Do my customers need to download an app?

No. They point their phone camera at the QR code on the table and the menu opens in their browser. There is no app, no download, and no sign-up — they can order within a few seconds of sitting down.

Do I need a POS or any hardware to use this?

QRDinesOS includes browser-based POS, billing, waiter, and kitchen workflows, so ordinary phones, tablets, and laptops can run the core system. A restaurant may still keep an existing till during rollout. Thermal printers, cash-drawer pulses, and payment or delivery integrations need compatible hardware, credentials, and venue testing.

How does the menu get in? Do I have to type 90 dishes?

Two ways. You can start from a ready-made cuisine pack — North Indian, cafe, Chinese or continental — which fills your menu with 40 to 50 dishes you then edit. Or, on a paid plan, you photograph your printed menu and QRDinesOS reads the dishes and prices off it, and you correct anything it got wrong before it goes live. The reader works best on a plain single-column menu; a busy two-column menu with food photos and decorative lettering is harder, and there is a second reader for those.

Is the menu photo uploaded to your servers?

Not by default. The normal reader runs inside your own browser using WebAssembly, and that photograph never leaves your device — only the dish names and prices you approve are saved. There is also an optional AI reader for menus the on-device one struggles with: choosing that one uploads the photo to an outside AI service to be read. You are told before it is sent, you press a separate button to do it, and nothing is uploaded any other way.

What is the AI menu reader, and when should I use it?

It is an optional second way to read a menu photo, for the busy ones — two columns, photographs between the sections, decorative headings, price columns that drift out of line. Those defeat the on-device reader. The trade is that the photo is uploaded to an outside AI service to be read, so it is opt-in, per photo, and never the default. Either way, the dishes land on a review screen and nothing reaches your live menu until you have checked it.

How do customers pay?

On paid plans the bill screen shows a UPI QR code with the exact amount already filled in, so a guest can pay from their own phone without waiting for anyone. They can also choose cash. QRDinesOS never marks a bill as paid by itself, because UPI gives an app no confirmation — your staff confirm the money actually arrived.

Can one table see another table’s order or bill?

No. Every table has its own QR code and its own session, and orders and bills are bound to that session. A guest can only ever see their own table.

What happens when the internet goes down?

New guest orders and server-confirmed financial actions need a connection. The kitchen and waiter apps can queue supported status changes during a short interruption and replay them safely after reconnection, but QRDinesOS is not a fully offline POS. Keep a practical fallback for a prolonged outage.

How quickly does the kitchen see an order?

The kitchen screen checks for new orders every few seconds rather than being pushed them, so a ticket appears shortly after a guest sends it. The screen shows the table number, the dishes and veg or non-veg marks in large type readable across a kitchen.

Does it work in Hindi or Punjabi?

The guest menu has a language switcher, and dish names can be stored in several Indian languages. Automatic translation is a Pro feature and has to be switched on for your account — ask us before you rely on it.

What does it cost, and is there a contract?

There is a permanent free plan that covers QR ordering and the kitchen screen for up to 2 tables, with no credit card required. Paid plans start at ₹599 a month for Starter (up to 8 tables) and ₹1,799 a month for Pro (up to 30 tables) — month to month, with zero setup fees or long-term contracts.

Will it help me get more Google reviews?

Yes, by making the request part of the end-of-meal flow. After a meal is served, every guest is asked how it went from the phone already in their hand. They can send private feedback to the restaurant and, when your Google review link is configured, open the public review page to write their own review.

Can I see a 2D visual floor plan of my restaurant with live table timers?

Yes. QRDinesOS includes an interactive 2D Floor Map designer with drag-and-drop table layouts, custom table shapes (Round, Square, Family Booths, Car Bays), live elapsed party seating timers, running bill amounts, and real-time color indicators (🟢 Available, 🔴 Seated, 🟡 Bill Pending, 🔵 Cleaning).

How does Cash Drawer Till Reconciliation work for cashier shift handover?

At shift close, cashiers count their physical cash using a built-in denomination calculator (₹500 down to ₹1) and record petty cash payouts (e.g. dairy or ice expenses). QRDinesOS calculates expected cash vs counted cash, flags shortfalls or surplus, and prints an end-of-shift Z-Report.

Can I send paperless GST tax invoices to my diners on WhatsApp?

Yes. Upon bill settlement, staff can send an itemized, GST-compliant digital invoice directly to the customer’s WhatsApp in 1 click, complete with your GSTIN, FSSAI number, loyalty points earned, and an optional Google review link.

How does the Diner Loyalty Program and WhatsApp CRM work?

Every bill automatically awards cashback points (e.g. 5%) to the diner’s mobile number. Diners can redeem points with 1 tap on their next visit. The CRM automatically categorizes diners as VIP, Regular, or At-Risk and lets you run personalized WhatsApp re-engagement campaigns.

How does Recipe BOM & Auto-86 Sold Out protection work?

Link menu items to raw inventory ingredients. When kitchen staff accept and prepare an order, raw stock (e.g. paneer, chicken, butter) is automatically deducted in real time. If an ingredient drops to zero, dependent dishes are automatically 86’d (marked Sold Out) to prevent unfulfillable orders.

Who is behind QRDinesOS?

Cognoro Technologies, headquartered in Chandigarh, India. We support restaurants, cafes, hotels, and dhabas nationwide across India with direct onboarding and cloud-edge restaurant technology.

Kitchen & Inventory 6 min read

Recipe BOM & Auto-86: How to Never Tell a Seated Diner "Sorry Sir, Paneer Khatam Ho Gaya"

How raw ingredient Bill of Materials automatically depletes inventory on kitchen prep and auto-marks dishes sold out before guests order.

Rahul Sharma

Founder & Solutions Architect

21 August 2026

Bar lounge station tracking recipe ingredient depletion and bottle inventory in real timeQRDinesOS Operations Field Guide

Executive Summary & Key Takeaways

Deploying QRDinesOS requires zero upfront proprietary POS hardware and runs on any phone or iPad.
Eliminating paper rolls for WhatsApp digital tax invoices saves between ₹4,000 and ₹7,500/month.
Placing a Google review link on the WhatsApp receipt converts up to 22% of diners into Google reviews.

It's 8:45 PM on a Saturday. A family sits down, browses the menu for ten minutes, and orders Paneer Butter Masala and Dal Makhani. The waiter walks to the kitchen, only for the chef to shout that they just used the last block of paneer.

The waiter has to walk back, apologize, and ask the guests to re-order. The mood is spoiled, service is delayed, and guest satisfaction plummets.

The Solution: Recipe Bill of Materials (BOM)

In QRDinesOS, every dish on your menu is linked to its raw ingredient components:

Paneer Tikka: 200g Fresh Paneer, 30g Yogurt, 15g Spices.
Butter Chicken: 250g Boneless Chicken, 40g Butter, 50g Cream, 100g Tomato Gravy.

Real-Time Depletion on Kitchen Preparation

When the kitchen screen moves an order to "Preparing", the system automatically deducts the exact raw grams from your inventory database.

The Instant Auto-86 Safeguard

If your raw paneer stock drops to 0, QRDinesOS immediately Auto-86's (marks Sold Out) every single dish that depends on paneer across all digital QR menus. Diners simply cannot order dishes that your kitchen cannot prepare.

Protect your kitchen operations with Recipe BOM & Inventory Control on our Pro plan (₹1,799/mo).

Back to All Articles

#Inventory Management#Recipe BOM#86 Sold Out#Kitchen Costing

Recipe BOM & Auto-86: How to Never Tell a Seated Diner "Sorry Sir, Paneer Khatam Ho Gaya"

The Solution: Recipe Bill of Materials (BOM)

Real-Time Depletion on Kitchen Preparation

The Instant Auto-86 Safeguard

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Experience QRDinesOS on Table #1