Home › Anti-Subscription Manifesto
ManifestoSoftware Should Be Owned, Not Rented
Every month, a restaurant pays rent on the tools it works with. Stop paying and the table plan, the guest history and the bookings stop with it. We think that is the wrong way round: software you have paid for should be yours. The way the oven is yours. The way the chairs are yours.
- 1× One payment, not a monthly one
- €0 Commission per reservation
- 90 Days money-back guarantee
Seven Theses On Owning Your Software
This is our position, written down in public, so you can hold us to it.
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Software You Paid For Is Yours
You pay once and the licence stays yours. Not a right of use that expires the day you stop paying.
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Rent Has No Finish Line
A subscription is a price with no end. Every year you keep working is another year you pay for software you learned long ago.
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Your Data Leaves When You Do
Guest history, reservations and gift vouchers are yours to export. Software that holds your data hostage is not a tool, it is a lock.
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Updates Are Maintenance, Not A New Sale
Owners get every update included. We do not hold a version back to make an old one feel old.
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A Price Belongs On The Website
Every price we charge is published, the same for everyone. No 'contact sales' for the number that decides everything.
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A Licence Should Survive The Sale
Sell the restaurant and the licence goes with it, to the new owner. You bought it, so it belongs to the house.
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The People Who Use It Decide What Gets Built
Owners vote twice a year in the owners' council on what we build next, and the results are published.
Renting Versus Owning
The same software, two ways of paying for it. This is what actually changes.
| What | Renting | Owning |
|---|---|---|
| What you pay | Every month, for as long as you trade | €1,500, once |
| When you stop paying | The software stops | It keeps working |
| Per reservation | Often a commission on top | €0, always |
| Updates | Included while you rent | Included, with no new invoice |
| If you sell the business | A new contract | The licence transfers with it |
| Who decides what gets built | The vendor | The owners' council votes |
What This Means At HappyChef
A manifesto is easy to write. These are the lines that are on our pricing page today.
- Start is free forever: unlimited reservations, table plan, gift vouchers and confirmation, reminder and review e-mails.
- Becoming an owner costs €1,500, once, plus a one-time €250 setup fee that includes migrating your data and personal onboarding.
- Rather spread it out? 12 × €129, 24 × €79 or 60 × €49 a month — cancellable monthly, and after the last instalment you carry on for free.
- No commission per reservation, no cover fee, and 100% of your gift-voucher revenue stays with you.
- 90-day money-back guarantee: not happy, money back.
- Every update included — owners never pay for a new version.
- The licence is transferable: it goes with the business when you sell it.
- Every owner has a seat in the owners' council and votes twice a year on what we build.
What We Get Asked About This
Isn't a subscription cheaper to begin with?
Beginning costs nothing here either: Start stays free, with no payment card. The question a subscription never answers is not what the first month costs, but what the tenth year costs.
What if HappyChef disappears one day?
That is exactly why we sell ownership instead of access. Your licence stays yours and so does your data: guest history, reservations and gift vouchers can be exported at any moment.
Do I still pay for updates and support?
No. Updates are included for owners, and support is 7/7 — real people, not a chatbot.
Can I start for free and buy later?
Yes. Start is free forever, and a new account gets 30 days of all the owner features. If you never buy, you simply carry on with Start.
Own It. Don't Rent It.
Every price is on one page, the same for everyone. Or let us walk you through the system in a demo.