How to take online orders for your restaurant in Pakistan

Most restaurants in Pakistan already take orders online in some form. A customer sends a WhatsApp message, someone at the counter replies with a photo of the menu, there is some back and forth about sizes and the address, and finally the order is written on a slip. It works, but it is slow, and mistakes creep in when the kitchen is busy.

A proper online ordering page fixes most of that. Customers see your full menu, choose their options, enter their address once and place the order themselves. You see a clean order on your phone, ready to cook.

This guide walks through the whole setup in plain steps, using Krobr as the example.

Before you start: decide how you want to serve

Spend ten minutes on these questions first. Your answers shape everything else.

• Which order types will you offer? Delivery, takeaway, dine-in, table reservations, or a mix.
• Where will you deliver? The whole city, or only certain areas. A restaurant in Gulberg might happily cover nearby areas of Lahore but not the far end of the city.
• How will customers pay? Cash on delivery is still the most common choice. Bank transfer suits customers who prefer to pay before the rider leaves.
• Who will watch for orders? The owner, a manager, a counter staff member, or all of them.

Write the answers down. You will need them in the steps below.

Step 1: Create your store and pick a design

Start by creating your store. Every new Krobr account begins on the Free package, which lets you run one store and take up to 20 orders a month, so you can set everything up and test it properly before paying.

Next, choose a theme. Krobr has 17 ready-made designs with live demos you can open and try on the themes page. Pick one that suits your food and your crowd. A family desi restaurant and a speciality coffee bar usually want quite different looks. You can then adjust the design visually, with your logo, colours and cover photo.

Your store gets its own Krobr web address. If you want to choose a custom name for that address, or connect a domain you already own, those options come with paid packages.

Step 2: Build your menu properly

Your menu is the heart of the page, so give it some care.

1. Group items into sections that match how people think: Starters, BBQ, Karahi, Rice, Breads, Drinks, Desserts.
2. Add each item with a clear name, a short description and a price in rupees.
3. Set up options and add-ons. A pizza needs sizes. A karahi might come in half or full. A burger might have extra cheese or a drink as add-ons. Set these up once and customers choose them themselves, which ends the "which size did you want?" calls.
4. Add photos for your best sellers at least. Clear, well-lit photos sell food better than any description.

If something runs out during service, you can snooze that item instead of deleting it, and bring it back when it is ready again. The menu builder guide covers sections, items and options in detail.

Step 3: Set up delivery, takeaway and dine-in

Now switch on the order types you decided on.

• Delivery. You can limit delivery to specific cities and areas, so a customer outside your range cannot place a delivery order by mistake. Set a delivery fee, and if you like, a basket value above which delivery is free.
• Takeaway. The customer leaves a name and phone number and comes to collect. You can mark the order ready so they know when to come.
• Dine-in. The customer enters their table number, which pairs nicely with a QR code on each table.
• Table reservations. The customer picks a date, time and party size. You approve or decline each request, so nothing is booked without your say.

We go deeper into running all four together in delivery, pickup, dine-in and table bookings from one menu.

Step 4: Choose how customers pay

Krobr supports two payment methods, both of which put the money directly in your hands.

Cash on delivery

The familiar option. The customer pays the rider in cash when the food arrives. Nothing to configure beyond switching it on.

Pay by bank transfer

The customer places the order, then sees your bank account details on their order page. They transfer the amount, upload a receipt, and you confirm the payment once you see it in your account. This suits bigger orders, catering requests and customers who prefer not to keep cash at home. The bank payment guide explains the setup.

Krobr does not take a commission on your orders. You pay a package fee instead, and the full order value is yours.

Step 5: Set your hours and store status

Customers get annoyed when they order and nobody answers. Avoid that by setting things up honestly:

• Opening hours for each day of the week, including separate lunch and dinner times if you close in between.
• Temporary closures for holidays or a family event.
• Busy mode for the Friday night rush, so you can slow things down without switching off.
• Pause orders for a short break, with a time when ordering comes back.
• Dayparts if you serve a breakfast menu in the morning and a different menu at night.

Step 6: Publish and get the word out

Once your menu, order types and payments are ready, publish the store. Then make sure people can find it:

• Share the link in your WhatsApp status and profile, and send it to regulars.
• Print QR code posters for your counter and table, and stickers for your delivery bags. Krobr Partner has ready-made print designs for QR posters, business cards and printed menus.
• Put the link in your Instagram and Facebook bios.

On a paid package, your store can also be listed on the Krobr marketplace, where shoppers browse and discover stores.

Step 7: Handle orders on your phone

This is where online ordering pays off day to day.

Install the Orders app for your store on your phone. When a new order comes in, you get a push notification. You open it, accept it, set a preparation time and start cooking. As the order moves along, you update its status.

The customer has a private link to their order, so they can see whether it has been accepted, when it is expected to be ready and when it is on the way. That alone cuts down a lot of "where is my order?" calls.

If you have staff, add them as team members with the permissions they need, so a counter person can manage orders without touching your menu prices.

A simple checklist

Before you announce your page, run through this list:

1. Place a test order yourself for each order type you offer.
2. Check that prices, sizes and add-ons add up correctly.
3. Try an address outside your delivery area and confirm it is blocked.
4. Make sure your phone gets the new order notification.
5. Open the customer status link and check it updates as you change the status.

Wrapping up

Taking online orders does not have to mean joining a big app or hiring a developer. Decide how you want to serve, build a clear menu, switch on the order types and payments that suit you, set honest hours and keep your phone close. Start small, learn from the first few orders, and improve as you go.