How to let guests order on their own with the table QR code

What ordering on your own with the table QR code is

Letting guests order on their own with the QR code means turning on a qmen.us option that turns the table screen into an ordering point. With it on, the page the table QR code opens gets a Place an order button; tapping it, the guest lands in a chat with the restaurant's menu, picks items, checks the total and sends. The order goes in as Preparing and heads straight to the kitchen, with the person in charge marked as Service instead of a waiter's name.

It's optional and comes turned off: the owner switches it on in Settings, with the Self-ordering with the virtual waiter (chat) switch. While it's off, the button doesn't even show at the table and the ordering page doesn't open. And self-ordering isn't the full menu: variable-price items, charged by weight (per kg, for example), are left out, because someone has to weigh them before the price is settled. The guest doesn't install anything either — qmen.us runs in the browser.

Why it's worth letting the table order on its own

• The order is born inside the kitchen. There's no inbox for someone to dispatch: on sending, the order appears on the kitchen display, prints a ticket at kitchens with printing turned on and updates the table screen, all at the same moment.
• qmen.us sets the price, not the guest's phone. The total shown in the chat is just a guide for them; when it's saved, each line is recalculated from the live menu, with the size and flavors chosen.
• Your waiters keep their place. The call-waiter button stays on the table screen, and your staff keep entering orders in the waiter app. Self-ordering only takes over the simple orders, the ones that jam the line at peak time.
• No app, no sign-up. The guest points the camera, the page opens in the browser and they order without creating an account. Even the name is optional: it's only there so the kitchen knows whose dish it is.
• No commission per order. qmen.us is free for the restaurant and isn't a marketplace like iFood. No money goes through the system either: at the table, payment is arranged directly between you and the customer, PIX included.

How to turn on table self-ordering in 7 steps

Seven steps: flip the switch in Settings, test it on your phone as if you were the guest and watch the order show up in the kitchen.

1. Open Settings on the Dashboard

   On the restaurant Dashboard, go to Settings. Scroll down to the block with What to call your tables, Complete item by item and Let guests call the waiter from the table. The self-ordering switch lives right below those.

2. Turn on Self-ordering with the virtual waiter (chat)

   Turn on the Self-ordering with the virtual waiter (chat) switch. A sub-option appears under it, Accept home delivery orders, which handles orders placed through the restaurant's page — if you only want table orders, leave that one off. Click Save at the bottom of the page and it takes effect right away.

3. Check what the guest will see

   The chat shows the active items on the Menu, grouped by category, with the size, flavors and price you set up. Inactive items and variable-price items, the ones charged by weight (per kg, for example), are left out — those stay in the waiter app only. Each item also needs a destination kitchen; if your restaurant has just one, that's already taken care of.

4. Point the camera at the table QR code

   Grab your phone and scan the Table QR code, just like a guest would. The table screen now has a big Place an order button at the top. It opens the Order from your table page, a chat that starts by asking what you'd like to order. It asks for no sign-in or sign-up.

5. Build the order by tapping options

   The chat offers the categories, then the items with prices alongside. Picking one opens the item card with Size, Flavor (or Flavors, when the item takes more than one) and Quantity, and the Add button already showing what it will come to, like R$ 42,00. In the bottom bar, View order opens the list to add more, remove items or change quantities.

6. Tap Send order to the kitchen

   The Your order screen has the total and the Your name (optional) field, so the kitchen knows whose it is. The Send order to the kitchen button places the order right away — no payment step and no waiting for you to approve. The chat replies that the order was sent and offers Track order and Place another order.

   Tip: If someone keeps hammering send, the table sees the message "Too many orders in a row — please wait a moment." It's a brake against pranks, and it clears on its own in a few seconds.

7. Watch the order reach the kitchen

   The order is born as Preparing: it appears on the kitchen display, prints a ticket at kitchens with printing turned on and updates the table screen right away. Instead of a waiter's name, it's marked as Service, so you can tell at a glance that the guest placed it. From there it's the usual flow, through Ready and Served.

Frequently asked questions

Glossary

Self-ordering

The Self-ordering with the virtual waiter (chat) option in Settings. When it's on, guests build and send their own order from the table screen, with no waiter.

Table QR code

The code printed on the table that guests scan with their phone, no sign-in needed.

Service

The name shown as the one in charge of orders placed by guests themselves. It's a system waiter, created automatically, just to keep those orders apart from the ones your team entered.

Preparing

The stage the guest sees on the table page while the kitchen works on the order.

Variable-price item

An item charged by measure, such as by the kg. It has to be weighed by your team, so it isn't on the self-ordering menu.

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