Food truck POS software in Quebec: MEV-WEB compliant, running on your phone's hotspot
Revenu Québec is extending mandatory billing, with the MEV-WEB, to food trucks, festivals included: check with Revenu Québec the date it applies to your truck. InnoBooks POS is a MEV-WEB compliant till that fits in the truck: a tablet and a Stripe reader on your phone's hotspot. It costs $59 a month in the Restaurant Package.
A tablet, a Stripe card reader and your phone's hotspot: that is all the InnoBooks till asks of the truck. A fast menu, combos, tips, receipts reported to Revenu Québec's MEV-WEB, and the same account for your invoices and your books.
Food trucks and mandatory billing: what Revenu Québec says
In 2019, Revenu Québec wrote that a food truck was outside mandatory billing: a vehicle is not a restaurant establishment under the Quebec Sales Tax Act. The Act assented to on March 17, 2020 (S.Q. 2020, chapter 5) provides for bringing it in, and Revenu Québec's impact analysis on mandatory billing in restaurants (2022, updated in August 2024) lists food trucks among the sectors covered, with the same solution as restaurants: the MEV-WEB.
What that analysis covers: a truck or trailer fitted out to prepare or serve meals, including one that only sells drinks, at all times, festivals and temporary events included. A mobile canteen touring work sites and plants is not covered. Check with Revenu Québec the date the obligation applies to your truck.
InnoBooks is MEV-WEB compliant. Certification with Revenu Québec — step completed: Revenu Québec's full SW-77 test case series, passed in the MEV-WEB development environment in October 2026; next step: the same series in the ESSAI test environment, then the certification request.
- A truck or trailer that prepares or serves meals
- Drinks only: covered too
- Festivals and temporary events included
- Mobile canteen touring work sites: not covered
The hardware in the truck
The till runs on a tablet or phone, iPhone, iPad or Android. For cards, credit and Interac debit, you need a Stripe Reader S700 connected to the Internet: the till only uses Stripe readers on the Internet. The tablet and the reader connect to your phone's hotspot.
The receipt printer is optional: the receipt can go out by email or text. There is no cash drawer to wire in; cash is counted at the end of the day with the InnoBooks cash count.
- An iPhone, iPad or Android tablet or phone
- A Stripe Reader S700 connected to the Internet
- An ESC/POS Wi-Fi thermal printer, optional
- Receipt by email or text
- No cash drawer to wire in
Offline mode: when the network or Revenu Québec does not answer
The till needs the Internet to sell: every sale goes through the InnoBooks server. In the truck, your phone's hotspot is enough; at a festival where the network is saturated, plan a second phone or a cellular router.
If Revenu Québec's service is the one not answering, the till switches to MEV-WEB offline mode on its own: you keep selling, it counts the transactions waiting and sends them as soon as it can, or when you tap « Transmit now ».
- Internet required: your phone is enough
- Automatic MEV-WEB offline mode
- Transactions waiting, counted
- « Transmit now »
A fast menu for the service window
Items are sorted by category on the till screen: one tap per dish, and the customer sees the cart live on the reader screen. Combos set up in advance are recognized on their own, and a promo code is entered at checkout.
Tips are offered at 10, 15, 18 or 20%, or as an amount. Cash shows the change due, rounded to 5¢.
- Categories and one tap per dish
- Live cart on the reader screen
- Combos recognized, promo codes
- Tips at 10, 15, 18 or 20%
- Change due rounded to 5¢
From one truck to a festival
The Restaurant Package includes one tablet; each extra tablet costs $5 a month, for a second window or a second truck. Each employee opens the till with a PIN of 4 to 6 digits, and their sales stay under their name in the report.
The plan also includes an online store: customers order and pay ahead, then pick up their meal at the truck. Orders land on the till's order board.
- One tablet included, + $5 a month per extra tablet
- A 4 to 6 digit PIN per employee
- Sales by employee in the report
- Online store to order ahead
Why not Square?
Square accepts cards offline, as long as the Internet comes back within 24 hours. But Square says so itself: its products "are not compatible with the online sales recording module (WEB-SRM) or other mandatory billing requirements in Quebec" (Canadian restaurant page, read on November 12, 2026).
InnoBooks is made in Quebec for the MEV-WEB, and the same sign-up gives you invoicing, expenses and accounting.
Frequently asked questions
Does a food truck need to use the MEV-WEB?
Revenu Québec is extending mandatory billing, with the MEV-WEB, to food trucks: its impact analysis (2022, updated in August 2024) lists them among the sectors covered, at all times, festivals included. A truck that only sells drinks is covered; a mobile canteen touring work sites is not. Check with Revenu Québec the date the obligation applies to your truck: the InnoBooks till is already MEV-WEB compliant.
Does the till work without Wi-Fi?
It does not need a store's Wi-Fi: your phone's hotspot is enough for the tablet and the Stripe reader. It does need the Internet, though, because every sale goes through the InnoBooks server. If Revenu Québec is the one not answering, the till switches to MEV-WEB offline mode on its own and sends the waiting receipts later.
What hardware do I need in the truck?
A tablet or phone (iPhone, iPad or Android) and, for cards, a Stripe Reader S700 connected to the Internet. The ESC/POS Wi-Fi thermal printer is optional: the receipt can go out by email or text. No cash drawer: cash is counted in InnoBooks.
How much does the till cost for a food truck?
The Restaurant Package costs $59 a month: all of the Elite Plan, the till with one tablet, recipes and one online store. Each extra tablet costs $5 a month. Card payments go through Stripe, which takes its own per-transaction fees. The details are on the Pricing page.
Does Square work for a food truck in Quebec?
Square says so on its Canadian restaurant page: its products "are not compatible with the online sales recording module (WEB-SRM) or other mandatory billing requirements in Quebec" (read on November 12, 2026). A truck covered by mandatory billing needs a MEV-WEB compliant till.
See also
- Catering software — Quotes accepted online, the cost of your platters, purchase orders, labels with allergens and invoices.
📱 Our apps
The same data on the tablet, the phone and the web
One click away from getting started
Everything in one financial tool, designed in Québec for small businesses, freelancers and teams.
Create my free accountFree forever. No credit card required.