Think of channels as all the places your customers can view / order from your menus. In other words, every unique QR code leads your customer to a unique channel. This means that each table is usually a channel (so you have many of those), your take-away option is a channel (you could have several but usually only need one), your delivery option is a channel, the place you put in your Grab or Foodpanda orders is a channel, and even the purely visual menu that you may share on your social media pages or Google menu is a channel.

That being said, there are many channel types, to make the customer and merchant journey fit your preference for each of your channel.

The different channel types accommodate the different requirements of your restaurant's ordering formats, such as whether you want the customer to pay before the order goes through, pay at the end of the meal, share a group basket, enter a delivery address, not charge service fee, etc.

Dine-in channels are the most standard channel type. This channel type has group baskets and is pay-at-the-end (just like most sit-down restaurants would be). Customers can split the bill at the end of the meal however they would like (by item, equally, by custom amount).

We do recommend table codes for Dine-in channels, but they are optional. Table codes are custom codes (up to 4 digits) you put on the back of the table cards, which the customer has to enter after they scan the QR code on the table card. This is a security measure which prevents people from being able to order to the kitchen if they see a picture of the QR code on the table card somewhere (but they are not in the restaurant) like on social media.

Pre-pay dine-in channels are great for restaurants that are typically order-at-the-counter format, or for restaurants that might have some tables far away that are not easily visible for staff (eg hotels that may have tables by the beach and find it challenging to monitor).

Group baskets can be toggled on and off, depending of the dining experience you prefer your customers to have. No table code is needed, as customers has to pay before placing their orders. If group basket toggle is ON, your customers are unable to modify the group basket option while theres order in the channel. When the toggle is OFF, it will disable sharing menu while ordering for customers.

Takeaway channels function much like Pre-pay dine-in channels as they also require payment upfront. However, the difference is that there are no group baskets (since you will probably display takeaway QR codes somewhere many people can scan the same QR code), and service charge is not applied. Customers are required to fill in their phone numbers so they can be called (in case they pre-order and forget, for example).

Delivery channels are for your own 'direct' delivery (not the delivery done through third party delivery apps like Grab, Foodpanda, etc.). It's designed for orders to be fulfilled either by your own delivery vehicles, or through Papaya's integration with Lala Move (once set up, when a customer orders through a Delivery channel, a Lala Move rider is automatically called and will handle the logistics.

Customers are required to select their address from a Google Maps integration in Papaya, as well as give their email and phone number so they can be reached with receipts and calls from the driver. Customers will also have the option to request cutlery, drop-off point, etc.

Partner channels are for you to enter orders that are coming from other partners you may be using, such as third party delivery apps (eg Grab, Foodpanda, etc.) so you can keep track of all data from these orders as well. We recommend you fill out how much commission (GP%) you pay for each partner channel where applicable, so you can also keep track of how much commission you're paying out to each partner in our Insights section. Read more in how to create Partner channels.

Visual Menu channels are exactly what they sound like - just visual menus. No ordering and no payments. These are most commonly used to show customers your menu (with pictures, prices, descriptions, etc) in places you don't want them to be able to order/pay, for example in your social media bios, or on your Google Maps page in the "menu" section.