Online ordering guide
Taking pickup orders on your website.
This page explains how ordering on your website works, the different ways orders can reach you, how to set each one up, and what it costs in Canada and the USA. Take your time. If you get stuck, contact us.
Outside companies' prices checked October 31, 2026. Prices can change, so check the provider's own page before you sign up.
Who does what: This is a step-by-step guide for you to follow. You set up your own accounts and equipment (Square, Stripe or PayPal, a tablet, a ticket printer) using the steps below. Our part is the website: once your account is ready, we connect your website to it at no extra charge.
How it works
- Your customer opens your website and taps Order.
- They pick their food, choose any options (like sauce or size), and add a note if they want ("no onions").
- They pick a pickup time: as soon as possible, or a 15-minute window later today or tomorrow, during your open hours.
- They see the subtotal, the tax, an optional tip and the total, then tap Place pickup order.
- The order reaches you the way you choose below: an email, a text, a kitchen screen, a printed ticket, or straight into Square.
- You make the food. The customer picks it up.
Beer, wine and alcohol can't be added to a pickup order. They show as dine-in only.
Your options at a glance
| Option | Customer pays | Order arrives as |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Email + text alert | At pickup | Email and/or text |
| 2. Tablet or ticket printer | At pickup (or online with 3 or 4) | Beeping screen or printed ticket |
| 3. Square (our pick) | Online, by card | Straight into Square |
| 4. Stripe or PayPal | Online | Same as 1 or 2 |
| 5. Clover, Toast, Moneris | Depends | Their own ordering, or 1 or 2 |
Option 1: Email and text alert, pay at pickup
How it works: When a customer orders, you get an email and/or a text with their name, phone number, pickup time, items and notes. They pay at your counter with cash or your card machine.
- Decide which email and cell number orders should go to (more than one is fine).
- Decide your pickup hours and how much lead time you need.
- Send us those details. We connect your website's order form to them at no extra charge.
- Place a test order on your website and check that the email and text arrive.
Good
- Simple, nothing new to learn
- Nothing to buy
Watch out for
- Someone has to watch for alerts
- Unpaid orders can be no-shows
- Staff ring it into your till at pickup
Canada
- Email: no outside cost
- Texts: about $0.0083 USD each plus carrier fees, and $1.15 USD/month for a number (Twilio)
USA
- Email: no outside cost
- Texts: about $0.0083 each plus carrier fees, and $1.15/month for a number (Twilio)
- Business texting needs a one-time registration ("A2P 10DLC") with extra fees
Option 2: Tablet order screen or kitchen ticket printer
How it works: Orders pop up on a tablet in your kitchen or at the counter, with a loud sound. Or they print on a ticket printer. Use it with pay at pickup, or together with Stripe or PayPal (option 4).
- Tablet: use a basic tablet you already own, or buy one. Ask us for the link to your private order screen (no extra charge), open it on the tablet, and keep it plugged in with the volume up.
- Printer (optional): buy a cloud-ready ticket printer (for example, a Star Micronics printer with "CloudPRNT") and set it up on your internet using the printer's own guide. Then send us the printer's details, and we connect it to your website's orders at no extra charge.
- Place a few test orders until it works every time.
Good
- Hard to miss an order
- Easy for the kitchen to follow
Watch out for
- Needs power and internet
- Keep paper in the printer
Canada and USA
- Tablet: whatever you pay for it ($0 if you already have one)
- Cloud ticket printer: about US$400–430 at online sellers (Star mC-Print3, approximate)
Option 3: Square
How it works:
- The customer pays by card on your website. The card box comes from Square, so card numbers go to Square and are never kept on our server.
- The paid order goes straight into your Square account: the Orders screen on Square Point of Sale, a Square Kitchen Display, or a kitchen printer connected to Square.
- Orders for later show up in time to start cooking, based on the prep time you set.
- Square sends the money to your bank account.
Good to know: Square only shows website orders in your Square system after they're paid. So with Square, customers pay online.
- 1You
Open a free Square account
Go to squareup.com (Canada or US site). Enter your business details, confirm who you are, and link your business bank account.
- 2You
Set up your location
Add your address, hours and tax settings in Square.
- 3You
Choose where orders show
Use the Square Point of Sale app on a tablet or iPad, a Square Kitchen Display, or a kitchen printer connected to Square.
- 4Us + you
Connect your website (no extra charge)
We send you a link. You sign in to Square yourself, and Square shows what our website is allowed to do. Tap Allow. We never see your Square password. You can disconnect us anytime in your Square Dashboard under Settings → App integrations.
- 5You
Tell us your prep time
For example, 20 minutes.
- 6You
Test it, then go live
Place a small real order on your website. Check that it appears in Square, then refund it. Then you're live.
Refunds: you do them yourself, full or partial, from your Square Dashboard or Point of Sale.
Canada (CAD)
- Free plan: $0/month
- Online card payments: 2.8% + 30¢ per order (a $40 order costs about $1.42)
- Cards from outside Canada: +1.5%
- At your counter: credit 2.5%; Interac debit 0.75% + 7¢
- Fee is taken from the full total, including tax and tip
- Kitchen Display: $20/month per screen on the Free plan (after a 30-day free trial), or unlimited with Square for Restaurants Plus at $60/month per location
- Optional hardware: Kitchen Display screen $899 (15.6") or $1,099 (21.5"); kitchen printer $449; receipt printer $399; wall mount $99
- Quebec: Square says it doesn't support Quebec's mandatory sales recording system (SRM). Check this first.
USA (USD)
- Free plan: $0/month. Plus $49/month, Premium $149/month (per location)
- Payments from a website hooked up like ours ("Online API" on Square's price page): 2.9% + 30¢ on every plan (a $40 order costs about $1.46)
- Cards from outside the US: +1.5%
- At your counter: 2.6% + 15¢ (Free), 2.5% + 15¢ (Plus), 2.4% + 15¢ (Premium)
- Kitchen Display: not on the Free plan; $30/month per screen on Plus, $20 on Premium
- Optional hardware: Kitchen Display screen $699 (10.1"), $749 (15.6") or $899 (21.5"); receipt printer $319; wall mount $99
Option 4: Stripe or PayPal
How it works: The customer pays by card (or PayPal) on your website. The order reaches you by email, text, tablet or printer (options 1 and 2). It doesn't go into a cash register system. Money goes to your bank account.
- Open a free Stripe or PayPal Business account, with your business details and bank account.
- We send you a link, and you approve the connection in your own account. We connect it at no extra charge.
- Choose how orders reach you (option 1 and/or 2).
- Test with a small real order, then refund it.
Refunds: from your Stripe or PayPal dashboard. Stripe says it doesn't charge to refund, but it doesn't give back its original fee.
Canada (CAD)
- Stripe: 2.9% + 30¢ per Canadian card; no monthly fee; disputes $15
- PayPal button: 2.9% + 30¢; PayPal advanced card checkout: 2.70% + 30¢; Amex 3.50%; no monthly fee
USA (USD)
- Stripe: 2.9% + 30¢ per card; no monthly fee; disputes $15
- PayPal or Venmo button: 3.49% + 49¢; standard cards 2.99% + 49¢; advanced card checkout 2.89% + 29¢; no monthly fee
Option 5: Clover, Toast or Moneris
Clover
Clover has its own online ordering, which works with your Clover POS. Easiest way: we point your website's Order button to your Clover ordering page, or you keep your website's cart with options 1–2. Sending your website's cart orders straight into Clover isn't something we can offer right now.
Canada
- Clover Online Ordering: no extra monthly or per-order fee
- Needs a Clover device and a Clover restaurant plan. Plan and card rates are by quote (not published).
USA
- Restaurant bundles from $179/month for 36 months (or $1,799 up front plus $89.95/month); online ordering included
- Cards: in person 2.3% + 10¢; typed-in and online 3.5% + 10¢
- Clover says plans can't be cancelled early
Toast
Toast has its own online ordering. Easiest way: we point your Order button to your Toast ordering page. Toast says a restaurant can ask its Toast rep for custom access that would let your website's cart send orders into Toast. Ask your rep whether it's offered and what it costs.
Canada
- Starter from CA$120/month; Essentials CA$220/month
- Card rates are a flat rate by quote; hardware and setup are extra
USA
- "Starter Kit" $0/month for software, with higher pay-as-you-go card rates
- Point of Sale plan from $69/month
- Card rates and online ordering prices are by quote
Moneris (Canada only)
Moneris can take online card payments for your website. Orders then reach you by options 1–2. They don't go into your Moneris terminal. Flat-rate pricing: online credit cards 2.85% + 30¢, Interac Online $1.00, in-person credit 2.65% + 10¢, Interac $0.12, foreign cards +0.80%. Ask Moneris in writing about any monthly, gateway or equipment fees. Moneris doesn't operate in the US.
Shopify: not recommended
Shopify is built for shops that ship products. It isn't built for restaurant pickup. (USA: Basic plan $39/month, or $29/month paid yearly; online cards 2.9% + 30¢; using a payment company other than Shopify's own adds a 2% fee.)
Tax: Canada vs USA
- Canada: Your site shows your province's tax, for example "HST (13%)" in Ontario. Other provinces use GST, or GST plus PST. Some food can be taxed differently (some bakery items, for example). Confirm your rate with your accountant, and we set it on your site.
- USA: Sales tax is set by the state, and many counties and cities add their own. Some places tax restaurant or prepared food at a different rate. Tell us your combined rate (your accountant or state tax website can confirm it), and we set it on your site.
Other differences for US restaurants
- All prices are in US dollars, and Square's US prices are different (see option 3). Square's US Kitchen Display needs a paid plan.
- There's no Interac in the US. Customers pay by credit or debit card, PayPal or Venmo.
- Business texting in the US needs a one-time registration (A2P 10DLC) with extra fees.
- Moneris isn't available in the US.
Common questions
What does MainStreetReady charge for this?
Nothing extra. Connecting your website to your account is included at no extra charge. The only costs are the outside companies' fees listed on this page.
How do refunds work?
With pay at pickup, there's nothing to refund. With Square, Stripe or PayPal, you refund the customer yourself, full or partial, from your dashboard. Card companies usually keep their original fee.
Who gets the tips?
You do. With online payment, the tip is charged with the order and paid to your bank with the rest. With pay at pickup, the tip the customer picked shows on the order, and you add it at the counter. Card fees apply to the tip too. How you share tips with staff is up to you.
What if we miss an order?
Every order has the customer's name and phone number, so you can call them. If they paid online, refund them from your dashboard. A tablet with a loud sound, or a ticket printer, makes missed orders much less likely. So does having one person watch orders each shift.
Can we pause online orders when we're slammed?
Ask us about an on/off switch for online orders, so you can pause them during a rush or close early.
Can people order beer or wine for pickup?
No. Our sites keep alcohol dine-in only. Rules for alcohol to go are different in every province and state, so we keep it simple.
Do I have to sign a long contract?
Square, Stripe and PayPal have no monthly fee on their basic plans. Clover and Toast plans and hardware can come with longer agreements, so read them before you sign.
Sources (checked October 31, 2026)
- Square Canada: pricing, fees, restaurants pricing, kitchen display, hardware
- Square USA: pricing, hardware, disconnecting apps
- Square orders with pickup (paid orders only): developer docs
- Stripe: Canada, USA
- PayPal: Canada, USA
- Moneris: pricing
- Clover: USA restaurant pricing, Canada online ordering
- Toast: USA pricing (Toast blog, Oct 20, 2026), Canada pricing, custom integrations
- Shopify: USA pricing
- Twilio texts: USA, Canada
Questions? We're happy to walk you through it.
The MainStreetReady team
Email: support@mainstreetready.com
Text or call 226-583-1464 (send a text)