Key Model Overview

CaterCow Models

CaterCow's models are designed to manage a multi-sided marketplace connecting customers, restaurant partners (brands), and administrators.

The core concepts revolve around:

• Users & Groups (users, teams, enterprises): Manages individual users, the teams they belong to for group ordering, and larger enterprise accounts with specific billing rules.
• Restaurants (restaurant_groups, brands, kitchens): A hierarchical model for food providers. A restaurant_group can own multiple brands, and each brand can operate out of one or more physical kitchens.
• Menus (restaurant_menus, menu_items, modifier_groups): A detailed and flexible menu system. These items can have extensive customizations through modifier_groups.
• Packages (packages, package_items, package_item_options, collections): Brands offer packages (curated meals) which are built from a subset of a brand's menu_items which make ordering for large groups seamless and efficient.
• Orders (orders, order_items, addresses, reviews): The complete lifecycle of an order, from placement and polling for individual choices within a group to fulfillment, delivery, and post-order reviews.
• Group Orders (order_polls, poll_selections, poll_options): An important feature that allows organizers to collect feedback from their teams and have food delivered individually labeled with everyone's name attached.
• Financials (payments, invoices, payouts, coupons): Manages all financial transactions, including customer payments via card or invoice, payouts to restaurant partners, and promotional coupon redemptions.

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Key Model Overview

Order Model (orders table)

The Order model is the central hub of the application, connecting almost every other major entity. It represents a single transaction for a catering or delivery service placed by a customer.

Key Interactions:

• User/Team: An Order is initiated by a user (user_id) and can be associated with a team (team_id) for group billing and tracking. It can also be linked to a larger enterprise for corporate accounts.
• Brand/Kitchen: Each Order is fulfilled by a specific brand (brand_id) and a physical kitchen (kitchen_id). This defines who is responsible for preparing and providing the food.
• Package: An Order is frequently (but not always) for a specific package (package_id), which dictates the core meal being provided.
• Order Details: It contains essential fulfillment details such as the delivery date and time (start_date, start_time), delivery address (address_id), headcount, and special instructions.
• Financials: The Order is the basis for financial records. It links to payments (how the customer paid), invoices (if billed), tips, and any applied coupons.
• Group Coordination (order_polls): For group meals, an Order can have an associated order_poll. This allows individual team members to make their specific meal selections (e.g., choosing their sandwich flavor), which are then consolidated into the final order.
• Feedback: After fulfillment, an Order can have associated reviews and order_issues, providing feedback to the brand and CaterCow.

Team Model (teams table)

The Team model is designed to facilitate B2B group ordering, representing a collection of users (e.g., a department within a company).

Key Interactions:

• Users (memberships table): A Team is composed of multiple users through the memberships table, which defines each user's role within the team (e.g., administrator, member). A team has a designated owner_id.
• Ordering: Teams place orders collectively. The team_id on an order links it back to the team, allowing for shared billing and order history.
• Payment: A Team can have shared credit_cards and is often configured to be invoiceable, streamlining corporate payment processes.
• Enterprises: A Team can be part of a larger enterprise, inheriting rules like purchase order requirements (purchase_orders), cost center tracking, and specific fee structures.
• Order Coordination: The team structure is fundamental to the order_polls system, enabling a single order to be customized by many individual members of the team.
• Customization: Teams can have their own settings, such as default addresses, logos, and specific invoicing contacts (team_contacts).

Brand Model (brands table)

The Brand model represents the primary restaurant or caterer entity on CaterCow. It's the customer-facing identity that users browse and order from.

Key Interactions:

• Hierarchy: A Brand belongs to a restaurant_group, which might manage several distinct restaurant concepts. A Brand itself can operate out of multiple physical kitchens.
• Menu Offerings: This is the root for a caterer's menu. A Brand offers packages (e.g., "The Sandwich Lunch Box") and maintains comprehensive restaurant_menus composed of individual menu_items and modifier_groups.
• Orders: When a customer places an order, it is fulfilled by a brand. CaterCow tracks a brand's performance through caterer_metrics, caterer_scores, and customer reviews.
• Operations: The Brand table stores key operational details like cancellation policies, lead time for orders (lead_time_hours), and whether it participates in specialized programs like batched delivery.
• Onboarding & Vetting: The schema includes extensive fields and related tables (restaurant_applications, screening_responses) to manage the onboarding, vetting, and approval process for new restaurant partners.