What should you ask before you buy QR or AI table ordering?
Ask every vendor the same twelve questions, in writing, then test the answers on your own menu before you pay. The questions that decide most purchases are where orders go (POS, printer, staff screen), who takes the payment, which parts are really in the guest's language, how allergy questions are handled, what you pay in a busy month, and what you sign. Below, each question comes with why it matters and WaiterPilot's own answer, including where that answer is no.
Updated
How do you use this checklist?
Mark your must-haves first, send the questions to two or three vendors, and judge them on written, dated answers and a trial, not on a sales call.
Step 1: sort the twelve areas. For your restaurant, mark each one must-have, nice-to-have or not needed. A tourist bistro and a hotel restaurant will mark them differently; a must-have the vendor can't meet ends the evaluation early.
Step 2: ask in writing. Copy the "Ask the vendor" questions into an email. Answers like "yes, we support that" without saying how are a reason to ask again.
Step 3: test on your own menu. Use the trial scenarios further down this page, with your staff, before any payment or contract.
This checklist is written by the WaiterPilot team, so we are one of the vendors you'd send it to. We've kept the questions neutral and given our own answers as of 15 October 2026, including the ones that may rule us out. Where another kind of tool fits better, the comparison pages say so.
Service and the kitchen: what should you ask?
Four questions decide whether the tool fits your service: who checks an order, where it goes, who takes the money, and what you have to buy.
| Area | Ask the vendor | Why it matters | WaiterPilot's answer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Ordering flow and staff control | Does a person see an order before the kitchen starts it? Can staff reject an order or mark a dish out of stock? Can the guest cancel? | The first check is where staff catch a wrong table, a duplicate or a prank before food is cooked. | Yes. The first order at each table waits as Awaiting staff until staff tap Confirm or Reject; later orders from that table go straight to the kitchen until staff close the table. Staff can mark a dish Out of stock (it comes off the bill), and a guest can cancel while the order is Awaiting staff. In our tests on 15 Oct 2026, four confirmed orders reached the staff board in 0.8 to 2.7 seconds. |
| 2. POS and kitchen printers | Which POS do you connect to today, by name, live and not on a roadmap? Do orders print in the kitchen? | Without a connection, someone re-enters each sale in the till. "Coming soon" is not an integration. | No. WaiterPilot has no POS or printer connection. Orders appear on its own staff board and kitchen screen, and staff enter the sale in your till. See works with your POS. |
| 3. Payments | Do guests pay through you? Who processes the payment, at what fee, and when is the money paid out? | Payment fees and payout timing are costs on top of the subscription, and they change how the check works at the table. | No. WaiterPilot takes no payment. Guests see a live bill with tax and any service charge you set, can split it, and ask for the check from the phone, which asks cash or card. They pay your staff as today. See waiter call and bill. |
| 4. Hardware and connection | What must I buy or rent? What happens when the internet drops? | Kiosks, tablets and printers add cost and repairs; every browser tool stops when the connection does. | Nothing to buy. Guests use their own phones; staff use phones or tablets you already have. It runs in the browser, so both need a connection; when it drops, fall back to the printed menu. iPhone lock-screen alerts need the staff board added to the Home Screen. |
Guests: languages, allergens and data
Ask exactly which parts are in the guest's language, what the tool says when your menu doesn't know, and what it keeps about guests.
| Area | Ask the vendor | Why it matters | WaiterPilot's answer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5. Languages | Which parts follow the guest's language: the chat, the buttons, dish names, notes to staff? Which languages have you actually tested? | A long language list often means translated menu text only. Your staff still have to read the ticket. | Guests chat in their own language; tested in English, Arabic (several dialects) and Spanish. Buttons are English or Arabic only. Dish names show as written on your menu, and notes reach staff as the request was taken, not translated. Arabic replies use the dialect you choose. See multilingual ordering. |
| 6. Allergens | Where do allergen answers come from? What does it say when the menu doesn't say? Does it alert staff? | A tool that guesses about allergens is a safety risk for the guest and a liability for you. | Answers come from your menu; when the menu doesn't say, it tells the guest to ask staff. Staff are not alerted automatically, so agree that any allergy mention means a person goes to the table. Staff have the final word. See allergies and dietary questions. |
| 7. Privacy and data | What must guests give to order? Which cookies? Who are your subprocessors? How long is data kept? Can I export or delete it? Is there a data processing agreement? | You answer to your guests and, in many places, to the law for the tools you put on your tables. | No sign-up, name, phone number or email. Two essential cookies (30 days and 24 hours). Each table's chat and orders are kept so staff can serve it; never sold, no guest profiles. Service providers are listed on privacy and data. Not published yet: a retention period, an export or deletion process, a data processing agreement, security certifications. Ask us. |
Money and commitment: what should you ask?
Ask what a busy month costs, what you sign, who does the setup, who answers when something breaks, and how long you can test for free.
| Area | Ask the vendor | Why it matters | WaiterPilot's answer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8. Price model | Flat fee or per order? Any commission, per-table, per-user or hardware fees? What does my busiest month cost? | A commission grows with your sales; a flat fee doesn't. Work out both on your own numbers. | $200 per location per month, or $2,000 per location per year paid annually. 0% commission. No per-table, per-order or per-user fees. No tax added. See pricing and the cost calculator. |
| 9. Contract | Is there a minimum term, a notice period or automatic renewal? What happens to my data when I leave? | A long term with a tool your staff don't use is the most expensive outcome. | No contract. Restaurants use the service under a separate service agreement; ask for it before you start and check the notice and data terms in it. |
| 10. Setup and training | Who loads the menu, who checks it, how long until we're live, and what does training cover? Is any of it charged? | The chat is only as good as the menu it answers from, and staff need to know the screens on night one. | Free: send your menu as a PDF or photos, we load it and you check it before going live; QR cards; staff training and a printable staff guide. Most restaurants are live within two weeks of the first call. See the onboarding checklist. |
| 11. Support and company | Which legal company am I buying from, where is it, and how do I reach a person? What response time do you commit to? | You need someone to call on a Friday night, and a real company behind the contract. | Broadnet Technologies LLC, 100 Matawan Road, Suite 325, Matawan, NJ 07747, USA; [email protected], 1-866-767-7782. We haven't published a support response time; ask for it in writing. See about. |
| 12. Trial and proof | Can I test on my own menu, with my staff, before paying? Can you show real screens and real customers? | Screens and a trial on your menu tell you more than any demo video. | 30 days free, with free setup. Real screenshots from our demo restaurant are on how it works. We don't publish customer names, reviews or results yet. |
How do you run a fair trial?
Run the same eight scenarios on every tool, on your own menu, with the staff who will use it. Write down what happened, not what the vendor said would happen.
A dish with required choices
Order a dish that needs a side or a cooking level. Does the tool ask before the order can be sent, and does the kitchen see the choice?
A question your menu doesn't answer
Ask about opening hours or an ingredient that isn't listed. A good tool says it doesn't know and sends the guest to staff; a bad one makes something up.
An allergy question
Ask "does this have nuts? I'm allergic". Check the answer comes from the menu and points the guest to staff, and agree who goes to the table.
A guest in another language
Order in a language nobody on shift speaks, with a special request. Read the ticket as the kitchen will.
A dish that runs out
Mark a dish sold out before service, then take a dish off an order that is already in the kitchen. Check the guest's bill.
A waiter call and a check request
Call a waiter and ask for the check from a phone. Time how long until someone on the floor knows.
A busy moment
Have several tables order at once. Can the person confirming orders keep up, and does the kitchen screen stay readable?
Closing the till
At the end of the night, compare the tool's orders with your till. How long did reconciling take, and what was missed?
Which vendor answers should worry you?
Vague answers on the five questions that cost money or safety: integration, payment fees, languages, allergens and contract.
- "Integrates with all major POS systems." Ask for your POS by name, live today, and who supports the connection when it breaks.
- "Supports dozens of languages." Ask which parts: chat, buttons, dish names, notes to staff. Then test one.
- "Our AI knows your allergens." It knows what your menu says. Ask what happens when the menu is silent, and who decides.
- "Guests spend more." The strongest published study of tabletop ordering (Tan and Netessine, Management Science, 2020) found about 1% more per check and about 10% shorter meals. Ask for the method behind any bigger number.
- A percentage with no cap. Work out your busiest month. A commission that looks small grows with every order.
- Testimonials with no names or dates. Ask to speak to a restaurant using it, or judge the tool on your own trial.
Questions about choosing a QR ordering system
What is the most important question to ask a QR ordering vendor?
Where the order goes and who takes the money. That decides whether staff re-key sales into your till, and what you pay on top of the subscription. WaiterPilot's answer: its own staff screens, no POS link, no payments.
Should I choose a POS-native ordering tool instead?
If every order must land in your POS or print in the kitchen, or guests must pay at the table, yes. If you want guests to order by chat in their own language and can live with entering sales in the till, evaluate WaiterPilot. See works with your POS.
How long should a trial be?
Long enough to cover a quiet night and your busiest one, with the staff who will use it. WaiterPilot's first 30 days are free.
What does WaiterPilot cost compared with a commission?
$200 per location per month with 0% commission, so a busy month costs the same as a quiet one. The cost calculator compares it with a per-order fee on your own numbers.
Can an AI ordering tool decide on allergies?
It shouldn't. WaiterPilot answers from your menu, sends the guest to staff when the menu doesn't say, and leaves the final word with your team.
Can I print this checklist?
Yes. Print this page from your browser, or copy the questions into an email to each vendor.
What should you read next?
- Compare table ordering toolsQR menus, POS order-and-pay and AI waiters, with dated sources.
- Onboarding checklistWhat setup looks like once you've chosen.
- Works with your POSThe till handoff, step by step.
- Multilingual orderingExactly what is and isn't in the guest's language.
- Allergies and dietary questionsWhat the chat says, and what stays with staff.
- Privacy and dataWhat is kept about guests, and what isn't published yet.
- Cost calculatorA flat fee against a commission, on your numbers.
- GlossaryPOS, KDS, order-and-pay and other terms, in plain words.