QR table ordering: what about rearranged tables, floor staff and a menu that changes daily?
On ala.menu each table has its own QR tent, up to 500 tables, where guests order, call the waiter and ask for the bill, on a menu that also takes delivery by area and cards through your bank, Whish or cash, at 0% commission. This guide answers the questions owners ask before switching table ordering on, with The Protein Bar's 12 tables at each of its two branches as the example; on your own tables, every guest stays on your customer list with a loyalty card in their wallet.
Switching it on
1. Set the number of tables
In the dashboard, table service takes a number of tables from 1 to 500, 12 to start, and an optional name for any table (Terrace 3, Bar 1). Call waiter and Request bill are always on; water, cutlery and napkins can be added.
2. Print the tents
Under QR Code, Print materials, the table tent prints one tent per table, each code carrying its own table, up to 50 tables in one download. For placemats or a bigger floor, the bulk dine-in code lets the guest pick the table on the phone.
3. Put them out
A guest scans, reads the menu in their language, orders from the cart, and taps Call waiter or Request bill. Those two arrive with the table number.
Table service is on Plus, with the order board, the kitchen ticket on Telegram and cards at checkout.
What happens when I rearrange tables?
The number belongs to the tent, not to the floor plan. Move table 7 to the terrace and its tent goes with it; its calls still arrive as table 7. Rename it in the dashboard if you want the staff to read Terrace 2 instead. Add tables and you print the new tents only. Lower the count and a code above it asks the guest to pick a table, so a tent left on a stacked table still works.
What changes for my floor staff?
They stop being the order pad. The guest builds the order on the phone, with sizes and add-ons the way the kitchen wants them, and it lands on the order board and on the kitchen ticket. The board rings until someone accepts it. The floor team answers the calls and the bill requests that come in with a table number, carries plates and turns tables. Nobody has to learn a till.
My menu changes daily. What then?
The printed code never changes: it points at a short address that follows the menu, so a new price, a new dish or a renamed link needs no reprint. A whole category can run on a schedule by day and hour, on the restaurant’s clock, so the lunch section shows at lunch. A sold-out dish stays greyed, drops to the end of its section or hides. The AI editor changes prices in bulk and adds the day’s dishes from a photo of the board, and you tick each change before it applies.
Does the guest need an app or an account?
No. The menu is a web page that opens from the camera. The guest types a name and a phone number at checkout, and that number is yours: it lands on your customer list, and on Pro the loyalty card goes to the wallet the phone already has, Apple Wallet or Google Wallet.
What happens to the money when I reject a paid order?
It goes back through your gateway before the order closes: Stripe, MPGS, PayPal and CyberSource refund the full amount when you confirm. A Whish payment you send back yourself, wallet to wallet, and the order tracks it as due or sent. The full walk-through is in the refund guide.
At The Protein Bar
The Protein Bar runs table service at both its branches, Hazmieh and Jnah, with 12 tables each, Call waiter and Request bill on every table. The same menus take delivery orders by area with cards through CyberSource, so one menu serves the dining room and the riders.
Common questions
What happens when I rearrange tables?
Each table has its own tent, and the number travels with the tent. Rename a table in the dashboard if you like; lower the table count and any code above it asks the guest to pick a table. Tents print one per table, up to 50 in one download.
What changes for my floor staff?
The guest orders on the phone, and the order lands on the order board and the kitchen ticket. Call waiter and Request bill arrive with the table number, so staff answer calls, carry plates and bring the bill instead of taking orders.
My menu changes daily. What then?
The printed code never changes. Schedule a category by day and hour, mark a dish sold out in one of three ways, and let the AI editor change prices in bulk or add dishes from a photo; you tick each change before it applies.
Does the diner need an app or an account?
No. The menu is a web page: no app, no account. The number the guest types at checkout is yours, and the loyalty card goes to the wallet the phone already has.
What happens to the money when I reject a paid order?
Stripe, MPGS, PayPal and CyberSource refund it through your gateway when you confirm. A Whish refund you send yourself, wallet to wallet, and it is tracked as due or sent.
Can guests ask for the bill from the table?
Yes. Request bill is on every table, with Call waiter, and both reach your team with the table number.