A digital loyalty card for your restaurant, from dagens lunch to julbord

Lunch is a big deal in Sweden. Office workers eat dagens lunch most weekdays, often at one of two or three places near work, for 125 to 150 kr including salad bar, bread and coffee. In the evening the ticket is higher, 300 to 600 kr per person, but guests come back monthly at best. Both sides of the business reward a regular. The lunchkort, ten lunches with the eleventh free, has been on Swedish restaurant counters for years; Fidelia keeps that tradition and puts it in the guest’s wallet, where it can’t be forgotten at home.

What to reward, and after how many stamps?

A free dinner for two is a common mistake: it is expensive and arrives so late that most guests never reach it. Smaller, sooner rewards work better.

• 10A free dagens lunchThe classic lunchkort deal, for weekday regulars.
• 5Free dessert or coffee and cakeFor dinner guests who come every month or two.
• 6A free starter for the tableGenerous to the group, cheap in the kitchen.
• 5 % back on every billCashback on Pro, spent on a later visit.

Example calculation for lunch: your dagens costs 135 kr and about 40 kr in food. Ten stamped lunches bring in 1,350 kr, so a free eleventh lunch costs you about 3 % of what the guest spent. For dinner, a dessert with a food cost of 25 kr after five visits at 450 kr each is around 1 % of 2,250 kr. These are example figures; use your own food cost.

Set between 3 and 30 stamps per card. Changing it later affects only new cards; guests mid-way keep their rule.

Which card type fits a restaurant?

Most restaurants want two programmes, and Pro lets you run several cards at once:

The pack card is a digital lunchkort: the customer pays for the pack, staff tap “Activate”, and each lunch is a “Use 1”. When it’s used up, “Sell a pack” adds another. Because you hold the customer’s money for lunches not yet eaten, ask your accountant how to treat it. When a guest opens your join page and you have more than one card, they pick which one to add.

How does stamping work during the rush?

Lunch runs from about 11:30 to 13:30, and most Swedish lunch places take payment at the counter before the guest serves themselves. That’s the moment to scan: card terminal or Swish first, then the guest holds up their pass and the scanner shows “+1” and “Johan · 8/10”. For table service in the evening, scan when you bring the card terminal to the table.

• One device at the till with a PIN login is easiest for lunch; waiting staff can also use their own phone after an e-mail invite. Staff accounts only open the scanner.
• Groups: the person who pays gets the stamp. Colleagues with their own card can be scanned too; the cooldown (5 minutes by default, adjustable) prevents double stamps on one card.
• Mistakes: the owner or a manager corrects the card in the dashboard with Adjust stamps; the reason and who made the change are logged.
• Full lunchkort: “Claim + add today’s stamp” gives the free lunch and starts card 2 in one tap.

The scanner needs internet, so keep it on the restaurant Wi-Fi.

Seasonal and occasion ideas

• January: the quiet month. A “not seen in 30 days” push to lunch regulars after the holidays.
• Påsk: påskbord or a spring menu.
• Midsommar and summer: summer hours, terrace opening, sill and new potatoes.
• August: kräftskiva season, with booking reminders for crayfish evenings.
• November to December: julbord. Send the booking link early, then a reminder in early December.
• Weekly: fill a quiet Tuesday evening rather than discounting the busy Friday.

What to send by push or e-mail

Push messages (Pro) show up on the guest’s lock screen through the pass. Examples:

• Example · title: “Today’s lunch: pytt i panna” · message: “Dagens until 14:00, salad bar and coffee included. Show your card at the till for your stamp.”
• Example · title: “Julbord tables are filling” · message: “We still have tables on 6 and 13 December. Call us or reply to our e-mail to book your group.”
• Example · title: “Quiet Tuesday, warm welcome” · message: “Free dessert with any main course tonight for card holders. Tables from 17:00.”

For e-mail, the kräftskiva or julbord menu with photos and booking details is the obvious one, sent from your restaurant’s own address; replies arrive in your Fidelia inbox. The automatic welcome e-mail can introduce your lunch menu. Daily lunch pushes are too much: once or twice a week at most. Only guests who opted in to news receive messages.

Fidelia can also send one Google review invite by e-mail after a guest’s first visit, on any plan while billing is active. Everyone who opted in is asked; the review is never rewarded.

Common objections

“We’re not a fast-food chain.” A loyalty card doesn’t have to feel like one. A free dessert after five visits is hospitality, and the scanner shows the guest’s first name so the server can greet them.

“Guests don’t want another app.” There is no app. They scan the QR stand, enter first name and e-mail, and the card sits in Apple Wallet or Google Wallet.

“We already use a paper lunchkort.” Keep it while you switch over. A manager can correct a guest’s digital card to carry over the lunches already stamped, with a reason noted.

“Our till has a customer club.” If it does what you want, use it. Fidelia’s difference is that the card lives in the guest’s wallet, can send lock-screen messages and works the same whatever till you change to.

What does it cost?

Essential costs 299 kr a month for one restaurant with a stamp card, unlimited guests and scans. Most restaurants choose Pro at 599 kr a month, because the lunchkort pack, cashback, several cards at once, push messages and e-mails are all Pro. Pro starts with a 14-day free trial. Prices are excl. VAT.