Restaurant Ordering SOP: A Template to Copy and How to Train a Backup Orderer

A restaurant ordering SOP is a short written procedure, one or two pages, that tells anyone on your team how to place every order the same way: check which orders are due, count, work out what's needed, check the order, send it before the cutoff, record it, confirm it, and receive and close it out. It doesn't hold your item list or your cutoff times. It points to the documents that do, and it writes down the judgment calls that usually live in one person's head, like how to round, when to go over par, and who to call when something goes wrong.

Two more things make it work in real life. A one page handoff sheet, filled in by the regular orderer before a day off, covers what the SOP can't know: what's already on a truck, what's coming off the menu, and what's happening this week. And a training plan in three stages, shadow, do it with review, then solo with a check, gets a new kitchen manager, sous chef, or cook from watching to ordering on their own without a costly first week.

The SOP sits on top of the whole purchasing loop. If you want to see how counts, pars, order guides, vendor cutoffs, purchase orders, and receiving connect, start with the complete guide to restaurant purchasing and inventory management. This article is about getting someone else to run that loop correctly.

In this guide

• What an ordering SOP is, and what it isn't
• The ordering SOP template, ready to copy
• The decisions your SOP has to make ahead of time
• The one page handoff sheet for covering the orders
• Worked example: a sous chef covers Monday's produce order
• How to train someone to place the orders
• If you're the one being trained
• Common mistakes with ordering SOPs and new orderers
• Keeping the SOP current
• FAQ

What an ordering SOP is, and what it isn't

Most kitchens that order well already have some of the pieces. The SOP is the piece that ties them together. It helps to keep each one separate, so the SOP stays short:

If you don't have an order guide or a vendor schedule yet, build those first. The SOP can't tell someone what to order if nothing written down says what you buy. Our guides to building a restaurant order guide and building a vendor ordering schedule cover both, and there's a free order guide template in Excel if you'd rather not start from a blank sheet.

A good ordering SOP is short enough that someone actually reads it before their first order. If yours runs past two pages, move the detail into the order guide or the vendor schedule and leave a pointer.

The ordering SOP template, ready to copy

Copy this into a document, fill in the blanks, print it, and keep it wherever orders get placed: the office clipboard, the front of the order guide binder, or pinned at the top of a shared spreadsheet. Each step ends with a "done when" line, so the person following it knows when to move on.

RESTAURANT ORDERING SOP
Restaurant: ______________   Version date: __________   SOP owner: ______________
Regular orderer: ______________   Backup orderer(s): ______________

WHERE THINGS LIVE
  Order guide:                     ______________
  Vendor schedule (cutoffs):       ______________
  Count sheet:                     ______________
  PO log and next PO number:       ______________
  Vendor logins and rep numbers:   ______________
  Handoff sheet (when covering):   ______________

1. CHECK WHAT'S DUE
   Open the vendor schedule. List every order with a cutoff today, earliest cutoff first.
   Read the handoff sheet if there is one.
   Note any delivery arriving today that isn't put away yet.
   Done when: you have today's orders, in cutoff order, with a time next to each.

2. COUNT
   Count each vendor's items on the count sheet, in the count unit printed on the sheet.
   Finish counting at least ____ minutes before the earliest cutoff.
   Done when: every line has a number. No blanks, no "a few."

3. WORK OUT WHAT YOU NEED
   For each item:  target − on hand − already on order = short  (in count units)
   Convert the short to the vendor's order unit using the order guide.
   Round the way the order guide note says. No note: round up to a whole order unit.
   Apply any notes on the handoff sheet (events, don't order items, extras).
   Done when: every line has a quantity in the vendor's order unit, or a zero.

4. CHECK THE ORDER BEFORE YOU SEND IT
   Compare it with the last order to this vendor. Any line far above or below
   the usual amount: recount it or ask.
   Check the vendor minimum.
   Ask ______________ first if: the total is over $______, an item isn't on
   the order guide, or you want to go above target for any reason.
   Done when: every line makes sense, or you've asked about it.

5. PLACE THE ORDER
   Send it the way the vendor schedule says: portal, email, text, or phone.
   Include: PO number, delivery date, each item with quantity AND unit, and notes.
   Done when: it's sent before the cutoff.

6. RECORD IT
   Save a copy of exactly what you sent.
   Log it: PO number, vendor, time sent, how sent, delivery date, estimated total,
   status Sent.
   Done when: someone else could find this order without asking you.

7. CONFIRM IT
   Look for the vendor's confirmation or the rep's reply.
   No reply by ________: call or text the rep.
   Check the order again later the same day or the next morning for outs and subs.
   Done when: the confirmation is written on the PO.

8. RECEIVE AND CLOSE OUT
   Check the delivery against the PO, not just the invoice.
   Mark shorts, refusals, and subs on the invoice before signing.
   Cold and frozen product away first.
   Update the PO: Received, with any open issues. Closed once the invoice and
   any credits match.
   Done when: the PO is Closed, or its open issue is written down.

IF SOMETHING GOES WRONG
   Missed a cutoff:     Call the rep right away. Then check the backup vendor on the
                        order guide. Then tell ______________.
   Can't reach the rep: ______________
   Question you can't answer from the order guide: call or text ______________
   (before ______ PM if possible).
   Never: order an item that isn't on the order guide without asking.

Notes on each step

Step 1, check what's due. Sorting by cutoff time, not by vendor name, is what keeps someone from finishing a relaxed produce order at 2:15 PM and realizing the broadline closed at 2:00. A vendor schedule laid out as a weekly grid, sorted by cutoff time, makes this step quick.

Step 2, count. Most wrong orders start with a count in the wrong unit. The count sheet should print the count unit on every line. Our guide to the restaurant inventory count sheet covers partial units and shelf walk order, and there's a free downloadable inventory count sheet template.

Step 3, work out what you need. The formula is the same one the rest of your purchasing runs on. The two parts new orderers miss are already on order, which matters any time a truck is due but hasn't arrived, and the conversion from count units to order units. If your targets aren't set yet, our guide to restaurant par levels explains how, and the free par level calculator does the math.

Step 4, check the order. "Compare it with the last order" is a sanity check, not a rule. A line that's suddenly four times the usual amount is usually a unit mix up or a counting error, not a sudden rush. The SOP should say plainly who approves anything unusual, so the trainee isn't guessing about how much authority they have.

Step 5, place the order. Every line needs a unit next to the quantity. "Chicken: 2" can mean two bags or two cases. Our purchase order template has a short format that works as a text or an email body.

Step 6, record it. Orders sent by text or phone vanish unless someone writes them down. The log is how the regular orderer, coming back on Wednesday, sees what was ordered Monday. Our guide to tracking restaurant purchase orders covers setting one up on paper or in a spreadsheet.

Step 7, confirm it. This step is the one most often skipped, and the one that catches a text that never got read. Write each vendor's normal confirmation on the vendor schedule (an email, a portal status, a thumbs up from the rep) so the covering person knows what "confirmed" looks like for each one.

Step 8, receive and close out. The person who places the order often isn't the person checking in the truck, so the PO has to be where the receiver can see it. If the delivery comes in short or with substitutions, our guide to handling shorts, subs, and partial fills covers what to do at the back door.

The decisions your SOP has to make ahead of time

The steps are the easy part. What actually sends people back to their phones is the judgment calls. Write the answers into the SOP or the order guide so they don't change depending on who's ordering. Here are the usual ones, with example answers. Your answers will be different.

If a decision depends on judgment you can't write as a rule, write it as an example. "If we have a party over 30 guests, the chef adds the extra to the handoff sheet" is clearer than "use your judgment for events."

The one page handoff sheet for covering the orders

The SOP explains how to order. It can't know that 2 cases of romaine are on a truck that hasn't arrived, or that a dish comes off the menu on Wednesday. That's what the handoff sheet is for. The regular orderer fills it in before a day off, a vacation, or a shift swap, and leaves it with the order guide.

COVER THE ORDERS: HANDOFF SHEET
Covering: ______________   Dates: ______________   Filled in by: ______________

ORDERS DUE WHILE I'M OFF  (earliest cutoff first)
  Day    Vendor          Cutoff     How sent        Count by    Delivers
  ____   ____________    ________   ____________    ________    ________
  ____   ____________    ________   ____________    ________    ________
  ____   ____________    ________   ____________    ________    ________

ALREADY ON ORDER  (not on the shelf yet, subtract these)
  PO #     Vendor          Arrives         Key items and quantities
  ______   ____________    ____________    _______________________________

THIS WEEK IS DIFFERENT BECAUSE
  Events or large parties:  _____________________________________________
  Add to these orders:      _____________________________________________
  Don't order:              _____________________________________________
  Menu or vendor changes:   _____________________________________________

WATCH OUT FOR
  Items that were shorted or subbed recently:  ______________________________
  Credits still owed:                           ______________________________

IF YOU'RE STUCK
  First call: ______________ (hours: ________)
  Reps:       ______________________________________________________________

WHEN YOU'RE DONE, WRITE BACK HERE
  Orders sent (PO #, time):  ____________________________________________
  Anything odd:              ____________________________________________

A few habits make it useful:

• Fill it in at the end of your last shift before the day off, not from your phone the morning of. The "already on order" section is the one that prevents the most doubled orders, and it's only accurate if it's written after your last order goes in.
• Keep the "don't order" list short and specific. "Cilantro, the dish using it comes off Wednesday" works. "Watch the produce" doesn't.
• Read the "write back" section first thing when you come back. That's your record of what happened while you were off, before you build your next order.

Worked example: a sous chef covers Monday's produce order

This is an illustrative example. The restaurant, vendor, items, targets, and prices are made up to show the method. They aren't typical figures for any restaurant or distributor.

Setup:

• The kitchen manager orders produce every day. The produce vendor delivers Monday through Saturday mornings, and the cutoff is 3:00 PM the day before, by text to the rep.
• The kitchen manager is off Monday and Tuesday. The sous chef covers both produce orders.
• On Sunday, the kitchen manager sent Sunday's order (PO 1141), which arrives Monday around 10:30 AM and includes 2 cases of romaine hearts.
• A 40 guest party is booked for Wednesday night, and a dish using cilantro comes off the menu on Wednesday.

Sunday night, the kitchen manager fills in the handoff sheet:

ORDERS DUE WHILE I'M OFF
  Mon   Produce   3:00 PM   Text to rep   Count by 1:00 PM   Delivers Tue AM
  Tue   Produce   3:00 PM   Text to rep   Count by 1:00 PM   Delivers Wed AM

ALREADY ON ORDER
  PO 1141   Produce   Mon ~10:30 AM   Romaine hearts 2 cs (plus usual items)

THIS WEEK IS DIFFERENT BECAUSE
  Events:          Party of 40, Wednesday dinner
  Add to orders:   +1 cs romaine on MONDAY's order, for the party
  Don't order:     Cilantro. The dish comes off Wednesday. Use what's left.

Monday's count and order

The sous chef counts at 9:00 AM, before the 10:30 truck. Romaine and onions are counted in cases and sacks, the same unit they're ordered in. Cilantro is counted in bunches and sold in cases of 30 bunches.

The text to the rep at 11:40 AM:

PO 1142 · Delivery Tue
2 cs   Romaine hearts
1 sack Yellow onions, 50 lb
(plus the rest of the usual produce lines)
Please confirm. Thanks

The sous chef logs PO 1142 as Sent, gets a thumbs up from the rep at 12:05 PM, and writes "confirmed 12:05" on it.

The same order without the handoff sheet

Now say there was no handoff sheet, and the sous chef just followed the math on the order guide:

Romaine:   4 − 1 = 3 short → 3 cases   (didn't know 2 cases were on today's truck)
Onions:    2 − 1 = 1 short → 1 sack    (same as before)
Cilantro:  12 − 6 = 6 bunches short → 6 ÷ 30 = 0.2 → rounds up to 1 case of 30

Compare the romaine each version plans for, counting from Monday morning, against what the kitchen actually needs:

Needed:              4 (target) + 1 (party)                 = 5 cases

With the sheet:      1 on hand + 2 arriving Mon + 2 ordered = 5 cases
Without the sheet:   1 on hand + 2 arriving Mon + 3 ordered = 6 cases

Without the sheet, the kitchen ends up with one extra case of romaine and 30 bunches of cilantro for a dish that's leaving the menu. At an illustrative $42 a case for romaine and $30 a case for cilantro, that's:

Extra product:  $42 + $30 = $72 of short shelf life produce

That's not a disaster on one order. It's the kind of mistake that repeats every time the regular orderer is off, and with a different item, like a protein, the numbers get bigger. It's also worth noticing what the order without the sheet got right by accident: it ended up covering the party, but only because it double counted the truck. The next time, the same mistake might leave the kitchen short instead.

How to train someone to place the orders

Handing someone the SOP and the order guide isn't training. Most of what makes an order right is judgment the trainee only learns by watching it happen and then doing it while someone checks. Three stages work well.

There's no fixed number of days for each stage. What matters is the number of order cycles per vendor. A kitchen that orders produce six days a week gives a trainee six practice runs on produce in one week, but only one or two on a weekly dairy or paper goods order. Plan the training around your least frequent vendor, because that's the order the trainee will have seen the fewest times when they're on their own.

The review checklist for stage 2 and stage 3

When you review a trainee's order, check these, in this order:

• Right orders, right cutoffs. Did they find every order due today?
• Units. Is every quantity in the vendor's order unit, with the unit written next to it?
• Already on order. Did they subtract anything still on a truck?
• Outliers. Any line far from the usual amount? Ask them why before you correct it. Sometimes they're right.
• Notes. Did they apply the handoff sheet, sub notes, and rounding notes?
• Minimum. Is the order over the vendor's minimum, or is there a plan if it isn't?
• Logged. Is the PO in the log, with the time sent and the delivery date?
• Confirmed. Do they know what confirmation to look for, and by when?

Five questions the trainee should be able to answer without looking

Before someone orders solo, ask them:

1. What's the earliest cutoff on a Monday, and how is that order sent?
2. On the chicken line, if you write "2," two of what? How many count units is that?
3. A truck is due this afternoon and you're counting this morning. What do you do with what's on it?
4. The rep says an item is out and offers a sub. What do you check, and who do you ask?
5. You missed the cutoff. What are your first three moves?

If they can answer those, they can usually handle the rest with the SOP in front of them.

Training the people who count

In many kitchens the person who places the order isn't the person who counts. Line cooks and opening cooks often do the count. Train them separately and earlier, because a wrong count makes a wrong order no matter how good the orderer is. The two things to teach are the count unit for each item and how to count partial units. It usually takes one walk through the storage areas with the count sheet, then a count done side by side, then a spot check of a few lines on their next solo count.

If you're the one being trained

If you're a sous chef, kitchen manager, or cook learning to place orders, a few habits make the transition easier:

• Ask about the exceptions, not the routine. The steps are on paper. Ask "what would make you order differently this week?" and "which vendor causes the most trouble?"
• Write your questions in the margin of the SOP. If you needed to ask, the next person will too. Hand the notes to whoever owns the SOP.
• Send the order early. Plan to finish well before the cutoff, so a question, a recount, or a slow reply from the chef doesn't cost you the order.
• Always write the unit. Even in a text to a rep you know. Especially then.
• Say when you're not sure. A text that says "the math says 3 cases of short rib, that feels high, can you check?" is a good text. Nobody wants a guess.
• Look at the delivery for the orders you placed. It's the fastest way to learn what a correct order looks like when it shows up.

Common mistakes with ordering SOPs and new orderers

With the SOP itself

• Writing it once and never updating it. A vendor changes its cutoff, and the SOP is wrong from that day on. Put a version date on it.
• Making it too long. Ten pages of detail doesn't get read. Keep the procedure to two pages and move the details into the order guide and vendor schedule.
• Leaving out the judgment calls. Steps without decisions just move the questions to the trainee's phone.
• No backup named. An SOP with no backup orderer is a document, not a plan. Put an owner and a backup next to every cutoff on the vendor schedule.

With new orderers

• Copying last week's order. It's quick, and it ignores what's actually on the shelf. Always start from a fresh count.
• Forgetting what's on a truck. The most common cause of doubled orders when someone is covering.
• Quantities in count units. "Short rib: 13" when the vendor sells cases of 6. Our guide to restaurant inventory units covers the conversion.
• Padding the order "just in case." A nervous first order is often a big one. Pars already include safety stock.
• Not logging texted or phoned orders. If it's not in the log, the person who receives the truck can't check it.
• Skipping confirmation. A text that was never read is an order that was never placed.
• Guessing instead of asking. Usually because the SOP doesn't name who to ask, or makes it feel like a bother.

Keeping the SOP current

An ordering SOP goes stale quietly. A simple routine keeps it honest:

• After every handoff, read the "write back" section and the trainee's margin notes. If someone had to ask, add the answer.
• When a vendor, menu, or cutoff changes, update the order guide and vendor schedule the same day, and check whether the SOP refers to anything that changed.
• Once a quarter, or before a busy season, have someone who doesn't normally order follow the SOP for a real order while you watch. Fix whatever they stumble on.
• When the regular orderer is leaving for good, run the full training plan with their replacement while they're still there, and make sure vendor portal logins, rep contacts, and the PO log are in a place the business controls, not on one person's phone.

FAQ

What should a restaurant ordering SOP include?

The steps for placing every order (check what's due, count, work out what's needed, check the order, send it, record it, confirm it, receive and close it out), where the order guide, vendor schedule, count sheet, and PO log live, the decisions the orderer needs written down, like rounding and spending limits, and who to call when something goes wrong.

How long does it take to train someone to place restaurant orders?

It depends on how many order cycles the trainee sees, not on the calendar. A vendor you order from daily gives lots of practice in one week. A vendor you order from once a week might take several weeks to see enough times. Plan around your least frequent vendor, and don't move a trainee to solo ordering until their orders need no corrections for a couple of cycles.

Who should be the backup orderer?

Usually someone who's in the building on the days the regular orderer is off and who already knows the product, like a sous chef, a lead line cook, or a kitchen manager. Pick by schedule first. A backup who isn't working on the days the orders are due isn't a backup.

Should a new orderer need approval before sending an order?

During training, yes. Have them build the order and have someone review it before it's sent. After that, write a clear rule into the SOP for which orders still need a second look, such as anything over a set amount, items not on the order guide, or any order above target.

What's the difference between an ordering SOP and an order guide?

The order guide lists what you buy from each vendor: the exact product, pack size, units, and targets. The SOP is the procedure for using it: when to count, how to work out the order, how to send and record it, and what to do when something goes wrong.

Where Proteus Kitchen fits

Paper and a shared spreadsheet can run everything in this article. If you'd rather keep it in one place, Proteus Kitchen holds the records an ordering SOP points to. Each vendor has its ordering method, delivery days, order deadlines (each a day and a time), contact information, and notes, and the purchasing home screen lists which vendors have orders due today with their deadlines. Each inventory item has its vendor, order unit, count unit and conversion, a target, the last vendor price, and notes for things like substitution rules.

When you build a purchase order for a vendor, Proteus shows each item's current amount, its target, and a suggested quantity, and you can save it as a draft. It generates the order as text to copy into the vendor's portal, a text, or an email, or to print, and you mark it submitted once it's sent. Past orders are in one list you can search and filter by vendor, status, and date, so whoever covers can see what was ordered last time. Proteus doesn't place orders with vendors for you, it doesn't connect to distributor systems, and it doesn't need a POS integration.

If your order guide or vendor list is already in a spreadsheet, Free Restaurant Setup means you can send it over and the Proteus team will help bring it in. There's also a 30 day free trial below.

Next step: write your SOP before the next day off

1. Copy the SOP template above and fill in the "where things live" section first. If you can't fill in a line, that document is the first thing to build.
2. Write down your answers to the decisions table, especially rounding, going over target, and who to call.
3. Before your next day off, fill in a handoff sheet and ask whoever covers to write back on it.
4. Pick your backup orderer and start stage 1 on your next order day.
5. After the first handoff, add every question they had to ask into the SOP.