Cluster Distribution Rules
When an order arrives, Pickpad needs to decide whether to assign it to a single device or to a cluster. Two kinds of trigger control this decision: the Category trigger and the Item count trigger. A cluster can use either, or both.
How cluster selection works
When distributing an order, Pickpad first finds all free devices for the relevant station. If any of those devices belong to clusters, it checks each cluster to see whether the incoming order qualifies for it.
A cluster is selected when the order meets either of its configured triggers:
- at least the configured number of items from one of its trigger categories, or
- at least its item count trigger, counting all items in the order regardless of category.
For example, a cluster with a category trigger of 4 for "Salads" is selected by any order with 4+ salad items. A cluster with an item count trigger of 10 is selected by any order with 10+ items total, no matter what they are.
If multiple clusters qualify, Pickpad picks the one whose triggered threshold best fits the order — the tightest, most deliberate match for the order's size. Ties fall back to cluster type priority: static > dynamic > virtual.
Category trigger
Each cluster can have triggers set for any number of categories. A trigger value represents the minimum item count from that category needed to activate the cluster.
| Trigger value | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Blank / not set | This category is not considered for this cluster |
| 4 | At least 4 items from this category must be in the order |
By default, only one category needs to match — the cluster is selected if the order meets the threshold for any of the configured categories. A cluster can instead require all of its configured categories to be met (the "match all categories" setting), useful when a cluster should only pick up combo-style orders that hit every category it handles.
Item count trigger
Instead of (or alongside) category triggers, a cluster can have a single total item count trigger. This ignores category entirely — it just counts every item in the order. It's useful for a catch-all overflow cluster that should pick up any sufficiently large order, regardless of what's in it.
| Trigger value | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Blank / 0 | Not considered for this cluster |
| 10 | At least 10 items total must be in the order |
If a cluster has both a category trigger and an item count trigger, either one qualifying is enough to select it.
Fallback behaviour
If no cluster qualifies for an order, the order is assigned to the next available single device as normal.
If a cluster qualifies but all its devices are currently busy, Pickpad falls back to the next best available cluster or a single free device.
Dynamic clusters behave like static clusters for selection — they need all member pads free — but their group identity only holds while an order is active on them; once cleared, their pads are free to be picked individually again. Virtual clusters have no physical pads, so they skip the "all members free" check entirely and can always be selected if their trigger matches (or used as a final overflow destination — see the examples below).
Examples
Static cluster, category trigger — "Salads" (2 pads, category trigger of 4 for Salads):
- Order with 5 salad items → cluster selected, order appears on both pads
- Order with 2 salad items → threshold not met, order goes to a single free pad
- Order with 5 salad items but the cluster is busy → Pickpad falls back to a single pad or another cluster
Static cluster, item count trigger — "Large Orders" (3 pads, item count trigger of 10, no category trigger):
- Order with 12 items across several categories → cluster selected on item count alone
- Order with 6 items → threshold not met, order goes to a single free pad or a category-matched cluster instead
Dynamic cluster — "Overflow Team" (2 pads, item count trigger of 8):
- Order with 9 items, both pads free → cluster activates as a group for this order
- Once the order is finished and cleared, the two pads go back to being available individually, until the next order that meets the trigger
Virtual cluster — "Catering Queue" (no pads, item count trigger of 15):
- Order with 20 items → assigned straight to the virtual cluster, no physical pad involved; it shows up in the orders queue view for staff to track and hand off
- No trigger matches anywhere, and every pad is busy → Pickpad can fall back to an active virtual cluster as a last resort, so the order is still tracked instead of failing