Digital menus in restaurants are increasingly popular. The customer scans a QR code at their table and views the menu on their smartphone.

But what will your customer find? A simple image with dishes and prices or something more interactive, allowing them to order and pay for their meal? And in this case, is it possible to record the transaction in your point of sale (POS) software?

To find out, let’s look at the three types of QR code menus: those already connected with POS systems, those that can be integrated, and the wholly standalone solutions.

Online ordering
and payment		 Simple menu
for guidance		 Link
POS software with integrated QR code menu
Lightspeed Restaurant
Square
Epos Now
SumUp POS
Tabology
QR code menus that can be integrated with POS, or used independently
Mr Yum
Order and beepaid
Sunday
Yoello
QR code menus that can’t be integrated with POS
Octotable
QR Code Generator
Online
ordering
and
payment		 Simple
menu
for
guidance		 Link
POS software with integrated QR code menu
Lightspeed Restaurant
Square
Epos Now
SumUp POS
Tabology
QR code menus that can be integrated with POS, or used independently
Mr Yum
Order and beepaid
Sunday
Yoello
QR code menus that can’t be integrated with POS
Octotable
QR Code Generator

POS systems with integrated QR code menus

This is the solution to consider first if you use or plan on using a till system.

  • Advantages: Low cost, easy to set up, guaranteed integration
  • Disadvantage: Not necessarily the most complete solution

All of the following solutions have mobile ordering and payments built in. But how does it work?

You can have several, unique QR codes with their own URL, for example one per table or room. An online payment is either made when placing the order, receiving the items (e.g. when picking up takeaway) or at the end of the service (if sitting in).

  • Lightspeed Restaurant is a popular and complete, specialised checkout solution. The QR Code order module called “Order Anywhere” is a paid add-on that becomes free if you choose the highest monthly plan. See Lightspeed’s website

  • Square for Restaurants is gaining popularity thanks to a big advantage: its freemium model , which has a free plan that includes QR code generation. Unlike other budget solutions, the free version is fully functional. See Square’s website

Image: Square

Square QR code being scanned by hands and phone

With Square’s QR code menus, you can order and pay from your phone.

  • Epos Now is a highly customisable POS system with a Hospitality module. Its Order & Pay add-on, powered by Yoello, is also very customisable with menu options, allergens, modifiers and images. See Epos Now’s website

  • SumUp Point of Sale is another tailored till with a free tableside ordering module, Goodeats. It works with SumUp’s hardware, is quick to set up and has some useful promo tools to supplement the simple menu. See SumUp’s website

  • Tabology specialises in the hospitality sector. It offers a professional-looking, tailored menu design, promotional features and flexible ordering options with its POS system. See Tabology’s website

QR code menus that can be integrated with EPOS

Now, let’s look at apps developed by independent companies, which can be used alone or connected with your hospitality electronic point of sale (EPOS).

The following solutions include mobile ordering and payment processing.

  • Mr Yum is a worthy mobile ordering platform for hospitality offering free plans. It has mobile-friendly menus, built-in tipping, dietary filters, language translation, marketing tools and much more. You can choose to create a simple menu to view or integrate it with ordering and payments.

    The system works with major POS registers like Toast, Revel and Square.

  • Order and beepaid is a mobile ordering solution developed by Takepayments, whose main offering include simple POS terminals. The QR code menus are created by Takepayments, based on your instructions, so no technical expertise is required.

    Beepaid is only compatible with Takepayments’ own payment system and point of sale terminals, but can be used independently.

  • Sunday mainly focuses on the speed of ordering and paying. QR code menus look minimalist, each table has its own URL, and it encourages your customers to review your store online (boosting your reputation).

    The software integrates with many POS registers such as Lightspeed, Zonal and Tevalis.

  • Yoello (mentioned above with Epos Now) is worthy a mention as an independent mobile ordering solution. It offers fully tailored QR code menus built for an easy user experience, with extras like pay-by-bank transactions.

    Yoello integrates with many payment and POS systems like Retail Merchant Services, TouchBistro, Clover and Dojo.

Independent QR code menus

These solutions are used on their own, without a POS integration.

  • Octotable is an Italian company offering solutions for restaurants to improve their productivity. This includes tableside payments and reservations via Google.

    Its free QR code menu has unlimited dishes in four categories only. The paid version allows you to add allergens, auto-translate into different languages, and create unlimited categories and menus.

  • QR Code Generator (powered by Bitly) is a free web application that creates a QR code for restaurant menus in a PDF format. The menu has to be created by yourself in, for example, Canva or Google Docs and saved as a PDF file online, in order to have a web address to link to.

    A Pro version is available if you want to add social sharing buttons and your website address to a customisable, mobile-friendly page. It does not include an integration with payments or ordering.