I own a BBQ restaurant in the US and have been approached by tap to eat, a company that builds ordering apps for restaurants. They're asking for $400 up front and $90 a month for the service, which isn't a problem. I just don't know anything about their company, the efficacy of small scale apps like this one, and alternatives that may be available.

I'd appreciate any comment or insight at all, even if it's only peripherally related.

Also, sorry if I'm in the wrong forum, I've just met generally knowledgeable and helpful people in most every other section of this forum so I figured I'd try here.

Thanks.

never heard of em, but i'm looking at their site. it looks a couple of friends got together and created 1 app which is customizeable, then each client just adds their own pics / colours / foods / prices / etc to it. i assume everything will be done on the web, so make sure your location has a good signal. you'll need some kind of system in place at your register to see / process the orders. probably just some computer/tablet with internet connection.

their price doesn't seem bad. a few things i'd consider:
1) who are their other clients? talk to them
2) if someone makes an order and doesn't show up, what do you do? or do they pay via their app?
3) how do you prioritize orders from online vs in person?
4) how busy do you get?
5) how easy is it to update the menu/prices?
6) what devices are supported? i'm guessing the majority.
7) look at the details of any contract you sign
8) what's their uptime?
9) what kind of support do you get?

This post was edited by carteblanche on Mar 31 2014 05:24pm

This is pretty solid advise.
If you can tie this addition in nicely with your current system, I think it'd be a reasonable investment.

The up front cost is reasonable, the monthly fee is fishy to me. What do they claim to offer as an ongoing basis to justify that fee? Unlimited support?

Tap to Eat was actually a capstone project done in my university. I knew a girl who was a lead developer on it and I loved the idea.

They originally developed the app to All You Can Eat Sushi restaurants (that was their main stakeholder which gave them the requirements to actually produce the product). I guess they've expanded since then and now try to sell it to other places.

I used it personally at a demo they had (Graduates always give demos to students in the school) and it was pretty sweet!

Seems to me you are paying for access to their web service through both mobile and web channels. You also get a kick ass admin panel. That + support would justify the $90 subscription. Seems more than reasonable.

Yeah honestly if the grand you put in to it doesn't help your business enough just stop using it. If they didn't have success before they likely wouldn't be reaching out to you now.

And if a 1 grand investment is live or die on your restaurant I have bad news

+1 to carteblanch