QR Code Menu for a Café: A Practical Setup Checklist

A QR code on a table is the easy part. The useful work is deciding what opens after the scan and how that fits the way your café already runs.

Use this checklist before printing a code for every table.

1. Decide whether guests can only browse or can also order

A QR menu can be a digital version of a printed menu. A QR ordering system goes further: the guest chooses items, adds options, pays and sends an order to the café.

Be clear about which experience you are setting up. If guests can order, decide where paid orders appear and who watches that screen during service.

2. Prepare the menu as structured information

Do not begin with a PDF. Build the menu around information that works on a phone:

• Short category names such as Coffee, Tea, Breakfast and Cakes.
• Current item names and prices.
• Sizes, milk choices, extra shots and other modifiers.
• Clear availability controls for sold-out or seasonal items.
• Allergen information and a route for guests to ask staff a question.

The Food Standards Agency says UK food businesses must provide information about the 14 regulated allergens used in the food and drink they provide. Its allergen guidance should shape the café’s process, not just the wording on a screen.

3. Give every table the right code

A table-specific QR code can pass the table number into the order. That saves guests from typing it and reduces the chance of an order being sent to the wrong place.

Name the tables before printing. Keep the names short and make sure the label on the QR stand matches the name staff see on the order screen.

4. Check the payment arrangement

Ask who is the merchant, where payouts go, which payment-processing charges apply and whether the software provider adds a fee to each order.

With Café QR, each café connects its own Stripe account and remains the merchant. Café QR does not hold guest funds and adds a 0% platform fee. Stripe processing charges still apply.

5. Set a clear staff routine

Choose one screen for incoming orders and decide:

1. Who acknowledges a new order.
2. How staff mark it as preparing and ready.
3. Where completed drinks or food are handed over.
4. What happens when an item sells out.
5. How staff handle a guest who prefers to order at the counter.

QR ordering should add another ordering route without making the counter confusing.

6. Test like a guest

Before launch, sit at each table and scan its code. Test on more than one phone and check:

• The code scans without moving the stand around.
• Text and buttons fit without zooming.
• Modifiers and prices are unambiguous.
• Apple Pay, Google Pay or card checkout appears as expected where available.
• The correct table reaches the staff screen.
• The confirmation tells the guest what happens next.

Also test on the café’s normal guest Wi-Fi and mobile signal. A fast office connection can hide a poor in-café experience.

7. Keep a fallback

Some guests will want to speak to someone or pay at the counter. Keep that route available and tell staff how to move between the two without treating either guest differently.

When the checklist is ready, see the full Café QR table-ordering flow or how setup works.