Table QR ordering for cafés: what it changes and what it doesn't
A QR code on the table lets guests order, call the waiter and ask for the bill. What that really changes in a UAE café, what stays the same, and how to start.
Open an online shop from your till in minutes
You do not need a website, a second price list or a developer to take orders online. What an online shop fed by your till looks like, how to set it up, and how to run delivery and pickup without chaos.
Many shops already take orders online: by WhatsApp messages, voice notes and photos of handwritten lists. It works until the evening rush, when an order gets lost in the chat, a price on an old photo is wrong, or the item the customer wanted sold out an hour ago.
An online shop fed by your till fixes those three problems at once, without building a website.
What "fed by the till" means
The products, pictures, prices, offers and stock on the shop page are the till's own. There is no second list to keep up to date:
- Prices change once. Change a price at the till and the shop shows it.
- Stock is real. When the till's stock reaches zero, the item shows as out of stock, or disappears if you prefer.
- Not everything has to be online. Untick the products you only sell at the counter; the till still sells them.
What your customer does
They open your link (from WhatsApp, Instagram, your Google profile, or a QR code on your bag or door), browse the categories, fill a cart, and give a name, phone number, address and a note ("no onions", "call before you arrive"). A status page follows the order. They pay cash on delivery, or when they collect.
What you do
New orders appear live on the online orders page. You accept an order, and it waits on the tills as a held order, like a phone order; or you let orders go straight to the till. You mark it out for delivery and delivered, print a delivery slip, and the sale is made at the till when it is paid, so stock, receipts and reports stay exactly as they are for counter sales.
Set the rules before the first order
- Delivery areas, each with a fee and a minimum order. Keep the list short and the areas ones your driver actually reaches.
- Pickup, for shops without delivery; customers order ahead and pay when they come.
- Opening hours, and what happens to an order outside them.
- Who watches the orders page during each shift. An order nobody accepts is worse than no online shop.
The menu and the table, too
For cafés and restaurants, the same address can carry an online menu to share or print as a QR code, and ordering from the table: guests scan the table's code, order, call the waiter and ask for the bill, and staff confirm each order. Read table QR ordering for how to roll that out.
In CreekPOS
CreekPOS Online includes the online shop, the online menu and QR ordering at the table on the Restaurant and Chain plans; on Retail each is a monthly add-on. Switch them on in Settings → Online: claim your address, tick what you want, set delivery areas or pickup. Customers pay cash on delivery or when they collect; online card payment is not available yet. See the online shop page and the manual section.
This article is general information as of its date, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; check the official source or ask your accountant before acting.
