A field report from the pickup counter
A clipboard is not security.
Most restaurants verify the right driver picked up the right order with a paper sign-in sheet on the counter. PickCounter replaces it with one SMS and a QR scan at the register. No app for the driver. No new hardware for you.
How this started
Walked into an IHOP on a Tuesday. On the counter sat a clipboard — a paper sign-in sheet for DoorDash, UberEats, and Grubhub drivers.
Drivers scribble a name, grab a bag, and walk out. The cashier is busy. The kitchen is busy. Nobody actually verifies that the right person took the right order.
When a customer calls and screams "my food never arrived" — the only record is a line on a clipboard. That's not a record. That's an apology in advance.
The model
Bring your own keys.
We don't pay for your SMS. You don't pay our markup. Your Twilio bill stays with Twilio.
- 01
Carrier rules require it.
Toll-free verification is an account-level thing — your business needs to be vetted by the carriers, not us. There's no shortcut. The good news: you do it once with Twilio and never again.
- 02
Cost transparency.
Most SMS-based products mark up Twilio 5–10×. We don't. Your Twilio bill IS your SMS cost — about $0.008 per message at their rates. 1,000 verifications a month = roughly $8 from Twilio, billed to you, not us.
- 03
You own the relationship.
Switch numbers, run your own opt-out flow, change SMS providers — it's your account. We connect to it. We don't sit between you and the carriers.
- 04
It's why we can charge $99 flat.
No variable cost baked into the platform fee. $99 a month whether you do 10 pickups or 10,000. No verification limits, no overage rates.
How it works
- ORDER#4421
- STOREIHOP — Beaverton
- DRIVERSarah M.
- PHONE+1 503 ··· ····
- SOURCEDoorDash
The order arrives
DoorDash, UberEats, Grubhub, or your POS sends us the order — driver name and phone come with it.
One SMS goes out
The assigned driver gets a single text with a check-in link. They tap it when they walk in.
Scan, verified
Driver scans the QR posted at your register. The counter tablet flips to the driver's name. Done.
Behind the counter
Cashier sees the right name. Every time.
A small tablet on the counter shows who's checked in and what they're picking up. One tap to mark a bag handed off. Logged, timestamped, auditable.
- Notified#4421Sarah M.for Thomas J.
- Checked in#1187Marcus T.for Anna L.
- Notified#9904Priya S.for Diana R.
By the numbers
for drivers to install. Ever.
per assigned pickup. No follow-ups.
typical in-store check-in time.
every pickup logged + timestamped.
Built for
Restaurants where pickups outnumber the sit-down crowd.
Single-location
Diners & family restaurants
The owner runs the floor. Driver pickups happen between bussing tables. The clipboard goes when the rush starts.
Small chains
3–10 locations
Each store has its own counter, its own staff, its own QR. One dashboard for the operator. Per-location managers get scoped access.
Ghost kitchens
Cloud-kitchen brands
Multiple delivery brands out of one kitchen. Verifying the right driver picks up the right brand's order is the whole game.
Food halls & hotels
Shared pickup counters
One counter, many vendors or many room-service runners. Per-vendor or per-floor displays keep the chaos sorted.
Simple pricing
One plan. Bring your own keys.
PickCounter runs on your Twilio account, your POS credentials, your aggregator keys. We charge a flat platform fee. No per-message markup. No per-verification metering.
Setting up Twilio, POS OAuth, and aggregators yourself is a few hours of focused work. If you'd rather not, we'll do it on a Zoom call for $599 — a one-time charge, not a subscription.
Up to 5 locations. Two months free vs. monthly. Paid up front.
Both plans include
- Up to 5 locations
- Unlimited staff users
- Unlimited verifications
- Counter display (static + rotating QR)
- Full audit log + CSV export
- Public REST API + webhooks
- Every integration we support
- No per-message or per-verification fees
Need more than 5 locations? Contact us for chain pricing.
Your SMS bill goes directly to your Twilio account. Typical volume costs ~$0.008 per message at Twilio's rates. 1,000 verifications = about $8 from Twilio, billed to you — not us.
- No — ever. Drivers receive an SMS with a check-in link. They tap it on arrival, the page opens in the phone's browser, and they scan the QR posted at your register. That's the entire interaction.