Guides
Long-form, maintained reference for running a restaurant in India — the arithmetic, the checklists and the operating detail. Updated rather than dated. For shorter takes and commentary, read Insights.
Service charge rules for restaurants in India: what you can and cannot do (2026)
The legal position after the 2025 Delhi High Court ruling, how tips should flow through your POS, and the common floor practice that quietly makes guests pay twice.
How to win a chargeback
What a chargeback is, why restaurants get them, what evidence actually works, and how to answer one inside the window.
How to read your aggregator statement
A line-by-line guide to Zomato and Swiggy settlement reports — what each deduction is, which lines are tax, which are your money, and how to tie a weekly payout back to your own order records.
Connecting your card machine to ChefDesk: a guide to payment device integration
How the connection works, which machine suits which restaurant, and the questions that separate a real integration from a half one.
What you actually pay to accept payments: a plain guide to MDR for restaurants
Every rate, every hidden charge, and the one calculation that tells you whether you're being overcharged.
UPI rewrote your payment maths. Now it carries a footnote.
Why UPI made accepting payments almost free, what changed in August 2026, and the three ways to collect UPI in ChefDesk without a card machine.
Free Table Reservation Software: What You Actually Get
Free reservation software for restaurants: what free really covers, where costs start, what a trial hides, and how to judge whether free is enough for you.
WhatsApp Ordering for Restaurants: The Complete Guide
How a WhatsApp message becomes a kitchen ticket — order lifecycle, menu publishing, delivery, payments, and the commission-free business case.