How to Manage Employee Lunch Orders in Odoo 18: Complete Guide
By Braincuber Team
Published on February 28, 2026
A 67-employee tech company we consulted for was spending $2,300/month on lunch catering with zero tracking. The office manager sent Slack messages to count orders, called the vendor, and paid by credit card. Nobody knew which employees ordered what, how much was subsidized vs. personal, or whether the vendor's invoice matched the actual order count. They were overpaying by $340-$470/month on phantom orders. Odoo 18's Lunch module centralizes the entire process—vendor menus, employee ordering, budget tracking, and manager oversight. This beginner guide is the complete tutorial.
What You'll Learn:
- Configuring lunch settings, overdraft limits, and delivery alerts
- Setting up locations for multi-office meal delivery
- Adding vendors with availability, delivery, and extras
- Creating product menus with categories and pricing
- How employees place and manage lunch orders
- Manager tools: order control, vendor tracking, and cash moves
Why Untracked Lunch Programs Hemorrhage Cash
Subsidized lunches are a great perk. Untracked subsidized lunches are a great way to lose money. When nobody records who ordered what, you can't reconcile vendor invoices. You can't enforce budget caps. And you definitely can't stop the guy who orders two lunches every day "for meetings." Odoo's Lunch module puts guardrails around the entire workflow.
Budget Control
Set per-employee overdraft limits so nobody exceeds their lunch allowance. Track spending per employee, per vendor, per month. No more surprise invoices from the catering company.
Multi-Vendor Management
Add multiple food vendors with different menus, availability days, delivery locations, and extras. Employees see only the vendors available for their location and day. No calling around.
Automated Alerts
Set delivery-time alerts so employees know when their food arrives. Configure order deadlines and location-specific notifications. No more Slack messages asking "did the food arrive yet?"
Manager Reporting
Track today's orders, vendor spending, employee account balances, and cash movements. Managers see everything without asking employees to Slack their orders each morning.
Configure the Lunch Module
Before employees can start ordering, you need to set up four things: settings (overdraft limits, alerts), locations, vendors, and products. This takes about 15 minutes for a basic setup. Multi-vendor, multi-location setups take closer to 30.
Configure Lunch Settings
Open the Lunch module. Go to Configuration > Settings. Set the Lunch Overdraft maximum amount per employee (this caps how much an employee can spend beyond their subsidized allowance). Enable Reception Notification to alert employees when their delivery arrives. Click Save.
Set Up Delivery Locations
Go to Configuration > Locations. Click New to add a delivery location (e.g., "Main Office," "2nd Floor Kitchen," "Remote Warehouse"). Each location can be linked to specific vendors. If you have multiple office locations, each needs its own entry so employees see the right vendors for their building.
Create Lunch Alerts
Go to Configuration > Alerts. Click New. Set the Alert Name (e.g., "Order by 11 AM"), choose the Display type, select the Location, set the Show Until time, enable Active, and write a Message. Alerts remind employees to place orders before the vendor cutoff time.
Add Food Vendors
Go to Configuration > Vendors. Click New. Enter the Vendor Name, Address, Email, Phone, and Company. Set the Availability days (which days this vendor delivers). Under Orders, configure Delivery time, Location, and Send Order By method. Add Extras on the right side (beverages, side dishes) with name and price.
Create Products and Categories
Go to Configuration > Product Categories and create categories (e.g., "Sandwiches," "Salads," "Hot Meals"). Then go to Configuration > Products and click New. Enter the Product Name, Category, Vendor, Price, and Description. Set the New Until date to highlight new menu items. These products appear on the employee ordering dashboard.
Place Orders and Manage as a Manager
Once configuration is done, employees order directly from the Lunch module dashboard. Managers track orders, control vendor accounts, monitor cash movements, and review order history. Here's the day-to-day workflow.
Place a Lunch Order
Open the Lunch module dashboard. Browse food items by category or vendor on the left panel. Select an item. A popup shows product details and Extras options. Add a description (e.g., "no onions"). Click Add To Cart. Review your order in the Your Order section on the right. Click Order Now to confirm. The order gets the Ordered label.
Review Today's Orders
As a manager, go to Manager > Today's Orders. This shows all orders placed for the current day. You can see which employees ordered, from which vendor, and the total amount. Use this to communicate the final order to the vendor or verify delivery against what was ordered.
Control Vendor Orders and Employee Accounts
Go to Manager > Control Vendors to see orders grouped by vendor—useful for reconciling vendor invoices. Go to Manager > Control Accounts to see employee account balances and lunch-related financial transactions. This is where you catch employees who've exceeded their overdraft limit or spot vendors overcharging.
Track Cash Moves and Order History
Go to Manager > Cash Moves to see cash transactions from lunch orders. Check My Order History to view all previous orders with Reorder and Cancel buttons. The Send Notification button lets you alert the vendor about a specific order. My Account History shows the full transaction history for your lunch wallet.
Reconcile Vendor Invoices
At month-end, use Control Vendors to compare orders placed through Odoo against the vendor's invoice. The order count, product details, and totals are all in the system. Match line by line. Any discrepancy between Odoo's records and the vendor's bill means either phantom orders or vendor overcharges. We've helped companies recover $1,800-$3,400 per quarter from vendor billing discrepancies alone.
Set Overdraft Limits Before Launching
If you launch the Lunch module without setting Lunch Overdraft limits, employees can order without any spending cap. Set the limit in Configuration > Settings before announcing the new ordering system. One company we worked with had an employee spend $890 in 3 weeks on gourmet lunches because the overdraft was uncapped.
ONE-TIME SETUP:
1. Settings: Set Lunch Overdraft limit + Reception Notification
2. Locations: Add delivery locations for each office/floor
3. Alerts: Create order deadline alerts per location
4. Product Categories: Create meal categories (Sandwiches, etc.)
5. Vendors: Add vendors with availability, delivery, and extras
6. Products: Add meal items per vendor with pricing
DAILY OPERATIONS:
7. Employees browse and order from dashboard
8. Manager checks Today's Orders before vendor cutoff
9. Manager sends consolidated order to vendor
10. Control Vendor/Accounts at month-end for reconciliation
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I add a lunch vendor in Odoo 18?
Go to Lunch > Configuration > Vendors, click New, fill in the vendor name, contact details, delivery days, delivery location, and extras. Save. Then add products from that vendor under Configuration > Products.
Can employees see their lunch spending history in Odoo 18?
Yes. Employees can view My Order History for past orders and My Account History for their lunch wallet transaction details. They can also reorder past meals with one click.
How do I set a spending limit for employee lunches in Odoo 18?
Go to Configuration > Settings and set the Lunch Overdraft amount. This caps the maximum amount an employee can spend beyond their subsidized allowance. Set this before launching the module.
Can I set up lunch for multiple office locations in Odoo 18?
Yes. Create separate locations under Configuration > Locations. Link specific vendors and alerts to each location. Employees only see vendors that deliver to their assigned location.
How does a manager track lunch orders in Odoo 18?
Use the Manager menu: Today's Orders shows current day orders, Control Vendors shows orders grouped by vendor, Control Accounts shows employee balances, and Cash Moves tracks financial transactions.
Need Help Setting Up the Odoo 18 Lunch Module?
Our team configures vendors, product menus, budget controls, locations, alerts, and manager dashboards—so your employee lunch program runs on autopilot instead of Slack polls.