LunchQ is an online ordering service for restaurants, Takeaways and providers of business catering services.

We can integrate online ordering with your current website, maintaining the same look and feel so your customers have a consistent experience when ordering. Optionally, we can take over the hosting of your current site, which will be cheaper because you will be getting all your web services from a single provider.

If you need a website then we can take care of everything including: - Helping you choose a name for the site like www.myrestaurant.co.uk ... registering this name with the Internet’s governing bodies ... designing the website ... hosting the website; this means the site will run on our computers and we will ensure it is always available for your customers.

Yes. We support any combination of order pickup, order delivery, order ahead and table reservation.

Order ahead is for establishments with "eat in" tables only. It allows a customer to order from the online menu and book a table in the restaurant at the same time. This allows the restaurant to have food already prepared for diners when they arrive. Customers like it if they know they will be in a rush, at lunch time for instance. Some busy restaurants like it because customers spend less time at their table.

Yes. Any dish can have a note added to it by the customer when they select it, for instance “tiny splodge of mayo please” or “hold the anchovies”.

Any dish can be set up to have any number of set options that can be chosen when the customer orders; from something as simple as choosing large or small, to something complex such as a customer choosing from 20 different toppings and 10 different types of pizza base. Our systems can reproduce your menus exactly.

Yes. The opening times are when your establishment is open for business. Customers can order while you are closed and the order can be processed when you are open. A customer will be able to place an order at 4:00 am in the morning, but his choice of collection or delivery times when he is at the checkout will be restricted to the preparation times that you can meet.

Just contact our sales department on 01200 410435, or call 07973 409191 if it's out of office hours. You can use the contact form. You can email us if you prefer ... enquiries@theonlinewaiter.com

Yes. If you would like us to then we can take online payments on your behalf. You don't even need your own merchant account. For many of our customers, we are the only method that their customers have of paying with a card. We take the payments and forward them onto your bank account on the first day of each month, or more frequently for a small administration charge. There is a transaction charge for each online card payment which can either pass on to you, or onto your customers. We can if you prefer pay customers card payments directly into your own merchant account, but the setup and ongoing charges are high. Please call us if you wish to discuss this.

You can be up and running for free, and you will only pay £1.00 for each order that the website takes. See the What it costs page for full details of our prices.

Yes. We can help you choose a domain name (for instance myrestaurant.co.uk) and handle all the details for you. Payment and ongoing charges for the domain name are included in our running costs. You don't have to pay any extra for this. Be aware that we can only get hold of a domain name for you if nobody owns it already. If you already have a domain name with another service provider, then it can easily be transferred to LunchQ.

We provide a full design service with options to base the design on your existing signage and menu or to use a new design.

We provide an online menu editing facility. This is simple to use and allows changes to be made that are seen immediately on your web site. Optionally we can make these changes for you; we do not charge to make minor changes on your behalf, but we may charge a modest amount for major or frequent menu alterations.

You need to have some means of receiving the orders so they can be prepared. Most people use a fax machine which they put somewhere so arriving faxes will be seen, but there are other options including SMS and Email orders. It might be worth dedicating a phone line to the fax machine on a different number, so faxes and phone calls don't hold each other up. You don't need a computer to use LunchQ, but a computer and an Internet connection will be needed if you wish to make changes to your website yourself or view order levels online etc.

We provide an online menu editing facility, which can be used to update your specials as and when you change them. This is simple to use and allows changes to be made that are seen immediately on your web site. For this, you would need a computer and Internet connection.

Don't worry. It's much more difficult to make a bogus Internet order than it is to make a bogus telephone order. LunchQ deters bogus orders by having users go through a quick and simple registration process before they place their first order. From that point onwards, returning customers just log into your website to place orders. The orders that come through to you will let you know how many orders a customer has placed with you in the past. You don't need to worry about orders from frequent customers, but you can check a new customers details closely (you will have their phone number and post code on the order). If you suspect something, you could perhaps telephone a brand new customer the first time an order comes through from them.

So many websites are created just because the business owner feels that they ought to have an "Internet presence". Often such sites cost thousands and offer little or no return on investment. A LunchQ website is an out-and-out business tool that will return your investment over and over again.

Many customers would rather browse your menu and add dishes to a shopping cart at their leisure instead of telephoning you and having a rushed conversation with one of your staff.

Online orders arrive via your fax machine. They free-up your staff from answering the phone and are always error free.

You need to do everything you can to stand out from your competitors. And you can get up and running for very little.

Once you are up and running with a LunchQ, you'll never have to pay any development costs to keep your websites technology up to date. We are continually developing LunchQ, and all new features and benefits are automatically rolled out to all of our customers websites. Picture your online ordering website having been developed by an independant developer, and not functioning on the latest Internet browser or not working on the latest portable Internet gizmo that EVERYONE is buying ... The chances are that it would cost you thousands to get a non-specialist developer to revisit your website to get it working again ... only for the same thing to happen 12 months down the line. If you are a LunchQ customer, then because this is all that we do, we fix it quickly and free of charge.

Online orders are typically between 10% and 30% larger than phone orders. We can't explain why, but it is a widely reported statistic from businesses with online food ordering systems. People are more likely to add extra items to their basket.

Customers prefer online ordering to telephone ordering and tend to order more frequently. Also customers can easily review & reorder past orders.

Less telephone answering.

No problems with the wrong items or missing items, as can happen with telephone orders.

Giving your customers the option to pay online costs you nothing extra and can help attract business. Customers can choose to pay with a card when they checkout, or they can choose to pay with cash/cheque etc when they get their food.

Unique website design for each restaurant ensures a match with your image.

We provide a full service where we create and run your website for you.

Without online ordering you are losing out on business from a large group of potential customers who use the web as their first choice for ordering products and services.

Our development team are constantly programming additional features and functionality into LunchQ, and these are automatically available to our existing customers for no additional charge.

All our customers have their own fully featured website with menus, opening hours, maps, contact pages, picture galleries and as much text as you can type.

Our fantastic and simple online food ordering system is fully integrated into each of our customers' websites.

All our customers' sites are unique and are designed to match their branding. Your logo, your text style, your colours, your branding.

Your site will be hosted on your own unique domain name e.g. "www.YourBusiness.co.uk".

e.g. "john@your-restaurant.co.uk" or "enquiries@your-restaurant.co.uk".

Very simple setup process - we do it all for you.

You can be up and running within 10 working days.

If you deliver orders to your customers then your website can handle those orders too, along with variable delivery costs and a map that shows your delivery area.

We can take card payments for you, without you having to have your own merchant account.

Don't worry if you offer your customers hundreds of different breads and fillings, our system is designed with this in mind.

Own a chain? Your website home-page can link all your shops together.

You don't have to, but if you like, you can alter much of your site (menu, opening hours, etc) whenever you please, using our simple web-based site administration tools.

Got a website problem that needs sorting out quickly? Try & get hold of a traditonal web developer at 10pm on a Friday evening! Don't worry ... we work when you work.

You can access your customer details via your online administration tools and use them in your own marketing.

If you like, you can use our voucher system to entice new customers and to reward your regulars.