WhatsApp ordering system for UK restaurants and takeaways

A WhatsApp ordering system lets customers order food from your own WhatsApp number. With Menuthere, a customer sends "Hi" and gets an Order Now button. It opens your menu in their browser, already signed in. They pay by card or pay on collection, and WhatsApp sends each order update for you. You pay 0% commission on every order.

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What you get, in short:

• Customers order from your own WhatsApp number, with no app to download and no login.
• A proper menu with photos, sizes and add-ons. Nobody types orders into the chat.
• Automatic WhatsApp order confirmation, tracking and updates.
• Card payments through your own Stripe account, or cash on collection. Menuthere takes no commission.
• Menuthere is an official Meta Tech Provider. WhatsApp ordering is part of the Pro plan.

How WhatsApp ordering works: from "Hi" to handed over

Here is the flow your customers go through. It takes a few taps.

1. The customer sends "Hi". They find your number on a sticker, a table QR code, your Instagram bio or your Google Business Profile, and send "Hi".
2. They get an Order Now button. Your number replies straight away with a button. The link behind it is a one-tap, no-login menu link. It stays valid for 23 hours and locks to the first person who opens it. So if someone forwards it, it won't work for the next person.
3. They order from your web menu. Your menu opens in their phone's browser. They see photos, pick sizes and extras, choose collection or delivery, and check out.
4. Updates arrive in the same chat. WhatsApp messages them when the order is placed (with the bill), accepted, ready, out for delivery (with a live tracking link) and completed.

Your team sees the order in the Menuthere dashboard and the partner app, which rings for new orders. It can print a kitchen ticket too. Want the full technical detail? Read how "send Hi to order" works.

WhatsApp order confirmation, tracking and updates

These are the automatic messages your customers receive. You switch on the ones you want once, and then you don't need to type any of them.

Why it matters: "where's my order?" calls drop when people can see what's happening. Staff stay on the pass, not on the phone.

Why not just take orders in the chat?

Many UK takeaways already take orders on WhatsApp by hand. It works until Friday night. Here's how the main options compare.

A WhatsApp order form or order template is a good free start. You can build a pre-filled link with our free WhatsApp link generator. But the customer still has to type the order, and you still have to total it. A WhatsApp ordering system removes both jobs.

Payments: card, Apple Pay and Google Pay (WhatsApp Pay isn't in the UK)

WhatsApp Pay does not work in the UK. So customers pay on your web menu instead. Here's how it works:

• Card payments go through your own Stripe account (Lite plan and above). Apple Pay and Google Pay are available if you switch them on in your own Stripe account.
• Pay on collection or cash on delivery works on every plan.
• Menuthere takes 0% commission. Stripe charges its own processing fee, which comes out of each payment. Its standard rate for UK cards is 1.5% + 20p (premium UK cards cost more).
• Don't add a card surcharge. UK rules have banned surcharges on consumer cards since January 2018. Build card fees into your menu prices instead.

Never ask customers to type card numbers into a WhatsApp chat. A secure checkout keeps you and them safe. More detail is in our guide to WhatsApp payments in the UK.

What it costs

There are two separate costs: your Menuthere plan, and Meta's per-message fees.

Menuthere plans

Plans are billed in US dollars; your bank converts it. Lite and Pro come with a 7-day free trial: a card is needed to start, and nothing is charged until the trial ends. Yearly billing gives you 2 months free, and you can cancel or switch any time. See full pricing.

Meta's WhatsApp fees

Meta charges per message, at its own rates, and bills your own WhatsApp account directly. Menuthere adds no markup. Because customers message you first, most updates go out inside WhatsApp's 24-hour customer service window, which opens each time the customer messages you. Service messages (free-form replies) are free for the first 1,000 a month per number, then £0.0159 each. Outside the window, Meta's UK rates (GBP rate card from 1 July 2026) are £0.0159 for a utility template and £0.0458 for a marketing template. Estimate your bill with the WhatsApp cost calculator, or read WhatsApp Business API pricing in the UK.

Worked example: 300 orders a month

Say you take 300 orders a month at an average of £22. That's £6,600 in sales.

The Stripe figure assumes every order is paid by UK card at 1.5% + 20p: £99 + £60 = £159. Cash orders cost nothing to process. The Meta figure assumes about 6 service messages per order (the Order Now reply plus five updates): 1,800 a month. The first 1,000 are free, then 800 × £0.0159 = £12.72. VAT on commission can be reclaimed if you're VAT-registered.

Be fair to the apps. They bring you new customers, and that has value. WhatsApp ordering works best for your regulars: people who already know you and would happily order direct. Many takeaways keep the apps for discovery and move repeat customers to WhatsApp. Check today's rates on our Just Eat, Uber Eats and Deliveroo commission pages.

Built for UK takeaways, cafés and dark kitchens

• Collection and delivery from one menu. Set basic delivery zones and charges on every plan, with advanced zones (pricing by zone) on Lite+. Add a minimum order value, and a free-delivery threshold on Lite+. Customers choose at checkout.
• Pre-orders for busy nights. Take scheduled orders for Friday tea time or match nights (Lite+).
• Allergens and calories on every dish. For distance selling, the FSA says allergen information must be available before purchase and at delivery. On every plan, including Free, you tag any of the 14 UK allergens, calories (kcal) and a halal mark on each dish. Customers see them when they open the dish, before they pay. Keep an allergen matrix to hand as well.
• Prices include VAT. Show VAT-inclusive prices, as UK menus must. Hot takeaway food is standard-rated at 20%.
• Kitchen-ready. Ringing alerts in the partner app, kitchen tickets, auto-accept and unlimited staff logins.
• Menu in minutes. Import your menu from a photo, a PDF or GloriaFood.
• More than ordering. Shared WhatsApp inbox, a no-code flow builder for your own WhatsApp bot, and broadcasts to past customers.

Works for chippies, curry houses, pizza shops, kebab shops, cafés, bakeries and dark kitchens. It also works for multi-site groups: run several outlets from one head-office login on Pro.

Is there a free WhatsApp ordering system?

Partly. You can start for free, but the automated WhatsApp flow is a paid feature. Here's the honest answer:

• Free: the Menuthere Free plan gives you an ordering website and QR codes with 0% commission. Pair it with the free WhatsApp Business app: put your menu link in your greeting message and short link. Customers order on your menu, not in the chat.
• Paid: the automatic "Hi → Order Now" flow, order updates from your own number, broadcasts and the shared inbox need Pro. Meta's message fees apply too.

Start free, prove that customers will order direct, then upgrade when WhatsApp gets busy.

How to get started

1. Create your free ordering page and import your menu.
2. Add photos and VAT-inclusive prices, and tag allergens and calories on each dish. Set collection times and delivery zones.
3. Connect Stripe for card payments (Lite and above).
4. Upgrade to Pro and connect your WhatsApp number. You sign in with Facebook through Meta's Embedded Signup and choose your number. Menuthere submits the message templates to Meta for you. Not set up on WhatsApp Business yet? Follow our step-by-step setup guide first.
5. Tell customers. Make a link with a pre-filled "Hi" using the WhatsApp link generator. Print QR stickers for bags, boxes and your window.

Go-live checklist

• Menu has photos, sizes and add-ons, with allergens and calories tagged on each dish
• Prices include VAT, with no card surcharge
• Collection times and delivery zones set
• Stripe connected and a test payment made
• WhatsApp number connected and a test "Hi" sent from another phone
• Partner app installed on the counter phone or tablet, with sound on
• QR stickers printed and tested before printing a full batch

Ready to take orders on WhatsApp with no commission?

Create your free ordering pagebook a demo (opens in a new tab)