Straight answers.
What is live, what is on the roadmap, what you own, and what is agreed in your package. Every answer carries a label.
Owning it
Do I really own the software?
You own a licensed copy: the sealed engine, your editable workspace, the SDK, and a source escrow archive. You pay once. It runs in your account and never needs to phone home to keep working. You may not resell RestaKit itself. The licence text is published before any payment.
What is the 'sealed core' and why is it sealed?
The engine that decides totals, kitchen stages, migrations and payment capture. It ships signed and hash-verified so a change by a developer or an AI tool cannot quietly break the parts that lose you money. Everything around it, screens, workflows, plugins, identity, is yours to change.
Can my developer, or an AI coding tool, change it?
Yes. Your copy ships as a kit prepared for AI coding tools: an AGENTS.md law file, the plugin SDK with a worked example, and a predeploy gate that runs a full order before anything goes live. Any developer can work on it. Our own hosted AI editor is coming soon.
What if the AI breaks something?
The gate refuses it. Typecheck, guards, engine integrity and a full order run must pass before a change is promoted. If a bad change still slips through, delete the override and the default screen is back with no build, or roll back to the last snapshot.
Do I get updates? Do they overwrite my changes?
Core updates and new plugins are included in beta. Updates are signed releases that verify, back up, migrate, test and promote, with automatic rollback. Your overrides and plugins live outside the engine and are never overwritten.
What if RestaKit stops trading?
Your copy keeps running. The engine has no kill-switch and no licence check at boot. The source escrow archive delivered with your copy means you or any developer can keep it alive.
Where does it run and what does hosting cost?
In your own cloud account, with your database and your security setup. We install it for you as part of the deployment package. Hosting is paid to your provider, not to us. We recommend a setup for your number of covers.
Is anyone else selling a restaurant system this way?
Not that we have found. Some vendors say 'ownership' but charge per order and per month, with hosting 'while active'. We sell the copy. If you know of another, tell us.
The basics
What is RestaKit?
A full restaurant system: guest QR ordering, a kitchen display, live order updates, and a back office for menus, routing, tables, stock, staff and settings. You get a licensed copy configured to your restaurant.
Who is it for?
Independent restaurants, cafés, bars and small groups. Also technology partners who want a restaurant system to configure or extend.
Is it a full POS replacement?
Not today. It covers ordering, kitchen and back office. Payments are on the roadmap, so most restaurants keep their card terminal for now.
Guests and kitchen
How do guests order?
They scan a QR code at the table, browse the menu, pick options, add a note, and send the order. No app, no account.
Can guests add allergies or requests?
Yes. Notes and allergy flags travel with the ticket and stay bold on the kitchen board.
What does the kitchen see?
Live tickets by station and expo, ticket age, all-day counts, and notes. Bump, split and recall by touch or bump bar. Recall needs a manager PIN.
What does the guest see after ordering?
Received, preparing, ready, served. Kitchen detail stays in the kitchen.
Is stock included?
Yes. Stock, receiving, counts, variance, ingredient costing, yield and substitutions. When an ingredient hits zero the dish comes off the menu.
Setup and customisation
Can it look like our restaurant?
Yes. Identity, menu presentation and agreed screens are configured for you. What is included is written into your package.
Can we change how it works?
Settings you change yourself. Workflow and screen changes are scoped, quoted and reviewed before they ship. Nothing touches the sealed core.
Will you load our menu?
If your package includes setup, yes: items, prices, modifiers, allergens, categories, tables, routing and staff. You review it before go-live.
Where does it run?
In an agreed, supported environment. Deployment help covers the environment, access handover and documentation. Backups, updates and support responsibilities are written down first.
Can our developer work on it?
Yes, through the agreed route for your package. A public API, SDK and plugin path is on the roadmap.
How long does setup take?
It depends on your menu and stations. We tell you what you supply, what we prepare, and when you review it. It is not instant.
Roadmap
Does it take payments?
Not yet. Payments are planned as a provider-backed add-on. Any quote states exactly what is included.
Reservations, loyalty, delivery?
Not today. Reservations are on the roadmap. We will say so plainly if something you need is not covered.
What about AI?
Planned: an owner assistant that reads reports and prepares routine admin for your approval, and a guest assistant for menu and dietary questions. AI never changes a setting or charges a card on its own.
API, SDK, plugins?
In development. Released only when contracts, permissions and documentation are ready.
Early access
What does early access mean?
A small first group of restaurants gets the system set up on their menu, early-access pricing, and a direct line to the team. You see exactly what is live and what is coming.
How are staff, guests and managers separated?
Separate staff sign-in, signed guest table sessions, kitchen kiosk enrolment, and manager PINs with lockout and audit.
What happens after I book a demo?
We reply within two working days, load your menu, and walk you through the screens in a 30-minute call. Then you get package options in writing.
Is there a fee to apply?
No.