One tap per customer
Your barista scans the customer’s phone with the shop phone or a tablet. No typing phone numbers, no looking people up in a list.
For coffee shops
The coffee punch card, without the paper.
The Usual is a digital punch card for coffee shops. Customers scan your code once to join, your baristas scan their phone at the register, and one tap adds the stamp. It runs beside your existing POS and costs $30 a month.
Setting it up
The card we’d start you with.
Most coffee shops start here. Every setting can be changed later in the app.
| Setting | What we suggest | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Stamps | 10 | The classic coffee card. Customers get it without explanation, and it works out to about a 10% reward for your regulars. |
| Reward | Any drink, any size | Quick to honor at the register, and it doesn’t short-change the latte drinkers. |
| Minutes between stamps | 30 (the default) | One stamp per visit, even if someone comes back for a second cup. |
| Stamps per card per day | 2 | Covers the regular who comes in morning and afternoon. |
| Rewards expire | After 90 days, or never | Optional. A deadline gives people a reason to come back sooner. |
What it handles
Built for the morning rush.
Nobody stamps their own card
Staff can’t add stamps to their own card, and every stamp records who gave it. “I think she comps her friends” becomes something you can check.
Screenshots don’t work
The code on the customer’s phone changes every 60 seconds and works once, so a photo of someone else’s card is worthless.
Double taps don’t count twice
On busy café Wi-Fi a scan sometimes goes through twice. The second one is recognized and ignored.
See who’s stopped coming
Your dashboard lists everyone on your card with their stamps and last visit, so you notice when a daily regular goes quiet.
Your POS stays put
Square, Toast, Clover or a cash drawer: The Usual runs beside it, with nothing to connect.
Questions
Questions owners ask.
What’s a good loyalty program for a coffee shop?
The classic one: ten stamps earns a free drink. Customers understand it without explanation, it’s quick to honor at the register, and it works out to about a 10% reward for your regulars. On The Usual you can pick anywhere from 2 to 50 stamps and any reward.
Do I have to change my POS or buy hardware?
No. Staff scan with a phone or tablet you already have. Your POS, card reader and cash drawer stay exactly as they are.
Can a customer get two stamps in one visit?
Not by default. A card can’t be stamped again within 30 minutes of its last stamp, and you set a daily limit per card. Both are in your program settings.
How do customers join?
Put your QR code by the register. Customers scan it with their phone camera, make a free account, and your card appears. On their next visit they open the card and your barista scans it.
Do customers need to download an app?
No. They scan your code with their phone camera and the card opens in their browser. They make a free account once, and the same account holds every card from every business on The Usual.
What does The Usual cost?
$30 a month for one location (Basic) or $50 a month for up to five (Pro). Customers use it free. There’s a 14-day free trial and no contract. See pricing.
Founding businesses
Put your loyalty program on the counter.
Tell us about your business and we’ll set your first program up with you, free while we onboard our founding group. No card, no contract, about five minutes of your time.
We reply the same day. Your details go to our team only, never to other merchants.
Thanks for being usual
We got it. Talk soon.
Your details are with our team and we’ll reach out the same day. In the meantime, the demo is the real application: try both sides of the counter.