TapTheTable: Multi-Tenant Digital Ordering Platform for Any Business
The Challenge
South African businesses - from restaurants and coffee shops to grooming parlours and hair salons - needed a modern, affordable digital ordering solution that could:
- Replace expensive imported POS-integrated ordering systems
- Handle multiple businesses from a single platform (multi-tenant)
- Allow business owners to update menus or service catalogues without technical knowledge
- Work reliably on customers' mobile devices without app downloads
- Extract existing menu or service list data from PDFs and images to speed onboarding
Most available solutions were either too expensive, designed only for restaurants, or required long-term contracts.
The Solution
We built TapTheTable as a full multi-tenant SaaS platform using Laravel 12 and Livewire 4:
Core Features
1. Multi-Tenant Architecture
- Each business gets its own subdomain and branded experience
- Shared infrastructure keeps costs low for business owners
- Centralized admin for platform management
2. AI-Powered Catalogue Extraction
- Upload a PDF or photo of an existing menu or service list
- AI extracts items, descriptions, prices, and categories automatically
- Business owners review and approve before publishing
- Reduces onboarding from days to minutes
3. QR Code Digital Ordering
- Customers scan a QR code to browse and order - no app download required
- Real-time order management dashboard for staff
- Works for food menus, service catalogues, or any item-based ordering
4. Meilisearch-Powered Search
- Instant search across catalogue items with typo tolerance
- Filter by category, dietary requirements, preferences, or price range
- Multi-language support for tourist areas
Development Process
- Weeks 1-2: Discovery, architecture design, tenant system
- Weeks 3-6: Core platform build (catalogues, ordering, dashboard)
- Weeks 7-8: AI catalogue extraction, search, testing
- Weeks 9-10: Beta launch with pilot businesses
Technologies & Tools
The Results
Reduction in catalogue onboarding time with AI extraction
Increase in average order value with digital catalogues
Average time from scan to order placed
Businesses onboarded in first 3 months
Technical Deep Dive
Multi-Tenant Architecture
TapTheTable uses a single-database multi-tenant approach with Laravel's built-in scoping. Each business's data is isolated through tenant-aware models, while shared platform resources (AI services, search) are managed centrally. This keeps costs low and makes onboarding new businesses fast.
AI Catalogue Extraction Pipeline
The catalogue extraction feature uses a multi-step pipeline:
- Document Processing: PDF parsing or image OCR
- AI Analysis: Claude extracts structured catalogue data (item name, description, price, category)
- Validation: Automated checks for pricing consistency and missing data
- Review Interface: Business owner approves, edits, or rejects extracted items
- Import: Approved items are created as catalogue entries with proper categorization
This reduced the typical business onboarding from 2-3 days of manual data entry to under 30 minutes.
Multi-Industry Flexibility
While the first wave of users were restaurants, the platform adapts to any business that takes orders - coffee shops, grooming parlours, hair salons, beauty salons, and more. The catalogue system is flexible enough to handle food menus, service lists, or product catalogues with equal ease.
"TapTheTable got us digital ordering without the massive upfront cost. The AI upload saved us hours of data entry, and our customers love scanning the QR code to order."
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