Digital menu boards for cafés and coffee shops — updated from your phone
Replace the chalkboard with a digital display you can update in seconds. Prices, specials, seasonal offers — always current, always readable from the queue.
No credit card required · Cancel anytime · From £10/Location/month
The problem
Chalkboards, laminated menus, and handwritten signs are costing you time and sales
The chalkboard menu takes 20 minutes to update when the daily special changes — if anyone remembers to update it at all. The laminated price list was printed eight months ago and two items have changed price since then. The printed card advertising the seasonal drinks launched last week is already looking tired.
Customers standing in the queue cannot read the menu because the handwriting is too small or the board is in shadow. Someone reaches the counter, looks up, and asks what the difference is between the two flat white options. The queue backs up.
Every independent café competes against chains with professionally designed menu boards that are updated overnight from a central system. NowBoard gives you the same capability without the enterprise price tag or the franchising relationship.
Why it matters
What a clear, current menu board actually changes
Customers decide faster when they can read the menu
A clear menu board visible from the back of the queue means customers arrive at the counter knowing what they want. Faster service. Shorter queues. Happier customers.
Specials that customers can actually see get sold
A daily special written small on a blackboard near the counter sells to the person already at the till. A digital display visible from the doorway sells to everyone who walks in.
Consistent presentation across branches
Two locations with two different chalkboards look like two different cafés. Two locations with NowBoard look like one professional brand — even if you update them independently.
Stop spending time you do not have on menu updates
A barista re-doing a chalkboard at 8am before opening is not your best use of their time. A 30-second app update is.
The solution
Digital menu boards for cafés that anyone on your team can update
NowBoard is café digital signage software built for small teams who do not have time to learn complicated software. Plug a NowBoard Player into the TV above the counter and your menu is on screen in 15 minutes. Update prices from the app while you are doing the cash-up. Add a daily special from your phone before you open.
No graphic design skills required. No monthly designer retainer. No waiting for someone to update a file and email it over. Your menu is yours to manage, and it takes seconds.
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Plug in a NowBoard Player
Connects to your counter TV via HDMI. Uses your café wifi. About the size of a phone charger. Around £139, or use an Android TV stick you already have.
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Set up your menu
Enter your drinks, food, and prices. Choose a layout that fits your brand. Add your logo. Set your font and colour scheme once and everything stays consistent.
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Update it in seconds, any time
Change a price, add today's special, swap in the seasonal menu. From your phone. The screen above the counter updates immediately.
Use cases
Six ways cafés use NowBoard every day
Above-counter menu board
Your main menu — coffees, food, and prices — always up to date and readable from the queue
A NowBoard screen above the counter replaces the chalkboard or printed menu poster. It shows your full drinks and food menu with current prices, grouped by category, in a layout that is clear to read from three metres back. When you change a price, add a new option, or remove something you have run out of, update it from the app. The screen changes immediately. No chalk. No reprinting. No erasing. Customers arriving at your door can see the menu, decide what they want, and move through the queue faster.
Window display
Seasonal promotions and happy hour messaging that draws people in from the street
A NowBoard screen visible from the window or near the entrance is your most powerful marketing surface — it reaches people who have not decided where to go yet. Run a seasonal promotion on the autumn menu. Advertise happy hour prices. Promote an upcoming tasting event. Show your loyalty programme offer. You can schedule content to switch automatically — morning coffee promotions in the first hour, lunch specials from midday, afternoon cake offers from 2pm. The screen does the work without anyone remembering to change it.
Today's bakes and daily specials
A rotating specials board that tells customers what is fresh today
A dedicated NowBoard screen for today's bakes and specials tells customers what came out of the oven this morning without the barista having to list it verbally to every customer. Update it each morning before you open — what pastries are fresh, what the soup of the day is, what you have on as a lunch special. If you sell out of something, remove it from the board in 10 seconds from the app. Customers see accurate information and trust that what is on the board is actually available.
Loyalty programme reminder
A persistent visual reminder that your loyalty card exists — because customers forget
Research consistently shows that most loyalty programmes underperform because customers forget they have a card. A NowBoard screen showing "Buy 9 coffees, get your 10th free — ask for a loyalty card" is a constant low-effort prompt that increases uptake without any staff member having to remember to mention it. Design it once, leave it running as part of your menu rotation, and watch the loyalty card numbers grow over a quarter.
Queue management
Reduce counter confusion by telling customers exactly how to order
A clear "Order at the counter, we will bring your food to you" screen eliminates the awkward moment where a new customer hovers not knowing whether to queue, find a seat, or wait at the collection point. For cafés with a table service option alongside counter service, a NowBoard screen with simple illustrated instructions reduces staff interruptions and helps the flow of a busy lunchtime service. Set it up once and it handles the question automatically.
Multi-branch management
Push a promotion to all branches simultaneously, or let each one run its own board
Running two, three, or more café locations? NowBoard lets a head office or owner manage content across every branch from a single dashboard. Push a company-wide promotion — seasonal menu launch, bank holiday hours — to all locations at once. Each branch can then update its own daily specials independently. Branding stays consistent. Operations stays simple. Learn more about multi-location management.
Why NowBoard
Why independent cafés choose NowBoard
Most digital signage software is designed for large retail chains with marketing departments and IT support. NowBoard is built for a café owner who also makes the coffee, does the accounts, and manages the Instagram.
Works on the TV you already have
Any TV with an HDMI port. Above the counter, in the window, or by the door. No new screen purchase required unless you want one.
Update from your phone in seconds
Before you open. During a quiet moment. From home the night before. No laptop. No design software. No waiting.
Schedule content in advance
Set your happy hour pricing to appear automatically Monday to Friday at 4pm. Set your breakfast menu to run until 11am. The screen switches itself.
Consistent branding
Your logo, your fonts, your colours — set once and applied to every screen. Every update looks professional without any design work.
No design experience needed
NowBoard's templates are designed to look good out of the box. Add your content and your branding. Done.
From £10/Location/month
One Location covers all the screens in one café. A two-branch setup costs £20/month total. No setup fees. No lock-in. See pricing.
Getting started
Your menu board live in under 15 minutes
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Sign up for a free trial
No credit card needed. 14 days free.
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Plug in a NowBoard Player
Connect to the TV above your counter. Connect to your café wifi. Takes about 5 minutes.
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Enter your menu
Add your drinks, food, and prices. Pick a layout. Add your logo. The screen is showing your menu before your next customer arrives.
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Update whenever you need to
Change a price. Add today's special. Swap in the seasonal menu. All from the app on your phone.
FAQ
Common questions about café digital menu boards
Can I show different content in different branches?
Yes. Each branch is its own Location with its own content. The barista in each location can update their daily specials independently. Head office can push a promotion to all of them at once — a seasonal menu launch, updated bank holiday hours, a new loyalty offer. Each branch then manages its own day-to-day board from there.
Does it work on a standard TV above the counter?
Yes. Any TV with an HDMI port. Plug in a NowBoard Player or Android TV stick, connect to your wifi, and your menu is on screen in 15 minutes. No special screens, no installation engineers, no AV contractors. If your TV is already on the wall, you do not need to touch it — just plug in the player.
Can I schedule content to change automatically?
Yes. Set your breakfast menu to run until 11am and switch to the lunch menu automatically. Set your happy hour offer to appear at 4pm Mon–Fri. Set your seasonal promotion to start on a specific date. Everything switches without anyone touching a screen or opening an app.
What if the wifi drops?
NowBoard screens keep showing the last update if the connection drops. They sync automatically when the connection returns. Your menu board stays visible even if there is a brief internet outage. Customers never see a blank or error screen.
Ready to replace the chalkboard?
Your menu deserves better than chalk dust and an inconsistent update schedule. Set it up once, update it in seconds, and serve your customers faster.
No credit card required · UK-based support · From £10/Location/month