When you're opening a small restaurant, food truck, or cafe, every dollar counts. Investing in dedicated hardware or expensive software subscriptions isn't always an option at launch. Yet switching from a paper notepad to digital can transform your daily operations.

Good news: there are solutions today to digitise your restaurant's ordering workflow without spending a cent. Here's how.

What Does "Digitising Your Restaurant" Actually Mean?

Digitising a restaurant doesn't necessarily mean having an online ordering website or a delivery app. At its core, it means replacing manual tools with digital ones for three essentials.

First, order-taking: switching from a paper pad to an app on your smartphone or tablet. The server enters the order, it goes straight to the kitchen. Second, kitchen communication: replacing paper tickets with a kitchen display (KDS) that shows orders in real time. Third, sales tracking: having access to basic analytics — which dishes sell, what your peak hours are.

That foundation makes the biggest day-to-day difference. And it's exactly what you can get for free.

Free, Freemium, and Free Trial: Don't Confuse Them

Not all "free software" is the same. There are three very different models.

A free trial lasts 14 or 30 days, then you have to pay. That's not free, it's a test. Freemium offers a permanent free tier with limitations (order caps, fewer features), plus paid plans to go further. This is the most practical model for getting started. Open-source is free to download but requires technical skills to install and maintain — not realistic without a developer.

What the Free Plan Should Cover

A good free restaurant ordering system should include at minimum order entry on a smartphone or tablet, menu management (adding and editing dishes), basic order tracking, and access for multiple team members.

Some tools also include a kitchen display (KDS) and sales analytics in their free tier. That's a real bonus that saves you from adding a separate tool.

Limitations to Expect

A free plan will always have trade-offs. The most common: a cap on monthly orders, advanced features reserved for paid plans (detailed reports, multi-location), and sometimes limited customer support.

The key is checking that these limits match your real volume. If you handle 200 orders a month, a cap at 300 gives you comfortable headroom to start.

Going Digital Doesn't Mean Changing Everything

Many restaurant owners hesitate because they think "going digital" means replacing all their equipment. In reality, an ordering system runs on devices you already have — your smartphone or a tablet.

It also works alongside your existing setup. You keep your card reader for payments, and the ordering software handles everything before that: the order, sending it to the kitchen, tracking progress. For more on this approach, read our article on what you really need from a restaurant cash register.

Bistromo: Ordering and Kitchen Display, for Free

Bistromo is an ordering system (not a POS or payment system) with a permanent free plan that includes mobile order-taking, kitchen display (KDS), menu management, and basic analytics — up to 300 orders per month.

It runs on your existing smartphone or tablet, alongside your usual card reader. When your restaurant grows, the Pro plan at $29/month offers unlimited orders, with no contract.

In Summary

Digitising your restaurant's ordering workflow doesn't require a budget, expensive hardware, or technical skills. With a free ordering app on your smartphone and a kitchen display on a tablet, you can transform your service starting today.

The best starting point is one that lets you begin immediately, with no financial risk — and scale at your own pace. For more detail, check out our complete guide to choosing a restaurant ordering system or our practical guide to digitizing your restaurant.