Table ordering solves one problem: people who have sat down and want another coffee. A takeaway café has a different one. Everyone arrives at the same spot, joins the same line, and waits for one person to take each order in turn.
A QR code at the counter gives those customers a second way in. They scan, order and pay on their own phone while they wait, and the order reaches the kitchen straight away. The person at the till can keep serving the customers who would rather speak to someone.
Who counter ordering suits
It works best where most orders are to go and the queue is the bottleneck:
- Coffee shops with a morning commuter rush.
- Bakeries and sandwich shops at lunchtime.
- Kiosks and small units with no seating at all.
- Cafés with a few tables but a mostly takeaway trade.
If your customers mostly sit down, table codes will do more for you. Many cafés use both: a code on each table, and one or two at the counter.
How it differs from a table code
A table code tells staff where to take the order. A counter code cannot do that, because nobody is at a table. So the flow changes in three ways.
The order carries a name and a number. The customer types their name at checkout and gets a short order number. Both appear on the kitchen screen and on any printed ticket, so staff know who to call.
The customer is told when it is ready. In Café QR, the confirmation screen stays live. When staff mark the order ready, the customer's phone updates, plays a short chime and vibrates where the phone allows it. They can step out of the queue and wait anywhere nearby.
There is no call-staff or bill button. Those make sense at a table and none at a counter, so they are hidden on counter codes.
Where to put the code
Put the code where people already stand and look while they wait:
- On the counter itself, at eye level if possible, on a stand rather than flat.
- At the start of the queue, before people reach the till.
- On the door or window, for people deciding whether the queue is worth it.
Use a larger print than a table card. People scan a counter code from further away, often over someone's shoulder. Our guide on where to put QR codes in a café covers height, lighting and finishes in more detail.
What to sort out before launch
Decide where collected orders go. A clear pick-up point stops people crowding the till. A shelf or a marked end of the counter is enough.
Agree who calls names. Someone should own the ready column on the kitchen screen during the rush. Calling the order number as well as the name helps when two Sams order at once.
Decide how customers pay. With online payment switched on, the order arrives already paid. Without it, customers pay at the till when they collect, and staff should know to check.
Keep the till open. Some customers will always want to order in person. Counter ordering should shorten the queue, not replace it.
Turn off ordering when you stop serving. Orders should not arrive after the coffee machine is off. Set your ordering hours so the code only takes orders while you can make them.
Setting it up in Café QR
Counter ordering is switched off by default. To use it:
- Go to Settings and turn on Counter & takeaway ordering.
- On Tables & QR, add a counter code. You can name it, for example "Counter" or "Window hatch".
- Print it from the same page. One per sheet gives you a large code for a stand or the window. Four per sheet gives you smaller copies of the same code.
- Scan it yourself, place a test order, and move it to ready on the kitchen screen to see what the customer sees.
If you switch counter ordering off later, any counter codes you have printed still open your menu, but they stop taking orders.
The short version
A counter code will not fix a slow espresso machine. What it does is take the ordering and payment out of the queue, so the line is only as long as the making. For a takeaway café, that is usually the part worth fixing first.
See how counter codes sit alongside the till on the takeaway POS page, how the rest of the ordering flow works on the QR table ordering page, or start a free trial and set up a counter code in a few minutes.