QR code menu for restaurants in the USA

A QR code menu lets your guests scan a code on the table, see your menu on their phone, order and pay, with nothing to download. With Menuthere the menu, the table codes and up to 50 orders a month are free. On Lite (US$17 a month) guests pay by card, Apple Pay or Google Pay through your own Stripe account, and Menuthere takes 0% commission. Your prices show in dollars, and sales tax is added at checkout at the rate you set.

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How a QR code menu works in a US restaurant

A guest sits down at table 7, points the camera at the code and your menu opens with "table 7" already set. They add a burger and two sodas, send the order, and it rings on your partner app and prints in the kitchen. A second round from the same phone goes onto the same running order, so the kitchen sees exactly what was added.

Menuthere gives you two codes, and most US restaurants use both:

Change a dish, a price or a table name and the printed codes keep working, so you print once. Make tent cards for each table with our free table QR card maker.

Payments: what US guests can use

US diners mostly pay by card, and they expect Apple Pay and Google Pay on their phones. Here is what works with a Menuthere QR menu:

Menuthere's checkout doesn't fix a list of payment methods. Stripe shows what you switch on in your Stripe dashboard. See connect Stripe and payment options for each order type.

Tips: Menuthere has no tip line at checkout today. If tips matter to your servers, let guests order by QR and pay at the table with your own card reader, or keep a tip jar at the counter.

Sales tax on a US QR menu

US menu prices are usually shown before sales tax, and the tax is added on the bill. Sales tax is set by your state and local governments, so the rate depends on where you trade.

In Menuthere you set one tax rate for the store under Settings → Payments & tax. Leave Tax Inclusive off on your dishes, and checkout adds the tax to the total.

Good to know:

• There is one tax rate per store. If some items are taxed differently, for example sealed groceries in a state that exempts them, Menuthere can't charge two rates on one bill.
• The tax line is labeled GST or, if you switch on Call it VAT instead of GST, VAT. There is no "Sales tax" label yet. Switch VAT on if you print bills, so the printed bill shows one tax line.

See Tax: GST and VAT.

Worked example: a dinner for two in dollars

A table orders two entrées at $18.50, one appetizer at $11.00 and two drinks at $3.50. Your combined sales tax rate in this example is 8.25% (use your own).

At 1,000 paid table orders a month like this, Stripe fees are about $2,030 and Menuthere Lite is US$17. Menuthere adds nothing per order.

California: show the service fee on the menu

California's Honest Pricing Law (SB 478) took effect on July 1, 2024. Under the SB 1524 exemption, restaurants and bars can keep a mandatory service fee only if it is clearly and conspicuously displayed wherever prices are shown, according to the California Attorney General. Voluntary tips are not affected.

For a QR menu that means:

• Put the fee and what it is for in the menu itself, such as your announcement bar (Lite) or the description of each category, not only on the receipt.
• Or build the fee into item prices. Menuthere's dine-in price adjustment can add a fixed amount to every item at chosen tables, and guests see the final price.

This page is not legal advice. Read the Attorney General's guidance for your case.

Calories and allergens on US menus

• Chains with 20 or more locations doing business under the same name must show calories for standard items on menus and menu boards, plus the 2,000-calorie statement, and give fuller nutrition information on request (FDA).
• Smaller restaurants don't have to, but many guests look for it. On every Menuthere plan, you can tag each dish with kcal, allergens and a halal mark, and guests see them when they open the dish. See allergens and nutrition.

Spanish and Chinese for your guests

On Lite, a language button lets guests switch the menu into Spanish or Chinese (Simplified), as well as Japanese, Arabic, Hindi and other languages. Your prices don't change; only the text is translated. A guest's choice is remembered for their next visit. See menu in several languages.

Stop orders from the parking lot

Table codes get photographed and shared. Turn on geo-lock and an order from a table QR can only be placed within 100 m, 200 m, 500 m or 1 km of your map pin. Delivery and takeaway orders aren't checked. See stop orders from outside the restaurant.

The same QR code on your delivery bags

A QR sticker on every DoorDash, Uber Eats or Grubhub bag that says "Order direct next time" can move regulars to your own link. On a $40 delivery order, those apps charge restaurants roughly:

Rates are from our pages on DoorDash, Uber Eats and Grubhub commission in the US. Your own delivery orders still need a driver; see the online ordering system for US restaurants.

Set up your QR code menu in an afternoon

1. Sign up at /get-started and find your restaurant on Google.
2. Import your menu from a photo or PDF, then check prices in dollars.
3. Set your sales tax rate under Settings → Payments & tax.
4. Add tables (up to 50 at a time) and download the codes.
5. Connect Stripe on Lite for card, Apple Pay and Google Pay. Skip it on Free and take payment at the counter.
6. Turn on geo-lock, place a test order from a table and check the kitchen ticket.

Plans: Free US$0 (50 orders a month), Lite US$17, Pro US$39, month to month. Want your own app in the App Store too? See the Branded App, US$99 a month. Compare pricing or the best online ordering systems in the US.

The Free plan needs no card.

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