Cool Features
Pay Ahead: take e-wallet and bank payments before pickup
For shops with a Kasenso online store. How to let customers pay by e-wallet, QR or bank transfer before you accept their order, how to check the money arrived, and how it lands in your reports.
7 min read · Updated October 25, 2026
Pay Ahead lets customers on your online store pay before they collect, into your own e-wallet or bank account. It is included in every account, and Kasenso takes no cut. The money goes straight from the customer's app to yours.
How do online customers pay before pickup?
Set up an account under Settings → Online Store → Pay Ahead. At checkout, the customer picks it, sends the exact total from their own wallet or bank app, and uploads a screenshot of the payment. The order reaches your till with the screenshot attached. You check the money arrived, then accept.
Which payment methods can customers pay ahead with?
Any method in your payment methods list except cash and card. Cash has to be handed over, and card means the terminal on your counter, so a customer at home has nowhere to send either.
That leaves the methods where a customer sends money to a number or a QR code: a bank transfer, PromptPay, UPI, PIX, M-Pesa, GCash, or anything else you have added. The method also has to be switched on under Payment methods. If you switch one off, the store stops offering it, and the Pay Ahead settings say so.
How do I set up Pay Ahead?
- Add the method under Settings → Payment methods if it is not there yet.
- Go to Settings → Online Store → Pay Ahead and tap the method's chip, for example + Bank transfer.
- Enter the account name and number customers send to, and upload your QR code if you have one. A screenshot of the QR from your wallet app is fine. Each account needs a number, a QR code, or both.
- Save.
You can set up four accounts, one per method. Customers see the method's name from your payment list, so call it what they will recognise.
Can I make every online customer pay ahead?
Yes. Switch on Customers must pay ahead, under your Pay Ahead accounts. It removes At the store and On delivery from checkout, so every online order arrives paid, or at least claiming to be.
It suits shops that lose food to orders nobody collects. Say you cook two uncollected $12 orders a week, with food costing you $4.50 per order. That is 2 × $4.50 = $9 a week, or 52 × $9 = $468 a year, thrown away, plus the cooking time. If most of your orders do get collected, leave it off. Paying at pickup is one step fewer for your regulars.
The switch only appears once you have at least one account. Remove every account and checkout goes back to paying at the store.
What does the customer see?
After placing the order, the customer gets a payment screen with:
- the exact total to send, worked out by Kasenso rather than typed by them
- your QR code, which they can tap to save and then scan from their gallery
- your account name and number, with a Copy button
- their order code, to write in the payment message so you can match it
They can type the reference number from their payment receipt, then choose the screenshot and send it. Send a different screenshot replaces it if they picked the wrong one.
Phones often reload a page while the customer is away in their wallet app. If that happens, the payment screen comes back when they return to your store link, for up to 24 hours after ordering.
How do I check a pay-ahead payment before accepting?
Pay-ahead orders arrive in Online Orders on the till with the method, the screenshot, and the reference number if the customer gave one. An order where the customer has not sent a screenshot yet says no screenshot yet.
A screenshot is not proof of payment. Editing one takes seconds. When you tap Accept, the till asks whether the money arrived. Open your wallet or bank app and find the payment before you answer. The reference number is the quickest way to find it.
If the same reference number or the same screenshot was already sent with another order, the till warns you and names that order.
What happens when I accept a pay-ahead order?
You choose one of two answers, and it decides where the sale is recorded:
| You tap | Recorded as | In your reports | In the cash drawer count |
|---|---|---|---|
| Received — accept as method | That payment method | That method's column | No |
| Not paid — accept, collect at pickup | Cash | The cash column | Yes |
Recording it under the method keeps your cash count honest: money that went to your bank should not be expected in the drawer. A pay-ahead sale and a counter sale under the same method share one column, so a method doesn't show up as two half-size totals.
If the money has not arrived, Not paid still sends the order to the kitchen, and you collect cash when the customer picks up. Reject turns the order down altogether.
How do I refund a customer who paid ahead?
Send the money back from your own wallet or bank app. Kasenso never holds the money, so it can't refund anyone. Do this whenever you reject an order the customer already paid for.
If you already accepted the order, also record the refund on the till, as in returns and refunds. It starts on the method the customer paid with, so that method's takings for the day go down to match.
Who can see payment screenshots, and for how long?
Only your staff, signed in to your shop. A screenshot can show the customer's name, number and balance, so it is stored privately rather than as a public link that could be forwarded. Screenshots are deleted automatically 30 days after upload. Your wallet or bank app keeps its own history, so check there for older payments.
Frequently asked questions
What is Pay Ahead in Kasenso?
Pay Ahead lets customers on your Kasenso online store pay before pickup or delivery. They send the money to your own e-wallet or bank account by number or QR code, then upload a screenshot. The order reaches your till marked as paid ahead, and you confirm the money arrived before accepting.
Does Pay Ahead cost anything?
No. Pay Ahead is included in every account, and Kasenso takes no fee or percentage. The money moves directly between the customer's app and yours, so the only fees are whatever your own wallet or bank charges for receiving it.
Which e-wallets and banks work with Pay Ahead?
Any method in your payment methods list except cash and card, as long as it is switched on. Bank transfers, PromptPay, UPI, PIX, M-Pesa and GCash all work the same way: you give a number, a QR code or both, and customers send to it.
Does Kasenso check that a pay-ahead payment arrived?
No. The money goes straight from the customer's app to yours, and Kasenso never sees it. When you accept a pay-ahead order, the till asks whether the money arrived. Check your wallet or bank app before saying yes, because a screenshot can be edited.
How do I stop customers ordering food they never collect?
Switch on Customers must pay ahead under Settings → Online Store → Pay Ahead. Checkout then hides paying at the store or on delivery, so every online order comes with a payment to check before you start cooking.
What if a customer sends a fake or reused screenshot?
Find the payment in your wallet or bank app before accepting. If it is not there, tap Not paid — accept, collect at pickup, or reject the order. The till also warns you when the same screenshot or reference number was already sent with another order.
How long are payment screenshots kept?
30 days from upload. Only your staff can see them, and they are deleted automatically after that. Your wallet or bank app keeps its own history, so check there for older payments.
How many pay-ahead accounts can I set up?
Four, one per payment method. For example, a bank account, two wallets and a QR payment service. Each one needs an account number, a QR code, or both.