Advanced Ordering (AO) in the Touch App – MealSuite

Taking an Advanced Order in the Touch App
- Advanced Ordering - Tutorial Video (5:08)
Skipping/Refusing a Meal Service for a Resident/Patient
FAQs
Quick Reference Guide - Taking an Advanced Order (Updated March 30, 2026)

Taking an Advanced Order in the Touch App

After setting up Advanced Ordering with a list of residents/patients to take orders for, you place an advanced order for a resident/patient as follows:

For the resident/patient who you want to place an advanced order for, tap their Manage Order button (first screenshot below). The Advanced Ordering screen for the selected resident/patient appears (second screenshot below).
If multiple dates and/or meals were selected on the AO initial setup screen, then select the date/meal combination tab that you want to take an order for.
By default, items from all menu categories are displayed. To display items from a specific category, tap the desired category. Note: Choice 1 items are displayed in bold text.
If an Also Available menu is active in your facility, then you can display its items for a specific category by selecting the Include Also Available check box for the category.
To add an item, tap its Add button. The added item appears on the right side of the screen. When an item has been added, its Add button changes to a green Added button, and the item text also changes to green.
To decrease or increase the portion size of an added item, tap the - or + buttons respectively for the item.
If required to remove an item from the order, tap its remove icon.
From the Delivery Time field, select the delivery time for the order. Note that depending on your facility, there may only be a single delivery time.
To leave a note for the order (e.g., "Dressing on the side"), tap the Server Note button, and the Add Note pop-up appears for you to enter your note.
If the order needs to be prioritized by your production staff, then select the Priority check box.

On the production screen (i.e., KMS screen), a ticket that is marked as priority displays the text Priority in a flashing yellow banner at the top of the ticket, as per GIF image below.
To submit the order, tap the Save and Next button.
The meal period/date combination tab at the top of the screen states Ordered in green text.

Advanced Ordering - Tutorial Video (5:08)

Skipping/Refusing a Meal Service for a Resident/Patient

If a resident/patient wants to skip (i.e., refuse) a meal service, then you record that meal service as skipped as follows:

Go through the step to place an advanced order for a resident/patient.
Tap the Skip Meal button (first screenshot below). The Reason for Refusal popup appears (second screenshot below).
Select a reason for refusal and tap Approve. (To set up refusal reasons in the system, see Creating Refusal Reasons for the AO Service Type
The meal service is now skipped, which is indicated with "Skipped" being displayed in the meal service tab at the top left.

FAQs

How many days in advance can you place an advanced order?

For advanced ordering in the Touch app, there is no fixed limit on how many days in advance orders can be taken.

What menu items are available to order for non-paid advanced orders?

The items available to order by a resident/patient are from that resident/patient's personal menu in the Core system. In other words, meals are personalized to a resident/patient's dietary and therapeutic needs, and will include personal menu items.

I do not see my resident on the Advanced Ordering screen in the Touch app?

For a resident to appear on the Advanced Ordering screen in the Touch app, their service type must be set to advanced ordering. To change the service type of a resident, see Assigning a Service Type to a Resident/Patient.

When attempting to place an advanced order, the message "This meal is overdue" appears?

This indicates that the order is being placed past the cutoff time set for the meal period, and instead the resident will be served the items that were automatically selected by the advanced ordering item-selection logic.

When attempting to place an advanced order, the message "There are no available time slots for this meal on [Date]" appears?

This indicates that the preparation time that is set for the meal period (breakfast, lunch, dinner) exceeds the last delivery time available for the meal period.

A menu item is missing for a resident/patient? Why is a resident/patient not receiving a menu item?

The items available to order for a resident/patient are taken from their personal menu in the Core system. If a menu item is missing for a resident/patient on the Portal app, see the following FAQ from the personal menu FAQ article: A menu item is missing for a resident/patient? Why is a resident/patient not receiving a menu item?

Apart from that, it could be the result of a change to the main menu in which that item was dropped or replaced; see What happens if a menu changes or is updated after a resident/patient places an advanced order? below.

It could also mean that the diet order changed for the resident, and the AO configuration settings are set up with the Drop Non Compliant option; see Managing AO Orders if Person's Diet Order Changes.

On the ordering screen for the resident/patient, there are no food items to select?

This most likely indicates that the resident/patient is set up with "no meal service" for the meal period (breakfast, lunch, dinner) and day of the week.

How do I edit an advanced order after it is placed?

For an advanced order that has already been placed, you can edit it prior to its preparation time. To do so, you simply going through the steps of placing an advanced order, and add/remove items as needed.

How do I cancel an advanced order after it is placed?

For an advanced order that has already been placed, you can cancel it prior to its its preparation time. To do so, you go through the steps of skipping an order (see Skipping an Advanced Order for a Resident/Patient).

If a resident has skipped (i.e., refused) a meal service, and then changes their mind and wants to order a meal, how do you cancel the skipped meal service and instead place the order?

For a meal service that has been skipped (i.e., refused) by the resident, you can cancel the skipped meal service and instead place the order by simply going through the steps of placing an advanced order for the skipped meal service.

How do I know if a resident already placed an advanced order?

If a resident has placed an advanced order for a meal service, then it is indicated as such with the Order Scheduled label when the resident list is generated from the AO setup screen. To see their ordered items, tap the Manage Order button.

In addition, you can access the Service Dashboard to see which residents have placed orders.

Is meal course functionality supported in the Touch app for the Advanced Ordering service?

No. Meal courses are not supported in the Touch app, meaning items ordered via the advanced ordering service cannot be assigned to courses.

How are recipe photos added to advanced ordering in the Touch app?

Recipe photos are not added in the Touch app. Instead, recipe photos flow in from the recipes in the Core system for currently active menus. See Recipe Photos for more information.

If recipe photos are not syncing between the Core system and the Touch app, reach out to MealSuite Support. If you are MealSuite Support, refer to the following internal article: Synching Recipes Between Core System and Touch App (INTERNAL).

What happens if a menu changes or is updated after a resident/patient places an advanced order?

When a new menu is activated to replace the existing menu, or the existing menu is rescheduled, then the following occurs:

Any currently-placed advanced orders that have not yet been fired to the KMS will be cancelled.
If the order has already been sent/fired to the KMS, the order/ticket will be kept (i.e., not be cleared from the KMS).
In the Core system, the personal menus are replaced with items from the newly-scheduled menu, and any people and production reports generated in the Core system will generate with the current items on the personal menu according to the advanced ordering item-selection logic.

What happens if a resident/patient does not place an advanced order for a meal period?

As per system functionality, if a resident/patient does not place an advanced order for a meal period (breakfast, lunch, dinner) prior to the cutoff time, then the system will automatically make the selection for them based on the system item selection logic, and will include those items on production reports in the MealSuite Core system and on production reports in the Touch app.

Note, however, that when the system automatically makes a selection for an advanced order, by default an associated KMS ticket in the Touch app is not automatically generated to display onscreen and/or be printed. To have such auto-generated tickets be displayed onscreen and/or be printed, see the Configuring AO Setting in Touch Admin article, specifically Auto-Generating Tickets if no Advanced Order is Placed by a Resident/Patient.

What if a resident places an order, and then their assigned diet order changes?

If a person's diet order is changed after they have placed an advance order, and only if the new diet order results in non-compliant menu items for that person, then one of the following actions will occur depending on configuration:

Cancel Order - the advance order is cancelled. Note at this time, the system does not inform the Touch app user if an advanced order is cleared.
or
Drop Non-Compliant - any non-compliant items for the person are removed from the order. Note at this time, the system does not inform the Touch app user if an item is removed.
or
Drop Non-Compliant & Autofill - removes ordered items associated with a person’s previous diet order that are not on the new diet order, and then for each menu category that does not have an item to serve, the system will select an item by using the non-select logic of serving a first choice item before other choices. For example, assume the resident originally orders a burger and fries, and then their diet type changes to low sodium. In such a scenario, the fries are removed, and the system checks the menu category for fries (which is "starch"), and sees the low-sodium tater tots are available, which it then adds to the order.

An above action is determined in the advanced ordering settings in the Touch Admin software. See Managing AO Orders if Person's Diet Order Changes.

What if a resident places an order for a meal period, and their dining area changes or they are switched to in-room service for that meal period?

If the new dining area, including a residence area enabled as a dining area for in-room service, is associated with the same menu (via a menu service location), then the advanced order will remain.

However, if the new dining area, including a residence area enabled as a dining area for in-room service, is associated with a different menu (via a menu service location), then the original menu will have been changed for that meal period. If so, any already-placed orders will not clear from the KMS and the tickets with the already-ordered items will generate/print at their scheduled preparation time. However, in the Core system, the personal menus are replaced with items from the newly-scheduled menu, and any people and production reports generated in the Core system will generate with the current items on the personal menu according to the advanced ordering item-selection logic.

If a resident places an advanced order, and then their seating arrangement is changed, will that affect the advanced order?

If their dining area has changed, see the above FAQ. However, if their dining area has not changed, and they were simply assigned to a different table and/or seat, then no, the advanced order is not affected.

Quick Reference Guide - Taking an Advanced Order (Updated March 30, 2026)

The attached one-page guide explains how to take advanced orders. Distribute to staff as needed.

Advanced_Ordering_Taking_Orders.pdf
400 KB Download