Example calculation, not a measurement: What a digital menu saves compared with printed menus depends on your printing costs. The calculation below assumes you reprint 100 laminated menus at €3 each four times a year. Plug in your own figures.
Intro
Restaurants and hotels constantly update menus, service guides, and promotional materials. Traditional printing methods can be costly, time-consuming, and wasteful. Fortunately, wooden standees and stickers with a QR-Code offer a one-time investment with minimal recurring costs. In this article, we’ll analyze the Return on Investment (ROI) for both solutions compared to traditional printing, showing how businesses can save money and even increase revenue with self-ordering integration.
Traditional printing: an ongoing expense
Many restaurants and hotels update their menus and information sheets multiple times a year. Let’s break down the typical costs:
100 printed menus per location (A4, laminated, double-sided): €3 per menu.
Menus are updated 4 times per year (due to seasonal changes, wear & tear).
Total printing cost per year per location: 100 menus × €3 × 4 updates = €1,200 per year
Those costs repeat every year, making printing a significant long-term expense.
Wooden standees & stickers: cost-effective alternatives
Our solutions allow customers to access a digital menu or hotel services via their smartphones by simply scanning or tapping NFC/QR codes.
Option 1: Wooden Standees with a QR-Code & NFC-Tag
One-time purchase: €950 (50 standees)
Menu editor: €25 net per month per location (€300 a year). The PDF menu with QR code is free.
Option 2: NFC/QR Stickers
One-time purchase: €8 per sticker.
100 stickers for a hotel = €800 total.
Menu editor: €25 net per month per location (€300 a year). The PDF menu with QR code is free.
In this example, you keep €900 per year and location from the second year onward (€1,200 printing − €300 editor).
Break-even points:
Stickers: after just under 11 months (€800 ÷ €900 × 12)
Wooden standees: after just under 13 months (€950 ÷ €900 × 12)
In this example, the stickers pay for themselves after just under eleven months, the wooden standees after just under 13 months. With several locations, the calculation applies per location.
Ordering at the table: If you would also like to take orders via the menu, you can do so through our partner COMFI (self-ordering). We don’t quote figures for additional revenue here because they depend on your business.
Conclusion: A Smart Investment for Every Business
- No recurring printing costs for the menu itself
- Change prices and dishes in the portal instead of reprinting
- Run the example with your own printing costs
More on the digital menu and the digital guest folder for hotels. Stands and stickers are available in our online shop.