QR code menu for restaurants in Kenya

A QR code menu lets diners scan a code on the table, see your menu and prices in shillings on their phone, and send the order straight to your kitchen. Menuthere's digital menu and table QR codes are free for up to 50 orders a month, with 0% commission. In Kenya the diner then pays the way many Kenyans already do, by M-Pesa to your till number or in cash, and your eTIMS system issues the invoice. Menuthere has no online checkout for Kenyan stores, so it doesn't take or confirm payments itself.

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How a table QR order works in a Nairobi restaurant

1. A diner at table 12 scans the code. Your menu opens with table 12 set; nothing to download.
2. They order nyama choma, kachumbari and two sodas. The order rings in your partner app and prints in the kitchen with the table number.
3. A second round from the same phone joins the same order, so the kitchen sees what was added.
4. They pay by M-Pesa to your till number, show the confirmation SMS, and the waiter marks the order paid.

Turn on geo-lock so table orders can only be placed within 100 m to 1 km of your map pin, which stops orders from someone who photographed the code. See set up QR table ordering and stop orders from outside.

Paying by M-Pesa, card or cash

Kenya's National Financial Inclusion Strategy 2025–2028 (Central Bank of Kenya) counts 71.4 million mobile money subscriptions in 2024. Diners expect to pay by phone. With Menuthere:

Stripe lists Kenya in its "extended network" served through Paystack, and Menuthere doesn't connect Paystack, so there is no online checkout. Send Menuthere the gateway you'd like added. See no Stripe in your country.

Tip: design a table card with the QR code on one side and your till number on the other with the table QR card maker.

VAT, eTIMS and the tourism levy

VAT at 16%. KRA's general VAT rate is 16%, and businesses with taxable supplies of KES 5 million a year or more must register. In Menuthere, set Charge tax on orders to 16%, switch on Call it VAT instead of GST, and mark dishes Tax Inclusive so the menu price is what diners pay. See tax-inclusive prices.

eTIMS invoices. KRA says all persons engaged in business must onboard eTIMS and issue electronic tax invoices, whether or not they're registered for VAT, and from 1 January 2024 a business expense needs an eTIMS invoice to be claimed. Menuthere's bill is an order record, not an eTIMS invoice, so issue the invoice from your eTIMS-integrated POS or the eTIMS app.

Tourism levy at 2%. Under the Tourism Levy Order (Legal Notice 198 of 2015), owners of Class A and B tourism enterprises, which include regulated restaurants, pay 2% of gross receipts from food, drinks and other services to the Tourism Fund, usually by the 10th of the next month. Menuthere has one tax line, so keep it for VAT and handle the levy in your monthly return.

Worked example: lunch for two in Westlands

Check the Tourism Fund's own guidance on how it calculates the levy for your class of business.

Menus in English and Kiswahili

Menuthere's automatic language button doesn't include Kiswahili. Write the menu in English, or the names diners know (pilau, ugali, mukimo), and add a second name on any dish, on every plan, for example "Mukimo" with "Mashed potatoes, greens and maize". See dish names in a second language.

Same QR on your Uber Eats bags

A QR sticker in each delivery bag ("Order direct next time") moves regulars to your own link for pickup. On a KSh 2,000 Uber Eats order:

Rates are from our page on Uber Eats commission in Kenya. Using Glovo or Bolt Food too? Compare Glovo alternatives. For takeaway and delivery from your own link, see the online ordering system for Kenya.

Set it up

1. Sign up at /get-started and find your restaurant on Google.
2. Import your menu from a photo or PDF and set the currency to KES.
3. Set VAT to 16% inclusive if you're registered.
4. Add tables, download the codes and print table cards with your till number.
5. Place a test order, pay by M-Pesa and mark it paid.

On Free, after 50 orders in a month the table codes show a browse-only menu until the 1st. Lite (US$17 a month) gives unlimited orders. See Free plan limits. Also in South Africa? See the QR code menu for South Africa. Compare pricing or the best online ordering systems in Kenya.

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