Online Ordering for Food Trucks and Market Stalls: Pre-Orders, QR Codes and Prices (UK, 2026)

Online ordering for a food truck or market stall works best as pre-ordering for collection: customers order and pay on your website or app before they reach the hatch, choose a collection time, and you cook to that queue while walk-ups pay at the counter. You need an ordering page that knows where and when you trade, a QR code on the truck, online card payments and a card reader.

Why pre-ordering suits a truck or a stall

A truck or stall has one hatch, one or two people cooking and a queue that arrives in a rush. Pre-orders move part of that rush earlier: the order and payment are done before the customer arrives, so the hatch hands food over instead of taking money.

How pre-ordering works at the hatch

1. You set when ordering opens and closes for each pitch.
2. The customer scans the QR code on the truck or opens your app, picks a collection time and pays by card, Apple Pay or Google Pay.
3. The order lands on the phone or tablet in the truck; you cook to the times while walk-ups order at the hatch.

Changing locations and schedules

A truck might work a business park on Tuesday, a brewery on Friday and a market on Saturday, then lose a day to rain. The ordering system has to show the right pitch and hours, and stop orders fast.

• Fixed weekly round: give each regular pitch its own location and opening hours, so customers can only order for the days you are there.
• Irregular events: keep one location, open it when you are booked, and post where you are on social media, by email or by app push.
• Two units at once: give each its own location, menu and stock, so a sell-out at one does not stop the other.
• A pause switch: when the generator fails or the queue is twenty deep, closing online orders should take one tap. Ask each provider how it works.

Order-ahead windows: when to open and close

A window is when customers can pre-order and which collection times they can pick. The times below are a worked example: set yours from your own prep times.

• Open early: for a 12:00 to 14:00 lunch pitch, opening at 10:30 lets office workers order from their desks.
• Close early: stop pre-orders 15 to 20 minutes before you pack up.
• Spread collection times in steps of 10 or 15 minutes and, if your system allows it, cap the orders per step.
• Market days: open orders the evening before, so pre-ordered boxes can be packed before the first walk-up.
• Events: take pre-orders for the busiest hour only and leave the rest to the hatch.

QR codes on the truck

A QR code lets people in the queue, or walking past, order ahead. Put one on the hatch, on the side the queue faces and on the bag.

• Print it large enough to scan from the back of the queue, and test it in daylight and under the truck’s lights.
• Add one line beside it, such as “Scan to order ahead and skip the queue”.
• Link it to a page that takes the order and payment, not a menu PDF, through a web address you own that forwards there: a new provider then means a new forward, not a new wrap. Square says custom domains are not available on its free Square Online plan (squareup.com/gb/en/online-store/plans).

On Aexir the ordering website sits at yourname.aexir.com on Web, Plus and Pro. Our free QR menu maker makes a scan-to-view menu for the board; it does not take orders. More in the QR table ordering guide.

Card payments: online and at the hatch

A truck pays card fees twice: on the reader for walk-ups and through the ordering system for pre-orders. Online rates are usually higher, so compare both.

Aexir’s pricing page says 1% + 10p of its rate is an Aexir platform contribution and the rest covers Stripe, with Apple Pay and Google Pay at checkout. More sums: our card payment fees comparison.

Signal matters too. Square’s food truck page says Offline Mode on Square Terminal and Square Register takes card payments without internet, but offline payments “may be declined if not processed within 24 hours”, and contactless payments do not work offline (squareup.com/gb/en/solutions/food-truck, checked 29 October 2026). Online pre-orders always need a connection, and Aexir does not publish an offline mode for POS on the Go, so carry a mobile hotspot.

What to look for in a food truck ordering system

• Collection at a chosen time, with delivery switched off.
• Opening hours per pitch or day, and a pause switch.
• Several locations under one login, and one place to hide a sold-out item.
• Card checkout with Apple Pay and Google Pay at a published rate.
• Allergen information on every item before the customer pays.
• A way to bring regulars back: email, loyalty or app push.
• Every cost in writing: monthly fee, card rate, per-order fees, set-up fee and contract terms.

Published prices for the main options

Prices as each provider publishes them on its own site. “Not published” means no figure is given; nothing is estimated.

A free plan suits a trader who needs a pickup page and nothing more. Card rates, set-up fees and terms for more vendors are in the ordering system price index; marketplace rates are in Just Eat vs Deliveroo vs Uber Eats fees. To see which ordering system comes out cheapest for each need, read UK online ordering systems ranked by published price.

Where Aexir fits

Aexir is an online ordering system for independent restaurants and takeaways: their own branded iOS and Android ordering app, ordering website and browser till (POS on the Go), for a flat monthly fee at published prices. Here is what carries over to a truck or stall.

• Web, £30 a month ex VAT: a branded ordering website plus POS on the Go, the till and back office in any browser, on the phone or tablet in the truck.
• Starter £30 (app), Plus £40 (app and website), Pro £50 (app, website and POS on the Go), ex VAT: your own app on the App Store and Google Play, with loyalty and push notifications. App plans need a developer account: £30 a year on Aexir’s, or about £130 a year for your own Apple and Google accounts.
• Scheduled orders: customers can order for later; the order waits in the queue and flips urgent with an alert 30 minutes before it is due.
• Locations: each additional location is £1 a day, with its own menu, ordering flow, reporting and opening hours, managed from one place.
• One menu: change a price or hide an item once and the website, app and till update together.
• Set-up: Aexir configures the menu from what you send, and opening hours and collection times are set up with you.

On those numbers a free pickup page is cheaper, and if that is all you want, it is the honest answer. A truck at one pitch a day can also stay as one location. Aexir’s case is your own app under your name, loyalty and push to bring regulars to the next pitch, one back office for several locations, and set-up done for you. See the pricing page.

Before your first pre-order: the rules

• In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, register as a food business at least 28 days before trading; GOV.UK says this covers a mobile unit, stall or van, and selling only online. For Scotland it points to Food Standards Scotland (gov.uk/guidance/food-business-registration, checked 29 October 2026).
• Register a van where it sleeps: Nottingham City Council, for example, says the vehicle “must be registered with the Council where it is stored/garaged overnight” (nottinghamcity.gov.uk, checked 29 October 2026).
• In England and Wales, ask the council for each area you want to trade in whether you need a street trading licence; GOV.UK says it can grant fewer days and times than you ask for (gov.uk/find-licences/street-trading-licence, checked 29 October 2026).
• The FSA’s technical guidance says allergen information for food sold online must be available before the purchase is concluded and at the moment of delivery: see our allergen guide and the free allergen matrix maker.
• Markets and festivals set their own rules: ask the organiser before advertising pre-orders for their event.

Coming from GloriaFood

GloriaFood reaches end of life on 30 April 2027. Sign an Aexir plan on a 12-month term before then and the first three months are £0, then the published price from month four; cancel before the 12 paid months finish and the free months are charged (£90 Web or Starter, £120 Plus, £150 Pro, ex VAT). Details: GloriaFood switch offer.