For darshinis & tiffin counters
A POS built for the darshini counter, not adapted from one
Almost every restaurant billing system in India is designed around tables, waiters and a bill at the end of the meal. A darshini works the other way round — you pay at the counter first, you get a token, and you wait for your number. Fooduru is built for that second workflow, from ₹599 a month, with no commission on your sales and no billing machine to buy.
What a darshini is, and why software keeps getting it wrong
A darshini is the Bengaluru style of quick-service vegetarian restaurant — idli, vada, dosa, khara bath and filter coffee, served fast and cheap, usually standing. The format was born in Bangalore in the 1980s and the operating model has barely changed: you queue at a coupon counter, you pay, you are handed a token, and you collect from a window when your number is called. There are rarely waiters and often no chairs.
That model is the opposite of the one restaurant software is written for. Table maps, captain ordering, running tabs and end-of-meal settlement are all solving problems a darshini does not have, while the things it lives on — a fast counter, a token everyone can see, and a queue that must not stall at 8:30 in the morning — are usually an afterthought. The result is that darshinis end up with a billing machine that prints a coupon and nothing else, and the queue is still managed by a person shouting numbers.
Six places generic restaurant POS misfits a darshini
| Typical restaurant POS assumes | A darshini actually does |
|---|---|
| Assigns orders to a table number | There is no table. The order belongs to a token the customer is holding. |
| A waiter takes the order at the table | The customer orders at a counter, or on their own phone from a QR standee. |
| One bill settled at the end of the meal | Paid up front, before the food is made. The bill is the coupon. |
| Kitchen prints a ticket per table | The kitchen works a queue, and the customer is watching a board for their number. |
| Regional language on the staff billing screen | The customer wants to read ಕನ್ನಡ, not just the cashier. |
| Priced per terminal, with hardware supplied | A darshini has one counter and a phone. Paying per terminal prices out the format. |
The same counter, two ways to order
You do not have to move your whole shop onto phones. Both paths land on the same kitchen screen, the same token series and the same day's sales report.
Path one
The customer's own phone
- 1. They scan the QR standee on your counter — no app to install.
- 2. The menu opens in English or ಕನ್ನಡ. They can also just speak the order.
- 3. They pay by UPI, into your own merchant account.
- 4. A token appears on the board, and their phone buzzes when it is ready.
Removes one person from the coupon counter at peak.
Path two
Your cashier, as always
- 1. Staff tap dishes on a photo grid — no dish codes to memorise.
- 2. Cash or UPI, whichever the customer hands over.
- 3. A GST bill and a kitchen ticket print on your thermal printer.
- 4. Same token series, same board, same report.
Keeps working with the internet completely down. How Cashier Mode works →
When Fooduru is the wrong choice for you
We would rather you read this now than find it out in month two.
- • You need stock and inventory control, or recipe-level costing. Fooduru has neither.
- • A large share of your orders comes from Swiggy and Zomato and you want them in one screen. There is no aggregator integration.
- • You run table service with captains taking orders. This is counter-service software.
- • You need Tally or SAP to reconcile automatically.
- • Your counter must print, and you only have iPads. Apple does not support the browser standards thermal printing uses.
If several of those are dealbreakers, a broader platform is genuinely the better buy, and we say so on our Petpooja comparison too.
Common questions
- What is the best POS for a darshini?
- A darshini needs different software from a sit-down restaurant, because there are no tables to assign, no waiters to take orders and no bill at the end of a meal — there is a coupon counter, a token, and a queue at the collection window. The right system is therefore one built around counter billing and a token board rather than a table map. Fooduru is built specifically for that workflow: a customer either scans a QR standee at the counter and pays by UPI on their own phone, or orders from your cashier as they always have, and either way a token appears on a public screen and moves from Preparing to Ready. It costs ₹599 per month, takes no commission on sales, and needs no billing machine. Larger platforms such as Petpooja do far more — inventory, aggregator integration, loyalty — and are the better choice if you need those.
- How much does darshini billing software cost in India?
- Fooduru is ₹599 per month, sold in terms rather than month to month: ₹1,797 for a quarter or ₹5,990 for a year, which works out at two months free. There is no commission on your sales, no setup fee, no per-terminal licence and no hardware requirement — it runs in a browser on an Android phone, tablet or laptop you already own. Prices exclude GST. Across the wider Indian market, restaurant billing software ranges from roughly ₹150 to ₹5,000 per month, but the monthly figure alone is misleading: check separately whether the plan adds commission per order, charges per billing terminal, or requires you to buy their hardware.
- Can a darshini menu and bill be in Kannada?
- Yes. Every dish carries its own Kannada name, and the customer's menu switches between English and ಕನ್ನಡ with one tap — this is the menu the diner reads, not a staff-only translation of the billing screen. The cashier screen can be switched to Kannada independently, per device, so dish names and the running bill appear in Kannada script for the person on the counter. Most restaurant software that advertises regional-language support localises only the staff POS.
- Do I need to buy a billing machine or POS terminal?
- No. Fooduru runs in a web browser, so the cashier screen works on an Android phone, a tablet, a laptop or a desktop you already own, and the public token board runs on any browser-capable TV or spare screen. If you already have a thermal printer that speaks ESC/POS and connects by USB or Bluetooth LE, we pair and test it free so you can print bills and kitchen tickets. Nothing is sold as compulsory hardware. Thermal printing does not work on Apple devices, because Safari does not implement the WebUSB and Web Bluetooth standards printing relies on — a counter that must print needs Android, Windows or macOS in Chrome or Edge.
- What happens during the morning rush if the internet drops?
- The cash counter keeps working. Cashier Mode stores each sale on the device, keeps printing bills and kitchen tickets, keeps issuing tokens, and uploads everything automatically when the connection returns. It is designed to run a full day offline, not to buffer for a few minutes. Offline tokens carry a per-device prefix so two counters cannot issue the same number, and offline bills use a per-device GST invoice series so numbering stays valid. QR self-ordering by customers does need connectivity, because the payment has to be verified with the bank.
- Does it work for a darshini with separate coffee, tiffin and juice counters?
- Yes, but multi-counter routing is a paid add-on rather than part of the base plan, which covers a single counter or pickup point. With it, each item is routed to its own station and each station's screen shows only its own orders, while the customer still gets one token and one bill. It is quoted by how many counters you run.
Run a darshini in Bangalore?
We will digitise your printed menu from a photograph, set up your counter and hours, train your staff and get your UPI account connected — all included, before your first paid subscription term.
Message us on WhatsAppLast updated 25/08/2026. Fooduru is made in Bengaluru by Antarya Technologies. Prices exclude GST.