A dynamic QR code on a receipt encodes a short link, not a fixed destination. You add it to your receipt template once, and it prints on every receipt from then on. The destination lives online, so you change where all those codes point from a dashboard. The next scan follows the new URL, and each scan is logged.
This matters more on receipts than almost anywhere else. The receipt layout is set inside your point-of-sale system and rarely touched again. A dynamic code lets the printed image stay fixed while the page behind it changes. Below is what to link, how to add one, and what happens to receipts already in customers' hands.
Why put a dynamic QR code on a receipt instead of a static one?
Because the receipt template is the hard part to change, not the code. Updating a receipt layout often means editing POS settings or calling whoever set the register up. A static code bakes its destination into the pattern, so a new destination means a new template on every terminal. A dynamic code stores a short link like qranite.com/r/x7k2, and its destination is a field you edit in seconds.
So you set the code once and re-point it as needs shift. Run a review request in spring, a loyalty signup over the holidays, a warranty page after a product launch. The template never changes. The same printed square carries a different campaign each season, and receipts printed last month follow the new destination too.
What should a receipt QR code link to?
The best destinations are ones you expect to change. Anything permanent can stay static. Here are common receipt links and whether a dynamic code earns its keep.
| Receipt link | Static or dynamic | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Google review request | Dynamic | Swap it for a survey or promo later without touching the POS. Track how many scan. |
| Feedback survey | Dynamic | Point it at whichever survey tool you use this quarter. Change tools, keep the code. |
| Loyalty or rewards signup | Dynamic | Re-point when the program moves or a promotion runs. See scans by day. |
| Digital receipt or warranty page | Dynamic | Update the destination as your site's URLs change. No reprint. |
| Reorder or subscribe link | Dynamic | Send scans to the current product page, not last season's dead URL. |
| Your homepage | Static | A homepage rarely moves. A static code needs no account and cannot lapse. |
How do I add a dynamic QR code to receipts?
You create the code once, drop the image into your receipt template, and print. On Qranite the steps are:
- Sign in and create a dynamic code with the destination you want first.
- Download the code as an SVG for crisp print, or a PNG if your POS wants a raster image.
- Add the image to your receipt template in your POS or receipt-printer settings.
- Print one receipt and scan it with your own phone to confirm it lands correctly.
- Later, open the dashboard and edit the destination whenever the campaign changes.
Can I change a receipt QR code after it's already printed?
Yes, if it was dynamic when you made it. Every receipt already handed out points at the same short link, so editing the destination redirects all of them at once. A shop printing a thousand receipts a day does not recall a single one. It changes one field, and the next scan of any receipt follows the new page.
A static code cannot be redirected. Its destination is fixed in the pattern the moment it prints, so a new destination means a new template and a fresh roll of receipts pointing somewhere else. If you might ever change the link, decide before you print and make it dynamic. See the full walkthrough on how to redirect a QR code.
How fast does a re-pointed receipt code update?
Immediately. The printed code carries only the short link, and the redirect server looks up the current destination on every scan. Save a new destination and the very next scan follows it. Receipts in wallets, on counters, and in the trash all update together.
Qranite serves each redirect as a 302 with a no-store header, so phones never cache an old destination. A cached 301 could keep sending some customers to a stale page for hours after you switched. A no-store 302 sends everyone to whatever you last saved.
Do dynamic receipt codes track scans?
Yes. Because each scan passes through the redirect, it can be counted. Qranite logs scans by day, country, city, device, and browser, all read from the request headers. No cookies are set and no tracking script runs on the customer's phone. You see how many people scan the receipt code and roughly where, which is enough to tell whether a review link or a loyalty prompt is working.
The free plan keeps 7 days of scan history. Pro and lifetime plans keep 365 days, which covers seasonal comparisons on a code that lives on receipts for a year. More on reading the data is in how to track QR code scans.
Will a QR code scan reliably off thermal receipt paper?
Usually, if you print it large enough with real contrast. Thermal receipts are low resolution and narrow, so keep the code at least 2cm square and give it a clear quiet zone. Print it dark on the white paper; do not tint it, since scanners read contrast, not color.
Thermal print also fades over months in heat and light. That rarely matters here, because most receipt scans happen within minutes of the purchase. Whatever fading does over time, the destination behind a dynamic code stays editable the whole while.
What does a dynamic QR code for receipts cost?
A free Qranite account includes 2 dynamic codes with unlimited scans and no ads. That covers a review code and a loyalty code on your receipts, each re-pointable as often as you like. Static codes are always free and unlimited.
Beyond two codes, Pro is $9/mo or $72/yr for 50 dynamic codes with a year of analytics, and a $79 lifetime plan covers 10 codes forever. There is no trial, because there is no trap. Full pricing has no asterisk.
Will my receipt codes stop working if I stop paying?
On Qranite, no. If you stop paying, your dynamic codes keep redirecting at whatever destination you last set. You lose editing and analytics beyond the free limits. You never lose the redirect, and customers scanning a receipt never see ads or an upsell page.
Much of the industry chooses otherwise, so read the fine print before you print a code onto thousands of receipts.
- qr-code-generator.com deactivates dynamic codes made during its 14-day free trial when the trial ends, per their support docs. Scans then redirect to an upsell page.
- QR Tiger stops free dynamic codes after 500 scans each, and all dynamic codes stop working if your plan lapses, per their own policy.
- ME-QR shows full-screen interstitial ads to people who scan free dynamic codes. Removing them costs $27.99 per month, per their pricing page.
- QRFY pauses codes 7 days after creation unless you subscribe, per their pricing page.