diff --git a/docs/architecture/frontend-boundary.md b/docs/architecture/frontend-boundary.md
index 4f28bfa..279f572 100644
--- a/docs/architecture/frontend-boundary.md
+++ b/docs/architecture/frontend-boundary.md
@@ -23,7 +23,8 @@
 ## UI Workflow Coverage
 
 - POS transaction summary lookup with open balance visibility
-- Transaction detail inspection for a selected transaction id
+- Transaction detail inspection for a selected payable check or transaction id
 - Recent payment activity review
-- Payment capture with retry-ready local session history
+- Payment capture with retry-ready local session history and lifecycle-aware payment hints
 - Protected route shell for summary, payment capture, and session inspection
+- POS actions are presented as the final step after kitchen and floor service complete the restaurant order.
diff --git a/docs/runbooks/local-development.md b/docs/runbooks/local-development.md
index 1ac6f1d..9b37bb3 100644
--- a/docs/runbooks/local-development.md
+++ b/docs/runbooks/local-development.md
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@ npm run dev
 - Business calls are gated behind session checks.
 - Session cookies are sent with `credentials: include`.
 - Summary, detail, recent-payment, and capture actions all surface session-expired guidance before retry.
+- UI copy assumes POS only acts on checks that became payable after restaurant service completion.
 
 ## Build
 
diff --git a/docs/runbooks/testing.md b/docs/runbooks/testing.md
index 3924511..fa1b6c4 100644
--- a/docs/runbooks/testing.md
+++ b/docs/runbooks/testing.md
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ npm run test:ci
 - `src/api/client.test.ts`: runtime-config precedence and fallback behavior.
 - `src/api/dashboardApi.test.ts`: endpoint path/query composition and payload mapping.
 - `src/auth/oidcLogin.test.ts`: OIDC start-url generation and safe return-url fallback.
-- `src/App.test.tsx`: central login screen, protected summary/detail flow, payment capture, and session-expired recovery guidance.
+- `src/App.test.tsx`: central login screen, lifecycle-aware payable-check summary/detail flow, payment capture, and session-expired recovery guidance.
 
 ## Notes
 
diff --git a/src/App.test.tsx b/src/App.test.tsx
index 9131809..8a5ce57 100644
--- a/src/App.test.tsx
+++ b/src/App.test.tsx
@@ -56,7 +56,7 @@ describe('POS Transactions App', () => {
     });
     vi.mocked(loadDashboard).mockResolvedValue({
       contextId: 'demo-context',
-      summary: '2 payments awaiting reconciliation',
+      summary: '2 served orders are payable',
       openBalance: 52.3,
       currency: 'USD',
       recentPayments: []
@@ -86,7 +86,7 @@ describe('POS Transactions App', () => {
           paymentMethod: 'cash',
           amount: 10,
           currency: 'USD',
-          status: 'Captured',
+          status: 'Payable',
           capturedAtUtc: '2026-03-27T11:00:00Z'
         }
       ]
@@ -103,9 +103,11 @@ describe('POS Transactions App', () => {
     await waitFor(() => expect(loadTransactionDetail).toHaveBeenCalledWith('demo-context', 'POS-9001'));
     await waitFor(() => expect(loadRecentPayments).toHaveBeenCalledWith('demo-context'));
 
-    expect(await screen.findByText('2 payments awaiting reconciliation')).toBeInTheDocument();
+    expect(await screen.findByText('2 served orders are payable')).toBeInTheDocument();
+    expect(screen.getByText('Only restaurant orders that have completed service should appear here as payable checks for capture.')).toBeInTheDocument();
     expect(await screen.findByText('POS-22')).toBeInTheDocument();
     expect(await screen.findByText('POS-21')).toBeInTheDocument();
+    expect(await screen.findByText('ready for payment capture after service completion')).toBeInTheDocument();
   });
 
   it('captures payments and records retry-ready history', async () => {
@@ -154,6 +156,7 @@ describe('POS Transactions App', () => {
 
     await waitFor(() => expect(capturePosPayment).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1));
     expect(await screen.findAllByText('POS-2200')).toHaveLength(2);
+    expect(screen.getAllByText('payment is complete and the restaurant workflow can close').length).toBeGreaterThan(0);
     expect(screen.getByRole('button', { name: 'Retry Last Capture' })).not.toBeDisabled();
   });
 
diff --git a/src/App.tsx b/src/App.tsx
index d06a195..bd6346b 100644
--- a/src/App.tsx
+++ b/src/App.tsx
@@ -67,9 +67,10 @@ const paymentColumns = [
   {
     title: 'Status',
     render: (_: unknown, record: PosPaymentActivity) => (
-      <Tag color={record.status.toLowerCase() === 'captured' ? 'green' : 'orange'}>{record.status}</Tag>
+      <Tag color={paymentStatusColor(record.status)}>{record.status}</Tag>
     )
   },
+  { title: 'Lifecycle Step', render: (_: unknown, record: PosPaymentActivity) => paymentProgressHint(record.status) },
   { title: 'Captured At', render: (_: unknown, record: PosPaymentActivity) => formatUtc(record.capturedAtUtc) }
 ];
 
@@ -240,7 +241,7 @@ function PosTransactionsShell() {
         <Layout.Content className="content">
           <Typography.Title level={3}>POS Transactions</Typography.Title>
           <Typography.Paragraph type="secondary">
-            Protected POS workflows for summary lookup, transaction detail inspection, capture retries, and recent payment activity.
+            Protected POS workflows for payable restaurant checks, capture retries, and recent payment activity once service is complete.
           </Typography.Paragraph>
           {session.error && <Alert className="stack-gap" type="warning" showIcon message={session.error} />}
           {workflowState.error && <Alert className="stack-gap" type="error" showIcon message={workflowState.error} />}
@@ -296,9 +297,12 @@ function PosTransactionsShell() {
                           <Descriptions.Item label="Open Balance">
                             {summaryPayload.openBalance.toFixed(2)} {summaryPayload.currency}
                           </Descriptions.Item>
+                          <Descriptions.Item label="Lifecycle Note">
+                            Only restaurant orders that have completed service should appear here as payable checks for capture.
+                          </Descriptions.Item>
                         </Descriptions>
                       ) : (
-                        <Empty description="Load a POS summary to inspect the current balance." />
+                        <Empty description="Load a POS summary to inspect which served orders are ready for payment capture." />
                       )}
                     </Space>
                   </Card>
@@ -313,11 +317,14 @@ function PosTransactionsShell() {
                         <Descriptions.Item label="Amount">
                           {detailPayload.transaction.amount.toFixed(2)} {detailPayload.transaction.currency}
                         </Descriptions.Item>
-                        <Descriptions.Item label="Status">{detailPayload.transaction.status}</Descriptions.Item>
+                        <Descriptions.Item label="Status">
+                          <Tag color={paymentStatusColor(detailPayload.transaction.status)}>{detailPayload.transaction.status}</Tag>
+                        </Descriptions.Item>
+                        <Descriptions.Item label="Next Step">{paymentProgressHint(detailPayload.transaction.status)}</Descriptions.Item>
                         <Descriptions.Item label="Captured At">{formatUtc(detailPayload.transaction.capturedAtUtc)}</Descriptions.Item>
                       </Descriptions>
                     ) : (
-                      <Empty description="Load a transaction detail to inspect capture state and method." />
+                      <Empty description="Load a transaction detail to inspect payable-check state and capture readiness." />
                     )}
                   </Card>
 
@@ -381,7 +388,7 @@ function PosTransactionsShell() {
                         </Space>
                       </Form>
                       <Typography.Text type="secondary">
-                        Use retry when a payment attempt fails after verifying the transaction payload and operator session.
+                        Capture should be used only after kitchen and floor service complete the order, making the check payable.
                       </Typography.Text>
                     </Space>
                   </Card>
@@ -392,7 +399,10 @@ function PosTransactionsShell() {
                         <Descriptions.Item label="Context Id">{paymentResponse.contextId}</Descriptions.Item>
                         <Descriptions.Item label="Transaction Id">{paymentResponse.transactionId}</Descriptions.Item>
                         <Descriptions.Item label="Succeeded">{String(paymentResponse.succeeded)}</Descriptions.Item>
-                        <Descriptions.Item label="Status">{paymentResponse.status}</Descriptions.Item>
+                        <Descriptions.Item label="Status">
+                          <Tag color={paymentStatusColor(paymentResponse.status)}>{paymentResponse.status}</Tag>
+                        </Descriptions.Item>
+                        <Descriptions.Item label="Next Step">{paymentProgressHint(paymentResponse.status)}</Descriptions.Item>
                         <Descriptions.Item label="Captured At">{formatUtc(paymentResponse.capturedAtUtc)}</Descriptions.Item>
                         <Descriptions.Item label="Summary">{paymentResponse.summary}</Descriptions.Item>
                       </Descriptions>
@@ -417,10 +427,11 @@ function PosTransactionsShell() {
                         {
                           title: 'Status',
                           render: (_, record) => (
-                            <Tag color={record.response.succeeded ? 'green' : 'red'}>{record.response.status}</Tag>
+                            <Tag color={paymentStatusColor(record.response.status)}>{record.response.status}</Tag>
                           )
                         },
-                        { title: 'Summary', render: (_, record) => record.response.summary }
+                        { title: 'Summary', render: (_, record) => record.response.summary },
+                        { title: 'Lifecycle Step', render: (_, record) => paymentProgressHint(record.response.status) }
                       ]}
                     />
                   </Card>
@@ -455,6 +466,44 @@ function providerLabel(provider: IdentityProvider) {
   }
 }
 
+function paymentStatusColor(status: string) {
+  switch (status.toLowerCase()) {
+    case 'captured':
+    case 'paid':
+      return 'green';
+    case 'payable':
+    case 'ready':
+      return 'blue';
+    case 'pending':
+    case 'authorized':
+      return 'orange';
+    case 'failed':
+    case 'blocked':
+      return 'red';
+    default:
+      return 'default';
+  }
+}
+
+function paymentProgressHint(status: string) {
+  switch (status.toLowerCase()) {
+    case 'payable':
+    case 'ready':
+      return 'ready for payment capture after service completion';
+    case 'pending':
+    case 'authorized':
+      return 'payment is in progress and should be monitored before retrying';
+    case 'captured':
+    case 'paid':
+      return 'payment is complete and the restaurant workflow can close';
+    case 'failed':
+    case 'blocked':
+      return 'operator review is required before attempting another capture';
+    default:
+      return 'payment state is being resolved against the restaurant lifecycle';
+  }
+}
+
 function formatUtc(value: string) {
   return new Date(value).toLocaleString('en-US', {
     dateStyle: 'medium',