Before you start

Last updated: 14 November 2026

BhuSutra runs inside your web browser, and your restaurant's data is saved on your own computer. That makes it simple to start, but it means a few things are worth knowing first. Please read this page before you set up your restaurant.

1. Which browser to use

Use Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge, on a Windows, Mac or Linux computer. This computer is your restaurant's main computer. It must be the one where you set up BhuSutra, and it is the one that holds your data.

• Chrome and Edge (recent versions): fully supported. Only these can save backups into a folder you choose, which is how your data is kept safe.
• Firefox and Safari: not supported as the main computer. They cannot save backups to a folder, and Safari may clear a website's stored data after a few days.
• Phones and tablets: an iPhone, iPad or Android phone can join as a staff phone or kitchen screen (see section 4), but it should not be the main computer.
• Private or incognito windows: do not use them. Everything is erased when the window closes.

Use the same browser and the same browser profile every time. Data saved in Chrome is not visible in Edge, and a different profile starts empty.

2. Your main computer

• It must be switched on, with BhuSutra open in a browser tab, whenever the restaurant is using the system. The other devices, including guests who scan a table QR code, reach your data through that computer. If it is off, staff devices cannot sign in and guests see “ordering paused, ask staff”.
• Keep the tab open (it can be in the background). Set the computer not to go to sleep during service.
• Use a reasonably modern computer; the app runs a full database inside the browser. The first start downloads about 40 MB and takes a minute or two. After that it is faster.
• You need an internet connection. BhuSutra does not work offline.
• Do not clear the browser's site data or “cookies and site data” for BhuSutra, and do not run a clean-up tool that does. That deletes your restaurant data. If it happens, restore from your backup (section 3).

3. Backups are your responsibility

Because your data is on your computer and not on our servers, we cannot recover it for you. Please set this up on day one:

• In BhuSutra, open Settings → Data and choose a backup folder. Every backup, and a live copy of your database, is then saved in that folder on your disk. A banner stays on screen until you do this.
• After the browser restarts, it asks you once to allow BhuSutra to use the folder again. Click Allow access. That is a browser rule.
• Also copy the folder to a USB drive or a cloud drive now and then, in case the computer itself fails.
• You can download a backup file at any time, and restore from one, in the same place. A restore saves the current data first as a safety copy.
• Backups contain everything, including staff pay, so keep them private.

4. Other devices: kitchen screens, staff phones and guests

• Kitchen screens and staff phones are added from the main computer: Devices → Add a device gives a short pairing code that works once and expires after 10 minutes. Open the BhuSutra address on the other device, enter the code, and staff then sign in with their own PIN. A recent version of Chrome, Edge, Safari or Firefox is fine on these devices.
• Guests need nothing. They scan the table QR code and order from the menu in their own browser. Print the QR codes after you finish setting up, because they contain your restaurant's address.
• Messages between devices pass through a BhuSutra relay. It does not store your business data, but it is not end-to-end encrypted. See the privacy policy.
• If you remove a device from the Devices page, it is signed out within about 30 seconds.

5. Your trial key

• After we approve your request you receive a trial key. It is needed the first time you open BhuSutra on a computer. Keep it private, since it unlocks the app for your restaurant.
• Use it on one main computer. To move to another computer, restore your backup there.
• BhuSutra re-checks the key from time to time. If the trial ends or is withdrawn, the app asks for a valid key.

6. The Ask page

The Ask page answers questions about your own sales, dishes, hours and costs, using only your data, on your computer. In the browser version it matches your question to the closest known topic by its wording, so short, plain questions work best, for example “what is our best selling dish” or “compare this week with last week”.

7. Quick checklist

1. Use Chrome or Edge on your main computer, in a normal (not private) window.
2. Choose a backup folder in Settings → Data, and allow access after each browser restart.
3. Keep the main computer on, awake and online, with BhuSutra open, during service.
4. Add kitchen screens and staff phones with pairing codes.
5. Never clear the site data for BhuSutra. Keep a second copy of the backup folder elsewhere.

Questions? Reach us through the home page.