How to Take Orders on WhatsApp for Your Restaurant (Without Zomato)

To take orders on WhatsApp, install the free WhatsApp Business app on a separate number, add your menu as a catalogue, set quick replies for ordering, take payment by UPI, and tell every customer your number. Every order that comes this way saves the 20–30% commission you would pay Zomato or Swiggy.

WhatsApp works best for your regular customers: people who already know your food and just want an easy way to order again. Here is how to set it up properly.

01Get WhatsApp Business on a separate number

Use a new SIM just for the restaurant, not the owner's personal number. Install WhatsApp Business (free) and fill in the profile: restaurant name, address, opening hours, a short description, and your logo as the profile picture. Customers trust a complete profile more.

02Add your menu as a catalogue

In WhatsApp Business, open Catalogue and add your best-selling items with photo, price and a one-line description. Don't add your full 150-item menu; 20–40 popular dishes are easier to browse. For the full menu, send a link or a clear PDF.

03Set up quick replies and a greeting

Save ready answers so ordering takes seconds:

• Greeting: "Hi! Thanks for messaging Spice Garden. Reply MENU to see today's menu."
• /menu: your menu link or PDF.
• /order: "Please send: items and quantity, your name, full address with landmark, and payment mode (UPI or cash)."
• /confirm: "Order confirmed! Total ₹___. It will reach you in about 35 minutes."
• Away message: your closing time and when you open next.

04Take payment by UPI

Send your UPI ID or QR code, or a payment link, with the order confirmation. Ask for a screenshot only if your bank app doesn't show incoming payments clearly. For new customers, ask for prepayment; for regulars, cash on delivery is fine.

05Send the order to the kitchen and bill it

This is where WhatsApp ordering usually breaks: orders sit in chat, nobody makes a KOT, and they never reach the sales report. Enter every WhatsApp order in your billing software so it creates a KOT and a GST bill like any other order.

06Plan delivery

For nearby orders, use your own delivery boy. For further distances, book a pickup with a local courier or on-demand delivery app. Set a clear delivery area and a minimum order value, and say both in your quick replies.

07Tell every customer your WhatsApp number

• Print it on bills, parcels and table tents: "Order directly on WhatsApp: 98xxxxxx00."
• Put a card in every Swiggy and Zomato parcel with a small direct-order offer.
• Add it to your Google Business Profile and Instagram bio.
• Send a weekly special to customers who have messaged you (only to people who agreed to hear from you).

08When you can't take orders on WhatsApp by hand any more

Manual WhatsApp ordering is great up to maybe 10–20 orders a day. After that, staff spend all day typing, orders get mixed up, and totals are calculated wrong. That's the time to give customers a proper ordering link: they pick items, pay online and the order lands in your kitchen automatically.

RestroGrow does exactly this. You get your own ordering website and app with zero commission, and WhatsApp ordering where customers can order in chat and the order goes straight to your kitchen and billing. Loyalty points then bring them back. See it in the app demo.