A PDF Menu Behind a QR Code Goes Stale
A QR code that opens a PDF looks finished until the first price change. Guests pinch-zoom a file that was exported last month. Staff tell them to ignore a line. The card on the table still points at the old file.
A live menu is a page you edit. The printed code stays. The prices change in the dashboard. That is the difference between a free QR code menu and a code that only opens a document.
What to do with the PDF you already have
Use it as the source list, not as the thing guests open.
1. Read the PDF and write down categories, item names, prices, and sizes.
2. Create the restaurant and menu. Add categories first, then items.
3. If you have photos of the paper menu, MenuQR can read categories, items, prices, and variants from those photos so you can review them before anything is saved. That import accepts JPEG, PNG, or WebP. It does not accept a PDF.
4. Check every price against the cashier’s list. Delete dishes you no longer sell.
5. Publish, scan the new code on a phone, and only then print cards.
The free plan covers one restaurant, one menu, and 20 items. A longer menu needs a paid plan. See what the free plan includes.
Why guests struggle with a PDF
A PDF is one tall page. Category jumps, sold-out dishes, and half-versus-full prices are clumsy on a phone. Photos inside the file cannot be swapped without exporting again. A live menu keeps the name and the price on one row and lets you hide a dish that sold out during service.
When you do change a price, follow how to change menu prices without reprinting. The QR card does not change.
Keep one public link
Put that link on the table card, the WhatsApp greeting, and Instagram. Do not keep a second PDF in the chat “just in case.” Two menus means two prices. Start the live menu from the list you already have.