How Can a Café Increase Orders Without Hiring More Staff?
At peak times the phone rings, messages arrive on Instagram and Telegram, waiters serve guests, and the administrator tries to take delivery orders. While employees answer questions about the menu, prices and preparation times, new enquiries go unanswered.
Can you increase the number of orders without hiring more employees? Yes, if you reduce manual work and organise a convenient online ordering system. Here are five solutions for automating a café, restaurant, pizzeria or bakery.
1. A digital menu with up-to-date prices
How many times a day do employees answer the same questions: “What is available today?”, “How much does the pizza cost?”, “What ingredients are in this dish?”
A digital menu lets customers browse the range, photos, ingredients, weight and prices themselves. The café owner can manage the catalogue through the website’s administration system: update prices, add new items and hide dishes that are out of stock.
Result: Employees spend less time on repetitive questions, and customers get the information they need without waiting for a reply.
2. Online orders for delivery and collection
Imagine a customer ordering dinner. Instead of messaging an administrator, they open the website, choose dishes, add them to their cart and provide a delivery address. The system collects the order details: items, quantities, total amount, contact information and fulfilment method.
For collection, the buyer selects that option at checkout. You can configure the minimum order amount, delivery terms and order acceptance hours on the website.
Result: The customer places the order independently, while an employee receives a complete order with all the necessary information.
3. Automatic delivery of orders to employees
When orders are handled manually, the administrator must read a message, clarify details, record the order and pass the information to the kitchen. When several enquiries arrive at once, the risk of errors and delays increases.
A website integrated with Telegram can automate this process. After checkout, an employee receives a notification with the list of dishes, total amount, customer contacts and delivery address.
Orders are saved in the website management system, where staff can view them and update their statuses.
Result: Less manual transfer of information between communication channels and more convenient monitoring of incoming orders.
4. Order status notifications
A customer places an order and a few minutes later writes: “Did you get my order? When will it arrive?” Such messages distract the administrator, particularly at peak times.
Automatic notifications inform the customer when the status changes: for example, order accepted, being prepared, handed to the courier or ready for collection. An employee updates the status and the system sends the corresponding notification.
Result: The customer receives updates without repeatedly contacting the administrator.
5. Purchase history and repeat orders
Regular customers often order the same dishes, but when ordering through messages they have to list everything again each time.
A personal account with purchase history lets customers review earlier orders and choose their favourite dishes again. For the café owner, purchase history can also provide information about customer preferences and the popularity of individual offers.
Result: Repeat orders become easier, while the business gains additional opportunities to serve returning customers.
How can you tell whether your café needs automation?
Run a simple experiment. For one week, record the number of orders, how long they take to process and how many enquiries employees could not answer in time. Calculate the hours spent messaging, clarifying details and forwarding orders. Then decide which actions can move to the website.
If employees perform dozens of identical operations every day, automation may free up time for serving guests and preparing orders. A website does not replace cooks, waiters or couriers, however: it helps organise order intake and reduce administrative work.
How much does a café website with online ordering cost?
Growth Marketing Agency develops specialised websites for cafés, restaurants, pizzerias and delivery services.
SITE CAFE START — €500.
A ready-made solution with a digital menu, shopping cart, delivery and collection, Telegram bot, notifications, an order management system and uploads for up to 50 menu items. Development time: 4 weeks.
SITE CAFE START PLUS — from €1,000.
Includes START features, a courier system, CRM and additional customisation. Development time: 1–2 months.
SITE CAFE PRO — from €2,500.
Includes PLUS features, payment integration and additional bespoke solutions. Development time: 2–3 months.
A personal account with order history and repeat ordering is agreed separately according to the selected system and the establishment’s needs.
Your café can take more orders without increasing the administrator’s workload.
Tell us about your establishment, menu and current order handling process. We will select an appropriate solution and build a website that combines the menu, orders, delivery and sales management.
