A QR-first restaurant POS for London, Ontario, from licence day to the sign on your door.

Opening in London means a City licence, a coloured health sign in your window and a by-law about who works each shift. Waitery puts your menu on each guest's phone through a table QR code, and the ticket reaches your kitchen screen. It costs $14 CAD per location per month, and setup is free.

Four numbers a London operator runs into first.

Each card links its official source (checked October 31, 2026).

The Food Premises licence: 90 days, then March 31.

The City of London licenses food premises: restaurants, bars, bakeries and caterers. The 2026 fee is $243. Before you sign a lease, call the Business Hub at City Hall to confirm zoning allows a restaurant at your address. You need a Master Business Licence or Articles of Incorporation first.

Two dates shape the timeline:

• An application is only valid for 90 days, so don't apply more than 90 days before you plan to open.
• Every City business licence expires on March 31 of the year after it was issued, and the fee is not prorated.

Once zoning approves, the City calls you to book inspections. That is your cue to have the handhelds, kitchen screen and printer delivered and tested.

Source: City of London, Business licences

Sidewalk patios on City land, and the Dundas Place exception.

A patio on a City sidewalk needs a Sidewalk Patio Permit, and you must already hold a City food licence. Bring a measured sketch and photo, liability insurance on the City's form, and the owner's permission if you rent. New applications pay a non-refundable $200 administration fee, plus a yearly fee per square foot quoted when you apply.

Leave a 1.8-metre route clear for pedestrians, and keep at least one metre off any underground hydro vault. If you hold a liquor licence, the patio must be fenced. Most permits are seasonal: everything comes off the sidewalk in winter so the City can clear snow. A patio on your own lot goes to the Business Hub instead.

Downtown, Dundas Place runs from Wellington to Ridout as a flexible street with wide sidewalks and no curbs, where parking spaces can become patios. Wherever your patio sits, give each patio table its own QR code, the same as the tables inside.

Source: City of London, Sidewalk Patio Permit

Source: City of London, Dundas Place

DineSafe Middlesex-London: the colour in your window.

The Middlesex-London Health Unit inspects every food premises in London and Middlesex County. Before you open, the law says you notify it with the online Notice of Intent form. After each inspection, most restaurants get a DineSafe summary sign:

• Rainbow: a new premises waiting for its first DineSafe inspection.
• Green, Pass: most minimum food safety standards are met.
• Yellow, Conditional Pass: you stay open, fix what the sign lists, and are re-inspected within 24 to 72 hours.
• Red, Closed: an immediate health hazard, such as a sewage back-up, no hot or cold running water, or a power outage.

Every result is also online. High-risk premises are inspected at least three times a year, moderate-risk at least twice, and most visits are unannounced. A POS won't change your colour; fridge temperatures and hand sinks do. It can put each order on the kitchen screen as the guest wrote it.

Source: Middlesex-London Health Unit, DineSafe

Source: Middlesex-London Health Unit, Food Safety Inspections

Source: Middlesex-London Health Unit, Starting a Food Business

London's food handler by-law, on every shift.

Ontario requires a trained food handler on site at food service premises. London got there first: since October 1, 2011, a City by-law has required at least one certified food handler on site, in charge, whenever hazardous food is prepared. That person has to be there for every open hour, even when nothing is on the grill.

• The certificate must be available when the inspector asks. A copy in a binder is enough.
• A ticket is $150 plus an administration fee under the by-law, or $305 plus the fee under the provincial regulation.
• Health unit certificates are valid for five years and accepted across Ontario.

Build your schedule around certificate holders first. With the Time Clock & Labor add-on ($19 a month), staff clock in on the same system as sales, so you can see who is on shift.

Source: Middlesex-London Health Unit, Food Handler Certification

Convocation, salsa Fridays and the Santa Claus Parade.

The City can close Dundas Place to cars for events. In 2026, Friday Night Salsa ran every Friday from May 15 to September 18. Western University held autumn convocation on October 21 and 22 at Canada Life Place, with the Dundas Place Event Block as the gathering spot. The Santa Claus Parade, running since 1956, comes on Saturday, November 14, 2026.

Days like these bring groups in at once. Guests order and split the bill on their own phones, and a sold-out item comes off every menu the moment you mark it. Your servers spend the rush running food.

Source: City of London, Friday Night Salsa

Source: City of London, Western University Autumn Convocation

Source: City of London, Santa Claus Parade

Tax and wage, in one line each.

Ontario charges one 13% HST, shown as a single line on every bill. The general minimum wage is $17.95 an hour from October 1, 2026 to September 30, 2027.

Source: Canada Revenue Agency, GST/HST rates by province

Source: Ontario, Minimum wage

What to ask before choosing a POS system in London.

Based in Mississauga, shipping to London.

Waitery is based in Mississauga, Ontario, and there is no London office. Running a second spot along the 401? See our Kitchener restaurant POS page or the Windsor page, or start with the full restaurant POS overview.

London restaurant POS questions.

Sources

All from City of London, Middlesex-London Health Unit, Government of Ontario and Government of Canada pages, checked October 31, 2026. Rules and fees change, so confirm on the source before acting on them.

• City of London, Business licences
• City of London, Sidewalk Patio Permit
• City of London, Dundas Place
• City of London, Friday Night Salsa
• City of London, Western University Autumn Convocation
• City of London, Santa Claus Parade
• Middlesex-London Health Unit, DineSafe
• Middlesex-London Health Unit, Food Safety Inspections
• Middlesex-London Health Unit, Starting a Food Business
• Middlesex-London Health Unit, Food Handler Certification
• Canada Revenue Agency, GST/HST rates by province
• Ontario, Minimum wage