Opening a restaurant or takeaway: a checklist for Pakistan and the UK

• Concept. Dine-in, takeaway, delivery-only (cloud kitchen) or a mix. This decides your space, staff and systems.
• Numbers. Write down start-up costs (rent deposit, fit-out, kitchen equipment, first stock, licences) and monthly costs (rent, salaries, utilities, ingredients, delivery fees). Keep three months of running costs in reserve.
• Location. Check footfall at the hours you will open, parking, delivery reach, and whether the building is allowed to be used as a restaurant or hot food takeaway.
• Menu size. A short menu is faster to cook, easier to cost, and wastes less. You can always add dishes later.

1. 1Business and NTN. Register with FBR on IRIS (opens in a new tab) for your NTN. If you set up a company, register it with the SECP first.
2. 2Sales tax on services. Restaurants pay sales tax on services to their province: PRA (Punjab), SRB (Sindh), KPRA (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) or BRA (Balochistan). Islamabad falls under FBR. Register before you open.
3. 3POS reporting. FBR's FAQs say restaurants must integrate their POS, and provincial authorities may have their own systems. Read our FBR POS integration guide.
4. 4Food licence. Apply to your provincial food authority (for example the Punjab Food Authority). Expect an inspection of the kitchen, storage and cleanliness.
5. 5Staff health. Food authorities usually expect food handlers to have medical certificates and basic hygiene training. Keep the records at the restaurant.
6. 6Local permits. Ask your municipal corporation or cantonment board about trade licences, signboards and outdoor seating.
7. 7Fire safety. Extinguishers, a clear exit and safe gas lines in the kitchen. Some areas inspect before opening.
8. 8Staff registration. Ask your adviser about registering employees with EOBI and provincial social security.

1. 1Register your food business with your local council at least 28 days before you start trading (gov.uk (opens in a new tab)). If you trade from premises in more than one council area, register with each. The council will inspect you and give you a food hygiene rating.
2. 2Food safety management. You need a written food safety system based on HACCP principles. Many small businesses use the Food Standards Agency's Safer Food, Better Business pack. Staff who handle food need hygiene training.
3. 3Allergens. You must be able to tell customers about the 14 major allergens in every dish, and prepacked-for-direct-sale food needs a full ingredients label with allergens highlighted (allergen guidance (opens in a new tab)).
4. 4Licences. Selling alcohol needs a premises licence and a designated premises supervisor with a personal licence. Selling hot food or drink between 11pm and 5am needs a late night refreshment licence (alcohol licensing (opens in a new tab)).
5. 5Planning. Check with the council that your premises can be used as a restaurant or hot food takeaway, and ask about extraction and signage.
6. 6HMRC. Register as a sole trader or set up a company. Register for VAT once taxable turnover goes over £90,000 in 12 months, or is expected to within the next 30 days (VAT registration (opens in a new tab)). Hot food and most takeaway food is standard-rated, so plan your prices with VAT in mind.
7. 7Employing staff. Right-to-work checks, PAYE payroll, a workplace pension, and employers' liability insurance.
8. 8Business rates and waste. Contact the council about business rates, and arrange a licensed commercial waste collection.

Work out the cost of every dish from its recipe: each ingredient's cost for the amount used, plus packaging for takeaway. Then set the price so food cost is a sensible share of it.

The numbers are an example only; use your own supplier prices. Repeat for every dish and every size. Delivery apps take a commission, so check your margin on app orders separately.

• POS that handles your service style, modifiers and deals, works offline and gives a Z-report per register. Our restaurant POS checklist has 12 points to test.
• Kitchen tickets on a screen per station, or kitchen printers.
• Receipt printer, cash drawer and card terminal.
• Online orders: your own order link for Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp, and delivery apps if you use them.
• Recipes and stock set up from day one, so you know your food cost in week one, not month three. See our stock counting guide.
• Accounts: a separate business bank account and a simple way to record expenses.

• Hire your head cook first and build the menu with them.
• Write down recipes with exact quantities and a photo of the finished plate.
• Train everyone on the POS before opening day, including voids and refunds.
• Give each person their own POS login and role.
• Run a soft opening: two or three days for friends, family and neighbours, with a smaller menu. Fix what breaks before the public opening.

Tajir Point covers the systems part of this list in one place: a counter POS, tables and a waiter app, kitchen screens or printed tickets, your own online order page, an order board, a rider app, recipes and kitchen stock, and day-end reports. It runs on web, Windows and Android and keeps selling offline.

The Light plan is free for 3 months with no card, so you can set everything up before you open. See the restaurant POS, the cloud kitchen set-up, or ask for a call back and we will help you plan it.