Restaurant app development company

Start with the smallest useful slice, then grow. A first module covers mobile ordering, payment, and one POS integration for iOS and Android. A fuller platform adds loyalty, table management, and kitchen display integration. A multi-venue group platform adds group-wide loyalty, an analytics dashboard, and CRM integration. The fixed total for each phase is agreed before development starts. To get a number for your specific project, request a 30-min call. Scope grows with the number of POS integrations, the complexity of the loyalty mechanics, and whether the app needs to support offline ordering during intermittent connectivity at the venue.

A validated v1 launches, then iterates from real usage. A focused ordering and loyalty v1 for a single venue ships first; a multi-venue app with full POS and KDS integration follows. We give you a fixed timeline when we scope the project in discovery. Discovery covers your operational flow, POS setup, venue structure, and loyalty goals. You receive a written scope document and a fixed cost before any development starts. The timeline includes App Store and Google Play submission and a buffer for the Apple review cycle.

Square, Toast, Lightspeed, Tevalis, and Clover via their respective APIs and webhooks. For custom or legacy POS systems, we build the integration - we've done it for enough proprietary systems that it's routine. POS integration means orders placed in the app flow directly to the kitchen and the till without a manual re-entry step. The integration is assessed in discovery week so you know the exact method before development starts. We test the integration against a staging POS environment to confirm that order types, modifiers, tax rates, and refund flows all map correctly before any live orders go through the system.

Loyalty is built into the app as a first-party feature, not a third-party widget. Visit-based earn (every visit earns progress toward a reward), spend-based earn (points per dollar spent), and event-based earn (double points on Tuesdays, birthday reward). Digital stamp cards replace paper punch cards - the member's progress is in the app, not in their pocket. Push notifications re-engage lapsed members. The earn trigger connects directly to your POS so loyalty credits happen at the till, not via a receipt upload. We design the reward economics around your margins - a free coffee on the fifth visit has a different cost structure than a free main course.

Yes. A multi-venue restaurant app has one member account that earns and redeems across all locations, with each venue seeing its own order and sales data in the admin dashboard. Earn rules can differ per venue or be group-wide. Redemptions can be venue-specific (a free item only available at the venue where points were earned) or group-wide (spend points at any venue). The admin tooling gives group management a consolidated view and individual venues their own operational dashboard. Adding a new venue to the platform is a configuration change, not a redevelopment, so the platform scales with the group without increasing the technical overhead.

Yes, and many restaurants ask us to. A direct ordering app lets you capture the order and the customer relationship without paying 25-30% commission to a third-party platform. The app needs to be genuinely better than the third-party alternatives to shift behaviour: faster reorder, loyalty earn that the platforms don't offer, and direct communication with customers between visits. We build the ordering experience, payment, loyalty, and push notification infrastructure that makes your direct app the rational choice for a customer who already knows your restaurant. The shift from third-party to direct takes time: direct order volume typically moves meaningfully over the months after launch, so we design retention features from day one rather than assuming the app sells itself.

Three inputs: daily order volume, average check, migration rate. Run the math on your own numbers: daily aggregator commissions equal your daily orders times your average check times your commission rate. Break-even in months equals app dev cost divided by monthly aggregator spend on the migrated volume. The strategy: use aggregators for discovery, build your own channel for retention, and steer regulars to order direct.

Four gates: at low delivery order volume, commission savings may not cover the build. No loyal base to move: aggregators drive discovery, a branded app does not replace that. No operational capacity to run it. And a POS without an open API: confirm integration before committing. Buy or subscribe when workflows match the provider's standard setup and you need to launch fast. Build when direct ordering is central to margin strategy, or when multi-concept, catering, or owned delivery rules break the standard mold.

Ten questions: how does menu data flow, and who controls sold-out items during service? How do orders reach the kitchen: POS injection, KDS routing, fallback? How are payment exceptions handled: voids, refunds, tips, chargebacks? Peak-period behavior? Loyalty across app and in-store? What data do we own? Admin roles? Post-launch support? Agreed success metrics? And what is excluded from the estimate: copy, menu cleanup, photos, SMS fees, POS fees, app store accounts. The last question is where surprises hide.

Agree success metrics before development: direct order share, repeat rate, average order value, checkout conversion, call reduction. Then watch real service: can a customer order, pay, and get food without staff intervention? Does the kitchen receive the order correctly at peak? And check the hidden operational costs: menu data cleanup, photography, staff training, SMS and map fees. The app is the cheap part; running it is the real commitment.

Yes. Table reservation with real-time availability, waitlist management, and automated confirmation and reminder messaging. Integration with third-party reservation systems (OpenTable, Resy, SevenRooms) where the restaurant wants to consolidate reservations in an existing platform, or a built-in reservation engine for restaurants that want to own the booking relationship. Walk-in queue management and digital waiting list (text notification when a table is ready) for venues with high walk-in traffic. The reservation system connects to the loyalty platform so points earn on dining bookings as well as at-the-till orders, and the guest's booking history is visible to the floor team before service begins.