A QR-first restaurant POS for Windsor, from licence day to the last café night.

A Windsor restaurant runs on a City licence that renews every February, a café permit for seats outside, and inspectors who don't call ahead. Waitery puts your menu on each guest's phone through a table QR code. Guests order and pay there, and the ticket reaches your kitchen. It costs $14 CAD per location per month, and setup is free.

Four numbers a Windsor operator plans around.

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

The Hospitality Services licence, and what comes before it.

Windsor licenses restaurants under its Hospitality Services category. Pick the line that matches how you serve:

• Food Service or Lunch Counter: $572 new, $440 to renew.
• Food Service with Ancillary Liquor, or Liquor Service with Ancillary Food: $757 new, $635 to renew.

Along with ID and ownership papers, the City asks for a Board of Health Inspection Certificate from the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit, plus your liquor licence if you serve alcohol. So the health unit inspects first, then the City licenses.

Every licence renews by February 28, and the City sends renewal forms about a month before. Licensing: (519) 255-6200.

Source: City of Windsor, Hospitality Services licence

Source: City of Windsor, Business Licences

Tell the health unit during construction, not after.

Anyone opening or renovating a food premises in Windsor-Essex has to notify the health unit's Environmental Health Department. Call 519-258-2146 ext. 4475 during construction and before opening, or use the Food Premises Inspection Request Form online. The health unit's opening checklist adds a floor plan, a Notice of Intent to Operate and an inspection before you open.

Receipts or invoices for all food must stay on site for at least a year. A POS records what you sell, not what you buy, so give supplier invoices their own shelf. Book the pre-opening inspection once the handhelds, kitchen screen and printer are tested.

Source: WECHU, Food Safety for Businesses

Source: WECHU, Guidelines for Opening and Renovating a Food Premises

Windsor's sidewalk cafés: which kind, and what it costs.

Seats on the public sidewalk need an annual permit from the City's Engineering Department. Three kinds:

• Standard sidewalk café: 3-season (March 1 to November 30) or year-round. A year-round café needs one heater for every ten people on it, listed on your insurance certificate.
• Parklet café, built inside the parking stall in front of you: April 1 to November 15.
• Curbside café, out to the curb with walkers routed through the parking stall: April 1 to November 15.

Fees are a $290 permit, a $1,000 indemnity refunded after final inspection, and $3.50 per square foot each year. You need $2,000,000 in liability insurance, a deductible of no more than $5,000 and the City named as an additional insured. Keep a clear walkway of at least 1.6 metres, and a 1.5 to 2.0 metre path to your door.

The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario no longer requires railings around a standard sidewalk café, but the City still wants the area clearly marked. Parklet and curbside cafés need 42-inch railings.

City departments, your ward councillor, the Windsor Accessibility Advisory Committee and the local business improvement area all review the application. If nobody objects, the permit is issued once you pay; if someone does, you can take it to City Council. A year-round café means those outdoor tables stay on your floor plan in January too.

Source: City of Windsor, Sidewalk Cafe

Source: City of Windsor, Sidewalk Cafe Frequently Asked Questions

WECHU inspections, the sign by your door, and the online record.

The Windsor-Essex County Health Unit inspects about 2,600 food premises. Each year an inspector rates yours by risk, which sets the minimum visits:

• High risk, such as a full service restaurant: at least three times a year.
• Moderate risk, such as fast food: at least twice a year.
• Low risk: once a year, or more if needed.

These visits are not scheduled with you. The inspector fills in a disclosure sign to post near your entrance, and the report stays on the health unit's online disclosure site for up to two years. Results run from “Satisfactory” to “Problems Noted - Re-Inspection Required”. If the sign goes missing, call ext. 4475.

A closure order can follow no hot water, no drinkable water or a power failure. Ontario also requires a trained food handler or supervisor on site every hour you are open. The health unit's online course is free, and the exam is $10 with a 70% pass mark.

Source: WECHU disclosure site, FAQ

Source: WECHU disclosure site, Glossary

Source: WECHU, Food Handler Course and Exam

When a guest hands over US dollars.

In a border city, some guests will offer US cash. No official page we read says you must take it, or at what rate; that is your call. The tax side is settled: for HST, the Canada Revenue Agency values the sale in Canadian dollars.

• Accepted rate sources include where you actually converted the money, a Canadian chartered bank and the Bank of Canada.
• Keep a record of the source, and stick with it for a reasonable period, such as one year.

QR payments keep this off the table for most guests: they pay on their own phone with Apple Pay, Google Pay, Visa or Mastercard. Cash goes through the cashier station ($799), which works with a cash drawer.

Source: Canada Revenue Agency, GST/HST Memorandum 3-6, Conversion of Foreign Currency

Two Ontario numbers, one line each.

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

Source: Ontario, Your guide to the Employment Standards Act: minimum wage

What to ask before choosing a POS system in Windsor.

Based in Mississauga, shipping to Windsor.

Waitery is based in Mississauga, Ontario, and there is no Windsor office. Hardware ships to you and is supported across Canada. Opening a second spot up the 401? See our London restaurant POS page or the Hamilton page, or start with the full restaurant POS overview.

Windsor restaurant POS questions.

Sources

All from City of Windsor, Windsor-Essex County Health Unit (WECHU), Ontario and Canada pages, checked October 31, 2026. Rules and fees change, so confirm on the source before acting on them.

• City of Windsor, Hospitality Services licence
• City of Windsor, Business Licences
• City of Windsor, Sidewalk Cafe
• City of Windsor, Sidewalk Cafe Frequently Asked Questions
• City of Windsor, Sidewalk Cafe Application Process
• WECHU, Food Safety for Businesses
• WECHU, Guidelines for Opening and Renovating a Food Premises
• WECHU, Food Handler Course and Exam
• WECHU disclosure site, FAQ
• WECHU disclosure site, Glossary
• Canada Revenue Agency, GST/HST Memorandum 3-6, Conversion of Foreign Currency
• Ontario, Your guide to the Employment Standards Act: minimum wage