Frequently asked questions

No. Guests scan the QR code with their phone camera and the menu opens in their browser. There is nothing to install and no account to create.

Yes, and it is a real plan, not a trial: 3 menus with unlimited items, 20 table QR codes, 5,000 scans per month, item photos, your branding, table ordering, and a live kitchen dashboard — free forever, no credit card.

Yes. Click “Live demo” at the top of this site and you are signed straight into a fully set-up demo restaurant — menus, table QR codes, live orders, reservations, and analytics — with nothing to install and no account to create. The demo is shared with other visitors and resets every few hours; guest payments in it are simulated, so nothing is billed or sent anywhere.

Create a free account, add your restaurant profile, build your menu (or import an existing one), and generate table QR codes from the dashboard. Setup time depends on the size of your menu and whether you build it manually or use an available import workflow.

No. Everything runs in the guest's phone browser and in your dashboard on any laptop, tablet, or phone. Print the QR codes on paper, stickers, or table tents.

There is no time-limited trial — Free is the free tier and it never expires. Upgrade to Pro whenever you want card payments, online ordering, loyalty, staff accounts, or AI menu import, and cancel anytime; you drop back to Free with everything intact.

Yes. Ordinary menu edits keep using the same printed table QR codes. Saved prices, specials, and availability changes appear through the live menu; deleting or rotating a table code is a separate action.

Free includes 3 menus and 20 table QR codes. Pro includes unlimited menus and 200 table QR codes.

Yes, on every plan. Create separate menus for lunch, dinner, drinks, happy hour, or seasonal specials, and schedule when each one shows automatically.

Yes. Toggle an item off when it sells out and toggle it back on later. Its photo, description, and price stay saved.

Yes, on every plan including Free. Upload item photos so guests can browse visually. The restaurant remains responsible for using images it has the right to publish.

Yes, on Pro. Upload a photo or PDF of your current menu and the AI importer drafts the sections, items, prices, and descriptions for you to check before importing. CSV import is a separate tool, not AI, and is also on Pro. On Free you add items in the editor.

Yes. Add translations for each language you serve and guests can switch languages on their phone.

Yes, on every plan including Free. Guests add items to a cart from the QR menu and the order appears on your live kitchen dashboard in real time.

With cash or at the counter. Orders arrive on the kitchen dashboard and your staff mark them paid. Online payments at the table — Apple Pay, Google Pay, or card, with tipping, split bills, and receipts — are part of Pro.

Yes, on Pro ($20/month) in the US, UK, and EU editions. The restaurant connects its own Stripe account for card payments, tips, and equal bill splitting, and standard Stripe fees apply. Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Link show up when Stripe, the guest’s device and browser, and the menu’s domain allow them. The Pakistan edition does not take online card payments.

Yes. Every plan can show waiter-call and bill-request buttons, and new requests appear in the restaurant dashboard for staff to handle.

No. MenuBeacon never takes a percentage of orders or tips. Only standard Stripe processing fees apply if you enable card payments on Pro.

Yes, on Pro. Online ordering lets guests order pickup or delivery from a link to your menu, with your own hours and delivery rules and the option to pause orders. Delivery needs setup first, including Google Maps credentials. Those orders reach the same kitchen dashboard as table orders. Table ordering is on every plan.

Yes, on every plan. Print kitchen tickets and guest receipts from your browser's print dialog, or with the RawBT app on Android to a Bluetooth or USB thermal printer (58 mm or 80 mm paper). Printing works alongside the live kitchen dashboard.

Yes. Pro includes digital stamp cards in the US, UK, and EU editions: set how many stamps earn a reward and guests collect them as they order.

Yes, on Pro. Digital gift cards can be sold straight from your menu page and redeemed at the table.

Yes, on every plan. Guests can leave a thumbs-up or thumbs-down on any dish and you see a summary in your dashboard.

Yes, on Pro in the US, UK, and EU editions. Guests request a table from your public page, MenuBeacon applies your capacity and lead-time rules, and you can collect an optional deposit. Each request goes to your team to confirm; it is not an instant booking.

Yes, on every plan. Set your logo, primary color, accent color, cover image, and footer text so the menu looks like your restaurant, not a template.

Yes, on Pro. Free menus show a small "Powered by MenuBeacon" line; Pro menus and printed QR cards are fully white-label.

Yes, on every plan. The QR designer lets you pick colors, corner styles, and add your logo, and exports print-ready PNG, SVG, and PDF table cards.

Not at the moment. Custom menu domains are not available. Your menu lives on a MenuBeacon link and opens from your QR codes.

Guests see a fast, mobile-first menu with sections, photos, prices, descriptions, dietary tags, allergen details, and an order button.

Every plan records scans with time, table, and device and shows totals and trends. The weekly digest email every Monday is on every plan too. Pro adds advanced analytics: heatmaps, peak-hour forecasts, and prep reports.

Yes, on Pro. You create up to 20 staff accounts, each with its own PIN, so your team can run the kitchen board and orders without full account access. Staff accounts are not part of Free.

Yes, on Pro. Group several restaurants under one account and switch between them from the dashboard.

Scan analytics include an anonymized IP-derived location, browser, device type, referrer, and timestamp. Raw IP addresses are anonymized before storage.

Menus, table ordering, and the kitchen board are free with no expiry. Pro is $20/month in USD and adds payments at the table, online ordering, loyalty, reservations, and staff tools. No MenuBeacon commission on orders or tips. Pro is month to month.

Card and wallet payments at the table, online ordering for pickup and delivery, loyalty & gift cards, reservations, staff accounts with PINs, multi-location, AI menu import, integrations, white-label, and early access to Zuzu. Everything else — menus, photos, branding, table ordering, the kitchen dashboard, cash orders, and basic analytics — is free.

Your restaurant follows the law of the country where it operates: tax, food and allergen rules, licences and consumer law stay yours, wherever you are. MenuBeacon is provided by Webteqno LTD, a company registered in England and Wales, and follows the law there. The agreement between you and MenuBeacon is governed by the law of England and Wales. The Terms of Service set this out.

You drop back to the Free plan: your menus, QR codes, table ordering, and kitchen dashboard keep working. Card payments, online ordering, loyalty, and integrations pause. Staff PINs you already created keep working, but adding staff, re-activating a staff member, or changing a role needs Pro. Your data is preserved so you can resume any time.

No. Pro is a monthly subscription you can cancel anytime from your dashboard.

Billing is processed by Stripe and supports all major credit and debit cards.