The problem
At a weekday lunch pitch the queue peaks for under an hour, and people who see a long line walk away to the next stall. If 10 people a day leave the queue on 3 trading days a week, at $12£9€11A$17C$17 each, that's $359£270€321A$518C$508 a week, about $1,544£1,161€1,382A$2,229C$2,183 a month of sales going elsewhere.
What the AI does
Square for Restaurants has a Free plan at $0£0€0A$0C$0 a month, and Square's site says Square Online Ordering is included as a free tier for click and collect on your own ordering page, with no monthly fees or commission. Online card payments cost 1.4% + 25p for UK cards. Regulars order and pay ahead from a link or QR code on your board and social posts, the order arrives in Square, and you hand it over at a collection point at the side of the van. Allergen information for food ordered online must be available before the customer orders and when they collect; it comes from your recipe records, kept up to date by someone trained.
A worked example
A two-person burrito van trades at an office park lunch market in Reading 3 days a week. It puts a QR code for its Square ordering page on the van and in its posts, and about 40 people a week pre-order.
Before
About 10 people a day leaving the queue, 3 days a week, at $12£9€11A$17C$17 each: $359£270€321A$518C$508 a week, about $1,544£1,161€1,382A$2,229C$2,183 a month
After
40 pre-orders a week collected without queuing, and about 5 more walk-up customers a day served: 15 x $12£9€11A$17C$17 = $180£135€161A$259C$254 a week, about $771£580€690A$1,114C$1,090 a month
What it's worth
About $463£348€414A$668C$654 a month in profit, at an assumed 60% margin after ingredients and packaging on about $771£580€690A$1,114C$1,090 of extra sales ($180£135€161A$259C$254 a week x 4.3). That's against about $86£65€77A$125C$122 of online card fees: 40 pre-orders a week x 4.3 = 172 orders and $2,059£1,548€1,842A$2,972C$2,910 of sales, at 1.4% ($29£22€26A$42C$41) + 25p each ($57£43€51A$83C$81). Those orders would have cost about $36£27€32A$52C$51 in fees at the 1.75% in-person rate anyway. The 5 extra customers a day is an assumption.
How to set it up
- Sign up for Square for Restaurants Free and add your menu with prices, then set up click and collect on the online ordering page.
- Add an allergen route for online orders: a link to your allergen information from your recipe records, and a line telling customers to ask staff before ordering.
- Set collection times that match your trading hours, and a cut-off so orders don't arrive after you pack down.
- Make a test order and pay for it yourself to check what appears on your device and how long it takes.
- Put the QR code on the van and in your posts, and keep a clear collection point so pre-order customers don't join the queue.
What goes wrong
- Square's site says its point of sale needs an internet connection and compatible hardware. Check your signal at each pitch, and note that offline payments don't cover contactless.
- Pre-orders arriving in a rush can overwhelm a two-person van. Limit collection slots if your settings allow, or pause online orders at the peak.
- Check what the free tier of Square Online Ordering includes, and what device you need to receive orders, before relying on it.
- Online card fees of 1.4% + 25p take a bigger share of small orders; a $7£5€6A$10C$9 order costs 32p.