Guide
A menu QR code that won't stop working
A menu QR code ends up everywhere: table tents, stickers on the window, the bottom of receipts, the side of the takeaway bag. Which is exactly why it matters what happens when the menu changes, or when the company behind the code wants paying.
The two ways a menu code breaks
1. The menu moves. You upload a new PDF, rebuild the website, or switch ordering systems. If the code has your old menu address printed into it (a static code), every table card now points at a page that's gone.
2. The code gets switched off. Most "free" QR generators make dynamic codes that route through their own servers, then turn into a monthly subscription after a short trial. Stop paying and every printed code stops with it, usually discovered by a customer at a table on a Friday night.
What a good menu code needs
- It can be pointed somewhere new without reprinting, for the new menu, the seasonal specials or the new ordering system.
- It can't be switched off because a bill went unpaid.
- It doesn't ask your customers for anything. No app, no login, no advert before the menu.
- It prints cleanly, as a crisp file at any size, from a table card to a window.
Two ways to do it with us
Already have your menu online? A $25 code, paid once, points at your menu page or PDF. When the menu moves, point the code at the new one: the first change is free, and later ones are $5 each, charged only when you make one. No subscription, ever. You get PNG, SVG and print-ready PDF files.
Don't have a menu page worth linking to? A $99 code and page, paid once, gives you
a real menu page at helmqr.com/your-restaurant: courses, prices, dietary marks,
and a jump menu so nobody scrolls past the mains. You edit it yourself, free and as
often as you like, forever. Change a price at 5pm and the table cards show it at 5:01.
See the example menu page → · Get a menu code — $25 →
If your current menu code already stopped working
Check where it points: hold your phone camera over it and read the address in the preview before tapping. If it's a short link on someone else's domain, that company controls it. You can pay them to switch it back on, or replace it at your next print run. The full explanation is in why QR codes stop working.
Questions
Can I change the menu without reprinting the table cards?
Yes. That's the whole point of a dynamic code. With a $25 code, point it at the new menu (first change free, then $5). With a $99 page, just edit the page, free.
What if my menu is a PDF?
That works. Point the code at wherever the PDF lives online, and point it again when you upload a new one.
Is there a monthly fee?
No. $25 or $99, once. Nothing renews, and there's no card on file.
More guides: Why did my QR code stop working? · A QR code without a subscription