when ordering next opens. The two controls are independent — the pause switch overrides your hours, so ticking it closes ordering even during a window that would otherwise be open.

Good to know

You can use both controls at the same time. Hours rows define your normal schedule, and the pause switch gives you a quick way to close ordering on the spot — for example on an unexpectedly busy night — without deleting or changing your regular hours. Untick the checkbox when you are ready to take orders again and your normal schedule resumes.