Capture checklist. Take each shot on a real account, drop the image into the matching slot, then remove ?shots from the link.

Connect your accounts

You never share a password. You add us the same way you'd add a member of staff, and you can remove us any time.

✓ No password shared ✓ Remove us in 2 clicks ✓ We can't take over your accounts
1. About your placeRequired. Five minutes. 2. GoogleRequired. 30 seconds. 3. Ordering in MapsTwo links, both yours. 4. FacebookThe door to Instagram. 5. InstagramWhere the posts go. Do Facebook first.

1. Tell us about your place Required

Ten questions, so what we write sounds like you and not like a robot. Most of them you can answer by tapping. Do this first: the accounts below are quick, but nothing useful gets written until we know how you talk.

Do this on your own time. Most owners get through the whole thing in about ten minutes, at whatever hour suits, and there is no call to book. If Google gives you trouble, text us and we will get on a call and do that bit together.

  1. Open the questions

    They are at reply-plate.com/start.html. Tap the answers that fit and type anything else. Skip whatever you cannot answer.

    Tell us about your place →

  2. Press send

    Your own email opens with the answers already written. Change anything you like, then send it. Nothing is stored on the page and nothing is submitted anywhere on its own.

  3. The one worth thinking about

    Question 5 asks what we must never say. That is the one that saves you from a reply that makes you wince. Things like never offering free food to fix a complaint, or never naming a member of staff.

Would rather talk it through? Reply to any of our emails and we will call instead. The questions are the faster way, not the only way.

2. Google Required

This is the one that matters. It's how we see your reviews and reply to them.

The email to add
hello@example.com

  1. Open your Google Business Profile

    Go to business.google.com and pick your restaurant. Sign in with the Google account that owns the listing.

    Screenshot neededYour Business Profile open, restaurant name visible. Blur anything personal.

  2. Open the menu

    Click the three lines (☰) or the three dots, then choose Business Profile settings.

    Screenshot neededThe menu expanded with Business Profile settings clearly in view.

  3. Click "People and access"

    This is where you add anyone who helps with your listing, like a staff member.

    Screenshot neededThe People and access panel, showing who currently has access.

  4. Click "Add"

    Usually a button at the top of that panel.

    Screenshot neededThe Add button, circled or arrowed if you can.

  5. Paste our email

    Use the Copy email button above so it's exact. One wrong letter and the invite goes nowhere.

    Screenshot neededThe invite box with an email typed in. Use a fake one, not a client's.

  6. Choose "Manager", then Invite

    Pick Manager, not Owner. Manager lets us reply to your reviews. It does not let us change who owns the listing or remove you.

    Screenshot neededThe role list with Manager picked, so they can see it is not Owner.

3. Put your ordering link in Google Maps Optional, and worth it

When somebody taps Order online on your Google listing, they get a list: DoorDash, Grubhub, Uber Eats. You are allowed to put your own link in that list, free, and mark it the one you would rather they used. It shows up labelled Preferred by business. Here is what that looks like →

There is a second slot, for reservations. Fill that in too and your listing gets a Reserve a table button beside the ordering one. Both point at the same page we host for you, each opening on the screen the button promised. It lives under Bookings rather than Food ordering, and Google only offers it if your listing is filed under a restaurant category. Give it a day or two to show up.

  1. Get your link from us

    We send it to you. It opens straight on your menu, so the diner taps once and starts choosing food. Nothing to install.

  2. Open Food ordering

    Go to your Business Profile, then Food ordering. On Google Maps it is Edit profile, then the ordering section.

  3. Add a link, and mark it preferred

    Choose Add a link, paste ours, and turn on the preferred setting. Save. It usually shows within a day.

Before you discount it

Charging less on your own link than on the apps is the obvious move, and it does cost you something. Grubhub's contract still asks you to keep prices the same everywhere, and DoorDash quietly ranks you lower when your own prices are cheaper. Uber Eats took the clause out of its contract but its ranking still notices.

So the safer version is to give something that is not a menu price. A free side, a drink, a stamp on a card, or a shorter wait. Same pull for the diner, and nothing for an app's algorithm to punish.

If you would rather just discount and take the hit on app ranking, that is a fair call too. It is your call, not ours, and we will set it up either way.

4. Facebook Page Optional

We do not post to Facebook any more. A small restaurant Page reaches almost nobody there, so it was work that bought you nothing. This step is still here because Instagram will not let anyone post on your behalf unless a Facebook Page is linked to it. That is Meta's rule, not ours. Skip it and we'll send you the captions to post yourself.

The account to look for
ReplyPlate

Search this name, or use the same email as above.

  1. Open Meta Business Suite

    Go to business.facebook.com and pick your restaurant's Page. You can also get there from your Page's Professional dashboard.

    Screenshot neededbusiness.facebook.com with the Page selected.

  2. Find "Page access"

    It's under Settings. Meta moves this around fairly often, so if the wording is slightly different, look for anything about people, roles or access.

    Screenshot neededThe Settings area with Page access visible.

  3. Add us under "task access"

    There are usually two lists. Use the one for task access, not the one for full Facebook access. Task access is the smaller, safer kind.

    Screenshot neededThe task access list and its Add button.

  4. Turn on Content only

    Switch on Content, which is create and manage posts. Leave Messages, Ads and anything about money switched off. We don't need them and we don't want them.

    Screenshot neededThe permission toggles, Content on, Messages and Ads off.

  5. Confirm with your own password

    Facebook will ask you to type your own password to confirm the change. That's normal, and it stays with Facebook. We never see it.

    Screenshot neededThe confirm-your-password prompt, so it does not look like a scam.

5. Instagram Optional

Instagram is the fiddly one. It works, but Meta hides the settings in odd places and changes them often. If you get stuck, stop and email us rather than clicking around.

  1. Make sure it's a Professional account

    In the Instagram app: Settings, then look for account type, then switch to Professional or Business. It's free, it takes a minute, and you keep everything you've posted. Personal accounts can't be connected to anything.

    Screenshot neededInstagram settings showing the account type option.

  2. Link it to your Facebook Page

    Still in Instagram settings, find the option about linking or connecting a Facebook Page, and pick your restaurant's Page. This is the step people miss.

    Screenshot neededThe linking screen with the Page picked.

  3. Check it shows up in Business Suite

    Back on business.facebook.com, your Instagram should now appear next to your Page. If it does, the access you gave us in step 2 usually covers Instagram too.

    Screenshot neededBusiness Suite showing the Instagram account beside the Page.
Honest note about posting. Right now a person on our side puts your posts up using the access you've granted. Fully automatic posting needs Meta to approve our software, which takes months, and we'll tell you when that's done. Nothing about your side changes when it happens.

Done it?

Tell us and we'll check the invite arrived. If something didn't work we'll come back to you the same day.

I've added you →

Questions people ask

Do you get my password?

No. You never type a password anywhere for this, and we never see one. Google just adds our email to the list of people allowed to help with your listing, the same way you'd add a member of staff.

What can you actually see and do?

As a Manager we can read your reviews and reply to them, and update things like your posts and hours. We cannot change who owns the listing, we cannot remove you, and we cannot delete the listing. Nothing about your bank, your bookings or your till is connected to this.

How do I remove you later?

Same screen you just used. People and access, click our name, remove. Two clicks and it takes effect straight away. If you cancel, we take ourselves off the same day without you having to ask.

Manager or Owner, which one?

Manager. Never make us an Owner. Manager is everything we need, and it keeps you in full control.

I can't find "People and access"

Usually it means you're signed into a different Google account than the one that owns the listing. Try signing out and back in with the account you first set the restaurant up with. If you're not sure which that is, email us and we'll work it out with you.

Do I have to connect Facebook and Instagram?

No. Google is the only one that matters, and it's the one your reviews live on. If you skip the social ones we'll just send you the captions each month and you post them whenever suits you. Plenty of owners prefer that.

Why is Facebook asking for a password?

It's asking you for your own password, to check it's really you making the change. That's Facebook being careful, and it's a good sign. You never type it anywhere near us and we never see it.

My Instagram isn't a Professional account

Switching is free, takes about a minute, and you keep every photo and follower you have. It's in the Instagram app under Settings. Personal accounts can't be connected to anything by anyone, so this step isn't us being awkward.

Someone else set up my Google listing

This happens a lot, often an old marketing company or the person who built your website. You'll need them to add us, or to make you an Owner first. Email us and we'll send you the exact wording to forward to them.

Stuck at any step? Email hello@example.com and we'll sort it out. No call needed unless you want one.