A preorder batch needs to answer two questions at once: which items are still available, and when will customers collect them? A notebook or a DM thread cannot reserve the last loaf safely when two people ask for it together. A batch page can.
Start a batch, not a signup list
Choose the Saturday bake batch as a starting point. It has separate stock for sourdough loaves and boxes of cinnamon rolls, plus two Saturday pickup choices. Change the products, stock, and pickup text to match the bake you are actually planning. The holiday batch is a separate example for pies and cookie boxes.
The older bakery signup template is a Standard list with a cap on signups. It remains useful if you only need to collect names. It does not reserve units of each product, and opening it does not convert it into an inventory batch.
Set the stock in units
In Settings, open Products & pickup and enter each product's name, unit, and total stock. These changes save to a private draft and reach customers when you publish. If you have 30 sourdough loaves, set the unit to “loaf” and stock to 30. A customer who requests three commits three units. The page shows committed and available units, and simultaneous requests cannot both take the final available item. You cannot lower stock below what active orders already committed.
Use the product list for the things that truly sell out. A note such as “sliced, please” belongs in a form question, not a separate stock item. See the product quantity guide for a worked example with two products.
Choose pickup and opening hours
Write one pickup choice per line, such as “Saturday 9–11am” and “Saturday 11am–1pm.” Every product uses that same pickup list. Pickup choices do not divide the stock. If you need 12 loaves reserved for morning and 18 for afternoon, use two batches with their own stock.
Set the batch's opening window in Settings and adjust the customer questions and page design in Edit. Publish only after checking the product totals, pickup text, and how the page looks on a phone. Put the hosted link in your bio or print its QR code at the counter. The pickup batch guide covers the day-of workflow.
Decide whether requests need approval
On Starter or Pro, turn on owner approval if you need to review a request before confirming it. A pending request reserves stock but is not confirmed. From Orders you can confirm or reject it. Rejection or customer cancellation releases its stock. Existing pending orders stay actionable if the account later downgrades.
On Free, new orders are confirmed immediately. The customer sees a private status link on the success screen and should save it. Free does not send customer confirmation emails. Starter and Pro can send those emails; every plan's status page shows the current stage and permits customer cancellation while the order is pending or confirmed.
Run the bake from Orders
Filter by pickup choice or stage, check product totals, move confirmed orders through Preparing, Ready, and Collected, and export a CSV for the kitchen. Staff can add an order from the dashboard. The form asks the same custom questions as the customer page; staff email is optional. Internal notes stay on the owner side. A customer can see the products, quantities, pickup choice, and stage from their private link, but cannot see internal notes or uploaded files.
Unwaited does not charge the customer, calculate tax, or send SMS. Use your existing payment process if payment is required. The account's monthly usage and grace rules are separate from the physical stock you put into a batch.