The first time you sign in to Papaya, a setup wizard walks you through creating your business, your first outlet, and everything you need to take your first order. It takes about 10 minutes — and the bigger steps (menu, inventory) can be skipped and finished any time later.
As you go, the preview on the right is your actual dashboard filling in live: the outlet name, logo, menu items, and inventory you enter are real, not samples.
You will see between five and seven steps, depending on what you pick in Step 3. Use Back in the top-left to revisit a step, and the language selector in the top-right to switch between English and ไทย.
Step 1 — Let's set up your business
Merchant name — your brand name, shown to guests when they order online.
Your customer ordering link — built from the name and shown just below it, for example app.papaya.co.th/bistro-siam. Select Edit if you want a different one. You can also change it later in Settings → General.
Business type — Restaurant, Cafe, Bar & nightlife, Quick service, Food truck, Catering, or Other.
Country — sets your currency, taxes, billing, and the revenue ranges below. We pre-select it from your device's time zone, so it is worth a glance.
Monthly revenue — a range in your local currency (pick Not sure yet if you are just starting out).
Your mobile number — required. This is how our team reaches you while you get set up, by phone, LINE, or WhatsApp. It is never shown to your guests.
Step 2 — Create your first outlet
This step starts with Google Maps. Type your outlet's name in the search field and pick your listing from the suggestions — results are ranked around your location, so your own shop is usually in the first few.
What we take from your listing
Your outlet name and country, filled in for you.
Your address exactly as Google has it, saved on the outlet.
The Google place itself, so the address on your outlet stays in step with your listing.
The rest of the step
Add your logo — the button beside the search field. Any image works: we crop it square for you, so it does not have to be a perfect logo file.
Outlet name & country — from your listing — open this to check, or change, what Google gave us.
Change — pick a different listing.
My outlet isn't on Google Maps — skips the search so you can type the outlet name and country yourself. You can add the address later in Settings → Outlets.
Everything in Papaya — menus, channels, plans — belongs to an outlet, and you can add more locations later (see Plans for Multiple Locations).
Step 3 — How would you like to run your outlet?
POS — take orders, manage tables, payments, and daily service.
Inventory — track ingredients, recipes, stock levels, and purchasing.
Both are selected to begin with. Untick anything you do not need — the sidebar in the preview changes with your choice, so you can see the dashboard you are about to get.
This also decides the rest of the wizard: POS gives you the channels and menu steps, Inventory gives you the inventory upload, and keeping both gives you all three. Both together is worth it — every sale then updates your stock automatically.
Step 4 — Choose your ordering channels
Select how your customers and your team can place orders: Dine-in, Prepay dine-in, Takeaway, Visual menu, Delivery, and the delivery apps — Grab, LINE MAN, Foodpanda, ShopeeFood, and Robinhood.
The channels you pick are created straight away, so they are ready and waiting under Channels when setup finishes. If you select Skip, we set up Dine-in for you so you can take an order immediately. Nothing here is final — add or change channels any time.
Step 5 — Create your menu with Copilot
Upload your existing menu — a photo, PDF, or spreadsheet, up to 10 MB per file, and as many files as you need — then select Generate menu. Copilot reads it and builds your menu with categories and prices.
It usually takes a minute or two, and we will tell you if it is running long. When it is finished you will see Your menu is ready and your real items in the preview. If something looks off, upload another file and generate again — and you can fine-tune everything later under Menu.
Step 6 — Create your inventory products
If you chose Inventory, this step fills your stock list. There are two ways in:
Download the template — the easiest route. It arrives pre-filled with example products: swap in your own rows and upload it back.
File format details — open this if you are exporting from another system. CSV or Excel, up to 500 products per file, with the columns name, type (raw or prep), inventoryUom, yield, parLevel, shelfLife, reorderPoint, categoryName, and batchSize (optional).
Your file is checked before anything is created: any problem rows are listed first so you can fix them and upload again. Once it goes through you will see Your products are ready with the number created, and they appear in the preview. Upload another file to add more, or Skip and do it later — more in Getting Started with Papaya Inventory.
Step 7 — Select plan
Finally, pick your plan. The POS / POS & Inventory tab matching your Step 3 choice is pre-selected, with a Recommended tag on the tier that fits. Choose monthly or annual billing (annual saves 15%), then start your 30-day free trial. For tiers, pricing, and how the trial and billing work, see Papaya Plans & Packages: Overview and How to Subscribe.
After setup
You land in your dashboard, where a Get started checklist in the sidebar tracks the last few steps to your first order — see Your Free Trial & the Get-Started Checklist.
FAQ
Why do you need my mobile number?
So our team can reach you while you are setting up — by phone, LINE, or WhatsApp. It is not shown to your guests and it is not the number that appears on your receipts; that one is set per outlet in Settings → Outlets.
My outlet isn't on Google Maps — can I still continue?
Yes. Select My outlet isn't on Google Maps and type the outlet name and country yourself. Everything after that step is the same, and you can add your address later in Settings → Outlets.
Can I change my customer ordering link?
Yes — select Edit next to the link in Step 1, or change it later in Settings → General.
Can I skip the menu or inventory steps?
Yes — both have a Skip button. You can build your menu under Menu and upload inventory under Inventory whenever you are ready.
Can I go back to a previous step?
Yes — use Back in the top-left corner. Your business details are saved, so returning to Step 1 shows what you already entered.
Can I set up in Thai?
Yes — switch the language from the selector in the top-right corner of the wizard.
I have several locations — do I set them all up now?
Set up your first location in the wizard, then add the rest afterwards, each with its own plan: Plans for Multiple Locations.