System components
Layout Mobile has four main surfaces and a backend that ties them together:| Component | Role | Users |
|---|---|---|
| Customer app | Branded iOS app for browsing menu, choosing location, ordering, and tracking status. | End customers |
| Merchant dashboard | Web app for branding, Square connection, menu/locations (synced from Square), order settings, loyalty, and analytics. | Owners and operators |
| Kitchen panel | Web-based panel for viewing orders and updating status by location. | Kitchen and store staff |
| Backend | APIs, Square sync, webhooks, payment orchestration, and secure token storage. | Used by all of the above |
Data flow (conceptual)
- Square is the source of truth for catalog, locations, and payments. Layout connects via OAuth and keeps a secure, per-tenant connection.
- Catalog and locations flow from Square into the platform via initial sync and ongoing updates (webhooks and scheduled jobs). The customer app and dashboard read this data; they don’t write catalog back to Square from the app.
- Orders are created in the platform (customer app → backend), then payment is processed with Square. Order state (e.g. pending payment → paid → status updates) is stored in the platform; kitchen and customer app consume it.
- Kitchen reads and updates order status. When Layout KDS is used, those updates can drive customer-facing status and optional notifications.
Authentication and access
- Customer app — Users sign in (e.g. phone auth). Sessions are validated by the backend for API calls (e.g. checkout). Tokens are not shared across companies.
- Dashboard and panel — Staff and owners sign in to the web app; access is scoped to their company (and optionally location for the panel). Roles and company membership determine what they can see and change.
- Square — Connection is per company. OAuth tokens are stored securely and used only for that company’s API calls. Webhooks from Square are verified (signature check) before processing.
Where things run
- Customer app — Native iOS; talks to backend APIs and (where used) real-time listeners for order status.
- Dashboard and panel — Web apps; talk to the same backend and tenant-scoped data store.
- Backend — Hosted services (e.g. serverless/cloud) that handle HTTP and webhook endpoints, Square sync, and background jobs. No merchant-hosted infrastructure is required.
Integration points
| External system | Layout’s role |
|---|---|
| Square | OAuth, catalog/location sync, payment creation, optional loyalty sync. Webhooks for catalog and location changes (and optionally order/fulfillment). |
| Push / Live Activity | Optional customer notifications and lock-screen order status (e.g. iOS). |
| Billing | Subscription and billing are handled separately (e.g. Stripe); not part of the core ordering or Square flow. |
Next steps
- Integration flow — Step-by-step flow from customer order to payment and kitchen.
- Square integration — What we sync, how we connect, and how updates flow.
- Multi-location — How companies and locations are modeled and used.