How to update a QR menu without reprinting the code

What changes when you edit a menu?

A printed QR code contains information, often a web address. Editing your menu does not change the printed pattern. If the address still opens your live menu, you can change the dishes and prices on that page while keeping the table sticker.

A QR code pointing directly to a PDF can also keep working if you replace the file at exactly the same address. Uploading a new PDF to a different address will not update the old code. Before ordering more table signs, find out whether you control the page or file the code currently opens.

The phrase dynamic QR code often refers to a managed link whose destination can change. Updating the contents of a menu at an unchanged address is a separate capability. For a restaurant that mainly changes prices and availability, start by checking the menu-editing workflow you actually need.

A repeatable menu-update workflow

1. Scan an existing table code and check the business, branch and menu it opens. Keep this printed code for the final test.
2. Prepare the change: item name, size or variant, new price and availability. Check whether add-ons need their own price changes.
3. Make and save the change in your menu management system. For ScanPlz, your team manages the menu in the admin app after the first setup.
4. Open the original QR code on a guest phone. Reload the menu and check the changed item, its variants and the correct branch price.
5. If ordering is enabled, check the item and total in the ordering flow with your team. Update any paper menu or counter sign that shows the old price.

Keep one person responsible for the final check. An edit being saved is only part of the job; the guest-facing menu and the information used by staff should agree.

Worked example: a café changes its afternoon menu

This is an illustrative café example, using Nepalese rupees. It is a checklist for testing your setup, not a customer case study.

How this works in ScanPlz

The ScanPlz team sets up the first menu and supplies codes ready to print. Guests open the menu in their phone browser without installing an app or signing in. Your staff can then manage items, variants, photos, branch prices and availability in the admin app.

Keep using the existing active code when changing its menu content. Replacing or disabling a code is a different action: an old sticker can stop working. Check the printed code before making changes to the codes themselves.

The web menu needs an internet connection. Try it using both venue Wi-Fi and mobile data, and keep a paper menu or staff-assisted option available for guests who cannot use their phone.

Check the physical code before printing a batch

• Print one sample at its intended size. Scan it from a seated position with more than one phone.
• Keep the blank border around the QR code and avoid stretching, cropping or placing text over it.
• Check glare, dim lighting and the distance from the guest. Put a clear label such as ‘Scan to view our menu’ beside the code.
• Confirm the business and branch after scanning. Keep a record of which code belongs at each table or area.

QR codes need a clear margin around the pattern. DENSO WAVE, the developer of QR Code, describes a margin four modules wide on each side; preserve the supplied border instead of trimming it to fit a sign.

Read DENSO WAVE’s QR code margin guidance

If a guest still sees the old menu

First check that the edit was saved for the right branch and variant. Then reopen the original code and refresh the page. A page left open earlier may still show an older version. If the mismatch continues, send the ScanPlz team the affected code and the item name so they can check the exact menu.

Changing a menu cannot update the words printed around its QR code. If your table card includes a price, date or offer, that printed text needs its own review.