I’ve been building software solutions for businesses for nearly two decades. Last year, I decided to start something on the side — something lightweight, useful, and (hopefully) scalable.

That’s when I launched Scan-n-Order (SNO) — a mobile app designed to help food truck owners and pop-up vendors ditch the line, collect orders and payments, and run their entire business from their phone.

The Idea

I live near a bunch of food trucks and noticed the same recurring issue: long lines, frustrated customers walking away, and overworked staff trying to handle both orders and payments at once. Some were using Venmo, some pen & paper, and others just hoped for the best.

So I built Scan-n-Order with a simple promise:

“Turn your phone into your ordering counter.”

It’s more than just line-busting — it combines:

• POS

• QR-based ordering

• Payment collection

• Location-based menus

• Pre-order scheduling

It works out of the box with no hardware needed, and vendors can get started by just printing a QR code and setting their menu.

The Build

It took a few months of focused weekend and evening work. I had help from a few designer/dev friends. I’ve kept it lean — no investors, no paid ads, just pure build-first energy.

I added features based on real-world needs:

• Location-aware menus for trucks that move

• Tips collection

• Email receipts

• Scheduled orders for busy times

• Device-agnostic UI — phone or tablet, it works

The Reality Check

Here's where things get real: it hasn’t taken off.

I’ve done outreach to food trucks, sent cold emails, even visited a few in person. The reactions are positive — “this is cool,” “we needed this,” “I’ll check it out.”

But conversions are slow. Very few signups, even fewer active users.

I’m starting to hit that classic indie wall:

• Is it a messaging problem?

• Am I targeting the wrong segment?

• Is it pricing? (It's freemium right now)

• Is it just that food truck owners are too busy to care unless it’s in their face?

• Do I need boots-on-the-ground selling?

• Should I pivot this to other verticals (e.g., event booths, farmer’s markets, university canteens)?

www.scan-n-order.com

Would Love Feedback

If you've built for a non-technical, mobile-first audience, I’d love your thoughts:

• How did you win trust and adoption?

• How did you break into small businesses with tight margins and limited time?

• Would a demo video help more than a landing page?

• Should I narrow the offering down further?

Even one actionable insight could change the direction for me.

TL;DR

• Built a full-featured POS + ordering app (Scan-n-Order) for food trucks

• Works on any phone, no hardware, QR-based orders/payments

• Launched solo as a side project

• Not getting traction

• Looking for feedback from anyone who’s been there