Running a tiffin service

Running a tiffin service means keeping each customer’s meal schedule aligned with the kitchen’s prep count and the money recorded against it. A customer list alone cannot tell the cook how many lunches to pack today. You need a dated record of the meals that are actually due.

Start with a meal agreement that staff can read without asking the owner. Record the customer, start and end dates, meal slots and agreed menu. Keep delivery instructions with the packing or dispatch work where the team can use them, rather than buried in a payment conversation.

Make each meal date explicit

A weekly menu describes what you intend to cook. A customer’s schedule says which of those meals they should receive. Keep those records connected, so a lunch-only customer does not appear in the dinner count and a future start does not enter today’s prep sheet.

Write down how you handle substitutions before taking requests. If a customer agrees to a different dish, make the change visible to whoever portions and labels the meal. A message on the owner’s phone is easy to miss when another person is packing.

Skips change the kitchen count

Decide when customers need to request a skip and tell them that rule before service begins. Set the deadline to suit your kitchen. Record the date affected and whether the skip changes the customer’s remaining meals or creates an amount to settle later.

When a request comes after cooking has started, record what was agreed rather than silently deleting the meal. The kitchen may already have used the ingredients. Staff need to distinguish a meal never prepared from one prepared but not sent, especially when reviewing waste.

Treat an outlet holiday as a change to every affected schedule. Check the next active day as well as the cancelled day. If you extend a customer’s end date, tell the packing team where that extra meal now sits. Keep a record of who approved the change.

Freeze a working prep count

Take a count for each meal slot before preparation starts. Separate standard meals from agreed substitutions so the cook can plan batch quantities. Keep a dated copy of that count and mark later changes clearly. Otherwise the kitchen and the packing table can work from different totals.

At packing, reconcile the portions with the customer list. If a meal cannot be completed, record the reason and tell the person handling the customer account. A missing meal should not remain marked as delivered just because it was on the morning prep sheet.

Record money against the agreement

Choose whether the customer pays up front, after deliveries or against each meal. Record the amount received and the payment method with a reference the team can check. A message saying that payment was sent should be checked against the actual receipt before being marked paid.

Keep billed amounts separate from money received. For an advance, staff need to know which meals it covers. For payment after delivery, they need a list of delivered meals still to be billed. Agree how a skipped or failed meal affects that account and keep the reason with any adjustment.

Before renewal, review the meals delivered and any unsettled amount with the customer. Resolve disputed dates while the packing records are still easy to find.

Maharaj meal subscriptions support meal schedules, skips and prep sheets, with bills and recorded payments. Staff operate the plans and record the money; there is no diner self-service or online collection for subscriptions. Check your skip and billing routine in a demo.