The place where it actually gets hard: the bar at half past two
TalkToCart installs as an app on the counter tablet and shows every order on one board, wherever it came from. If the line goes down it keeps working, and it syncs itself when the line comes back.
- Installs from the browser
- Works with no line
- No hardware to buy
The line goes down and the service doesn't notice
The app stores what you do on the device itself while there is no connection, and sends it back in order as soon as there is. It is not an error screen with a retry button: it is carrying on working.
- Installs as an app from the browser, with no app store in the middle
- With no line you can still take orders, move them along and add products
- Whatever is pending waits in a queue and is sent on its own, in order, when the connection returns
- Deleting an order or a product does need a connection: that is not queued
Every order on the same screen
It doesn't matter whether the order came in over WhatsApp, through the shop or was typed at the counter: it ends up in the same place and follows the same path. You move it along when something actually changes, not so the system finds out.
- Twelve states, from "received" to "delivered", by way of "ready for pickup", "out for delivery" and "on hold"
- An alert on the tablet as soon as an order arrives, even with the panel closed
- When you change the state you can tell the customer through the same chat they wrote on: it is a checkbox, not something that happens by itself
- Every order carries its extras, its VAT and how it is being collected
- It does not print the order in the kitchen: there is no ticket printing anywhere in the panel
Let them order from their phone while they wait
No kiosk and no new screen: your shop link, open on the customer's phone, is already the self-service. They pick, mark their extras, and the order lands on the board like any other.
- The customer installs nothing and signs up nowhere
- They pick their own extras, so those stop being shouted over the bar
- Products you mark as recommended are shown before the order is closed
- TalkToCart does not generate the QR code: the link is an ordinary address and any generator will do
Accounts for the staff, and a second place without starting over
Each person signs in with their own account and the permissions you give them, and each place keeps its own menu, address and orders without mixing with the other one's.
- Up to three staff accounts with their own permissions on the Pro plan
- Up to five shops under the same owner on Pro
- Sales, orders and conversations for the year, month by month and against the year before
What people ask before putting this on the bar
Do I have to buy a tablet or a till?
No. It runs on any tablet, phone or computer with a browser, including the one you already have. It installs as an app from the browser itself.
What exactly happens if the internet drops mid-service?
You can carry on creating and updating orders and adding products. That is stored on the device and sent on its own, in order, when the line comes back. What does need a connection is deleting.
Does it print the order in the kitchen?
Not today. There is no ticket printing: the order shows up on the board and the device gets an alert when a new one arrives.
Can my staff use it without seeing everything?
Yes. Each account carries its own permissions, so you can give access to the orders without giving access to the rest.
Does it work for two places?
Yes, up to five shops under the same owner on the Pro plan. Each with its own menu, hours and orders.
And if the customer hasn't got their phone on them?
You take the order at the counter from the same board, which is where it ends up anyway.
Try it on a Friday night
That is when you find out whether a counter tool holds up. The free plan doesn't expire.