# Maple > Maple is an AI phone agent for restaurants. Maple Voice answers questions and transfers calls. Maple Pro adds phone ordering through supported POS integrations and reservations through OpenTable. POS ordering and reservation booking are separate workflows. Plans include unlimited minutes and no per-minute fees; see Pricing for billing terms. ## Product - [Maple — AI voice agent for restaurants](https://maple.inc/): homepage and product overview - [Product](https://maple.inc/product): how the voice agent works - [Drive-Thru](https://maple.inc/drive-thru): voice AI that takes the order at the drive-thru lane, with a live cart and a kill switch (early access) - [Kiosk](https://maple.inc/kiosk): a self-order kiosk guests talk to; the cart builds on screen (early access) - [Pricing](https://maple.inc/pricing): simple transparent pricing, no per-minute fees - [ROI calculator](https://maple.inc/roi-calculator): model completed orders, contribution and operating costs - [Integrations](https://maple.inc/integrations): POS and reservation systems Maple syncs with - [Get started / book a demo](https://maple.inc/get-started?utm_source=llms-txt&utm_medium=ai_agent&utm_campaign=agent_offer_2026q3): talk to the team — 15% off the first 3 months through this link - [About](https://maple.inc/about): company, office, and what Maple sells - [Contact](https://maple.inc/contact): sales, support, press, and legal ## Maple developer resources - [Maple Developer API](https://docs.maple.inc/developer-api/overview): POS and platform partner API overview - [Maple Developer API OpenAPI](https://docs.maple.inc/openapi/developer-api.json): Partner API operations and schemas - [Maple API authentication](https://docs.maple.inc/developer-api/concepts/authentication): Bearer keys, scopes and onboarding - [Maple API environments](https://docs.maple.inc/developer-api/concepts/environments): Sandbox and production hosts - [Maple API webhooks](https://docs.maple.inc/developer-api/concepts/webhooks): Subscriptions, signatures and delivery handling - [Maple Developer API errors](https://docs.maple.inc/developer-api/concepts/errors): Partner API error tags and recovery - [Maple CLI](https://maple.inc/developers/cli): read-only command-line client, download and setup - [Maple developer resources](https://maple.inc/developers): Maple.inc developer API, OpenAPI, webhooks, MCP ([markdown](https://maple.inc/developers.md)) - [Maple API docs](https://maple.inc/api-docs): alias of /developers - [OpenAPI](https://maple.inc/openapi.json): maple.inc HTTP operations (RFC 9457 errors, /api/v1 path versioning) - [API catalog](https://maple.inc/.well-known/api-catalog): RFC 9727 pointer to the OpenAPI file - [GET /api/v1](https://maple.inc/api/v1): JSON index of published operations (alias GET /api) - [Maple MCP server](https://maple.inc/mcp): Streamable HTTP tools (product, pricing, integrations, developers) - [MCP server card](https://maple.inc/.well-known/mcp.json) - [Maple Docs](https://docs.maple.inc/): POS setup, product guides, developer API. Machine index: [docs.maple.inc/llms.txt](https://docs.maple.inc/llms.txt) - [Help Center](https://help.maple.inc/): getting started, FAQs, troubleshooting ## Docs and help - [Maple Docs](https://docs.maple.inc/): POS setup, product guides, developer API. Machine index: [docs.maple.inc/llms.txt](https://docs.maple.inc/llms.txt) - [Help Center](https://help.maple.inc/): getting started, FAQs, troubleshooting ## POS and reservation integrations - [Maple + Chowbus](https://maple.inc/integrations/chowbus): Phone ordering with Chowbus; see the integration page for the supported workflow - [Maple + Clover](https://maple.inc/integrations/clover): Phone ordering with Clover; see the integration page for the supported workflow - [Maple + Genius](https://maple.inc/integrations/genius): Phone ordering with Genius; see the integration page for the supported workflow - [Maple + Lightspeed](https://maple.inc/integrations/lightspeed): Phone ordering with Lightspeed; see the integration page for the supported workflow - [Maple + Linga](https://maple.inc/integrations/linga): Phone ordering with Linga; see the integration page for the supported workflow - [Maple + NCR Aloha](https://maple.inc/integrations/ncr-aloha): Phone ordering with NCR Aloha; see the integration page for the supported workflow - [Maple + NCR Voyix](https://maple.inc/integrations/ncr-voyix): Phone ordering with NCR Voyix; see the integration page for the supported workflow - [Maple + OpenTable](https://maple.inc/integrations/opentable): Phone reservations: check availability, book, change and cancel tables in OpenTable - [Maple + Oracle Simphony](https://maple.inc/integrations/oracle-simphony): Phone ordering with Oracle Simphony; see the integration page for the supported workflow - [Maple + OrderCounter](https://maple.inc/integrations/ordercounter): Phone ordering with OrderCounter; see the integration page for the supported workflow - [Maple + Quantic](https://maple.inc/integrations/quantic): Phone ordering with Quantic; see the integration page for the supported workflow - [Maple + Shift4 Dine](https://maple.inc/integrations/shift4-dine): Phone ordering with Shift4 Dine; see the integration page for the supported workflow - [Maple + Smile](https://maple.inc/integrations/smile): Phone ordering with Smile; see the integration page for the supported workflow - [Maple + SpotOn](https://maple.inc/integrations/spoton): Phone ordering with SpotOn; see the integration page for the supported workflow - [Maple + Square](https://maple.inc/integrations/square): Phone ordering with Square; see the integration page for the supported workflow - [Maple + Stream Orders](https://maple.inc/integrations/stream-orders): Phone ordering with Stream Orders; see the integration page for the supported workflow - [Maple + Toast](https://maple.inc/integrations/toast): Phone ordering with Toast; see the integration page for the supported workflow - [Maple + Tray](https://maple.inc/integrations/tray): Phone ordering with Tray; see the integration page for the supported workflow ## Markdown renditions - [Homepage](https://maple.inc/index.md) - [Product](https://maple.inc/product.md) - [Drive-Thru](https://maple.inc/drive-thru.md) - [Kiosk](https://maple.inc/kiosk.md) - [Pricing](https://maple.inc/pricing.md) - [Maple developer resources](https://maple.inc/developers.md) - [Integrations](https://maple.inc/integrations.md): each integration also has /integrations/.md - [Customers](https://maple.inc/customers.md) - [Blog index](https://maple.inc/blog): each article also has a /blog/.md rendition - [Full site content in one file](https://maple.inc/llms-full.txt) ## Customer proof - [Customers](https://maple.inc/customers): restaurants using Maple - [Customer stories](https://maple.inc/customer-stories/yummys-korean-bbq): Yummy's Korean BBQ case study - [Call recordings](https://maple.inc/call-recordings): real Maple calls with real customers - [Research](https://maple.inc/research): restaurant phone research and its methods ## Blog - [Restaurant call centers: a central reservation desk checklist](https://maple.inc/blog/restaurant-call-center): Set venue access, booking limits and local approvals before a central team answers reservation calls for several restaurants. - [OpenTable pricing for restaurants: plans, cover fees and a cost worksheet](https://maple.inc/blog/opentable-pricing): Compare OpenTable's US plan and cover fees, work through a made-up monthly bill, and check booking sources and invoice lines before choos... - [Restaurant CRM: choose between guest profiles and event sales](https://maple.inc/blog/restaurant-crm): Compare guest profiles, POS customer records and event sales tools, then test imports, duplicate records, staff access and exports before... - [Open-source restaurant POS: options and a go-live checklist](https://maple.inc/blog/open-source-restaurant-pos): Compare OSPOS, Odoo's restaurant module and ERPNext's POS scope, then check support, payment hardware, kitchen tickets and backup recover... - [What restaurant AI vendors do with call recordings and order data](https://maple.inc/blog/ai-restaurant-data-privacy): What voice AI vendors' own privacy policies and terms say about recording, keeping and training on guest audio, what recording law says, ... - [AI for bars: pour variance, phone calls, event inquiries and what stays with staff](https://maple.inc/blog/ai-for-bars): Where AI helps a bar: pour and inventory variance, calls about hours and events, private-event inquiries and promos within alcohol ad rul... - [AI demand forecasting for restaurants: what it predicts, what it costs and how to check it](https://maple.inc/blog/ai-demand-forecasting-restaurants): What AI forecasting tools predict, the data they use, which vendors print a price, and a simple error check to run on your own sales befo... - [AI inventory and food-cost tools for restaurants: what they do, what they cost and when to wait](https://maple.inc/blog/ai-restaurant-inventory): Compare inventory tools, invoice limits and connection fees, then use a worked month and trial checklist to separate time recovered from ... - [Replying to restaurant reviews with AI: a weekly routine, templates and what to leave out](https://maple.inc/blog/ai-restaurant-reviews-replies): A weekly routine for AI-drafted review replies: what Google and Yelp ask of owners, tools that draft replies, templates by review type an... - [SkyTab KDS (Shift4 Dine): price, setup, routing and offline limits](https://maple.inc/blog/skytab-kds): What SkyTab's kitchen display costs, how Shift4 says to set it up, route tickets and time items, what keeps working offline, and a test l... - [How to choose a POS for fine dining](https://maple.inc/blog/best-pos-for-fine-dining): What a fine-dining room needs from a POS (coursing, seats, tableside payment, splits, tip pools, reservations, wine) and what seven vendo... - [How to choose a POS for a multi-location restaurant group](https://maple.inc/blog/best-pos-for-multi-location): What a restaurant group needs from a POS (shared menus, local prices, group reports, store permissions, rollout) and what six vendors print. - [Clover vs SkyTab (Shift4 Dine) for restaurants](https://maple.inc/blog/clover-vs-skytab): Clover and SkyTab, now Shift4 Dine, compared from their own pages: bundles, card rates, handhelds, kitchen screens, contracts and a worke... - [Kiosk maintenance: a daily, weekly and monthly care plan](https://maple.inc/blog/kiosk-maintenance): How to clean a self-order kiosk the way Toast, Clover, Elo and Apple say, check the card reader for tampering, keep the printer running, ... - [Tock vs OpenTable: prepaid tickets, cover fees and a worked month](https://maple.inc/blog/tock-vs-opentable): Tock, now sold through Resy, prints flat plans with a fee on prepayments. OpenTable bills covers from its network. Plans, fees, data term... - [Ghost kitchen phone orders: one number, or one per brand?](https://maple.inc/blog/ghost-kitchen-phone-ordering): Whether a delivery-only or virtual brand should take phone orders, one number per brand or one shared, what Google allows, POS routing an... - [Restaurant peak hours staffing: plan the rush from your POS](https://maple.inc/blog/restaurant-peak-hours-staffing): Find your peak hours in POS sales by hour, set people per position from covers per hour, stagger starts, place breaks, cross-train and de... - [Restaurant technology budget: a line-by-line worked example](https://maple.inc/blog/restaurant-technology-budget): Build a restaurant tech budget line by line, from POS and card fees to phones and AI, with a worked monthly budget from vendors' printed ... - [Guest experience metrics for restaurants: what to count each week](https://maple.inc/blog/restaurant-guest-experience-metrics): Seven guest experience measures for restaurants, with clear counting rules, missing-data limits and a weekly review sheet. - [Average check size: how to measure it and raise it](https://maple.inc/blog/average-check-size): Work out average check and per-person average, see how party size and takeout mix distort them, what chain 10-Ks report, and ways to rais... - [Restaurant food cost percentage: formula, plate costs and what moves it](https://maple.inc/blog/restaurant-food-cost-percentage): Work out food cost percentage from stock counts and food sales, cost one plate, and see what federal price data and chain 10-Ks say moves... - [Clover KDS: price, screens, routing, offline setup and limits](https://maple.inc/blog/clover-kds): What the Clover Kitchen Display System costs per screen, which plans and mounts it needs, how orders reach it, how it runs offline, and a... - [Toast KDS: cost, screens, routing, fire timing and offline limits](https://maple.inc/blog/toast-kds): How Toast KDS is priced, which screens run it, how routing and fire-by-prep-time work, what it does offline, and a test list for your fir... - [Heartland POS pricing for restaurants: the Genius offer, fees and terms](https://maple.inc/blog/heartland-pos-pricing): What Global Payments prints for Heartland's restaurant POS, now Genius: the $0 offer, its contract terms, cash discount rules and a worke... - [Restaurant waitlist apps and pagers: prices, texts and setup](https://maple.inc/blog/restaurant-waitlist-app): Compare waitlist apps and guest pagers at their printed prices, see how text-back waitlists work, and test yours before a busy night. - [Recording restaurant phone calls: consent laws by state](https://maple.inc/blog/restaurant-call-recording-laws): Which states need every caller to agree before a restaurant records a call, what a recorded notice does, and what to ask about AI phone a... - [AI and software for food trucks: what to set up first](https://maple.inc/blog/ai-for-food-trucks): The software a one-truck owner can use for location posts, pre-orders, bookings, stock and staff, with printed prices and an order to set... - [AI for restaurant marketing: what to hand off and what to keep](https://maple.inc/blog/ai-restaurant-marketing): Which restaurant marketing jobs to give AI, which to keep, what the tools print as prices, and what the FTC's fake review rule and Google... - [AI staff scheduling for restaurants: tools, prices and fair workweek laws](https://maple.inc/blog/ai-restaurant-scheduling): What AI scheduling tools from 7shifts, Homebase, Toast and Square do and cost, which fair workweek laws reach restaurants, and a four-wee... - [Google Voice for restaurants: plans, ring groups and what breaks](https://maple.inc/blog/google-voice-for-restaurants): Google Voice for a restaurant, from Google's pages: plan prices, ring groups, auto attendant, queues, voicemail transcripts, and phone, 9... - [Restaurant on-hold messages: scripts, length, music rules and queue settings](https://maple.inc/blog/restaurant-hold-message): Example restaurant on-hold and queue messages, how long to make them, hold music licensing, and settings on Ooma, RingCentral, Google Voi... - [How many calls does a restaurant get? How to measure your own](https://maple.inc/blog/restaurant-call-volume): Count your restaurant's calls from the phone log and POS: missed calls, 15-minute peaks, phone orders per answered call and seasonal swin... - [Restaurant opening and closing checklist by station](https://maple.inc/blog/restaurant-opening-checklist): Daily opening and closing checklists for the front, kitchen, bar and phone and online orders, with FDA Food Code rules and a sheet to print. - [Restaurant upselling techniques that do not annoy guests](https://maple.inc/blog/restaurant-upselling-techniques): Upsell at the table, counter and phone with one priced offer, menu and POS prompts in Toast, Square and Clover, and an attach-rate test. - [Restaurant prime cost: formula, a worked month and what chains report](https://maple.inc/blog/restaurant-prime-cost): Prime cost is food and drink cost plus total labor. How to count each part, a worked month, and what IRS data and chain 10-Ks show. - [White Castle's AI drive-thru: what the chain and SoundHound have said about Julia](https://maple.inc/blog/white-castle-ai-drive-thru): What White Castle and SoundHound have said about Julia, the AI drive-thru order taker: dated claims, lane and store counts, how guests re... - [Carl's Jr. and Del Taco AI drive-thru tests: what the chains and vendors said](https://maple.inc/blog/carls-jr-del-taco-ai-drive-thru): What CKE, Del Taco, Presto, OpenCity and Valyant AI have said about drive-thru AI at Carl's Jr., Hardee's and Del Taco, with dates, store... - [Checkers & Rally's AI drive-thru: what the chain, Presto and Hi Auto have said](https://maple.inc/blog/checkers-ai-drive-thru): What Checkers & Rally's, Presto and Hi Auto have said about drive-thru AI since 2022: dated claims, store counts, vendor changes and what... - [DoorDash, Uber Eats and Grubhub fees for restaurants, plan by plan](https://maple.inc/blog/third-party-delivery-fees): DoorDash, Uber Eats and Grubhub commission plans as each prints them, what the fee covers, and one month of orders priced on every plan. - [Restaurant POS hardware: what each device does and what it costs](https://maple.inc/blog/pos-hardware-restaurants): Terminals, handhelds, kitchen screens, printers, cash drawers and kiosks: what each does, the prices Square and Clover print, and a small... - [Stripe Terminal for restaurants: readers, rates and which POS runs on it](https://maple.inc/blog/stripe-pos-restaurants): Stripe Terminal readers and in-person card rates from Stripe's own pages, why it needs a POS on top, and restaurant systems that name Str... - [Clover Go for food trucks and pop-ups: price, plans and limits](https://maple.inc/blog/clover-go): What Clover Go costs, what its app can and cannot do for a food truck or pop-up, its card rates and terms, from Clover's own US pages. - [POS setup for a drive-thru: order point, kitchen, board and window](https://maple.inc/blog/pos-for-drive-thru): How to set up a POS for a drive-thru lane, station by station, from Toast and Square help pages, with the headset, timer and board links ... - [Mobile-order pickup lanes: how chains run them and how to add one](https://maple.inc/blog/drive-thru-mobile-order-lane): What Chipotle, Chick-fil-A, Taco Bell, McDonald's and Wendy's say about mobile pickup lanes, how orders reach the kitchen, layouts and wh... - [Bojangles' AI drive-thru: what the chain and Hi Auto have said about Bo-Linda](https://maple.inc/blog/bojangles-ai-drive-thru): What Bojangles and Hi Auto have said about Bo-Linda, the AI drive-thru order taker: dated claims, store counts, Spanish ordering and what... - [AI rules restaurants should know about in 2026](https://maple.inc/blog/ai-regulation-restaurants): A register of US laws and rules that touch restaurant AI in 2026: bot disclosure, call recording, voiceprints, hiring and scheduling tool... - [Telling drive-thru guests they are talking to AI: laws, chain practice and sample wording](https://maple.inc/blog/ai-drive-thru-guest-disclosure): Which laws touch AI disclosure, recording and voice data at the drive-thru, quoted with dates, what chains say, and sample greeting and s... - [Square POS alternatives for restaurants, and when to move on](https://maple.inc/blog/square-pos-alternatives): When a restaurant outgrows Square's plans, how to export items, guests and sales, and how Toast, Clover, SpotOn, Lightspeed and HungerRus... - [Toast POS alternatives for restaurants, and what leaving Toast involves](https://maple.inc/blog/toast-pos-alternatives): What leaving Toast involves under its merchant agreement and help center, from the exit fee to data and hardware, plus Square, Clover, Sp... - [Sona AI review and alternatives for restaurants](https://maple.inc/blog/sona-ai-alternatives): What Quo's Sona phone agent does and costs, how it differs from Sona's workforce software, and which restaurant phone agents to compare i... - [Switching restaurant POS systems: a checklist from contract to go-live](https://maple.inc/blog/switching-restaurant-pos): A dated checklist for moving a restaurant to a new POS: notice periods, data and gift card exports, stored cards, hardware, staff, go-liv... - [Restaurant POS contracts: the terms to read before you sign](https://maple.inc/blog/restaurant-pos-contracts): Term, renewal, notice, exit fees, hardware, rate changes and processing rules, quoted from the Toast, Clover, Lightspeed, SpotOn and Squa... - [Toast Go handhelds for restaurants: Toast Go 3 specs, pricing and offline limits](https://maple.inc/blog/toast-go-handheld): What the Toast Go 3 handheld does, how Toast prices it, battery, Wi-Fi and cellular, and what works offline, from Toast's own pages and h... - [Square KDS: price per device, supported screens, routing and limits](https://maple.inc/blog/square-kds): What Square KDS costs on Plus and Premium, which Android screens it runs on, how routing and ticket settings work, and the limits Square ... - [Text message ordering for restaurants: tools, consent rules and a test plan](https://maple.inc/blog/restaurant-sms-ordering): Which tools take restaurant orders by text, how a text order reaches the POS, the consent and 10DLC rules for business texting, and a tes... - [Restaurant profit margins by type: tax data, chain filings and a worked P&L](https://maple.inc/blog/restaurant-profit-margin): Restaurant profit margins from IRS tax data and chain 10-K filings, each with its method and year, plus a worked P&L you can copy. - [Restaurant card processing fees: Toast, Square and Clover compared](https://maple.inc/blog/restaurant-card-processing-fees): What Toast, Square and Clover charge per card payment, how much goes to the card's bank, the surcharge rules, and a worked month on label... - [Speech recognition in restaurants: phone lines, menu words and accents](https://maple.inc/blog/speech-recognition-restaurants): How automatic speech recognition hears restaurant orders on phone lines and at order points, what word error rate measures, and how to te... - [TouchBistro POS review for restaurants](https://maple.inc/blog/touchbistro-pos-review): What TouchBistro's iPad POS does for a restaurant, what it prints on price, what works offline, the terms you sign, and what to test in a... - [Toast vs TouchBistro for restaurants](https://maple.inc/blog/toast-vs-touchbistro): Toast and TouchBistro compared on printed prices, card rates, hardware, offline limits and contract terms, with a worked month from each ... - [TouchBistro POS pricing and fees for restaurants](https://maple.inc/blog/touchbistro-pos-pricing): Every price and fee TouchBistro prints, how its card processing and agreement work, and a worked month with labeled assumptions. - [Toast vs SkyTab (Shift4 Dine) for restaurants](https://maple.inc/blog/toast-vs-skytab): Toast and SkyTab, now Shift4 Dine, compared on printed prices, what needs a quote, handhelds, contracts and a worked month with labeled a... - [Toast vs SpotOn for restaurants](https://maple.inc/blog/toast-vs-spoton): Toast and SpotOn compared on printed plans, card rates, hardware, contract and exit terms, with a break-even card rate on labeled assumpt... - [Toast vs Lightspeed for restaurants](https://maple.inc/blog/toast-vs-lightspeed): Toast and Lightspeed Restaurant compared on printed plans, the Lightspeed Payments rule, contracts and outages, with a break-even card ra... - [Restaurant no-shows: reminders, card holds and policies that cut them](https://maple.inc/blog/restaurant-no-shows): Cut everyday no-shows with reminders guests can answer, easy cancelling, a waitlist and card holds on peak slots. Includes a tracking she... - [Phone orders vs online orders: cost per order and what guests do](https://maple.inc/blog/phone-orders-vs-online-orders): Compare the card fees, commissions and staff time behind a phone order, your own online ordering and a marketplace order, with a worked $... - [Missed-call text-back for restaurants: setup, wording and texting rules](https://maple.inc/blog/missed-call-text-back): How an automatic text after a missed call works for a restaurant, which phone tools send one, what to write, and the consent rules to check. - [Aloha POS pricing and fees for restaurants](https://maple.inc/blog/aloha-pos-pricing): NCR Voyix prints no Aloha price. What to get quoted, what its public sales terms say, and a worked quote with labeled assumptions. - [Revel POS review for restaurants](https://maple.inc/blog/revel-pos-review): What Revel's iPad POS does, from its own help center: devices, kitchen screens, offline mode, online ordering, reports and multi-location... - [Revel POS pricing and fees for restaurants](https://maple.inc/blog/revel-pos-pricing): Every fee Revel's help center prints, the statement fees it names without a price, its public terms, and a worked month with labeled assu... - [Taking card payments over the phone at a restaurant](https://maple.inc/blog/restaurant-phone-payment): Pay at pickup, a card typed into the POS, or a payment link: what Toast, Square and Clover charge for each, and PCI guidance on card numb... - [Phone order accuracy: read-backs, modifiers and kitchen tickets](https://maple.inc/blog/phone-order-accuracy): Cut phone order mistakes: required modifiers in the POS, a read-back from the screen, allergy notes that print, ticket settings to check ... - [Covering the restaurant phone during the lunch and dinner rush](https://maple.inc/blog/lunch-rush-phone-coverage): Who answers the restaurant phone at peak: count your busiest 15 minutes, staff to it, set overflow and hold queues, and run callbacks whe... - [How to take restaurant phone orders during a rush](https://maple.inc/blog/how-to-take-phone-orders): A method for phone orders at peak: set up the station, hold callers the right way, key the order into the POS, read it back, quote a time... - [SpotOn POS pricing and fees for restaurants](https://maple.inc/blog/spoton-pos-pricing): SpotOn's restaurant plans, card rates, hardware, every add-on it prices, the terms you sign, and a two-year cost worked through with labe... - [SkyTab POS pricing and fees for restaurants](https://maple.inc/blog/skytab-pos-pricing): Every SkyTab (now Shift4 Dine) fee Shift4 prints, the statement fees it names without a price, and a worked month with labeled assumptions. - [Square vs Lightspeed for restaurants](https://maple.inc/blog/square-vs-lightspeed): Square and Lightspeed Restaurant compared on plan prices, card rates, the payments rule, contracts and offline limits, from each company'... - [POS offline mode: what still works when the internet drops](https://maple.inc/blog/pos-offline-mode): What Toast, Square, Clover, SpotOn, Lightspeed and Shift4 Dine keep doing offline, from their own help pages, and a plan for your next ou... - [Restaurant labor cost percentage: how to calculate and lower it](https://maple.inc/blog/restaurant-labor-cost-percentage): Work out your restaurant labor cost percentage from payroll and sales, with BLS pay data, a worked week and the changes that lower it. - [Square Terminal and Square Handheld for restaurants](https://maple.inc/blog/square-terminal-restaurants): Square Terminal or Square Handheld for a restaurant: price, printing, Wi-Fi and offline limits from Square's own pages, plus a dining-roo... - [Clover Flex for restaurants](https://maple.inc/blog/clover-flex): What Clover Flex does in a restaurant, what it costs alone or in a restaurant bundle, and the terms to check, from Clover's own pages. - [What is a quick-service restaurant (QSR)? Official definitions](https://maple.inc/blog/quick-service-restaurant): What QSR means, how the Census Bureau, BLS and IRS define limited-service and fast-food restaurants, and where fast casual and coffee sho... - [Bilingual drive-thru: taking orders in Spanish and other languages](https://maple.inc/blog/multilingual-drive-thru-ordering): How a drive-thru takes orders in Spanish and other languages: bilingual crew or AI, how chains switch language, Census household data and... - [Restaurant voicemail greetings: scripts for after hours, holidays and busy nights](https://maple.inc/blog/restaurant-voicemail-greeting): Example restaurant voicemail greetings for after hours, split shifts, holidays and busy service, plus how to schedule them and a call test. - [Large-party and private-event bookings: deposits, minimums and confirmations](https://maple.inc/blog/restaurant-large-party-bookings): Set a large-party policy: party-size limits, deposits or card holds, spending minimums, service charges, set menus and a confirmation che... - [Aloha online ordering: fees, setup and phone orders](https://maple.inc/blog/aloha-online-ordering): NCR Voyix's Aloha online ordering products, what each one does, the fees you set yourself, setup steps from NCR's guides, and how phone o... - [SkyTab online ordering: fees, setup and phone orders](https://maple.inc/blog/skytab-online-ordering): How SkyTab (now Shift4 Dine) Online Ordering works, which fees you set and which need a quote, setup steps from Shift4's help center, and... - [SpotOn online ordering: fees, setup and phone orders](https://maple.inc/blog/spoton-online-ordering): What SpotOn Order does, the two prices SpotOn prints for it, DoorDash Drive fees, setup steps from SpotOn's help center, and what to test... - [Best POS for quick service restaurants: how to choose for a counter or drive-thru](https://maple.inc/blog/best-pos-for-quick-service): What a counter or drive-thru restaurant needs from a POS, what Square, Toast, Clover and SpotOn print, and what kiosks and kitchen screen... - [Best POS for pizza restaurants: how to choose for half-and-half, delivery and phone orders](https://maple.inc/blog/best-pos-for-pizza-restaurants): What a pizzeria needs from a POS for half-and-half toppings, delivery and phone orders, with HungerRush, Toast, Slice and Square compared... - [Best POS for coffee shops: how to choose for drink modifiers, speed and loyalty](https://maple.inc/blog/best-pos-for-coffee-shops): What a coffee shop needs from a POS for drink modifiers, speed, loyalty and mobile orders, with printed prices and card fees at a small a... - [Clover POS alternatives for restaurants, and what leaving Clover involves](https://maple.inc/blog/clover-pos-alternatives): What leaving Clover involves under its own FAQ, from the subscription to devices and data, plus Square, Toast, SpotOn, Lightspeed and oth... - [Kiosk or cashier: which counter setup fits your restaurant](https://maple.inc/blog/kiosk-vs-cashier): Kiosk only, cashier only or both: a decision table by order volume, menu and guest mix, plus a worksheet to size your counter at peak. - [Is a kiosk worth it for a small restaurant? Break-even math](https://maple.inc/blog/kiosk-small-restaurant): Break-even math for one kiosk in a single-store restaurant, built from Square's and Apple's printed prices with every assumption labeled. - [How to pilot an ordering kiosk in one store](https://maple.inc/blog/kiosk-pilot-checklist): A worksheet for testing a self-order kiosk in one restaurant: baseline weeks, test weeks, what to measure and the pass rules to write dow... - [Do kiosks raise check size? What studies actually found](https://maple.inc/blog/do-kiosks-increase-sales): What chain filings, news reports and one field experiment found about kiosks and check size, with each source's method and limits. - [Where to put a restaurant kiosk: layout, queue and pickup](https://maple.inc/blog/kiosk-placement-layout): Where to place self-order kiosks in a restaurant, how to route the queue and pickup, the 2010 ADA Standards measurements that apply, and ... - [Kiosk staff help: where guests get stuck and who helps](https://maple.inc/blog/kiosk-staff-help): Where guests get stuck at restaurant kiosks (payment, modifiers, age checks, access needs), what staff can do on Toast and Square kiosks,... - [Multilingual kiosk ordering: screen, menu and voice](https://maple.inc/blog/kiosk-multilingual-ordering): How restaurant kiosks offer other languages, how to find which languages your area speaks from Census data, and how to test a translated ... - [Drive-thru order confirmation boards: what they show and cost](https://maple.inc/blog/drive-thru-order-confirmation-board): What a drive-thru order confirmation board shows, which errors it catches, makers' printed prices and the questions to ask before you buy. - [When the drive-thru AI should hand the lane back to staff](https://maple.inc/blog/drive-thru-kill-switch-fallback): When a drive-thru AI should pass one order to the crew, when to switch the whole lane off, what vendors describe, and a fallback plan to ... - [Engine noise, wind and accents: why drive-thru speech recognition is hard](https://maple.inc/blog/drive-thru-noise-speech-recognition): Why AI struggles to hear drive-thru orders (engine noise, wind, distance, accents, crosstalk), each term defined, and a lane test you can... - [AI ordering systems: how a spoken order becomes a POS ticket](https://maple.inc/blog/ai-ordering-system): The seven steps from a guest's words to a POS ticket (audio, speech to text, menu match, modifiers, read-back, POS, payment) and where ea... - [Conversational AI in restaurants, in plain terms](https://maple.inc/blog/conversational-ai-restaurants): What conversational AI is, the parts inside a restaurant phone, drive-thru, kiosk or chat agent, what each vendor term means, and where e... - [Questions to ask a restaurant AI vendor before you sign](https://maple.inc/blog/ai-restaurant-vendor-questions): 35 questions to take into any restaurant AI demo, grouped by data, POS, fallback, price and exit, with the answers that should make you p... - [AI for multi-unit restaurant groups: what changes at 5 to 50 stores](https://maple.inc/blog/ai-for-multi-unit-restaurants): What a restaurant group must settle before an AI rollout: menu sync, mixed POS setups, per-store reporting, rollout order and contract te... - [AI for independent restaurants: where a single store should start](https://maple.inc/blog/ai-for-independent-restaurants): A starting order for one restaurant: count a week of hours per job, try free AI plans first, then trial one paid tool. Printed prices only. - [Drive-thru upselling: which offers to make and how to measure them](https://maple.inc/blog/drive-thru-upselling): Which add-on offers fit a drive-thru order, when to make them, example lines, and how to measure offer, take and attach rates from your o... - [Drive-thru staffing: which positions a rush needs](https://maple.inc/blog/drive-thru-staffing): The drive-thru positions a rush needs by lane layout, when to add each one, a 15-minute staffing sheet, and labor cost per car from BLS w... - [Drive-thru order accuracy: where mistakes start and how to check](https://maple.inc/blog/drive-thru-order-accuracy): Where drive-thru order mistakes start, from the speaker to the handoff, what the 2025 study found, and a bag audit you can run in one lun... - [Drive-thru cars per hour: how to work out your lane's throughput](https://maple.inc/blog/drive-thru-cars-per-hour): Work out drive-thru cars per hour from the seconds each car holds your speaker and windows, what a second order point adds, and where the... - [Lightspeed POS review for restaurants](https://maple.inc/blog/lightspeed-pos-review): What Lightspeed Restaurant does well, what each plan adds, the agreement you sign, what its help center says stops working offline, and w... - [SpotOn POS review for restaurants](https://maple.inc/blog/spoton-pos-review): What SpotOn does well for restaurants, its two printed plans priced at one station, the terms you sign, the site setup it asks for, and w... - [Square POS review for restaurants](https://maple.inc/blog/square-pos-review): What Square does well for restaurants, which plan each feature needs, the terms you accept, the offline limits in its help center, and wh... - [Toast POS review for restaurants](https://maple.inc/blog/toast-pos-review): What Toast does well for restaurants, what it prints on price, the agreement you sign, the outage limits its help center lists, and what ... - [AI drive-thru for independent restaurants and small chains](https://maple.inc/blog/ai-drive-thru-independent-restaurants): Most AI drive-thru vendors sell to chains. What a single store or small group can ask, fix first and test on one lane before it signs. - [McDonald's kiosks: how they changed counter ordering](https://maple.inc/blog/mcdonalds-kiosk): A dated history of McDonald's self-order kiosks from the company's own statements and major trade press, and what a smaller restaurant ca... - [Leasing vs buying a restaurant kiosk: what vendors' terms cost](https://maple.inc/blog/kiosk-lease-vs-buy): Buy, finance, lease or subscribe? Restaurant kiosk payment routes from Square, Toast, Clover and SpotOn's printed terms, with worked sums. - [Lightspeed POS pricing and fees for restaurants](https://maple.inc/blog/lightspeed-pos-pricing): Lightspeed Restaurant's printed plans, add-ons, payments rules, hardware and contract terms, with a worked monthly cost using labeled ass... - [HungerRush POS pricing and fees for pizza restaurants](https://maple.inc/blog/hungerrush-pos-pricing): HungerRush's printed base package, what it includes, what it quotes, and how to check its flat card rate against a printed benchmark. - [Best POS for small restaurants: how to choose for one location](https://maple.inc/blog/best-pos-for-small-restaurants): What a one-location restaurant with a small team needs from a POS, the systems that print prices, first-year costs at low sales, and what... - [Toast vs Clover for restaurants](https://maple.inc/blog/toast-vs-clover): Toast and Clover compared on plans, card rates, hardware, handhelds and contracts, using prices each prints on its own US site, plus a br... - [What an AI drive-thru costs, and what to put in the quote](https://maple.inc/blog/ai-drive-thru-cost): No AI drive-thru vendor we checked prints a price. Budget from printed lane, install and POS prices, with a worked example and quote ques... - [AI drive-thru accuracy: what the published numbers measure](https://maple.inc/blog/ai-drive-thru-accuracy): What vendor, chain and study figures for AI drive-thru orders count, what the SEC found about non-intervention, and a worksheet to check ... - [SoundHound for restaurants: review and alternatives](https://maple.inc/blog/soundhound-restaurants-alternatives): What SoundHound sells restaurants for phone, drive-thru and kiosk ordering, who it names, what its figures mean, and which vendors to com... - [Presto Voice review and alternatives for drive-thru AI](https://maple.inc/blog/presto-alternatives): What Presto Voice does, who Presto names as customers, what its figures count after the 2025 SEC order, and which drive-thru AI vendors t... - [AI in the kitchen: cameras, temperature sensors and food safety](https://maple.inc/blog/ai-food-safety-kitchen): What kitchen food-safety tech does (temperature sensors, digital HACCP logs, hand scanners and cameras), what the 2026 FDA Food Code says... - [Restaurant employee turnover rate: 2026 figures and how to work out yours](https://maple.inc/blog/restaurant-turnover-rate): BLS turnover figures for restaurant and hotel jobs through July 2026, a worked turnover calculation, and steps operators can take this mo... - [Restaurant phone scripts for orders, reservations and questions](https://maple.inc/blog/restaurant-phone-script): Example phone scripts for restaurant staff: greeting, takeout order, reservation, hours, complaint and transfer, plus a 15-minute practic... - [How to choose a POS for a food truck](https://maple.inc/blog/best-pos-for-food-trucks): What a food truck needs from a POS (offline cards, battery, cellular, small devices) and what Square, Clover, Toast and Shift4 Dine print... - [SkyTab POS review: what Shift4 Dine does for restaurants](https://maple.inc/blog/skytab-pos-review): SkyTab is now Shift4 Dine. What its handhelds, kiosk, kitchen screens and online ordering do, what Shift4 prints on price, and what to test. - [Clover POS review for restaurants](https://maple.inc/blog/clover-pos-review): What Clover does well for restaurants, what it costs, the contract you sign and what to test, from Clover's own pages, help center and FAQ. - [Toast POS pricing and fees for restaurants](https://maple.inc/blog/toast-pos-pricing): Toast's printed plans, card fees, hardware payment options and contract terms, with a worked monthly cost and how to read a Toast process... - [SkyTab Kiosk (now Shift4 Dine Kiosk): setup, hardware and limits](https://maple.inc/blog/skytab-kiosk): How the SkyTab self-order kiosk works under its new Shift4 Dine name: the hardware, setup steps, order and payment flow, limits, and what... - [Square online ordering: fees, setup and phone orders](https://maple.inc/blog/square-online-ordering): Square's online ordering profile for restaurants: what it costs on each plan, courier fees, setup steps from Square's help center, and wh... - [Commission-free online ordering: the fees that remain](https://maple.inc/blog/commission-free-online-ordering): What commission-free online ordering still costs a restaurant: subscriptions, card fees, guest fees and courier fees, from each vendor's ... - [Dual-lane drive-thrus: layouts, the merge, equipment and staffing](https://maple.inc/blog/dual-lane-drive-thru): How double drive-thru lanes work, why orders get mixed up at the merge, the headsets, timers and POS tags that help, and what chains have... - [Remote drive-thru order taking vs AI vs in-store crew](https://maple.inc/blog/remote-drive-thru-order-taking): How off-site drive-thru order taking works, what vendors say about remote agents behind their AI, and what to ask before the voice at you... - [How to speed up a drive-thru without rushing guests](https://maple.inc/blog/how-to-speed-up-drive-thru): Find the slow stage of your drive-thru, then fix it. Actions for the queue, order point, window and kitchen, each tied to a timer measure. - [Drive-thru greeting and order-taking scripts, with a practice drill](https://maple.inc/blog/drive-thru-greeting-script): Example drive-thru greetings and order-taking lines for crew and AI order-takers, recovery lines for common problems, and a 20-minute pra... - [ChatGPT for restaurants: prompts that save owners time](https://maple.inc/blog/chatgpt-for-restaurants): Practical uses of ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini for restaurant owners, with example prompts, what a person must check, and what to keep out o... - [AI waiters and hosts: what you can buy in 2026](https://maple.inc/blog/ai-waiter): The products sold as AI waiters and AI hosts, from QR menu assistants and table tablets to phone hosts and serving robots, with each vend... - [Restaurant AI failures: eight public cases and what they teach](https://maple.inc/blog/restaurant-ai-failures): Dated cases where restaurant AI was paused, ended or drew complaints, from McDonald's and Presto to Starbucks, with a lesson for each and... - [OpenTable alternatives for restaurants: prices, trade-offs and how to switch](https://maple.inc/blog/opentable-alternatives): Leaving OpenTable, or weighing it before you sign? Printed prices for Resy, Yelp Guest Manager, Eat App and others, an invoice worksheet ... - [Restaurant reservation systems: what they do, what they cost and how to choose](https://maple.inc/blog/restaurant-reservation-system): What a restaurant reservation system does, the main options from OpenTable to Toast Tables with their printed prices, and a checklist for... - [Resy vs OpenTable for restaurants: price, diners and phone bookings](https://maple.inc/blog/resy-vs-opentable): Resy prints flat monthly prices and says it charges no cover fees. OpenTable sells three plans and says it has 200+ partners. How to pick. - [Restaurant management software: the eight systems and what to buy first](https://maple.inc/blog/restaurant-management-software): What POS, inventory, scheduling, payroll, reservation, ordering, phone and accounting software each do, and which to buy first for your r... - [What a restaurant POS costs: software, hardware, card fees and exit](https://maple.inc/blog/restaurant-pos-cost): The cost lines of a restaurant POS, with first-year and three-year totals for a café and a full-service restaurant from vendors' printed ... - [How an AI drive-thru order reaches the POS, and what to test](https://maple.inc/blog/drive-thru-ai-pos-integration): How an AI drive-thru order gets from the speaker into your POS and kitchen, which POS makers name AI partners, and a test list to run bef... - [Kiosk accessibility: the ADA and guests who cannot tap](https://maple.inc/blog/restaurant-kiosk-accessibility): What the ADA and federal agencies say about restaurant ordering kiosks, the ATM rules used as a benchmark, and a checklist for guests who... - [Kiosk, QR code or tabletop tablet: which ordering to add](https://maple.inc/blog/kiosk-vs-qr-vs-tablet-ordering): Kiosks, QR code ordering and tabletop tablets compared from Square, Toast and Ziosk's own pages, with a decision table and a worksheet to... - [Best AI tools for restaurants: a shortlist by job](https://maple.inc/blog/best-ai-tools-for-restaurants): AI tools for restaurants sorted by job, from phones and drive-thru to scheduling, food costs and reviews, with printed prices and one tes... - [AI for coffee shops: where it helps and how to test it](https://maple.inc/blog/ai-for-coffee-shops): Where AI helps a coffee shop or café: phone orders, mobile ordering, drink modifiers, inventory, scheduling and loyalty, with named tools... - [Square vs Clover for restaurants](https://maple.inc/blog/square-vs-clover): Square and Clover compared on entry cost, card rates, phone and online orders, and contracts, using prices each prints on its own US site. - [Clover online ordering: fees, setup and phone orders](https://maple.inc/blog/clover-online-ordering): What Clover Online Ordering does, what it costs per order, the five setup steps from Clover's help center, and what to test before guests... - [Toast online ordering: fees, setup and phone orders](https://maple.inc/blog/toast-online-ordering): What Toast Online Ordering does, what Toast prints about its fees, the setup steps from Toast's help center, and what to test before gues... - [Pizza phones: how many lines, hold queues and people a pizza shop needs](https://maple.inc/blog/pizza-phones): Pick a pizza shop phone setup: count your Friday calls, work out lines and people, and compare hold boxes, pizza VoIP, answering services... - [VoicePlug review and alternatives for restaurant voice ordering](https://maple.inc/blog/voiceplug-alternatives): What VoicePlug sells for phone, drive-thru, kiosk and reservations, what it has announced, and which voice AI vendors to compare it with. - [How to choose a restaurant POS in 2026](https://maple.inc/blog/best-pos-system-for-restaurants): Match a POS to how you serve, compare printed prices and contracts from Toast, Square, Clover and others, then run one demo script on each. - [What a POS system does in a restaurant](https://maple.inc/blog/what-is-a-restaurant-pos): A restaurant POS takes the order, sends it to the kitchen, takes payment and records the sale. Its parts, links, key terms, and one order... - [Square POS pricing for restaurants](https://maple.inc/blog/square-pos-pricing): Square's restaurant plans, card fees, hardware and add-on prices as Square prints them, with a worked monthly cost and questions to ask f... - [Wendy's FreshAI drive-thru: what the chain has said](https://maple.inc/blog/wendys-ai-drive-thru): A dated history of Wendy's FreshAI drive-thru ordering with Google Cloud, from the chain's own releases, blog and earnings calls, plus le... - [ConverseNow review and alternatives](https://maple.inc/blog/conversenow-alternatives): What ConverseNow sells for phone and drive-thru ordering, what it claims, and which phone and drive-thru vendors to compare it with, from... - [Hi Auto review and alternatives for drive-thru AI](https://maple.inc/blog/hi-auto-alternatives): What Hi Auto's drive-thru AI order taker does, who it names as customers, how it defines its own figures, and which vendors to compare it... - [Owner.com review and alternatives](https://maple.inc/blog/owner-com-alternatives): What Owner.com sells, its two printed plans and fees, who it suits, and five online ordering alternatives priced from their own sites. - [Revmo AI review and alternatives for restaurant phones](https://maple.inc/blog/revmo-ai-alternatives): What Revmo sells, what its pricing page prints, and which restaurant phone agents to compare it with, taken from each company's own site. - [Kiosk payments: cards, wallets and cash](https://maple.inc/blog/kiosk-payments-cash): How Square, Toast and Clover kiosks take cards, phone wallets, gift cards and cash, what happens offline, New York's cash law and a decis... - [Designing a kiosk menu: photos, modifiers and upsells](https://maple.inc/blog/kiosk-menu-design): How to set up a self-order kiosk menu guests can use alone: item names, modifier rules, photo sizes, upsell placement and a before-and-af... - [Bite vs GRUBBRR and other kiosk software companies](https://maple.inc/blog/bite-vs-grubbrr-kiosk): Bite, GRUBBRR, Tillster and Nextep compared from their own sites: the POS systems each names, hardware, cash, offline and what to ask for... - [Restaurant phone lines, VoIP and hardware: what to buy](https://maple.inc/blog/restaurant-phone-system): Pick restaurant phone lines, VoIP service, handsets and outage backup, with a decision table by restaurant type and a checklist to use be... - [Quick-service restaurant technology stack](https://maple.inc/blog/qsr-technology): The QSR technology stack by job, from POS and KDS to kiosks, drive-thru, online ordering, loyalty, labor and voice AI, with what to buy f... - [AI menu engineering: pricing and placement with your own data](https://maple.inc/blog/ai-menu-engineering): Run the stars, plowhorses, puzzles and dogs matrix on your own sales and plate costs, see what AI tools add, and follow a worked example ... - [Restaurant chatbots vs voice AI: which channel needs it](https://maple.inc/blog/restaurant-chatbot): Where a text chatbot helps a restaurant, where voice AI fits better, and how to choose from your own count of calls, messages and lane or... - [Your restaurant's phone number on Google, Yelp and apps](https://maple.inc/blog/restaurant-phone-number-google): Set and check your restaurant's phone number on Google, Apple Maps, Yelp, DoorDash and Uber Eats, and know what to change when you forwar... - [Drive-thru technology in 2026: timers, boards, headsets and AI](https://maple.inc/blog/drive-thru-technology): A map of drive-thru technology, what each part does, what a single lane, a double lane and a chain run, and a worksheet for ordering upgr... - [Drive-thru menu boards: static, digital and what to test](https://maple.inc/blog/drive-thru-menu-board): Static, digital and hybrid drive-thru menu boards compared, with makers' printed prices, calorie rules, AI ordering checks and a test list. - [Drive-thru speaker posts and intercoms: fixing the order point](https://maple.inc/blog/drive-thru-speaker-system): What sits inside a drive-thru speaker post, how to fix echo, engine noise and low volume, who makes the parts, and what an AI order-taker... - [How to choose a POS for a bar](https://maple.inc/blog/best-pos-for-bars): What a bar needs from a POS (tabs, pre-auth, splits, ID checks, pour counts, tips, handhelds) and what six vendors publish for bar featur... - [Kitchen display systems (KDS): how they work and what to buy](https://maple.inc/blog/kitchen-display-system): What a kitchen display system does, how orders reach it, what Toast, Square, Clover, Lightspeed, Shift4 and Fresh KDS charge, and a mock-... - [Toast vs Square for restaurants](https://maple.inc/blog/toast-vs-square): Compare Toast and Square on plans, card rates, hardware, KDS, handhelds, offline mode and contracts, using each company's own pricing and... - [Clover POS pricing and fees for restaurants](https://maple.inc/blog/clover-pos-pricing): Clover's restaurant bundles, card rates and contract terms as Clover prints them, with a worked monthly cost and questions to ask a bank ... - [Clover Kiosk: features, cost and limits](https://maple.inc/blog/clover-kiosk): Clover Kiosk pairs a 24-inch order screen with an 8-inch payment terminal and printer. Clover prints no price, so here is what it lists a... - [Toast Kiosk: features, cost and setup](https://maple.inc/blog/toast-kiosk): Toast Kiosk runs on a Toast terminal in Kiosk Mode and sends orders to Toast POS. Toast prints no kiosk price, so here is what to ask for... - [Square Kiosk for restaurants: what it does and what it costs](https://maple.inc/blog/square-kiosk): Compare the new Square Kiosk with iPad-based Kiosk Lite: hardware, monthly fees, setup requirements and proposed order-to-kitchen checks. - [Voice ordering kiosks: when guests talk instead of tap](https://maple.inc/blog/ai-voice-kiosk): What a voice ordering kiosk does, where speaking beats tapping, where it struggles, and a test plan for noise, modifiers, languages and p... - [What a restaurant kiosk costs: hardware, software and fees](https://maple.inc/blog/restaurant-kiosk-cost): The cost lines of a restaurant self-order kiosk, the prices vendors publish, a worked two-kiosk example and the contract questions to ask. - [Self-service kiosks for restaurants: a buyer's guide](https://maple.inc/blog/self-order-kiosk-restaurants): How to choose a self-service kiosk for a counter-service restaurant: POS kiosks, independent kiosk software or a voice kiosk, plus a buye... - [AI in fast food: ordering, kitchens and forecasting](https://maple.inc/blog/ai-in-fast-food): Where fast-food chains use AI for voice ordering, kitchen tasks, forecasting and upselling, with dated sources and what an independent ca... - [Drive-thru timers: how to measure speed of service](https://maple.inc/blog/drive-thru-timer): What drive-thru timers measure, who makes them, how to read the numbers, a worksheet for timing cars by hand, and the latest published av... - [AI drive-thru vendors compared: Presto, Hi Auto, SoundHound and others](https://maple.inc/blog/ai-drive-thru-vendors): Compare AI drive-thru vendors from their own sites: channels, lane hardware, named POS and chain partners, pricing, and what to ask each ... - [Taco Bell's AI drive-thru: rollout and what the chain said next](https://maple.inc/blog/taco-bell-ai-drive-thru): How Taco Bell's drive-thru voice AI grew from 100 to more than 890 U.S. restaurants, what it said after the 18,000 water cups prank, and ... - [McDonald's AI drive-thru: the IBM test and what came after](https://maple.inc/blog/mcdonalds-ai-drive-thru): A dated account of McDonald's AI drive-thru ordering, from the IBM test that ended in 2024 to the Archy voice system, and what operators ... - [Which fast-food chains use AI at the drive-thru?](https://maple.inc/blog/fast-food-chains-ai-drive-thru): A dated list of fast-food chains that have said AI takes drive-thru orders, with the vendor, latest public status and source for each. - [Restaurant robots: which ones work in real kitchens](https://maple.inc/blog/restaurant-robots): Named restaurant robots and where they run, from fry stations to bowl lines and plate carriers, with dates, shutdowns and questions to as... - [Restaurant automation: what to automate first](https://maple.inc/blog/restaurant-automation): A guide to choosing a restaurant automation trial: check scope, permissions, possible harm and staff fallback before comparing jobs with ... - [Drive-thru headset systems and how AI fits alongside them](https://maple.inc/blog/drive-thru-headset-systems): How drive-thru headset systems work, who makes them, wired vs wireless, and what to check before you add an AI order-taker to the lane. - [How to pilot AI at one drive-thru lane](https://maple.inc/blog/ai-drive-thru-pilot-checklist): A worksheet for testing AI ordering on one drive-thru lane: baseline measures, takeover tests, menu scripts and pass/fail rules to agree ... - [How AI drive-thru ordering works, from speaker post to POS](https://maple.inc/blog/ai-drive-thru): How AI drive-thru ordering works from car arrival to POS ticket: the hardware, what the crew still does, where it fails, and what to ask ... - [Catering orders by phone: an AI and staff intake checklist](https://maple.inc/blog/restaurant-catering-phone-inquiries): How to split catering orders between AI and staff: what phone agents and catering tools can capture, the inquiry record, call wording and... - [Restaurant phone handoffs: complaints and order-change checklist](https://maple.inc/blog/restaurant-phone-handoff-checklist): Set up a clear staff handoff for restaurant complaints, existing-order changes, and refund requests. Use a request record, fallback owner... - [Restaurant holiday hours: a phone and ordering checklist](https://maple.inc/blog/restaurant-holiday-hours-checklist): Keep holiday opening times, order cutoffs, phone answers, and reopening dates consistent with a location-by-location change record and te... - [Prepare your restaurant menu for an AI phone-ordering trial](https://maple.inc/blog/prepare-menu-ai-phone-ordering): Build a menu worksheet with required choices, extra charges, sold-out rules, and an expected test ticket before trying a restaurant phone... - [Switch restaurant answering services: a number and handoff checklist](https://maple.inc/blog/switch-restaurant-answering-service): Separate an answering-service change from a phone-number transfer. Record account ownership, test the new service, and agree on the hando... - [Multi-location restaurant phone routing: check the store before the order](https://maple.inc/blog/multi-location-restaurant-phone-routing): Build a location record and test phone numbers, menus, pickup addresses, staff transfers, and POS destinations before expanding restauran... - [Restaurant call forwarding: a setup and test checklist](https://maple.inc/blog/restaurant-call-forwarding-checklist): Decide which restaurant calls to forward, test transfers back to staff, and keep a clear route back to your previous phone setup. - [How to test restaurant voice AI with a large menu](https://maple.inc/blog/restaurant-voice-ai-large-menus-2026): Compare restaurant voice AI on similar item names, required choices, sold-out items, and the final kitchen ticket. Use a repeatable menu ... - [Certus AI review: price, features and alternatives](https://maple.inc/blog/maple-vs-certus-ai-2026-voice-ai-comparison): What Certus AI sells, the price its homepage prints, what to check before you sign, and which restaurant phone agents to compare it with. - [Loman AI vs Maple: compare restaurant phone answering and ordering](https://maple.inc/blog/loman-ai-vs-maple-which-is-better-2026): Compare plan scope, published pricing, and the POS workflow to test before choosing a restaurant phone agent. - [Hostie AI review: plans, integrations and alternatives](https://maple.inc/blog/best-hostie-ai-alternatives-restaurants-2026): What Hostie sells, how its three plans differ, which booking and ordering systems it names, and which restaurant phone agents to compare ... - [Best Bitebuddy.ai alternatives for restaurants?](https://maple.inc/blog/best-bitebuddy-ai-alternatives-restaurants-2026): Pick Maple if your order count would make a per-order fee add up and you want a flat month. Pick Bitebuddy if you want to pay per order, ... - [AI receptionist for restaurants — who should I use?](https://maple.inc/blog/ai-receptionist-for-restaurants-2026): Compare phone answering, reservation changes, POS orders and guest messages. Choose the plan for the task, test the result and keep clear... - [Phone Ordering AI vs Drive-Thru Voice AI: Which Does Your Restaurant Need?](https://maple.inc/blog/phone-ordering-vs-drive-thru-voice-ai-2026): Choose the channel to test first by checking phone demand, lane operations, installation needs, staff fallback, and the full cost of a tr... - [Best AI for Taking Phone Orders at a Pizza Shop (2026)](https://maple.inc/blog/ai-phone-orders-pizza-shop-2026): Check an AI phone agent against your pizza menu: half toppings, size changes, prices, delivery rules and the ticket your kitchen receives... - [Which POS Systems Work With an AI Phone Agent? (2026)](https://maple.inc/blog/ai-phone-agent-pos-integrations-2026): Maple Pro takes phone orders into Toast, Square, Clover, SkyTab (now Shift4 Dine), Lightspeed and more, and books OpenTable tables. The l... - [How Much Does an AI Answering Service for Restaurants Cost? (2026)](https://maple.inc/blog/ai-answering-service-cost-restaurants-2026): What restaurant AI answering services print as prices, how per-order and flat monthly billing compare at your volume, and what Maple char... - [What Is Maple? The AI Phone Agent for Restaurants, Explained](https://maple.inc/blog/what-is-maple-ai-phone-agent-restaurants): Learn how Maple answers restaurant calls, captures orders, reduces missed revenue, and gives operators an AI phone system built for hospi... - [Voice AI Ordering Platforms for Restaurants: Phone vs Drive-Thru](https://maple.inc/blog/best-voice-ai-ordering-platforms): Compare voice AI ordering platforms by phone, drive-thru, or both. Check POS workflows, menu rules, rollout scope, and total cost before ... - [Restaurant Voice AI Comparison: Ordering, Reservations, and Handoffs](https://maple.inc/blog/ai-voice-agent-comparison): Compare restaurant voice AI by the calls it must complete. Review published product scope and use the same menu and handoff tests for eac... - [10 Best AI Voice Agents for Customer Service in 2026](https://maple.inc/blog/best-ai-voice-agents-customer-service): Compare ten voice AI options by what you buy, who builds the workflow, and who handles support. Includes a responsibility worksheet for b... - [Best Mobile‑Friendly Voice AI for Automated Call Handling in 2026](https://maple.inc/blog/mobile-voice-ai-call-handling): Compare phone calls, staff mobile access and embedded voice apps, then test devices, handoffs and results with a cost worksheet that keep... - [The Definitive Guide to Mobile Voice AI for Seamless Call Automation](https://maple.inc/blog/mobile-voice-ai-call-automation): Explore top mobile-friendly voice AI solutions for automated call handling, key features, deployment best practices, and criteria for pla... - [2026 Guide to Selecting the Best Voice AI for Restaurant Ordering](https://maple.inc/blog/voice-ai-ordering-solutions-restaurants): Compare leading voice AI vendors for restaurants, key features like POS integration, order accuracy, automation models, and real-world de... - [Top AI Voice Agents for Contact Centers in 2026: Expert Rankings](https://maple.inc/blog/top-ai-voice-agents-for-contact-centers-in-2026-expert-rankings): Compare top AI voice vendors for contact centers in 2026, with feature breakdowns, integration capabilities, and selection criteria by us... - [The Definitive Guide to AI Voice Assistants Lowering Food Service Payroll](https://maple.inc/blog/ai-voice-assistants-restaurant-labor-reduction): Explore how conversational AI voice assistants automate orders, save up to 80 staff hours monthly, and achieve 15% payroll reduction in r... - [Best Voice AI Providers for After‑Hours Order Capture in 2026](https://maple.inc/blog/voice-ai-after-hours-order-capture): Compare after-hours phone providers, set closed-kitchen rules, and use a proposed worksheet to check pending requests against accepted or... - [A Step‑by‑Step Guide to Implementing Voice POS in 2026](https://maple.inc/blog/voice-pos-implementation-guide): A 2026 guide for restaurants to set goals, map tech, pick cloud or on‑premise voice POS, and see top solutions such as Hostie AI and Soun... - [Best AI phone answering services for restaurants (2026)](https://maple.inc/blog/10-best-ai-phone-answering-services-to-supercharge-your-business-in-2025): Eight restaurant AI phone answering services compared from their own sites: POS orders, bookings, card payment on the call, printed price... - [Is AI Voice Ordering Worth It for Your Restaurant?](https://maple.inc/blog/ai-voice-ordering-best-investment-busy-restaurants-2025): Estimate the value of AI phone ordering using additional completed orders, contribution per order, staff time, and total cost. Then test ... - [How to set up AI phone answering in a restaurant: a 2026 launch plan](https://maple.inc/blog/how-to-implement-voice-ai-in-your-restaurant-the-complete-2025-guide): Put AI on your restaurant phone in order: count calls, split them with staff, prepare the POS menu, set the greeting and handoff, test, t... - [Top 7 Benefits of Integrating Maple AI Voice Agent for Enterprises](https://maple.inc/blog/top-7-benefits-of-integrating-maple-ai-voice-agent-for-enterprises): Discover the top 7 benefits of Maple AI Voice Agent for enterprise restaurants. Capture every call, boost revenue, reduce labor strain, a... - [Voice AI ROI Calculator for Restaurants: Cut Labor, Errors & Missed Calls](https://maple.inc/blog/voice-ai-roi-calculator-for-restaurants-cut-labor-errors-missed-calls): Discover how much your restaurant could save with voice AI. Use Maple’s cost calculator to compare labor, errors, and missed calls—backed... - [Restaurant phone trees and IVR menus: how to set one up callers can use](https://maple.inc/blog/voice-ai-vs-ivr-systems-what-s-better-for-restaurants-in-2025): Design a restaurant phone tree: how many options, what callers ask for, example menus, Ooma, Google Voice and RingCentral settings, and I... - [AI agents for restaurants: phone, drive-thru and kiosk voice agents](https://maple.inc/blog/what-is-voice-ai-for-restaurants-in-2025): What restaurant AI voice agents do on the phone, at the drive-thru and at a kiosk, what each needs from you, what they cost and how to te... - [AI phone upselling for restaurants: offers, POS checks, and a pilot plan](https://maple.inc/blog/how-voice-ai-increases-upsells-in-restaurants-2025-guide): Plan a useful add-on offer, test what reaches the kitchen, and measure completed sales before expanding AI phone upselling. - [How much does Loman AI cost?](https://maple.inc/blog/maple-loman-ai-compare-2025): Loman lists quote-based Starter and Premium plans. Here is how to request a comparable restaurant phone-agent quote. - [Slang AI vs Maple: review, pricing and alternatives](https://maple.inc/blog/maple-slang-ai-voice-restaurant-2025): What Slang AI does, what its pricing page prints, how it compares with Maple for reservations and phone orders, and other options to shor... - [AI restaurant reservations: phone agents, AI booking channels and how to test them](https://maple.inc/blog/ai-reservation-management-system-2025): Where AI handles restaurant reservations today: phone agents that book into OpenTable and others, AI booking channels, waitlists, and a t... - [The State of Restaurant Phone Communication: Insights from 1 Million+ Calls](https://maple.inc/blog/the-state-of-restaurant-phone-communication-insights-from-1-million-calls) - [What does it cost to have staff answer restaurant phones? A 2026 comparison with AI](https://maple.inc/blog/true-cost-hiring-phone-staff-vs-maple-ai-2025): Cost a staff member answering your restaurant phone: BLS pay data, employer payroll taxes and a worked example, set against Maple Voice a... - [AI for restaurants: what it does well in 2026, by task](https://maple.inc/blog/ai-restaurants-transforming-food-industry-2025): Where restaurants use AI today, task by task: phones, drive-thru, kiosks, online orders, scheduling, inventory, marketing and kitchen rob... - [Why AI Voice Agents Will Be Standard in Restaurants by 2026](https://maple.inc/blog/ai-voice-agents-restaurants-2026): AI voice agents are on track to become restaurant essentials by 2026. Learn why adoption is accelerating—and what makes this shift both i... - [How Voice AI Streamlines Restaurant Operations: From Phone to Kitchen in Seconds](https://maple.inc/blog/how-voice-ai-streamlines-restaurant-operations-from-phone-to-kitchen-in-seconds): See hwo voice AI streamlines restaurant operations by automating phone orders and syncing directly with POS and KDS systems. - [Kea AI vs Maple for Restaurant Phone Ordering (2026)](https://maple.inc/blog/maple-voice-ai-kea-ai-comparison-2025): Compare Kea AI and Maple on phone ordering, published prices, reservations, and POS setup. Use the same menu and trial record to choose a... - [How a phone order gets into your restaurant POS: menu sync, kitchen routing and payment (2026)](https://maple.inc/blog/pos-integration-restaurants-maximize-revenue-2025): How a phone order reaches your POS: menu sync, modifier rules, routing to printers and kitchen screens, payment, and the tests to run bef... - [Will AI replace restaurant workers? What BLS projects through 2035](https://maple.inc/blog/replacing-staff-with-voice-ai-in-restaurants): BLS 2025 to 2035 job projections and AI exposure ratings for cooks, counter staff, servers, hosts and cashiers, and what they mean for sc... - [Restaurant technology trends for 2026, with dates and sources](https://maple.inc/blog/restaurant-ai-voice-technology-trends-2025): The restaurant technology changes of late 2025 and 2026, each with a date and source: AI in the POS, phone and drive-thru voice AI, kiosk... - [How much do missed calls cost a restaurant? A 2026 worksheet](https://maple.inc/blog/restaurants-losing-revenue-missed-calls-ai-fixes-2025): Work out what missed calls cost your restaurant from your call log and POS: callers who wanted to order, your phone ticket and what you k... - [Multilingual phone answering for restaurants: Spanish and other languages (2026)](https://maple.inc/blog/why-multilingual-voice-ai-is-a-must-for-restaurants-in-2025): How to answer restaurant calls in Spanish or another language: check Census data for your area, choose staff, a phone menu or AI, and tes... ## Optional - [Sitemap](https://maple.inc/sitemap.xml): every indexable URL - [Blog index](https://maple.inc/blog): all posts - [Privacy](https://maple.inc/privacy) - [Terms](https://maple.inc/terms) - [Maple developer resources](https://maple.inc/developers) - [OpenAPI](https://maple.inc/openapi.json): public maple.inc HTTP operations - [API catalog](https://maple.inc/.well-known/api-catalog): RFC 9727 pointer to the OpenAPI file - [Maple MCP server](https://maple.inc/mcp): Streamable HTTP - [MCP server card](https://maple.inc/.well-known/mcp.json)