Choosing a QR Menu Vendor from Scratch: 15-Question Decision Flow

In early 2026 a 22-year-old family restaurant in Konya, Turkey demoed four QR menu platforms back-to-back. The one they chose — thMenu — won not on price but on how its founder answered fifteen pointed questions. Eighteen months later they are still active customers. Below is the exact checklist they wrote that evening, structured so any owner can run the same evaluation in under thirty minutes.

Contract & Exit: 5 Questions

The first five questions all ask the same thing in different ways: what happens when I want to leave? A vendor with low lock-in and transparent exit costs is always cheaper long-term. Is there a minimum contract term? thMenu offers month-to-month cancellation with no minimum. Can I export all my data as CSV/JSON in one click? Yes — Settings > Data exports menu, orders, and reviews in 30 seconds.

The other three: (3) Can I migrate my custom domain out? (4) How long is data retained after cancellation? (5) Is the refund policy clearly written? The Konya owner found only thMenu offered a written guarantee of "30-day post-cancel retention + free JSON export anytime." That single criterion carried 40% of his weighted decision.

Technical Integration: 5 Questions

The second cluster is technical. Is a POS API available? If Logo, Adisyo, Lightspeed, or Toast integrations exist, your cashier doesn't enter data twice. thMenu ships webhook + REST API for the common Turkish POS systems. Can I manage multiple branches from one account? Pro+ plans allow unlimited branches.

• Is SSL included free? (thMenu: yes, Let's Encrypt auto-renews)
• Does the customer menu work offline via PWA cache? (thMenu: yes, even on 3G)
• Static or dynamic QR? (thMenu: dynamic — schedule-based and campaign content updates without reprinting)

Local Compliance & Support: 5 Questions

The third group is jurisdiction-specific (here, Turkey). Is the GDPR/KVKK privacy notice documented? thMenu's admin panel surfaces it in the Legal tab, fully localized. In what time zone is support available, and through which channels? Email + WhatsApp 09:00-21:00 Turkey time on weekdays, average response 47 minutes.

The last three: (13) Are invoices issued in TRY with VAT? (14) Are there ready templates for your category (breakfast, kebab, fine-dining)? (15) Will the vendor share two reference customers you can call? The Konya owner called a kebab shop in Bursa for 45 minutes — that call closed the deal more than any demo screen.

FAQ

Should I weight all 15 questions equally? No. Contract group typically holds 40% weight, technical 35%, compliance 25%. Data portability alone can carry 15% of the total.

Is this checklist available as a spreadsheet? Yes — when you create a thMenu account, the admin panel includes a "Decision Flow" template you can fill in for all four vendors side-by-side.

Which question should I lead with on a demo call? "If I cancel tomorrow, how quickly can I export all data as JSON?" — if the answer is vague, drop that vendor.

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