On this page
Key takeaways
- UPI for payments, Google reviews for new customers, WhatsApp for orders, Instagram or Maps for discovery.
- Put them together on one laminated counter card, each with a label in your customers’ language.
- Confirm every payment in your own app or soundbox, never from the customer’s screen.
- Check your payment code daily: swapped stickers are a common scam.
The 4 QR codes every shop needs
1. UPI payments
Most customers pay by scanning. A UPI QR code made from your UPI ID works with Google Pay, PhonePe, Paytm, BHIM and every bank app, and the money goes straight to your account. You can add your shop name so customers see who they are paying, and a fixed amount for things like a set price or a delivery fee.
2. Google reviews
When someone searches “kirana near me” or “mobile repair shop”, Google shows the shops with the most good reviews first. A Google review QR code at the counter, with a request in person (“If you’re happy, please leave us a review”), is the easiest way to get more.
3. WhatsApp orders and enquiries
A WhatsApp QR code lets customers message you without saving your number, with a message like “Hi, I’d like to place an order” already typed. Use it for home delivery, stock questions and repeat orders, and reply from WhatsApp Business.
4. Instagram or location
Clothing, gifts, bakeries and salons grow with an Instagram QR code. Shops that are hard to find benefit more from a Google Maps QR code on visiting cards and flyers.
One counter card for everything
Customers shouldn’t have to guess which code does what. Put them on one card, with a label above each:
| Code | Label idea | Tip |
|---|---|---|
| UPI | “Scan to pay · Sharma Stores” | Largest code, in the centre |
| Google review | “Happy? Review us on Google” | Ask in person too |
| “Order on WhatsApp” | Add your delivery hours | |
| “Follow for new arrivals” | Optional |
Use your customers’ language
If you want one code for reviews, WhatsApp and Instagram together, a link-in-bio page does that. Keep UPI as its own code so payments are never one tap away from the wrong button.
Beyond the counter
- Visiting cards: WhatsApp and location codes on the back.
- Bills and bags: a review code and a WhatsApp reorder code that reach customers at home.
- Shutter or board: a WhatsApp code for orders when the shop is closed.
- Delivery boys’ bags: a UPI code with your shop name for payment on delivery.
- Product lists: a PDF QR code for your price list or catalogue.
Avoiding UPI payment fraud
- Confirm in your own app. Wait for the payment in your UPI app, bank SMS or soundbox before handing over goods. Fake “payment successful” screenshots and apps exist.
- Check the code daily. Scammers stick their own QR codes over shop codes. Laminate your card and look at it when you open.
- You never scan to receive money. Anyone asking you to scan a code or enter your UPI PIN to “receive” a payment is trying to take money from you.
- Check the payee name when you test your own code: it should show your shop or bank-registered name.
Keep your UPI PIN private
Mistakes to avoid
- Tiny, faded codes. Print at least 5–7 cm for the counter, and replace codes when they fade or tear.
- A personal UPI ID for a growing business. Many banks and payment apps offer merchant accounts with soundboxes and settlement reports.
- No label. A row of unlabelled codes means customers ask anyway.
- Unanswered WhatsApp messages. Set a greeting and away message in WhatsApp Business.
A 20-minute setup plan
- 1Make your UPI code with your UPI ID and shop name, and test it with ₹1 from another phone.
- 2Copy your Google review link from Google Business Profile and make the review code.
- 3Make a WhatsApp code with a pre-filled order message.
- 4Put them on one card with labels, print it at a local shop and laminate it.
- 5Ask every happy customer for a review this week.
All of these generators are free with no sign-up. For codes you can change later and scan counts, create a free QR-10 account.