Ordering at the table by QR code: how it works and what to prepare

Ordering at the table by QR code does not replace your team: it takes the most repetitive part of service off their hands, taking the order and carrying it to the kitchen. The guest reads the menu on their phone, chooses, and sends. Here is how it runs, from the table to the kitchen, and what is best decided before the first service.

How it runs, from the table to the kitchen

• The guest scans their table's QR code. Each table has its own code: the order arrives with the table number, without anyone having to give it.
• They choose their dishes, in their language, with the sizes and extras you offer, and see the total before sending.
• Several guests, one order. Each person at the table can add their dishes from their own phone, and the order says who added what.
• Your team accepts it. The order arrives on your screen; by default it waits for someone on the team to accept it before it goes into preparation.
• The kitchen follows it on a screen, in three columns: New, Preparing, Ready. A chime announces each new order.
• The table can order again during the meal, a dessert or a coffee, without waiting for a waiter to be free.

What changes for the guest

They order when they are ready, not when a waiter comes by. They read the menu in their language, see allergens dish by dish, and what they chose, the size and the extras, reaches the kitchen exactly as chosen.

Payment does not change: the bill is settled as usual, with your card terminal.

What changes for your team

Fewer trips to write orders down, and more time for what a phone does not do: advising, serving, looking after the room. The order arrives readable and complete, instead of depending on quick handwriting in a notebook.

Decisions to make before the first service

• Where the screen goes that receives orders: in the kitchen, at the pass, or both. A tablet or a computer is enough.
• Who accepts orders, and at which moments of service that person looks at the screen.
• The network: guests use their own connection, but the kitchen screen needs a stable one.
• What you tell guests: a note on the table, “scan to see the menu and order”, saves hesitation.
• A paper menu as a backup, for the guest without a phone, or the evening the network lets you down.

Start small

Nothing forces you to change everything at once. You can start with the digital menu alone, at the table, then open ordering when your team is ready. If you are still weighing the format, here is QR code menu, PDF or paper: which one.

With ScanEat, the digital menu, ordering at the table and the kitchen screen work together, and your QR code coasters are shipped to you, one per table. Create your menu.