Recording payments and closing bills

AirQR records payments; it does not collect them. Guests pay you directly (cash, card on your own machine, or UPI straight to your bank account), and staff record each payment on the check so the bill, reports and cash drawer are correct. There are no gateway fees, but it also means a UPI payment only counts once you see the money arrive.

Owners, managers, cashiers and waiters can record payments.

Setting up UPI and bank details for payments

Go to Settings → Payments ("Guests pay you directly — money goes straight to your bank, with no gateway and no fees."):

• UPI ID, for example yourname@okhdfcbank, and Name shown in UPI apps. With a UPI ID, AirQR shows a UPI QR with the exact bill amount on guest phones and on the POS, and a "Pay with UPI app" button on mobile.
• Your UPI QR (optional). If you only have the QR from your bank, PhonePe, Paytm or Google Pay business app, press Upload UPI QR and upload a clear photo of it. Guests type the amount themselves with this QR. AirQR also reads the QR in your browser: if it finds a UPI ID in it, it shows "We read this QR" with the UPI ID and Payee name. Check they match your bank or UPI app, press Use these details, then Save changes. From then on the POS and printed bills can show a QR with the exact amount too.
• Bank transfer (optional). Account name, account number, IFSC and bank name for guests who prefer NEFT or IMPS. Shown with copy buttons on the guest's payment page.

Card and wallet payments through a payment gateway (Razorpay, Stripe) are not available yet.

UPI limits on amount-filled QR codes

Some UPI apps limit payments to amount-filled QR codes from businesses that aren't verified merchants — often around ₹2,000 per payment. Personal and business UPI IDs usually work fine. If a guest's app refuses a bigger bill, they can scan your shop's own printed UPI QR and type the amount, or pay in two parts (see Split payments).

Payment QR: show the guest a QR for the bill

From an open check, press Payment QR: on the Point of sale it's under the totals, on an order in Orders it's under Settle bill, and in the Settle check window (with UPI chosen) press Show large QR.

A large QR opens with the amount, "Scan with any UPI app", your payee name and UPI ID, and a Reference such as AQ1042K7X2. Show it on the screen or turn the tablet round. The QR is a UPI payment for exactly the amount due (after discounts, tip and any part payments), with "Bill (number) Table (name)" as the note.

• Split bill: press Change amount and type one person's share. Show one QR per person.
• When the money shows in your UPI app, press Mark as paid (UPI). The payment is recorded as UPI with the QR's reference, exactly like the Settle window; the check closes when it's fully paid.
• No UPI ID yet? The window says "Set up UPI to show a payment QR" and links to Settings → Payments.

How to record a payment (Settle check)

1. Open the check: on the Point of sale press Pay, or open the order in Orders and press Settle bill.
2. The Settle check #(number) window shows Total, Paid and Due.
3. Choose the method: UPI, Card, Cash or Other.
4. Check the Amount (it starts at the amount due). Add a Tip if the guest left one.
5. Fill in the method details (below), then press Record (amount) & close check, or Record (amount) for a part payment.

For Card and Other, add a Reference ("Last 4 digits / approval code"). Other is for anything that isn't cash, card or UPI, for example a voucher.

Cash payments and change

Choose Cash, then type what the guest handed over in Cash received. AirQR shows Change to return: with the exact change. Give that change, then press Record. If a cash drawer is connected to the bill printer, it can open automatically on cash bills (see Cash drawer).

UPI payments: verify before you record

Choose UPI. If you've set a UPI ID, a UPI QR appears with the exact amount: "Ask the guest to scan with any UPI app". Show large QR opens the full-screen Payment QR. Unpaid printed bills carry a "Scan to pay" QR for the amount due; you can turn that off in Settings → Printing & screens → Print UPI QR on bills.

Before recording:

1. Check the credit on your soundbox or in the restaurant's own UPI or bank app.
2. Match the amount and the time.
3. Only then press Record.

Never accept a guest's screenshot as proof. Screenshots are easy to fake or reuse. If the money hasn't arrived, don't record it.

When a guest taps "I've paid · Verify payment"

Every guest who pays you directly sees a UPI QR with the exact amount due (after discounts, tip and any part payments), a Pay with UPI app button on phones, your shop's own UPI QR as a fallback ("Enter exactly (amount)") and your bank details. This works for table QR orders (a guest can pay their table's bill from their phone), QR takeaway, online pickup and delivery, and the self-order kiosk. After paying they tap I've paid · Verify payment, optionally adding the 12-digit UPI reference (UTR) or a screenshot.

This never marks the order paid. The claim appears in the Payment center (Service → Payments, with a badge and a bell in the top bar), on the Takeaway & delivery board and on the order. The guest's page shows "Waiting for (restaurant) to confirm your payment".

1. Check your UPI or bank app for the amount. The UTR, if given, and the order's reference (for example AQ1043) help you find it; the screenshot is not proof.
2. If the money is there, press Verify & mark paid, choose UPI or Bank transfer, optionally edit the reference, and confirm. The guest's page and the kiosk change to "Payment received ✓". A pay-first order then goes to the kitchen (an online order is accepted at the same time).
3. If it isn't there, press Not received and optionally pick a note ("Not in our UPI app yet"). The guest sees "Payment not received — please check" with your note and can tell you again.

Only owners, managers and cashiers can verify payments; waiters can see claims but not verify them. See Payment center.

The payment QR carries the AirQR mark in the middle and "Powered by AirQR" under it. It still scans in every UPI app.

Split payments

One check can be paid in several parts, by different people or methods. Record each part separately: for example, record ₹600 by UPI, then open Settle again and record the remaining ₹400 in Cash. After each part the window shows what's still Due. The Orders list shows Part-paid until the balance is zero.

Closing the check

A check closes by itself when payments cover the full total; the button reads Record (amount) & close check. You'll see "Check #(number) paid & closed". When it closes:

• the table is freed (marked for cleaning) and its open service requests are cleared;
• the guest's visit and spend are added to their profile, and loyalty points are added if loyalty is on;
• the bill can be printed as a tax invoice (Print invoice).

Refunds

AirQR doesn't move money, so a refund is two steps: give the money back (in your UPI or bank app, a reversal on the card machine, or cash from the till), then record it. Only owners and managers can record refunds.

1. Open the order in Orders (or, on the Point of sale, open a check from Settled in the last 24 hours in the Open checks tab) and press Record refund.
2. Enter the Refund amount (up to what was paid), choose how it was refunded: UPI, Cash, Card, Bank transfer or Other.
3. Pick or type a Reason (required), and add a Reference such as the UPI reference (UTR) if you have one. Which items? is optional, for item-level reports.
4. Press Record refund of (amount).

What happens:

• On a settled bill the order shows Part-refunded or Refunded, and the refund counts as a sales return: reports show gross sales, refunds and net, and GST reports take it off the month it was given.
• On a check that's still open, the refund just corrects what was paid: the amount becomes Due again. To cancel an open check that has payments, record refunds for them first, then Cancel order.
• Cash refunds while a cash drawer is open are taken out of it (a cash-out) and show on the Z report.
• If the guest earned loyalty points on the bill, the same share of them is taken back (a full refund takes them all, never below zero), and points they used on it are given back. The refund window shows it before you confirm, for example "Guest loses 42 points". See Loyalty points.
• The guest's lifetime spend goes down by the refund; a bill refunded in full no longer counts as a visit.
• The guest's order page shows "Refunded (amount)". Every refund is in the audit log and the data export.
• Refunds need the internet; they can't be recorded on an offline POS.

Troubleshooting payments

Help: call or WhatsApp +91 96573 22724, or email support@airqr.in. Related: Point of sale basics, Discounts, voids and tips.