How to switch to another ordering service without losing guests
The steps in order: export the menu and guests, sort out the domain and QR codes, run two services side by side, ask the old one about notice and data.
Vitrina team7 minute read
Contents
In short
Start with the contract: the notice period can be longer than a month, and it does not always run from the day of your letter.
Take the menu, guests, orders and bonus points before you change anything on the tables.
The domain and QR codes decide whether regular guests find the new website.
For the first few weeks two services run side by side, and the old one is switched off last.
Where do you start when switching to another ordering service?
Start with the contract you already have, not with the new service. Everything else depends on it: how much more you will pay, when the QR codes can come off the tables and whether you will get your data.
Find the contract or the public terms you accepted when you signed up, and write down the notice period. It can be one month or several, and sometimes it runs from the first day of the next month rather than from the day of your letter. If you paid for a year or more in advance, check separately what happens to the rest of the money.
What to ask the old service
How long is the notice period and from what date is it counted?
Can you take the QR codes off the tables and switch off payments while it runs?
What happens to the rest of the money if you paid in advance?
In what format and how quickly does the service hand over the menu, guests, orders and bonus points?
How long is the data kept after you leave, and is it deleted on your written request?
Whose name is the domain in, and who owns the app in the stores?
What data should you take from the old service?
Export everything before you start changing anything: after you leave, access can close sooner than you expect. Keep the files yourself, not only in the service’s account.
| Data | Why you need it | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Menu and photos | So you do not have to retype everything | Prices, portions, variants, sides and full-size photos |
| Guests | To bring your regulars back | Phone numbers, email and the marketing consent flag |
| Orders | To see the history and the average check | Dates, amounts, order contents and statuses |
| Bonus points and promo codes | So guests do not lose what they saved | Each guest’s balance on the export date |
| Reports | For your accounts and for comparison | Sales by month |
What do you do with the domain and QR codes?
A regular guest reaches you three ways: through the old address, through the QR code on the table and through links in Google and on social media. Each one has to lead to the new website.
- Your own domain. If the address is in your name, it is simply pointed at the new service, and the QR codes on the tables keep working.
- An address on the service’s domain. If your menu lives on a subdomain of the service, that address and its whole search history stay with the service. Ask whether it will set up a redirect, and get your own domain for the future.
- A domain the service bought. Sometimes the owner remains whoever bought it. Check this before you write about leaving.
A QR code that leads to your own domain will not need reprinting the next time you change services. If the tables carry the service’s address, plan for printing new table cards.
Where else the old address appears
The venue’s Google profile: the menu link and the order button.
Your social media bio and pinned posts.
Stickers, flyers and the menu on the counter.
Auto-replies in messengers and email signatures.
How long should you keep two services running at once?
Do not switch the old service off on the day the new one launches. Two to four weeks is usually enough, and if your notice period is longer, use it as a buffer.
- 1
Test the new website yourselves
Staff place test orders: delivery, pickup, payment, cancellation. Do not show the address to guests yet.
- 2
Open one channel
Start with pickup or delivery and leave table orders on the old service. If the contract forbids taking QR codes down during the notice period, move the tables last.
- 3
Move your regular guests
Write to them, put a flyer with the new address in the bags and give a small bonus for the first order on the new website.
- 4
Switch the old service off
Do this when new orders are coming in steadily and the notice period has ended. Export the data for the last few weeks one more time first.
How do you keep regular guests during the switch?
Guests leave because something became awkward, not because the website is new: they could not find a favourite dish, did not see their bonus points or did not understand where the menu went. So explain the change in advance and in plain words.
- Say what changes for the guest: a new address, the same venue, the same prices.
- Move the bonus points and mention that in your first message.
- Keep familiar dish names and the order of the sections for at least the first month.
- Warn your staff: in the first days guests will ask about the new website in the hall and by phone.
What do you check on the day of the switch?
A half-hour check
Online payment goes through, and the money shows up in your bank or payment account.
The order reaches the kitchen and staff hear the signal.
Delivery zones and the minimum order are the ones you decided on.
Prices and the stop list match the hall.
The QR code on every table opens the right menu.
The links in Google and on social media lead to the new website.
How does this work at Vitrina?
If you choose Vitrina: you pay monthly with no annual commitment, guest payments go straight to the venue’s account, and your data and your own domain stay yours: you export the menu, guests and orders yourself, at any time and free of charge. We can do the move for you as a separate service: the menu, the guest base from your export, redirects from old addresses and new QR codes. The price is in the plans.
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take to switch to another ordering service?
Launching the new website takes days; the longest part is usually the notice period in the old contract. Plan from that: the export, the launch and the period with two services all fit inside it. The full cost calculator shows what it will cost per month.
Will I have to reprint the QR codes on the tables?
No, if the QR code leads to your own domain: the address is pointed at the new service and the table cards stay. If the tables carry the old service’s address, you will need new codes, but put them up last.
Can guests’ bonus points be moved?
Yes, if the old service includes each guest’s balance in the export. Ask about this before you leave, and tell guests when the points will appear on the new website.
Will my Google rankings drop after changing services?
If the domain is yours and the old addresses redirect to the new ones, the loss is usually small and temporary. If the website lived on the service’s address, the search history stays there, and the new domain builds its own from zero.