A Google review stand is a small sign for your counter. A customer holds their phone against it, or scans the printed code, and your Google review page opens. Most look the same in the photos. They are not the same on your counter.
This is a checklist for a cafe, salon or clinic owner: six things to check before you pay, based on the problems buyers most often describe afterwards.
1. Where does it really point?
This is the most important question, and most listings do not answer it.
A stand can open your Google review page in one of two ways:
- Straight to Google. The chip and the printed code hold your Google review
link itself. A direct Google link usually starts with
g.pageorgoogle.com. - Through the seller's address. The chip and the code hold an address on the seller's own website, which then sends the customer on to Google. Any stand that lets you "change the link any time from a dashboard", or needs an activation code, works this way.
Neither is wrong. They trade one risk for another.
A stand that points straight at Google keeps working for as long as Google keeps your link. But you can never change it. If your listing moves or is merged, or you open a second branch, the stand has to be replaced.
A stand that points through the seller can be changed without reprinting. But it only works for as long as the seller's address does. In public reviews of card and stand sellers, one of the clearest complaints we read was a card or code that stopped opening the owner's page, and in some cases started opening an advert for the seller instead.
Ask the seller, in writing, which kind it is. Once it arrives, tap it and scan it, and look at the address that opens.
2. What happens if you stop paying, or the seller closes?
If the stand goes through the seller, ask two separate questions.
If I stop paying, does it keep sending people to Google? Some stands come with a dashboard and a yearly fee. Find out whether the stand still works when that fee is not renewed, or shows your customers an error instead.
If your company closes, what happens? Most sellers do not say. You cannot fix this one completely, so keep a backup: Google gives you a free review QR code from your Business Profile. Our guide to making a Google review QR code shows where to find it. Save it now, while everything works.
3. Does it have a printed code as well as a tap?
Tapping does not work on every phone. As of October 2026, Google's own help page for Android tells people to check that NFC is switched on in Settings, and many people have it off without knowing. In public reviews of these stands, "it does not work on some phones" was one of the most common complaints, with iPhones and Android phones both named.
A printed QR code solves this. Anyone with a phone camera can scan it. Do not buy a stand that only has a chip.
When it arrives, test the tap and the code on an iPhone, an Android phone, and the oldest phone among your staff.
4. Does it filter out bad reviews?
Some stands are sold with features named "smart rating" or "blocks bad reviews". They ask the customer for a star rating first, send happy customers to Google, and send everyone else to a private form with no way to reach Google.
Read Google's rules before you buy one of these. As of October 2026, Google's contribution policy says merchants must not "discourage or prohibit negative reviews, or selectively solicit positive reviews from customers". The same page also forbids offering payment, discounts or free goods and services in exchange for a review.
Google can remove reviews that break these rules. A stand that promises to keep your rating high by hiding unhappy customers is promising something Google does not allow. The longer guide on getting more Google reviews explains the rest of the rules.
5. Can you change where it points?
Your Google link can change. You might move premises, rebuild a listing, or want the stand at your second branch to collect reviews for that branch.
Ask whether you can change the destination yourself, or have to message the seller and wait. "Buy a new stand" is a fair answer for a straight-to-Google stand, as long as you knew it before you paid.
6. Is it built to last?
Low-star reviews of cheap stands often mention the same things: thin plastic that bends, print that scratches, and a chip that stops responding within a few weeks. A stand sits on a counter where it is knocked, wiped and moved every day.
Look at photos posted by buyers, not the seller's pictures. The printed code should be large, dark on a light background, and matte, because glossy lamination reflects the lights above a counter.
A short checklist
| Question | Good answer |
|---|---|
| Where does the chip point? | You know, and you have seen the address yourself |
| If I stop paying? | It still sends customers to Google |
| If the seller closes? | You have Google's own QR code saved as a backup |
| Tap and code? | Both, tested on three phones |
| Filters reviews? | No, or it can be switched off |
| Change the destination? | You can, yourself, or you knew it was fixed |
| Build | Matte code, solid base, buyer photos look fine |
How Cardless Reviews answers these questions
Cardless Reviews is our review product, so here are our own answers, against the same list.
Where it points. Through our address, not straight to Google. Each review
point gets a short address on r.cardless.club, which sends the customer to
the Google review link you saved. That means you can change the Google link in
your dashboard at any time and nothing printed has to change.
If you stop paying. A printed review point keeps sending customers to your Google review page when a paid plan ends. What stops is the rating page, the private messages and the count for each review point. The free Review Link plan does the plain redirect from the start.
If we closed. We cannot promise more than any other company here, which is why we suggest you keep Google's own code saved too.
Tap and code. Every review point has its own QR code in the dashboard, which you can open on its own or print on a stand that fits one sheet of A4, folded once. You can start with that today.
Hardware. Our own review cards and stands are not on sale yet, so there is nothing of ours to buy for your counter right now. If you already have a Cardless Club card, you can point it at a review point from the Cards screen in your dashboard, and point it back later.
Filtering. On the free plan there is no rating step at all: every customer goes straight to Google. On the paid plans, a customer picks a rating first. Ratings at or above the one you choose are sent to Google automatically, and the other screens keep a visible link to Google, so nobody is stopped from reviewing you. That automatic step can be switched off, and then everyone sees the same screen and chooses for themselves. Reviews Pro can also hide that second Google link, and we would not switch it on without reading Google's policy first. You are responsible for checking the rules that apply to your business.
What each plan includes is on the pricing page.
Questions
Do my customers need an app to tap a stand?
No. On a phone that supports it, the review page opens in the browser. If the tap does nothing, the printed code opens the same page with the camera.
Can a stand tell me how many reviews it brought in?
No. A tool outside Google can count how many people opened your review page. It cannot see whether they then wrote a review. That is why our dashboard says "Google review clicks".
Is it allowed to send only happy customers to Google?
Google's policy forbids selectively asking for positive reviews and discouraging negative ones. Ask every customer the same way, and offer nothing in return.
What should I do if my current stand stops working?
Put Google's own review QR code on the counter the same day. Then ask the seller where the stand points.