How to set up QR ordering in your venue in 30 minutes

What do you need before you set up QR ordering?

Most of the time in any setup goes on hunting for information, not typing it in. Gather this first:

• Your current menu and price list, including every size you sell.
• Allergen information for each item: recipe cards for anything you make, supplier specifications or labels for anything you buy in.
• A table plan with the names your staff already use.
• A device for the bar screen: any tablet, laptop or phone with a browser, on your Wi-Fi.
• A printer and A4 card, or a print shop if you want something sturdier.

If you would rather hand the menu over, DrinksQR offers an optional one-off menu setup: £49 for drinks, £69 for drinks plus snacks and sides, and a custom quote for full food. Details are on the pricing page.

How long does each step of QR menu setup take?

Here is a rough plan for a hypothetical drinks-led pub with around 40 items and 15 tables, assuming everything above is ready. A larger menu or full food will take longer.

How do I set up menu categories and items?

Start with categories, because they become the sections customers scroll through. Mirror how people think about ordering, not how your stock sheet is laid out. A typical pub might use: Draught, Bottles and Cans, Wine, Spirits, Soft Drinks, Hot Drinks, Snacks.

Then add items to each category with a clear name and price. A few habits that save trouble later:

• Use the name customers say at the bar, and add the brewery or producer if it helps them choose.
• Add ABV to beers, ciders and wines; customers do look for it.
• Keep descriptions to one line. People are ordering, not reading.
• If a line is off, use the sold-out toggle rather than deleting the item.

If you track stock on bottles or limited specials, add a stock count and the item will mark itself sold out when it hits zero.

How do I add drink sizes and size presets?

Set up your standard sizes once and reuse them across similar drinks, rather than entering them item by item:

• Draught beer and cider: half and pint.
• Wine by the glass: 125ml, 175ml, 250ml and bottle.
• Spirits: single and double.

Give each size its own price. In England and Wales, the mandatory licensing conditions require small measures (half pints of beer and cider, 25ml or 35ml spirits and 125ml glasses of wine) to be available and customers to be made aware of them, so make sure those sizes appear on the menu. This is general guidance, not legal advice; check your premises licence if you are unsure.

How do I add mixers and options with a shared library?

The option library is where you save the most time. Instead of adding tonic, slimline tonic, lemonade and cola to every gin individually, build one list called ‘Mixers’ and attach it to every gin, vodka and rum. When you add a new tonic or one runs out, you change it in one place.

The same approach works for other repeated choices, for example ‘Garnish’ for cocktails or ‘Milk’ for coffees. Price any option that costs extra, such as a premium tonic, so the total is correct before the order reaches the bar.

How do I add allergens and dietary tags?

For every item, tick which of the 14 UK allergens it contains, then add vegan, vegetarian or gluten-free tags where they genuinely apply. Do not forget drinks: beer usually contains cereals containing gluten, wine and cider commonly contain sulphites, and cream liqueurs contain milk.

Work from your recipe cards and supplier specifications, not memory, and have a second person check anything you are unsure of. Our guide to allergen information on digital menus covers the rules and what good practice looks like.

How should I name tables for QR ordering?

Add one table for each place a group can sit and order. Name them the way your staff already talk, because the table name is what appears in big type on the bar screen. ‘Garden 4’ or ‘Window 2’ is quicker to act on than ‘T17’.

• Number outdoor tables separately from indoor ones.
• Keep names short so they read at a glance.
• Standard covers up to 20 tables and one bar screen; if you need more tables or several service points, the Large plan has up to 100 tables.

How do I print and place the QR table cards?

Print A4 sheets with four A6 table cards each, or download the SVG files and send them to a print shop for something more durable. Every table gets its own code, so keep cards in table order as you cut them.

When placing them:

• Put the card where it is visible from every seat and will not be hidden under glasses.
• Use a stand, holder or laminate in beer gardens, where cards get wet.
• Double-check each card is on the table it is named for.

There is more detail on materials and placement in our guide to printing table QR codes.

How do I test QR ordering before going live?

1. Open the bar screen on the device that will live behind the bar, turn the volume up and check you can hear the chime.
2. Scan a table card with your own phone, order a drink with a size and a mixer, and add a note.
3. Check the ticket arrives under the right table name, then tap it through New, Making and Ready.
4. Check that a ticket with alcohol shows ‘Check ID’.
5. Scan every card once to confirm each one goes to the right table.

When is the best time to go live with QR ordering?

Go live on a quiet shift, such as a weekday afternoon, not a Friday night or match day. That gives staff time to get used to the lanes and timers while orders arrive slowly.

Before the shift, brief the team in five minutes: who watches the bar screen, who runs orders and the card machine, and that pink tickets get priority. Keep ordering at the bar open for anyone who prefers it. Once the basics are running, you can add happy hours and meal deals; see our guide to deals and happy hour pricing. For a walk-through of the whole flow, read how QR ordering works.