A food truck point of sale with no card reader
Most food truck point-of-sale systems start with hardware: a reader, a stand, a tablet, a monthly plan. The Find The Eats window-sales portal starts with the phone or tablet you already have, and puts every sale, whether it came through the window or through your online menu, on one list.
Three ways to ring up a sale at the window
Every window sale gets logged with how it was paid, so your end-of-day numbers include all of it, not just the card sales:
- Cash. Ring it up, take the cash, done. It lands in your sales list next to everything else.
- Card, paid on the customer's phone. Your screen shows a QR code for the order. The customer scans it, pays by card on their own phone through Stripe, and the payment goes to your Stripe balance. You never touch the card and you don't need a reader.
- Card run somewhere else. Already have a Square reader or another terminal? Record the sale as "card, run elsewhere" so the order and your totals stay complete.
Every transaction in one place
Window sales and online orders share one list, with the order number, items, total, payment type and time. At the end of a shift you can see what came in as cash, as card at the window and as online orders, without adding up two systems.
"Your order is ready" texts
Each order, window or online, gets an order number. When you tap Ready, the customer gets a text with that number, so they can wait in the shade or the brewery instead of crowding the window. Online customers also see their order screen turn green.
What window sales cost
Find The Eats does not charge the 25¢ platform fee on window sales. That fee applies only to orders placed and paid through your online menu. Here is what a $12 sale nets you each way:
| How it was paid | Find The Eats fee | Stripe card fee* | You keep |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cash at the window | $0 | n/a | $12.00 |
| Card, QR on the customer's phone | $0 | $0.65 | $11.35 |
| Card run on your own terminal | $0 | your provider's fee | depends on your provider |
| Online order from your page | $0.25 | $0.65 | $11.10 |
*Stripe's standard U.S. card rate is 2.9% + 30¢ per successful transaction, set by Stripe and subject to change. International cards cost more.
Optional sales tax
If you collect sales tax, turn it on and set your rate. Tax is added on top of your menu prices at checkout and recorded with each sale, so you have the numbers when it's time to file. If you don't collect it, leave it off. Find The Eats doesn't file or remit tax for you, and you should check your own state and county rules.
Getting set up
- Start the free 7-day trial (no credit card) and build your menu with prices.
- Tap Connect payouts to link your Stripe account. It takes about three minutes; see how Stripe Connect payouts work.
- Open the window-sales screen on your phone or tablet and start ringing up orders.
Quick answers
- Do I need a card reader to take cards at the window?
- No. The customer scans a QR code and pays on their own phone. If you already have a reader, you can keep using it and record those sales as 'card, run elsewhere'.
- Is there a Find The Eats fee on window sales?
- No. The 25¢ platform fee applies only to paid online orders. Card payments made by QR at the window carry only Stripe's card-processing fee.
