Best Free Petpooja Billing Alternative: Nodedr OrderRestro
Best Free Petpooja Billing Alternative: Nodedr OrderRestro
By Webotapp Academy•Published: •Updated:
💾 Free Download:Nodedr OrderRestro on GitHub — Open-source Petpooja billing alternative | 🍽️ License: AGPL-3.0, zero monthly fees
Why Restaurants Are Searching for a Petpooja Billing Alternative
Petpooja is one of India's most popular restaurant billing platforms — but its pricing starts at ₹3,000 to ₹8,000 per outlet per month, with additional charges for KDS terminals, online ordering integrations, and multi-location support. For independent restaurants, cloud kitchens, food courts, and small chains operating on tight margins, this adds up to ₹36,000–₹96,000 per year just in POS software licensing.
is the most feature-complete free and open-source currently available on GitHub. It is built with Next.js 16, NestJS, PostgreSQL, Prisma ORM, and Socket.IO — matching (and in some areas exceeding) Petpooja's feature set while costing ₹0 in monthly fees.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
QIs Nodedr OrderRestro really a free alternative to Petpooja billing?
Yes — completely free. Nodedr OrderRestro is published on GitHub under the AGPL-3.0 license with zero monthly fees, zero per-outlet charges, and zero seat limits. Petpooja charges ₹3,000–₹8,000 per outlet per month. With Nodedr OrderRestro self-hosted on a ₹500/month VPS or even on a local PC, you eliminate 100% of the recurring billing software cost.
QDoes this free Petpooja alternative support Indian GST billing?
Yes. Nodedr OrderRestro has server-authoritative GST calculation built directly into the NestJS backend — CGST + SGST split, inclusive or exclusive tax modes, per-item HSN assignment, and GST-compliant print-ready tax invoice generation. It also supports US Sales Tax, EU VAT, and Spain IVA for international deployments.
Q
Exclusive Discount Offer
Inquire for Course Fee & Discounts
Get full program details, syllabus breakdown, and claim your exclusive course fee discount for the Best Digital Marketing Course in Guwahati.
Nodedr OrderRestro
Petpooja billing alternative
1. Petpooja vs. Nodedr OrderRestro — Full Feature Comparison
Feature
Petpooja
Nodedr OrderRestro (Free)
Monthly Licensing Fee
₹3,000–₹8,000/outlet
₹0 — Forever Free
GST Billing (CGST + SGST)
Yes
Yes
Table & Floor Management
Yes
Yes
Kitchen Display System (KDS)
Paid Add-on
✅ Built-in
UPI QR Code Payments
Yes
✅ Dynamic per-bill QR
Customer Self-Order via QR
Paid Plan
✅ Built-in
Offline / LAN Mode
Limited
✅ Full offline-first
Multi-Tax Regime
India GST Only
India GST, US Tax, EU VAT, Spain IVA
Open Source / Self-Hosted
❌ Proprietary
✅ AGPL-3.0 on GitHub
Docker / Cloud Deployment
Managed SaaS Only
✅ Docker + VPS + CasaOS
Swagger API Documentation
No
✅ at /api/docs
Source Code Access
No
✅ Full source on GitHub
2. Architecture — Why This Petpooja Alternative Is Production-Ready
Nodedr OrderRestro is not a basic PHP script — it is a full TypeScript monorepo engineered for real restaurant workloads:
NestJS (TypeScript), REST at /api, Swagger at /api/docs
Database & ORM
PostgreSQL 14+ with Prisma ORM (38 schema migrations)
Realtime Sync
Socket.IO — live KDS tickets, table status, QR orders
Monorepo
Turborepo + pnpm workspaces
Security & Tax
Server-authoritative GST, discount, and UPI QR calculations
3. Prerequisites & System Requirements
Deployment
Min CPU
Min RAM
Storage
Local PC / Till
2 Cores
4 GB
20 GB SSD
LAN Server / Multi-Till
4 Cores
8 GB
50 GB SSD
Cloud VPS / Production
2 vCPU
4 GB
40 GB SSD
Software:
Node.js v22.0.0+ (Node 22 LTS or Node 24)
pnpm 11.10.0+
PostgreSQL 14, 15, 16, or 17
Docker Engine 24+ and Docker Compose v2 (for containerized methods)
4. Method 1: Local PC Installation (No Docker)
Use this for development, testing, or a single-till setup on macOS, Windows, or Linux.
Step 1: Clone from GitHub
git clone https://github.com/Raktim94/nodedr-restaurant-pos.git restaurant
cd restaurant
Step 2: Verify Node.js 22+ and Install pnpm
node -v # Must be >= 22.0.0
# Install pnpm (pick your OS):
brew install pnpm # macOS
npm install -g pnpm # Linux / macOS via npm
iwr -useb https://get.pnpm.io/install.ps1 | iex # Windows PowerShell
Step 3: Create PostgreSQL Database
psql -U postgres
CREATE DATABASE nodedr_restaurant;
CREATE USER nodedr WITH ENCRYPTED PASSWORD 'nodedr_dev_pw';
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON DATABASE nodedr_restaurant TO nodedr;
ALTER DATABASE nodedr_restaurant OWNER TO nodedr;
\q
5. Method 2: LAN Server (Docker — Offline Till for Restaurant Floor)
This is ideal for running the Petpooja billing alternative entirely offline — waiters, KDS terminals, and manager tablets all connect over Wi-Fi without needing the internet.
One-Click Install Script
git clone https://github.com/Raktim94/nodedr-restaurant-pos.git
cd nodedr-restaurant-pos
chmod +x install.sh
./install.sh --demo # includes pre-loaded demo data
Manual Docker Compose
cp .env.example .env
# Edit .env: set POSTGRES_PASSWORD and JWT_SECRET
docker compose up -d --build
git pull origin main
./install.sh # Docker deployments
# OR for native:
pnpm install && pnpm --filter @nodedr-restaurant/types build
pnpm --filter @nodedr-restaurant/backend prisma:deploy && pnpm dev
Author & Verification Details
Paban Bhuyan
Founder, Webotapp Academy
Founded Webotapp Academy in 2009 with 17+ years of expertise in full-stack development, Node.js, Docker deployments, and restaurant/retail POS systems. Has built and reviewed production POS and ERP systems deployed across hospitality and F&B businesses in India and internationally.
Founded 2009Pioneering IT Training
50+ CountriesGlobal Client Footprint
17+ Years Exp.Full-Stack & DevOps Mastery
Can the restaurant POS work offline without the internet?
Yes. Nodedr OrderRestro is designed as an offline-first system. The Docker LAN mode runs the entire stack — PostgreSQL, NestJS API, and Next.js frontend — on a local server. All POS tablets, waiter apps, and KDS screens communicate over the restaurant's Wi-Fi. Internet connectivity is not required for daily billing operations.
QDoes it support UPI QR code payments like Petpooja?
Yes. Nodedr OrderRestro generates dynamic per-bill UPI QR codes with the exact payable amount embedded. Configure your UPI VPA Payee ID (e.g., restaurant@upi) in Settings → Restaurant, and QR codes appear automatically on the billing counter and customer-facing screens at checkout.
QWhat is the Kitchen Display System (KDS) in this Petpooja billing alternative?
The KDS module uses Socket.IO to push orders in real-time from the POS counter to kitchen display screens. When a waiter places an order at a table, the kitchen screen immediately shows the ticket with item names, quantities, table number, and timestamp — with no manual printing or calling required. This is a paid add-on in Petpooja but is built-in and free in Nodedr OrderRestro.
QHow do I update Nodedr OrderRestro to the latest version?
Run git pull origin main in the project directory. For Docker deployments, then run ./install.sh or docker compose up -d --build. For native deployments, run pnpm install, rebuild the types package, and deploy Prisma migrations with pnpm --filter @nodedr-restaurant/backend prisma:deploy. The application picks up changes without any downtime.