# How Long Does Direct Ordering and a Loyalty Program Take to Set Up?

> Direct ordering can go live within a day for a restaurant already on DoorDash; loyalty runs from a six-step settings job to a project averaging 90 days.

Published: 2026-11-04
Source: https://blog.cirqqles.com/how-long-does-direct-ordering-and-a-loyalty-program-take-to-set-up-q6hy0u

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Direct ordering can be live within a day if your restaurant is already on a platform that offers it: DoorDash says an active DoorDash merchant can [activate Online Ordering in minutes, and that most owners are live in less than 24 hours](https://merchants.doordash.com/en-us/products/online-ordering). A loyalty program runs from a six-step settings job inside a POS such as Toast to a project of about three months on a dedicated platform, where Thanx says its [average implementation takes 90 days](https://www.thanx.com/implementation).

The gap comes from what is being connected, moved and decided. For an independent restaurant adding both tools to a POS it already runs, the real work is the menu, the reward math, test orders and staff training, and none of the pages checked for this article on November 3, 2026, puts a number on it.

## What do the platforms say about setup time?

What you set up
Time the platform publishes
What the work includes

[DoorDash Online Ordering](https://merchants.doordash.com/en-us/products/online-ordering)
Minutes to activate for an active DoorDash merchant; most owners live in less than 24 hours
Activation in the Merchant Portal, then linking from your website, Google Business Profile and social accounts

[Toast Online Ordering](https://support.toasttab.com/en/article/Getting-Started-Online-Ordering)
None in its setup article, last updated September 17, 2026
Ten steps, from menu visibility to a test order

[Toast Loyalty](https://support.toasttab.com/en/article/Getting-Started-Toast-Loyalty)
None in its setup article, last updated October 1, 2026
Six steps, then staff training

[Thanx loyalty platform](https://www.thanx.com/implementation)
90 days on average; "many customers launch much faster"
A dedicated implementation manager, POS and ordering integrations, testing, training

[Text registration through Twilio](https://www.twilio.com/docs/messaging/compliance/a2p-10dlc/quickstart)
Brands typically approved in a few minutes; campaign reviews up to 5 business days
A 15-minute application, then a wait

Read these as the vendors' own statements, checked on November 3, 2026, not as independent measurements. They also measure different things. DoorDash's figure is for a merchant already active on DoorDash. Thanx's average describes a managed launch, and it also offers guest data migration for restaurants switching from an older program.

Toast gives no figure, so its step lists are the better guide to the work, and the rest of this article uses them as a worked example. On another POS the screens will differ, but the questions stay the same.

## What takes the time in direct ordering setup?

Start by checking that you can start. [Toast's setup article](https://support.toasttab.com/en/article/Getting-Started-Online-Ordering) asks for four things up front: permission to edit Takeout & delivery, Menus, Kitchen and Front of house settings in Toast Web; the Online Ordering module on your account; at least one POS device that stays powered on during operating hours; and a takeout dining option, because curbside cannot be the only one. If the module is missing, you are waiting on Customer Care to confirm your subscription, so look on the first day of the project, not the night before launch.

**The menu is the step that scales.** Each menu, menu group, item and modifier group you want online has to be marked visible to the online channel. A short cafe menu and a long full-service menu with nested modifiers are different jobs. To estimate yours, time yourself on ten items and multiply by the size of the menu. Use the same pass to fix what a guest will read with no server to explain it: item names, descriptions, prices and modifier choices.

**Order approval is a quick setting and a longer conversation.** Toast offers three modes: approve every order manually, send orders directly to the kitchen, which it recommends, or use rules that flag exceptions such as cash orders over a set amount. Agree on this with whoever runs the line, along with the online ordering hours, which can differ from your dining room hours.

**Delivery is optional, and it is a fork.** Toast says you can use your own drivers or Toast Delivery Services, but not both at the same restaurant. If you have not decided, you can skip the step and launch pickup first.

**The test order is where you find the problems.** Toast has you warn the kitchen, add a varied range of items and modifiers so you can verify that all prep stations print correctly, then void the order. A one-item test only proves that one ticket prints. If you also take DoorDash or Uber Eats orders through an integration, Toast says to test each of those too. It also runs a free live class on online ordering setup, if you would rather do this with help.

Going live is not the same as being found. Your website, Google Business Profile and social accounts are the places [DoorDash names](https://merchants.doordash.com/en-us/products/online-ordering) for launching direct ordering. Start with the website link on a slower weekday, then add the others once the first real orders have come through cleanly.

## How long does the loyalty program itself take?

The configuration is the short part. [Toast's loyalty setup](https://support.toasttab.com/en/article/Getting-Started-Toast-Loyalty) runs through six steps: open the settings, choose a program type, set up the first reward, personalize the program, review it and publish. The goal it sets is a program with at least one reward, a signup method and the channels you choose. You can add rewards later, up to 5 in total, so nothing forces you to design a full ladder before launch.

The decisions take longer than the clicks:

- **How guests earn.** Visit based gives a flat rate per visit, with an optional minimum spend. Amount based gives points per dollar, which rewards total spend rather than frequency.

- **What the reward really costs.** Take what the reward costs you in food and spread it over the visits or spend needed to earn it. That is your real discount. Check it against your margin before you publish, because taking a reward away later is harder than adding one.

- **How guests sign up.** Toast recommends phone number over email. Decide before staff start asking.

- **Where points work.** You choose among POS, kiosk and digital ordering. Toast says guests cannot earn or redeem points on orders through integrations such as DoorDash, Grubhub or Uber Eats, so brief your team for the guest who asks.

Staff training sets the real launch date. Toast tells owners to share its training video and says staff "should be the cheerleaders of your loyalty program." A program exists once you publish it, but it gains members when the person at the register asks. Plan to cover every shift on your schedule, weekends included, before you announce anything.

Locations add to the work. Toast says a multi-location group has to save and publish free-item selections at each location, and that sharing one program is managed through its Gift / Rewards Card Group.

Loyalty becomes a project when you are replacing something or connecting many systems. [Thanx describes](https://www.thanx.com/implementation) a dedicated implementation manager, integrations with POS and ordering platforms, testing and team training, plus migration of purchase history, points balances, preferences and loyalty status for restaurants switching platforms. Guests notice a lost balance, so that work is not worth rushing. If you have no older program to move, ask any vendor how much of its stated timeline still applies to you.

## Does texting guests add time?

It can, and it is the one step where you are waiting on someone else. [Twilio's documentation](https://www.twilio.com/docs/messaging/compliance/a2p-10dlc/quickstart), last modified on October 27, 2026, says A2P 10DLC registration is required to send texts from a US 10-digit number to US recipients through an application. It estimates the application at 15 minutes and says brands are typically approved within a few minutes, while campaign reviews take up to 5 business days for standard use cases. If a campaign is still in progress after 10 days, it says to contact support.

Those are one provider's figures. Ask yours who files the registration and how long its review runs. Text only guests who opted in, and take questions about consent wording to your attorney, since this article is not legal advice.

Do not tie the launch to this step. Ordering and loyalty can go live during the review, announced by email, on your website and with signs in the restaurant. File early, so the review runs while you work on the menu.

## In what order should you do all this?

- Check that both tools are active on your account, and who has permission to edit them.

- File any text registration, so the review runs while you work.

- Go through the menu and set what appears online.

- Set approval mode, hours and dining options with your kitchen lead.

- Run test orders that touch every prep station.

- Put the link on your website on a slower weekday, then add it to Google Business Profile and social accounts once real orders come through cleanly.

- Build loyalty with one reward and train every shift.

- Publish loyalty and announce it.

Ordering goes first for a practical reason: if a ticket goes wrong, you want to know it was the ordering setup and not a points rule. Launching both together saves a round of staff training, and a small team may prefer that. The cost is two new things to explain at the register and a harder diagnosis when something breaks.

Four easy ways to lose time: announcing a date before the menu pass, testing with one item, launching with every reward you can think of, and promising texts before your campaign is approved.

## Who should do the setup work?

Before you sign with anyone, ask three questions: which steps do you do, which do I do, and what date will you put in writing? The answers separate self-serve tools, where the checklist is yours, from managed launches like the one Thanx describes.

cirQQles, which publishes this blog, through its Q-Bite product for restaurants, is one option to look at if you want a platform plus a team: it connects during setup to systems a restaurant already runs, including Toast, Square and Clover, and the plan decides how much the team does. On its pricing page, as listed on November 3, 2026, DIY costs $199 per month for up to 150 members, with no onboarding fee and the owner running it, while Base costs $399 per month plus an onboarding fee of $999-$2,500+ by complexity, with guided onboarding from a success manager. Ask it the same three questions.

Q-Bite for restaurants: [cirqqles.com/q-bite](https://cirqqles.com/q-bite)

## Frequently Asked Questions

**Can I launch direct ordering before the loyalty program?**

Yes, and keeping them separate makes problems easier to trace. On Toast they are separate setups, and digital ordering is a loyalty channel you choose when you build the program. Start with ordering, confirm tickets print correctly, then add the program.

**Do I need a new POS to add direct ordering and loyalty?**

Not necessarily. [DoorDash says](https://merchants.doordash.com/en-us/products/online-ordering) its direct orders land in the POS your team already uses, with no new hardware, while Toast's tools are subscriptions on a Toast account. Check what your current system supports before you buy anything.

**Why does a dedicated loyalty platform take so much longer?**

It covers more than switching on a feature. Thanx lists integrations with POS and ordering systems, testing, team training and, for restaurants switching platforms, guest data migration. Thanx also says many customers launch much faster than its average, so ask how much of that timeline applies to your setup.

**Who on my team should run the setup?**

Someone who knows the menu and holds the right permissions. Toast requires edit rights for Takeout & delivery, Menus, Kitchen and Front of house for ordering, and the Marketing Info permission for loyalty. Have your kitchen lead present for test orders, since that is when a ticket printing at the wrong station shows up.