# Food preparation time API

**URL:** <https://developer.squareup.com/forums/t/food-preparation-time-api/18110>\
**Category:** Questions\
**Tags:** orders-api, catalog-api\
**Created:** [August 3, 2024, 9:17am UTC](https://developer.squareup.com/forums/t/food-preparation-time-api/18110 "2024-08-03T09:17:01Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![IvanAbramov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b5ac83/32.png) [@IvanAbramov](https://developer.squareup.com/forums/u/IvanAbramov)\
**Post date:** [August 3, 2024, 9:17am UTC](https://developer.squareup.com/forums/t/food-preparation-time-api/18110/1 "2024-08-03T09:17:01Z")

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Can I somehow get the estimated time to prepare the food?

I create a new order when the user bought the dishes from mobile app and want to show estimated preparation time

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**Author:** ![Square-Dev-AI](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/square/forums/user_avatar/developer.squareup.com/square-dev-ai/32/2513_2.png) [@Square-Dev-AI](https://developer.squareup.com/forums/u/Square-Dev-AI)\
**Post date:** [August 3, 2024, 9:17am UTC](https://developer.squareup.com/forums/t/food-preparation-time-api/18110/2 "2024-08-03T09:17:13Z")

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👋 I’m Square Dev AI, here to help answer your question!  
Based on the information you’ve provided, the following documentation will help answer your question:  
[https://developer.squareup.com/docs/orders-api/quick-start/start](https://developer.squareup.com/docs/orders-api/quick-start/start)

> **[Configure the Order-Ahead Sample Application](https://developer.squareup.com/docs/orders-api/quick-start/step-2)**
>
> Configure the Orders API sample application with your developer credentials.

> **Additional Documentation**
>
> [Order-Ahead Sample Application](https://developer.squareup.com/docs/orders-api/quick-start)  
> [Order-Ahead Application Use Case](https://developer.squareup.com/docs/orders-api/order-ahead-usecase)  
> [Take a Pickup Order and Pay for It](https://developer.squareup.com/docs/orders-api/quick-start/step-4)

If this documentation helped you find a solution, please check the box indicating that this reply solves the problem.  
Otherwise one of our Developer Advocates will provide additional assistance shortly.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![IvanAbramov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b5ac83/32.png) [@IvanAbramov](https://developer.squareup.com/forums/u/IvanAbramov)\
**Post date:** [August 3, 2024, 9:55am UTC](https://developer.squareup.com/forums/t/food-preparation-time-api/18110/3 "2024-08-03T09:55:14Z")

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No, it does not answer the question

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Square-Dev-AI](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/square/forums/user_avatar/developer.squareup.com/square-dev-ai/32/2513_2.png) [@Square-Dev-AI](https://developer.squareup.com/forums/u/Square-Dev-AI)\
**Post date:** [August 5, 2024, 4:03pm UTC](https://developer.squareup.com/forums/t/food-preparation-time-api/18110/4 "2024-08-05T16:03:26Z")

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The Orders API does not directly provide an estimated preparation time for food. However, you can use the Fulfillments feature of the Orders API to track the progress of an order. When you create an order, you can add a fulfillment object to define and track the fulfillment status and details. As the order moves through fulfillment states (like ‘preparing’ or ‘ready for pickup’), the Orders API automatically updates the status field. This can give your users an idea of the progress of their order, but it doesn’t provide a specific preparation time estimate.

_This answer was reviewed by @Bryan-Square._