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ScanQueue online ordering and queue managementScanQueue
Scan. Order. Collect.

The online ordering system for any counter with a line.

Guests scan a QR code, order ahead on their phone and collect when their number is ready. Take payment online through your Square account, with every order on your Square POS, or take it yourself at pickup. Ready numbers come up on your TV with a spoken call. No app for your guests and no per-order fee from ScanQueue.

Included in Growth, Pro and Enterprise. Pay online with Square, or at pickup.

The full-screen live order board. Illustration with demo orders.

ScanQueue Online Ordering is an online ordering system for small businesses: cafes, food trucks, bakeries, bars, shops, market stalls, event concessions and campus venues. Guests scan a QR code and order in their phone browser, pay online through the business's own Square account or pay at pickup, follow the order on a live tracking page, and collect when it is ready. Staff run the orders on a live board in the web dashboard or the ScanQueue staff app. It is included in the Growth, Pro and Enterprise plans, and ScanQueue takes no fee per order.

Watch

Online ordering in two minutes.

Illustration with demo orders. Captions available.

How it works

From QR code to counter in four steps.

How ScanQueue online ordering works with Square: the guest scans a QR code, orders and pays, the order shows on the Square POS and the ScanQueue board, then the guest collects by number after a ready alert and a spoken call on the TV screen
1

Scan

A printed QR code at the counter, on the door, on your stall or on signage opens your menu in the phone browser. Guests install nothing and create no account.

2

Order

Your items with photos, sizes and options, plus notes if you allow them. The page shows your current ready time and whether you are open.

3

Pay

Online through your own Square account, by card, Apple Pay or Google Pay. Or switch on pay at pickup: the guest orders without paying online and you take payment your own way when they collect.

4

Collect

The guest follows the order on a page that updates by itself, gets a WhatsApp, text or email when it is ready if they asked for one, and collects by number.

Payments

Pay online or on collection.

The owner chooses in Settings, under Online ordering. Either way, guests order from the same QR code and menu, and your team works the same live board.

Pay online through Square

  • Card, Apple Pay and Google Pay, paid into your own Square account, with optional tips
  • With "Send orders to Square" on, every paid order appears on your Square POS as a pickup order, and ready on either side updates the other
  • Menu sync keeps your items, sizes, modifiers, photos and sold-out state in step with your Square item library
  • Refunds in full or in part from the order history

Take payment yourself

  • No payment account to connect: guests order without paying online and give a mobile number
  • You take payment your own way when they collect, on your card reader, your till or in cash
  • Each order shows Not paid online and the amount to take, on the live board and the staff app
  • Cancel an order from the board if the guest never turns up. There is nothing to refund

What guests see

No app, no account, no standing at the till.

Your menu opens in the phone browser with your logo, your categories and your ready time. After ordering, the guest gets an order number and a page that updates by itself from received to preparing to ready.

  • Opt-in updates by email, SMS or WhatsApp, depending on the channels you have on: confirmed, ready, delayed and cancelled.
  • Two-way messages with your team on the order page.
  • Card, Apple Pay and Google Pay through Square, or pay at pickup when you take payment yourself.

Live order board

Built for the rush, not the demo.

The board opens full screen on any tablet or monitor, refreshes on its own and, once sound is on, chimes for every new order. Several screens can work the same board: if two people tap the same order, the second one is told it already moved on.

Start, Ready, Collected: one tap moves an order across the New, Preparing and Ready lanes

Mark an order ready on our board, the staff app or your Square POS: each one updates the other, and the guest gets the message either way

Pause orders for 15, 30 or 60 minutes or until you resume, and add extra wait to new orders when the kitchen is backed up

Late orders are flagged in red. Needs more time adds 5, 10 or 15 minutes and tells the guest

Guest messages on every order, with an unread count on the board

Order ready screen: order numbers show on any TV under Preparing and Ready to collect, with a chime and a spoken call when an order is ready

Print a kitchen ticket with the items, or a pickup slip with just the number

Not collected keeps no-shows off the board, and Hand over serves them if they turn up after all

Staff dashboard

Everything behind the counter, in the dashboard you already use.

Orders sits in its own tab next to your queue and bookings: order history and refunds, the menu, your ordering QR codes, and the button that opens the live board.

Illustration with demo data.

Menu in minutes

Sync your Square item library with sizes, modifiers and photos, and it stays in step with Square from then on. No Square? Upload a photo or PDF of your menu and review the draft, or build it by hand.

History and refunds

Every order with its payment status, including orders to pay at pickup. Managers refund online payments in full or in part; staff accounts and PIN logins cannot.

Reports

Orders, sales after refunds, average prep time and the share ready on time over 7, 30 or 90 days, with orders not paid online counted separately.

On the staff app

Run the board from your phone.

The free ScanQueue staff app for iPhone, iPad and Android has the live order board: start, ready and collected, running late, pause orders, extra wait, not collected, guest messages, and cancel for orders you take payment for yourself. New orders vibrate and the screen stays awake. Same orders, same live data as the web board. Refunds and printing stay on the web dashboard.

Download on the App StoreGet it on Google Play

The app is for your team. Guests still install nothing. See what the app does

Who it is for

One ordering system, whatever your counter looks like.

If you hand customers something over a counter, guests can order it ahead from a QR code: food, drinks, merch, gifts or anything else you can list with a price.

Restaurants, takeaways and food trucks

An online ordering system for takeaway and counter pickup without a delivery marketplace in the middle. The line only comes to the window to collect, one printed QR code is the whole setup, and extra wait keeps quotes honest when the grill is backed up.

Cafes and coffee counters

Regulars order ahead from the line or the office and pick up at the pass. With Square, sizes, milks, extras, photos and sold-out items follow your Square item library, and the barista works from the board instead of shouted names.

Shops, market stalls and pop-ups

Same-day click and collect for gift stalls, merch tables, florists and pop-up shops. Take payment on your own card reader or till when the order is collected, and send the ready message in your own words.

Bakeries, delis and juice bars

Customers order on their phone and skip the counter queue. Pause orders when the case runs low, and add extra wait to new orders during the morning rush.

Bars, breweries and food halls

Guests order from where they are sitting and come up when their number shows on the order ready screen. A table number on the QR code reaches the ticket.

Events, stadiums and festivals

Concession stands and merch booths run as branches, each with its own menu, board and QR codes, while the hub account sees every stand. Fans order from the concourse and walk up when their number is ready.

Campuses, attractions and hotels

Cafes, canteens and kiosks inside universities, museums, parks and hotels take pickup orders without another register. Ordering runs in the same ScanQueue account as your queues and bookings.

Anywhere you use pagers today

Instead of a restaurant pager system, guests get the ready message on their own phone and see their number on your TV. Nothing to hand out, collect or charge.

How it compares

Against the usual ways a counter takes orders. Categories, not named vendors.

CapabilityDelivery marketplaceSelf-order kioskScanQueue Online Ordering
Where the money goesPaid out by the marketplaceYour payment processorStraight to your Square account, or you take it at pickup
Where orders goThe marketplace tabletThe kiosk printerOur live board and staff app, plus your Square POS when you send orders to Square
Per-order commission to the platformUsuallyVariesNone from ScanQueue
Hardware at the counterA tablet for incoming ordersKiosk unitsA printed QR code and any screen
Where guests orderThe marketplace app or siteAt the kiosk, in the lineTheir own phone, anywhere in the venue
Queue, bookings and ordersUsually a separate systemUsually a separate systemOne dashboard

Square processing fees apply to every online card payment.

Good to know before you switch it on

Online payments are Square only

To take payment online you need a Square account that can take card payments in your menu currency. Stripe and other processors are not supported. Without Square, choose to take payment yourself.

Prices include tax

Menu prices must be tax-inclusive, as with GST or VAT. Tax added on top at the register, as with most US sales tax, is not supported yet.

Same-day pickup

Guests collect their order the same day. A table number on the QR code reaches the ticket for dine-in. Delivery and orders for a later day are not part of this release.

Online ordering questions

It is an online ordering system for small businesses, built into ScanQueue. Guests scan a QR code, order from your menu in their phone browser and collect when their order number is ready. They pay online through your Square account, or you take payment yourself when they collect. Your team runs the orders on a live board in the web dashboard or the ScanQueue staff app, next to your queues and bookings.
Any business that hands customers something over a counter: restaurants and takeaways, cafes, food trucks, bakeries, bars and breweries, food halls, event and stadium concessions, campus canteens, and shops, market stalls and pop-ups that want same-day click and collect. If you can list it as an item with a price, guests can order it.
Only to take payment online. Choose Online, through Square and guests pay when they order. Choose I take payment myself and you need no payment account at all: guests order without paying online and you charge them your own way when they collect.
Switch on I take payment myself in Settings, under Online ordering. Guests order and give a mobile number, and nothing is charged online. The order shows Not paid online with the amount to take on your live board and staff app, and you take payment on your card reader, your till or in cash at pickup. If a guest never comes, cancel the order from the board and they are told it was cancelled.
No. ScanQueue adds no fee to any order: you pay your ScanQueue plan and nothing per order. When guests pay online, Square charges its standard processing fee under your own Square agreement, and payouts follow your Square payout schedule.
Online ordering is included in the Growth, Pro and Enterprise plans, and custom plans can include it. It is not part of the free Starter plan or Essential. Plan prices are on the pricing page. The owner switches it on in Settings, under Online ordering, and chooses how guests pay.
No. Guests scan with the phone camera and order in the browser. A name is optional unless you ask for one. A phone number or email is only needed for order updates, and a mobile number is always asked for when you take payment yourself.
By card, plus Apple Pay and Google Pay where the phone and browser support them. Payments are processed by Square and go straight to the Square account you connect. ScanQueue never holds the money.
Not for online payment, which works with Square only. You can still take orders without Square by choosing to take payment yourself, then charge guests through whatever you already use at the counter.
Every order has a tracking page that updates by itself. Guests who ask for updates also get a WhatsApp, text or email when the order is confirmed, ready or delayed, and if it is cancelled. You can also tell them when you start their order, and message them from the board. These messages come out of your plan’s monthly allowance. Guests can message your team from the tracking page too.
Yes. Under Settings, Online ordering, write the confirmed, started and ready messages in your own words, up to 300 characters each, with a preview of what the guest reads. They go out by WhatsApp and text. Emails keep the standard wording.
Yes. Open the ScanQueue display on any TV or monitor and order numbers show under Preparing, then Ready to collect, with a spoken call when an order is ready. It runs next to your queue, so one screen can call both.
For counter pickup, yes. The guest gets the ready message on their own phone and sees their number on your order ready screen, so there are no pagers to hand out, collect, clean or charge.
With Square connected, turn on Menu sync under Settings, Payments: items sold at your location come across with their sizes, modifier lists, categories, photos and sold-out state, and keep following Square. Without Square, upload a photo or PDF of your menu and review the draft, or build it by hand. Selling one thing, or taking custom requests? Add a single item and switch on notes so guests can say what they need.
Yes. Menu prices must include tax, as they do with GST or VAT, and the included tax shows on the order. Tax added on top at the register, as with most US sales tax, is not supported yet, so set menu prices that already include it.
Orders are for pickup the same day: guests collect at the counter, and you can add collection instructions such as a side window or a pickup shelf. A table number on the QR code reaches the ticket for dine-in. Delivery and orders for a later day are not in this release. Tips are available when guests pay online through Square.
Yes. With Square connected and "Send orders to Square" switched on, every paid order is created in Square as a pickup order and appears on your Square POS with the same order number. Mark it ready on either side and the other follows. Orders placed at the counter on your Square POS are not shown in ScanQueue.
Pause new orders for 15, 30 or 60 minutes or until you resume, add up to 60 minutes of extra wait to every new order, or give one order 5, 10 or 15 more minutes, which tells the guest it is running late. Ordering also follows the opening hours you set.
Yes. The free ScanQueue staff app for iPhone, iPad and Android has the live order board: start, ready and collected, running late, pause orders, extra wait, not collected, guest messages, and cancel for orders you take payment for yourself. New orders vibrate and the screen stays awake. Refunds and ticket printing stay on the web dashboard.
Owners, managers and organisation or branch admins can refund an order paid online, in full or in part, from the order history. Staff accounts and PIN logins cannot. A full refund cancels the order and lets the guest know. Orders you take payment for yourself have nothing to refund.
The Reports tab shows orders, sales after refunds, average order, average prep time, the share of orders ready on time, and collected, cancelled and not-collected counts over 7, 30 or 90 days, with orders per day. Orders not paid online are counted separately. Sales figures are visible to owners and managers only.

Start taking orders this week.

Switch on online ordering in Settings, choose Square or pay at pickup, add your menu and print your QR codes. Included in Growth, Pro and Enterprise. Running concessions across several sites? Talk to us about an Enterprise setup.