WOWAPPS

What WOWAPPS does

WOWAPPS operates an all-in-one, commission-free hospitality software platform serving independent Australian restaurants, cafes, pubs, and bars. The platform consolidates eight product modules into a single integrated system: Online Reservations (Reserve with Google), Online Ordering (Order with Google), QR-code Table Ordering, WOW Delivery (commission-free delivery), eGift Cards, branded Mobile Loyalty Apps, the Lois AI phone agent, and the WOW Websites builder. The technical foundation is a cloud-based hospitality management platform with native connectivity to Google Search, Maps, and Assistant (as a certified Reserve with Google and Order with Google partner), direct integrations with 20+ Australian POS providers including Lightspeed, and an in-house voice AI agent (Lois) built on Google Gemini that handles inbound calls for bookings, phone orders, and FAQs. Unified customer data, POS connectivity, and analytics run across all modules, positioning WOWAPPS as a structural alternative to fragmented multi-vendor stacks and commission-charging aggregator platforms.

The business model is a flat monthly SaaS subscription with zero per-order and per-booking commissions, contrasting with the 15-30% take rates charged by third-party delivery and reservation aggregators such as Menulog, Uber Eats, DoorDash, and the now-exited Quandoo. Pricing is prepaid and auto-charged; subscriptions are feature-tiered rather than usage-tiered, with each subscription corresponding to one venue app. Additional standalone offerings include Lois AI (available independently of the full platform subscription, with a 30-day free trial). The customer base spans thousands of Australian venues, with named operators including Lime Mexican Group (5 locations), Annapurna Restaurant (3 venues), Boo's Kitchen, Beaches Pizza Bar, Vietnamese Mint, and Polo Restaurant. Distribution is digital-first via self-serve onboarding (os.wowapps.com), direct sales-assisted demos, POS partner referrals, and Google's own marketplace surfaces; geographic scope is intentionally Australia-only.

WOWAPPS is privately held, Australian-owned and operated since 2016 (incorporated as WOW APPS PTY LTD, ACN 123 409 576), and bootstrapped with no disclosed external funding rounds or institutional investment. The company employs 11-50 staff and is led by CEO Shea Irwin. The most significant recent strategic action is the January 2026 launch of Lois AI, which extends the platform into autonomous voice-based order and reservation handling. Other notable moves include a coordinated competitor-migration campaign following Quandoo's Australian exit and the expansion of POS integrations to 20+ providers, both of which deepen the company's distribution and switching-cost positioning in the Australian SMB hospitality market.

Name

WOWAPPS

Legal name

WOW APPS PTY LTD

Website

https://wowapps.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

WOWAPPS is an Australian SaaS platform that provides commission-free reservations, online ordering, table ordering, delivery, loyalty, AI phone answering, and websites to independent restaurants and cafes across Australia.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Hospitality Management Software

NAICS

Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (5182)

akta.pro primary industry

Point-of-Sale (POS) & On-Property Commerce (THALACAI)

akta.pro secondary industry

Online Booking & Reservation Platforms (B2B/B2C) (THALAMAA)

Keywords

• Online restaurant reservations
• Commission-free ordering
• Hospitality software platform
• Restaurant POS integration
• QR code table ordering

Headquarters

HQ city

Gold Coast

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Operations

Revenue model

1. Subscription (SaaS Platform Fee): WOWAPPS operates on a recurring monthly subscription model. All accounts are set up on a prepaid (autocharged credit/debit card) basis. Subscription billing is based on product/feature availability, not usage. Customers must cancel at least 7 days prior to their next billing date. One subscription equals one app; multiple subscriptions (apps) can be purchased without multi-subscription discounts. The model is designed to be affordable compared to commissioning a development company to build a custom app from scratch (stated as potentially upwards of $10,000).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

WOWAPPS provides a unified, commission-free hospitality platform for Australian cafes and restaurants that consolidates online reservations (Reserve with Google), online ordering (Order with Google), QR code table ordering, commission-free delivery, eGift cards, branded loyalty mobile apps, AI-powered phone answering (Lois AI), and AI-optimised websites into a single SaaS subscription. The platform integrates with 20+ Australian POS systems and is certified as an official Reserve with Google and Order with Google partner, enabling venues to take direct bookings and orders from Google Search, Maps, and Assistant without paying per-transaction commissions.

Product overview

WOWAPPS is a unified, all-in-one hospitality platform for Australian restaurants and cafés, built around a commission-free value proposition. The platform comprises eight core product modules that operate as a single integrated system: Online Reservations (Reserve with Google) and Online Ordering (Order with Google) — both commission-free Google integrations; QR-Code Table Ordering for contactless in-venue ordering; WOW Delivery for commission-free delivery; eGift Cards for digital gifting and additional revenue; Mobile Apps for branded loyalty, push notifications, and digital punch cards; Lois AI for AI phone answering and order taking; and WOW Websites for AI-optimised restaurant websites. All modules share a unified customer database, POS connectivity, analytics, and marketing automation — offering a complete alternative to fragmented multi-vendor stacks and commission-based aggregator platforms.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Lois AI: AI phone answering system for hospitality venues that handles bookings, phone orders, and guest enquiries 24/7. Built in-house by WOWAPPS and natively connected to the platform.

Products and services

• Online Reservations (Reserve with Google) Commission-free online table reservation system integrated with Google Reserve that allows customers to book directly from Google Search, Google Maps, and Google Assistant. Supports deposits, custom availability windows, table management, sections, guest tagging, SMS confirmations, and custom email alerts. Targets Australian hospitality venues.
• Online Ordering (Order with Google) Commission-free online food ordering platform integrated with Google Ordering, enabling customers to place delivery and takeaway orders directly from Google Search, Maps, and Assistant. Supports website ordering, pre-ordering, delivery management, stock control, discount codes, and custom confirmation emails. Targets Australian hospitality venues.
• QR-Code Table Ordering Contactless table ordering via QR codes that lets customers place orders directly from their own phone without downloading an app. Supports batch ordering, table-specific menus, SMS order updates, prep-time and delivery-time settings, and POS integrations. Targets Australian restaurants and cafes.
• WOW Delivery (Commission-free Delivery) Commission-free in-house delivery service that connects directly to the venue's POS, enabling venues to fulfil online delivery orders without marketplace commissions. Venues can choose DIY delivery or connect to commission-free delivery partners. Targets Australian restaurants and cafes.
• WOWAPPS eGift Cards Digital gift card system that lets venues sell branded eGift cards online via their website and social media. Supports in-store and online redemption, limited issuance quantities, split purchasing, and POS integration. Commission-free with full data control and no hidden fees. Targets Australian hospitality venues.
• WOWAPPS Mobile Apps (Loyalty) Branded mobile loyalty apps for individual venues, published to the Apple App Store and Google Play. Features include push notifications, digital punch cards, VIP sections, favourite orders, winback rewards, and an auto-generated PR kit for in-venue app promotion. Targets Australian hospitality venues.
• Lois AI by WOWAPPS AI-powered phone agent that answers all incoming calls 24/7, handles end-to-end reservations and phone orders, and responds to guest FAQs. Built in-house on Google Gemini technology and natively connected to the WOWAPPS platform. Supports custom voices, languages, and call flows. Offered with a 30-day free trial. Targets Australian hospitality venues that want to capture bookings and orders that would otherwise be missed.
• WOW Websites AI-powered restaurant website builder with SEO optimisation designed to rank on Google and drive bookings and orders. Uses a proven conversion-focused design framework. Venues provide their logo and business details; sites typically go live within a week. Targets Australian restaurants and cafes.

Quantifiable outcome

• 30% median increase in bookings after activating Reserve with Google
• +8 more outcomes

Named customers13 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

AI capability7 records

Feature12 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Google (Reserve with Google / Order with Google)coreTechnology or IntegrationWOWAPPS is a certified Google partner for both Reserve with Google and Order with Google. This integration allows WOWAPPS-powered venues to appear directly in Google Search, Google Maps, and Google Assistant with live 'Book a table' and 'Order' buttons. Bookings and orders flow directly into the venue's WOWAPPS dashboard without commission. This is the primary customer acquisition channel for WOWAPPS and a key differentiator.
• Lightspeed (POS Integration)coreTechnology or IntegrationWOWAPPS is marketed as 'Lightspeed's only all-in-one, commission-free solution'. The integration syncs online bookings, orders, and table data directly with Lightspeed POS, eliminating manual re-entry and ensuring real-time inventory/availability consistency across channels.
• 20+ Australian POS ProviderscoreTechnology or IntegrationWOWAPPS connects to a growing list of AU-based POS providers — over 20 integrations confirmed. Venues with existing POS systems can integrate WOWAPPS without replacing their POS. The company states 'Don't have a POS? No worries! We have you covered' — suggesting some venues use WOWAPPS without a POS or with WOWAPPS as their primary management system.

Scale indicators19 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Mr Yum: Australian-born commission-free online ordering, reservations, and loyalty platform for hospitality venues, acquired by Lightspeed in 2024. Closest direct peer given shared AU origin, commission-free model, POS-light approach, and overlapping feature set with WOWAPPS.
• me&u: Australian contactless ordering and payment platform serving restaurants and cafes with QR table ordering, mobile ordering, and integrated payments. Direct competitor on table ordering and QR code flows within the AU market.
• SevenRooms: Restaurant CRM, reservations, and marketing automation platform serving independent and multi-location hospitality operators globally. Direct competitor in reservations, customer data, and marketing automation for venues.
• Quandoo: Restaurant reservation marketplace (formerly part of Recruit Holdings) that recently exited Australia. Direct historical competitor whose departure is a key go-to-market opportunity for WOWAPPS' migration content.

Broad incumbents

• OpenTable: Largest global restaurant reservation network, owned by Booking Holdings. Operates a per-cover commission model that WOWAPPS directly attacks; broader incumbent with much larger venue network and diner audience.
• Resy: Restaurant reservation and ordering platform owned by American Express. Competes with WOWAPPS on online reservations and diner acquisition, with broader brand and capital support from Amex.
• Lightspeed Restaurant: POS and restaurant management suite from Lightspeed Commerce, now including Mr Yum post-acquisition. Direct channel partner to WOWAPPS but also a competitive threat as it bundles ordering, reservations, and loyalty into POS.
• Toast: US-focused restaurant POS and tech platform offering online ordering, reservations, and loyalty. Comparable via integrated restaurant software suite, though primarily US-market and POS-led rather than booking-led.
• Square for Restaurants: Block-owned POS and restaurant management offering with online ordering, reservations, and marketing. Broader incumbent with financial services ecosystem that WOWAPPS does not currently match.

Emerging players

• Bopple: Restaurant online ordering platform focused on AU and APAC markets with commission-free options and QR table ordering. Emerging player with partial overlap on ordering and table-ordering features.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/WOWAPPS
• Instagraminstagram.com/wowapps_au

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about WOWAPPS