Digital Ordering FAQs – some of your most common digital ordering questions answered

Online ordering

What different digital ordering journeys are there, and which ones do you support? 

There are a few different types of digital ordering journeys which can make things confusing.  We like to break down journeys by those that happen in-restaurant (on-site), and those that happen outside of the restaurant (off-site)

On-site journeys 

  • Pay at Table: when a guest finishes their meal and pays using their mobile so they’re free to leave the moment they’re ready
  • Order to table (closed check): guests use their mobile to browse the menu, order and pay, then their food and drink is bought to their table.
  • Order to table (open check): guests use their mobile to browse the menu and order. They can continue to add things to their order until they’re ready to leave where they can then pay and close off their check at the end.
  • Kiosk ordering: guests use a self-service kiosk to order and pay before picking up their meal to either dine in or take away.

Off-site journeys

  • Click & Collect/To go/Take out: guests order and pay online then collect their meal in-store or at a specified pick-up point.
  • Order ahead for delivery: guests order and pay online then their meal is delivered to them.
  • Curbside pick-up: guests order and pay online, leave a description of their car and license plate. When they arrive outside the store, a staff member brings the food out to the car.

QikServe supports all these digital ordering journeys.   

How much does it cost? 

We charge a modest monthly license fee, there are no set-up fees or commission on orders so you’ll always know how much you’re paying for your software.

I already have digital ordering, why do I need you? 

There are many benefits of using QikServe.  As mentioned above, we support multiple channels meaning you can be flexible with the journeys you offer your guests, turning channels on when you’re ready.  As well as this, we: 

  • are super quick to get you up and running, for example, with web ordering, we’re talking days, not weeks.
  • have unparalleled experience across multiple sub-sectors (restaurants, cafes & takeaways, pubs & bars, leisure & events, sports & stadiums, education, corporate catering, travel & tourism, theme & amusement and multi-site operators) and different types of operations (QSR, Fast Casual etc). We’ve been leaders in the digital ordering space for over 10 years, so you get the best advice and expertise from people who know your industry inside out.
  • have an extensive library of integrations across point of sale (POS), payment, loyalty and CRM, meaning we can connect up a lot of your existing tech with ours for a more seamless experience and easier management.
  • are the only digital ordering provider that has an accessibility compliant user interface for both the EU and US.
  • offer a web solution so there’s no app download necessary

Why would I just use Pay at Table and not full to-table digital ordering and payment? 

Some brands prefer staff to greet guests, show them to the table, explain the menu and take orders in-person. If that’s an important part of your brand experience, then you might consider just using Pay at Table. That way you still have that touchpoint with staff when guests arrive but you’re also able to let guests pay using their mobile and leave the moment they’re ready. Pay at Table helps to free up staff so they’re able to focus on providing a great guest experience rather than taking checks and payment devices to the table.

How do I get my customers to use digital ordering? 

The good news is that COVID restrictions over the past 24 months have meant that people are now very familiar with using their phone to view menus, order and pay.  However, you still need to promote the service to your guests and ensure your staff is onboard too. There are several ways you can do this: 

  • Get your staff to promote the service to guests – we have found this is the biggest driver for service adoption!
  • Promote it on your website and through social media channels
  • Promote it in store or posters, table talkers or table stickers
  • Send an email to your customer list
  • Offer a limited time offer for online orders
  • Promote it when guests login to your Wi-Fi

How quickly can I be up and running? 

For web ordering, you can be up and running in a matter of days. For other channels such as kiosk and native app ordering, timescales depend based on a lot of factors (e.g. how big or complex your menu is, how many kiosks you want to deploy across how many stores etc).  

Does my digital ordering need to speak to my POS? 

No. Only Pay at Table needs to be integrated with your POS in order to present the right check to customers.  For all our ordering journeys, we offer both integrated and stand-alone solutions to best fit your requirements.      

What integrations do you have? 

QikServe has an extensive library of integrations with over 50 partners ranging from POS and Payments to Loyalty, CRM and allergen management.  

Check out our partners here.   

Is a digital ordering solution difficult to manage? 

No, it’s really simple and we have a dedicated customer success team to make sure it stays that way.  We have an intuitive dashboard that you can use to manage your menus, reporting and much more and you’re given support and training when you come on board to ensure all your questions are answered. 

What about upgrades to the solution? 

We regularly update our software with bug fixes and new features that we automatically push to all our customers for them to benefit from.

Do you have any other questions about digital ordering or payment? Come and chat to one of our friendly sales team members and we’ll answer them for you!