Mobile App Workflows
Use Zesty mobile for staff operations on phones and tablets — orders, kitchen, billing, POS, Shift Desk, offline behaviour, and tablet setup.
The Zesty mobile app lets staff run the restaurant from phones and tablets. It mirrors the main web modules — orders, kitchen, billing, POS, Shift Desk, menu, inventory — while adapting layout for touch and smaller screens.
This is the staff app. Diners order from QR links in the phone browser, or use the separate customer app. Neither needs this one.
One shell for everyone
There is one interface. Every outlet and every staff member uses the same shell, sized to the device they are holding. Zesty previously offered a separate simplified "Easy Mode"; it has been removed, and old /easy/* links land on the dashboard.
What changes between people is not the interface — it is what their plan, the Location's feature catalog, their role permissions, and the sales workflow mode allow them to open.
Who should use mobile
| Role | Typical mobile use |
|---|---|
| Counter / cashier | POS, billing, Shift Desk |
| Waiter / runner | Operations workspace, orders, table context |
| Kitchen | KDS on tablet |
| Manager | Dashboard, Shift Desk, reports, alerts |
| Owner | Dashboard signals; heavy config still on web |
Phone and tablet
The same app, two shapes:
- Phone — a dock along the bottom with an icon-pill active state. Staff can rearrange their own dock, and the More list follows their arrangement rather than a default.
- Tablet — a labelled left rail with icon discs, sized to the window. The rail shows as many destinations as fit and lists the rest under More, so nothing is cut off mid-icon on a smaller screen.
Cards sit borderless on the page ground at 20px corners, buttons and chips are pills, and selection is painted in brand colour rather than ink.
A Location can set the starting dock and rail arrangement for everyone — see Navigation layouts.
Operations workspace
The Operations workspace is one surface for the full service path:
Order → Prepare → Serve → Collect
Hand off to full Orders, KDS, or Billing when you need detail on one ticket.
Solo Run vs Shared Crew
At the organization level you choose:
- Solo Run — one operator owns an order end-to-end
- Shared Crew — staff claim, assist, and hand off orders with notes
This affects how the Operations workspace behaves, not which modules you see.
Full guide: Solo Run and Shared Crew
Modules on mobile
Depending on plan, feature catalog, sales workflow mode, and role, staff may access Home, Operations, Orders, KDS, Billing, POS, Shift Desk, shift control, Menu, Inventory, Customers, reports, alerts, and settings.
If a module is missing, check plan, features, permissions, and workflow mode — the interface is not what is hiding it.
Operational shift on mobile
Most protected actions need an open operational shift. The header shift control shows status on web and mobile, and sends you to Shift Desk to open or close the branch.
Staff should confirm the shift is open at the start of every shift, same rule as web.
Who is on the counter
On a shared counter device, staff identify themselves with a four-digit PIN rather than signing in and out all shift. See POS register.
For personal phones, sign in with the staff member's own account. Audit trails depend on individual accounts, so do not share one login across people. Remove access for departed staff immediately.
Offline behaviour
Mobile keeps working without a network.
- Selected data caches locally in encrypted storage, with snapshots kept for 30 days.
- Lifecycle actions queue in an encrypted outbox — up to 10,000 operations — and replay when connectivity returns.
- Staff keep offline access for 7 days before the app requires a reconnect.
- A colour-coded sync status shows whether you are current, syncing, or holding queued work.
Replay follows the same rules as web: the shift must still be valid, stale actions may be rejected because an order has already closed, and a manager may need to resolve conflicts after reconnect.
Train staff to reconnect before close-out when possible — a close should not be the first thing that discovers a full outbox.
Tablet setup
Tablets work well for KDS in the kitchen, POS at the counter, billing at pickup, and Shift Desk at day end.
Before going live on a tablet:
- test brightness and mounting
- confirm Wi-Fi stability
- pair and test the printer — see Printers and devices
- run a full test order through Operations
- check session timeout on long shifts
When to use web instead
Prefer the web app for organization and Location setup, feature catalog changes, large menu imports and bulk edits, complex reports and exports, governance across many outlets, and billing and subscription management.
Mobile is for operating the shift; web is often better for configuring the restaurant.
Common questions
Customer says QR does not work QR is browser-based, not the staff app. Check the table QR, menu availability, and whether the shift is open.
Where did Easy Mode go?
It was removed. Everyone uses the one Standard shell, and old /easy/* links go to the dashboard. If a member is missing something they had before, check their role permissions and the Location's feature catalog.
App looks different from our training PDF Confirm the workflow mode and the Location's navigation layout in the screenshots.