Hotel Restaurant QR Table Ordering, Told Through One Saturday
QR table ordering lets a diner scan a card on the table, pick dishes on their own phone and send the order to your POS against that table. Frontdesko's POS includes it, plus KOT and bill printing, shift cash counters and 13 reports, free with the PMS.
By the Frontdesko team · Last updated: October 31, 2026
One Saturday at a Hotel Restaurant
Illustrative scenario. A 14-room guesthouse with a 12-table terrace restaurant is a made-up property used to show the screens in order. It is not a customer story, and no figures here are real results.
The screens below are named as they appear in the Frontdesko POS. Times are made up to show the order of a service day.
Two things in this day depend on setup you do once: the printed table cards, and the roles that decide who may discount, void or close a counter. The next sections cover both, and the limits that apply today.
How Does QR Table Ordering Work in the Frontdesko POS?
Every table has its own QR code. The code opens the guest app's ordering page for that restaurant and table, and carries a per-table secret, so a printed card can only order for the table it was made for. The diner needs no account and no app install.
- The diner sees the menu, adds items and quantities to a cart, and can choose Table Service or Pickup.
- A name and phone number are required to place the order. Email and special requests are optional.
- The page shows a subtotal and notes that taxes are added on the final bill at the restaurant's rates.
- Guests can order dine-in, takeaway or pickup only. An out-of-order table refuses orders. An occupied table does not, so a second scan at a table already being served works.
- A code-placed order always lands on the table that was scanned, whatever table the request names.
Payment is not taken on the phone. The page tells the diner that staff collect payment when the order is served, and settlement happens in the POS (see the hotel POS system overview for the wider feature set).
How Do You Set It Up?
- Add tables. Open Menu → Tables & QR Codes. Add a table (number, seats, name, area, outdoor) or add several at once with a prefix and a range such as P-1 to P-20. Existing numbers are skipped. Tables are never deleted, only taken out of order, so past bills keep their table.
- Print the cards. Select tables or print all, then choose a table tent (A6, one per page), an A4 sheet of six cards with cut lines, or 60 mm stickers (12 per A4 page). Each card carries the restaurant name, table number, QR, your own text and an optional footer. Printing uses the browser print dialog.
- Choose how QR orders are handled. These settings are saved on the device. Pick auto KOT (the default) or cashier-accepts-first, mark exactly one device as the one that handles QR orders (usually the counter with the kitchen printer), and choose whether new orders play a sound.
- Set bill and KOT formats. In Settings → Bill & KOT formats pick 80 mm, 58 mm or A4 (or US Letter) for bills, and 80 mm, 58 mm or A5 (or Half Letter) for KOTs. Add the header (name, address, phone, tax registration and licence labels), a footer, KOT copies and auto-print, and check the live preview and test prints.
- Create staff roles. In Users & Roles (Administrators only) add Managers, Cashiers and Waiters.
- Add counters. In Settings → Cash Counters, Administrators add, rename, reorder and deactivate counters. Counters apply only when the hotel has cash counters switched on and at least one active counter.
Menu items and categories are managed under Product Management, with import and export for bulk changes.
Who Can Discount, Void or Close a Till?
Control comes from roles plus a manager approval step. The approver types their own username and password, which the server checks separately, and the approver is written onto the discount line, the payment notes or the order notes.
Discounts and voids
- A bill discount is a percentage (quick picks 5, 10, 15 and 20) or a fixed amount, calculated on the food subtotal. A reason is required, from a list or Other.
- If items change after a percentage discount, the POS blocks settlement and offers Re-apply or Keep amount, so the discount cannot silently go stale.
- Cancel order asks for a reason (guest left, cancelled, test, duplicate, opened by mistake, other). An order with items needs void permission or a manager approval. An order with payments cannot be cancelled: settle or refund it.
- Reducing or removing an item already sent to the kitchen needs manager approval.
Can a Restaurant Bill Go to the Guest's Room?
Yes. In the Complete Payment popup the methods are Cash, Card, UPI, Paytm, PhonePe, Guest Visit and Credit Pay. Guest Visit charges the bill to an in-house guest's room: the popup lists checked-in guests with room number and folio balance, and states that the amount will be added to the room folio. For what a folio is, see what is a guest folio.
Credit Pay is different: it moves the bill to an outstanding record for a named customer and needs the credit permission or a manager approval. Optional guest name and mobile can be added on any method except Credit Pay, which keeps its own required fields.
Taxes and printed bills
- Country tax profiles (India, UAE, Saudi Arabia, UK, EU, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia, Canada, US or Other) set the tax registration label, invoice or receipt title and paper size. Tax prints as one line or as named components that always add up to the server's tax amount.
- Bills use the hotel's currency, number and date format and time zone. Bills show discount, tax split, split payments, cash received and change, balance and paid or credit status. Kitchen notes are kept off the guest bill.
- Reprinting a bill from History marks it DUPLICATE. KOTs show server, order type, and NEW ITEMS for additions.
What Do the Cash Counter and Reports Show?
With counters on, settling, taking a payment and collecting an outstanding balance need an open counter. Cashiers close blind. Managers see the expected cash, the counted cash and the difference. The shift report prints at 80 mm. The hotel's own Daily Summary also lists cash shifts (see the Daily Summary morning briefing).
The Reports screen (Managers and Administrators) has 13 reports computed from the same closed bills as History, so the numbers agree:
Periods run from Today and Yesterday through last 7 and 30 days, this and last week (Monday start), this and last month, or a custom date and time. Reports sort, show a totals row and export to Excel with a report-info sheet. The older charts dashboard stays available as Analytics. For hotel-wide reporting see hotel reporting and analytics.
What Does It Not Do Today?
These are the honest limits as of October 31, 2026. We update this list as they change.
- No automatic alert for QR orders yet. A QR order appears on its table card in the POS like any other order, so staff watch the table cards. A dedicated QR alert, QR badge and automatic KOT printing are coming next.
- Each QR submission is its own order on the table. A second round from the same table shows as a second order rather than being added to the first.
- No payment on the phone. Guests order from the QR page; settlement always happens in the POS.
- One tax rate per category for now. The Taxes screen for several taxes per category is coming soon.
- Tax on discounted bills. Tax is currently calculated on the amount before the bill discount, so check discounted bills with your accountant until this changes.
- No refund entry on a paid bill yet. Correct a paid bill with your manager before it is settled, or record the refund outside the POS.
- Reports run in the browser. Up to 5,000 orders per period load at once, after which a warning shows. Item amounts are before bill discounts and tax, and there is no per-cover report yet because orders have no guest count.
- Cash counters. At close, the expected cash includes the cash payments taken in the POS during that shift, and the close records how it was worked out.
- Printing goes through the browser (no pop-up) or the print companion app, not a direct printer driver.
What Does the POS Cost?
The POS, the PMS, the direct booking engine and the guest app are free with unlimited rooms. The paid add-ons are the channel manager and the AI assistant, banded by property size: Mint is $35/month for 0-10 rooms, Basil $42/month for 11-30 rooms and Saffron $54/month for 31-50 rooms. See pricing for local currencies.
QR cards, KOT and bill printing, roles, cash counters and the 13 reports are part of the free POS. They do not need the paid add-ons.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can diners order from their phone at a hotel restaurant without an app?
Yes. Each table has a QR code that opens the guest app ordering page for that table in the phone browser. The diner browses the menu, builds a cart, gives a name and phone number and places the order. Nothing needs installing and there is no account.
Do guests pay through the QR page?
No. The page tells the diner that staff collect payment when the order is served. Payment is taken at the POS by cash, card, UPI, Paytm, PhonePe, Guest Visit (charged to a room) or Credit Pay.
Can I charge a restaurant bill to a hotel room?
Yes. In the Complete Payment popup choose Guest Visit and pick the in-house guest. The popup lists checked-in guests with room number and folio balance, and the amount due is added to that guest's room folio.
Who is allowed to give discounts?
Cashiers have a 10% discount limit. A larger discount, Credit Pay, or reducing an item already sent to the kitchen needs a manager to approve with their own username and password, and the approver is recorded. Managers and Administrators can see discounts, with reason and approver, in the Discounts report.
How do cash counters work for shifts?
After sign-in a cashier opens a free counter, with opening cash pre-filled from the last close. Taking payments needs an open counter. At sign-out the cashier counts and closes blind. A manager sees expected cash, counted cash and the difference, and an 80 mm shift report can be printed. This applies only when the hotel has cash counters switched on.
What reports does the hotel POS include?
Thirteen: Sales summary, Day-wise, Bill-wise, Hourly, Payment modes, Pending and credit bills, Item-wise, Category-wise, Server and waiter performance, Table-wise, Discounts, Cancellations and voids, and Tax summary. Each has filters, sorting, a totals row and Excel export.
Which printer paper sizes are supported for bills and kitchen tickets?
Bills can be 80 mm, 58 mm or A4 or US Letter, and kitchen tickets 80 mm, 58 mm, A5 or Half Letter. You set the header, footer, tax lines, KOT copies and auto-print per device in Settings, with a live preview and test prints.
How much does the Frontdesko POS cost?
The POS is free with unlimited rooms, along with the PMS, booking engine and guest app. Only the channel manager and AI assistant are paid add-ons, at $35, $42 or $54 a month depending on property size.
Run the Restaurant From the Same System as the Rooms
The POS, PMS, booking engine and guest app are free with unlimited rooms. Try the QR cards and the Guest Visit room charge in a live demo.
Related Guides
More on the restaurant side of the property