QR code menu for restaurants in South Africa

A QR code menu lets diners scan the code on the table, browse your menu with photos and rand prices, and send their order to the kitchen from their phone. In South Africa the price on that menu matters legally: under the Consumer Protection Act you can't make a customer pay more than the displayed price, and a fast-food chain was fined R1 million in 2024 over an extra service fee. Menuthere shows VAT-inclusive rand prices, takes table orders at 0% commission and is free for up to 50 orders a month. Payment stays on your own card machine, SnapScan code or cash, because Menuthere has no South African payment gateway yet.

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Why the menu price has to be the full price

Section 23 of the Consumer Protection Act requires retailers to display a price, and section 23(6)(a) says a supplier must not require a consumer to pay more than the displayed price (or the lowest one, if several are shown). On a QR menu, the price next to the dish is the displayed price.

The National Consumer Tribunal applied this in December 2024. It found that a Gauteng fast-food chain with five outlets breached sections 23(6)(a) and 26(3)(b) by adding a service fee to each transaction, and its tax invoices lacked the premises' address. It imposed an administrative penalty of R1 million.

What that means for your QR menu:

• Price every dish VAT inclusive. A burger at R129 costs R129 at checkout.
• Don't add a per-order "service fee" or "convenience fee". If a fee is part of your cost, build it into the dish price.
• Different prices for some tables are fine if guests see them. Menuthere's dine-in price adjustment adds a fixed amount per item at the tables you choose, and those guests see the final price on the menu they scan.

This isn't legal advice; the National Consumer Commission and your own advisers have the final word.

VAT at 15%, inside the price

SARS confirms the standard VAT rate is 15%. The 2025 Rates Bill kept it at 15% from 1 May 2025 after the planned 0.5 percentage point increase was reversed.

In Menuthere, under Settings → Payments & tax, switch on Charge tax on orders, enter 15% and your VAT number, switch on Call it VAT instead of GST, and mark each dish Tax Inclusive. Checkout shows VAT (included) for information, without changing the total. See tax-inclusive prices.

Worked example: a table of two in Cape Town

Two burgers at R129 and two craft beers at R55, all VAT inclusive.

Menuthere's checkout has no tip line, so diners tip your waiter on the card machine or in cash, as they're used to.

How diners pay

Stripe lists South Africa in its "extended network" served through Paystack rather than as a standard Stripe account country, and Menuthere doesn't connect Paystack or PayFast. So payment stays with the tools you already use:

Tell Menuthere which gateway you use and it's counted toward the next gateway built. See no Stripe in your country.

Print once, update any time

• The QR code points to your menu's address, so you print it once. Change a price, switch off a dish when the kitchen runs out, and the same code shows the update.
• Orders ring in the partner app on a phone or tablet and print in the kitchen, so staff see each order on screen as well as on paper.
• Make a view-only code for the bar or waiting area, and watch which tables are busy on the table list.

English, Afrikaans and isiZulu names

Menuthere's automatic language button doesn't include Afrikaans, isiZulu or other South African languages. Write the menu in English, or whichever language your diners read, and add a second name on any dish, such as "Bobotie" with "Spiced mince bake" below it, on every plan. See dish names in a second language.

Same QR on your Uber Eats and Mr D bags

A QR sticker in each app bag ("Order direct next time") sends regulars to your own link for collection. On a R250 delivery order:

Rates are from our pages on Uber Eats and Mr D in South Africa. For takeaway and delivery from your own link, see the online ordering system for South Africa.

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 ZAR.
3. Set VAT to 15% inclusive and check no fee is added on top.
4. Add tables and download the codes. Design table cards with the table QR card maker.
5. Place a test order and check the kitchen ticket.

Also in Kenya? See the QR code menu for Kenya. Plans are billed in US dollars: Free US$0, Lite US$17, Pro US$39 a month. See pricing or the best online ordering systems in South Africa.

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