Office 365 Setup Checklist for Small Restaurants That Need Online Ordering

Online orders should feel like easy extra revenue, not like another full-time job. When tickets come in from Uber Eats, DoorDash, your own website, and the phone, it is easy for things to slip. A missed ticket here, a wrong address there, and suddenly guests are upset and staff is stressed.

With a clear office 365 setup checklist, Microsoft 365 can become the “control center” for those orders. In one place, you can handle email tickets, staff chats, schedules, menus, and customer replies, without learning a dozen new apps.

I’ll walk through a simple, practical setup that fits a busy small restaurant, not a big corporate office.

Photo by cottonbro studio

Your Office 365 Setup Checklist for Online Ordering

1. Pick the right Microsoft 365 plan

For most small restaurants, one of these is enough:

• Business Basic (about $6 per user/month) if you only need email, Teams, and cloud storage.
• Business Standard (about $12.50 per user/month) if you also want the desktop apps like Outlook and Excel.
• Business Premium (about $22 per user/month) if you want stronger security controls on devices.

If you want a deeper comparison, the Microsoft 365 setup guide for small businesses from Davenport Group is a helpful overview: Microsoft 365 Setup Guide for Small Businesses.

Once you know your plan, buy one license for each manager, owner, and key lead who needs their own email address.

2. Create restaurant accounts and simple roles

Next, I set up a clean account structure so staff access is clear and safe.

For a typical single-location restaurant, I like:

• Individual accounts for owners and managers, for example maria@yourrestaurant.com.
• One “front desk” style account, for example info@yourrestaurant.com.
• Role-based accounts for shared work, like orders@yourrestaurant.com and catering@yourrestaurant.com.

Use Microsoft’s own guide to plan the basics, including domains and users, at the Microsoft 365 setup planning guide.

This is the foundation for Managed IT for Small Business. When accounts match real roles, it is easier to grow, audit access, and support Business Continuity & Security if someone leaves.

3. Build clear email workflows for online orders

If your delivery services email orders to you, Outlook can keep them organized instead of buried in a busy inbox.

I usually:

• Create a shared mailbox called orders@yourrestaurant.com.
• Connect that address to each delivery platform that supports email tickets.
• Turn on simple folder rules in Outlook, for example:
  • “If subject contains ‘Uber Eats’ move to folder ‘Uber’.”
  • “If subject contains ‘DoorDash’ move to folder ‘DoorDash’.”

You can also create a shared mailbox like support@yourrestaurant.com for guest issues. That keeps follow-up separate from new orders.

This kind of structure makes Cloud Management easier and helps staff treat online tickets like a real line at the host stand, not a random email pile.

4. Use Teams as your digital expo line

Teams can act like a live expo window for online orders. I set it up so each department knows exactly where to look.

For a small restaurant, I like this structure:

• Team: “Restaurant Operations”
  • Channel: “FOH – Host & Servers”
  • Channel: “BOH – Kitchen & Prep”
  • Channel: “Delivery & Pickup”
  • Channel: “Shift Schedules”
  • Channel: “Managers”

You can have the expo person post each new online order in “Delivery & Pickup” with notes:

“Uber – Order #1452, 2 burgers no cheese, ready at 7:25.”

For staff scheduling, Microsoft’s Shifts tool is built right into Teams. Take a look at the Teams Shifts staff scheduling page to see how it can replace paper schedules and group texts.

This approach supports Restaurant POS Support and Kitchen Technology Solutions, because all order communication ends up in one live feed.

5. Keep menus, SOPs, and checklists in OneDrive

A messy file system wastes time. I use OneDrive and SharePoint as the single source of truth for everything that changes often.

A simple folder layout might be:

• Menus
  • Current Dine-In
  • Current Online
• Online Ordering
  • Platform Logins
  • How-To Guides
• Operations
  • Opening Checklist
  • Closing Checklist
  • Training

Store your Excel sheets for inventory and prep levels here. With that, you can update items faster when a key ingredient runs out.

For more advanced restaurants, tools like Restaurant365 can connect ordering, inventory, and staff scheduling. That pairs well with Microsoft 365 in a broader Cloud Infrastructure and Data Center Technology strategy.

6. Secure your setup without the geek-speak

You do not need to be a security expert to protect guest data and cardholder info. A few simple rules go a long way.

Here is how I explain it to owners:

• Multi‑Factor Authentication (MFA): Staff log in with a password plus a code on their phone. Even if someone steals the password, they cannot get in.
• Role-based access: Line cooks do not need access to your financial files. Only give people what they actually use.
• Endpoint Security and Device Hardening: Keep staff tablets and PCs updated, turn on built‑in antivirus, and block simple things like installing random apps.

For a friendly walk-through, this Microsoft 365 security best practices checklist is a good starting point: Microsoft 365 Security Best Practices (Simple Checklist).

These steps fit into broader Cybersecurity Services, Secure Cloud Architecture, and Business Continuity & Security. They reduce the odds that a bad link in an email shuts down your entire operation.

Why partner with a restaurant‑focused IT team

Most owners do not want to become IT managers. They want full tables, quick tickets, and happy staff.

That is where a Business Technology Partner like RVA Tech Visions comes in. I treat your restaurant as a full Small Business IT project, not a one‑time install. That can include Office 365 Migration, Cloud Management, Infrastructure Optimization, and long‑term IT Strategy for SMBs that grows with your locations.

Behind the scenes, I handle Innovative IT Solutions like Device Hardening, Endpoint Security, and Technology Consulting tied to your Restaurant POS Support and Kitchen Technology Solutions. I connect Microsoft 365 to your POS, delivery apps, and back‑office tools, using Tailored Technology Services that fit your staff and budget.

Put simply, you run the floor; I keep the tech steady so your Digital Transformation does not get in the way of service.

Bringing it all together

Online orders are not going away. The restaurants that win treat Microsoft 365 as a quiet backbone that keeps tickets moving, staff aligned, and guest messages answered.

With a clear office 365 setup checklist, you turn Outlook into a ticket inbox, Teams into a live expo board, and OneDrive into the single home for menus and training. Strong, simple security wraps around it so problems stay small.

If you want help mapping this to your exact location, menu, and staff, I am here to design a plan that fits your nights, not just your network.

Printable Office 365 Setup Checklist for Small Restaurants

Use this quick list as you set things up:

• Choose a Microsoft 365 Business plan (Basic, Standard, or Premium).
• Register or connect your restaurant email domain.
• Create manager and owner accounts.
• Create shared mailboxes: orders@, catering@, support@.
• Point online ordering platforms to orders@yourrestaurant.com.
• Add Outlook rules to sort orders by platform.
• Build a Teams workspace with channels for FOH, BOH, Delivery, Schedules, and Managers.
• Turn on Teams Shifts for scheduling and time‑off requests.
• Create OneDrive/SharePoint folders for Menus, Online Ordering, and Operations.
• Store inventory and prep Excel sheets in OneDrive.
• Turn on MFA for all accounts.
• Set basic role-based access so staff only see what they need.
• Apply security settings on all devices used for work.
• Document key logins and procedures in a secure folder.

Print this, tick each line as you go, and you will have a clean, restaurant‑ready Office 365 setup.