ReviewGun

Guide

Your Google review QR code

A QR code is nothing more than a picture of a web address. That is worth remembering, because it means the code can never be better than the link inside it — and it means a code that points at your Business Profile instead of your review box sends every customer who scans it to a page where they still have to find the review button.

Here is how to make one, where it actually gets scanned, and what makes a printed code produce nothing at all. You need your review link first.

Making one, in four steps

  1. 1Get the link that opens your review box

    A QR code is nothing but a picture of a web address, so start with the right one. Google's "ask for reviews" link opens the review box itself. Your Business Profile address is not that — send someone there and they have to hunt for the review button, which is the step where most of them give up.

  2. 2Turn the link into a code

    Google's Business Profile offers a QR code alongside the review link on some screens. If it does not show you one, any QR generator will do, because the tool is only drawing your URL — it adds nothing and takes nothing away.

  3. 3Scan your own code before you print anything

    Point your phone's camera at it on screen and follow it through. You should land on a page that lets you leave stars straight away. If you land on your profile instead, the code is wrong, and finding that out on the screen costs nothing — finding it out on 500 printed invoices costs you every review you thought you had earned.

  4. 4Print it big enough to scan from where the customer stands

    Designers work to a rough rule of thumb of about one unit of code size for every ten units of scanning distance — so a code scanned at arm's length, roughly 30cm, wants to be around 3cm across. Print it bigger than that rather than smaller: a code that is technically readable at arm's length is easy to overlook, and easy to ruin with a smudge.

ReviewGun draws the code for you

Save your review link once and the dashboard shows the QR code on your send screen. Screenshot it for the invoice, or show it at the counter when a phone is not to hand.

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Where it actually gets scanned

Every one of these has the same thing in common: the customer is standing still, in front of the code, with a phone already in their hand. That is the only situation in which a printed square turns into a review.

  • On the invoice or the job sheet

    It is the one piece of paper the customer looks at twice — once when they read it, once when they pay it. Their phone is already in their hand, and the job is still fresh.

  • A card your tech hands over as they leave

    That is the moment they are already thanking you. A card with the code on it is the shortest distance between that thank you and a review, and it does not depend on you remembering to send a text that evening.

  • The counter or the front desk

    Where customers stand and wait, and where they are already killing time on their phone. Put the code at eye level rather than flat on a surface nobody looks down at.

  • Your emails, invoices and signature

    Digital costs nothing to add and travels further than any paper does. The same code sits at the bottom of every quote, invoice and follow-up you send.

  • The job-site sign

    The neighbours are watching the work go up, and a surveyor or a let-in job means the next household on the street is a customer who has not met you yet. A code they can scan while the crew is still there catches them while they are curious.

What makes a printed code produce nothing

  • Pointing the code at your Business Profile instead of your review box. It is the single most common reason a printed code produces nothing: the customer lands somewhere, cannot find the review button, and puts their phone away.
  • Printing it small, in low-contrast colours, or on top of a photo or patterned background. A phone camera needs contrast and a clear margin of plain space around the square. A code that scans perfectly on your screen can be unreadable in ink.
  • Leaving the square bare. A QR code with no line telling people what it does is a small puzzle, not an invitation — "Scan to leave us a review" is what turns it into one.
  • Using a shortened link from a service you do not control. If that service disappears, every invoice, card and sign carrying the code dies at the same moment, and you will not find out until a customer tells you.
  • Expecting it to replace the text message. A code only works on somebody standing in front of it. The message is what reaches the customer who has already driven away, and that is most of them.
  • Treating the van as a review channel. A code on the side of a moving vehicle is read at speed and scanned almost never — it is branding. Put the codes where people stop.
  • Asking only the customers you expect to be pleased. A QR code is just a convenient route to a review box; Google still prohibits gating reviews and incentivising them, and the code does not change what is allowed.

If you want the wording as well, review request text templates are written the way a tradesperson actually asks — and each one is built to carry the same link your code points at.

Questions contractors ask about review QR codes

How do I make a QR code for my Google reviews?
Start with your Google review link — the one that opens the review box rather than your profile — then put that address into Google's own option in your Business Profile, or into any QR generator. Scan the result yourself before you print it. The generator does not matter; where the code points is the only thing that does.
Does Google give you a QR code for reviews?
Yes. Your Business Profile offers a QR code alongside the shareable review link on some screens, and it encodes that same link. If you cannot find it, any QR generator will produce an identical result from the same address — you are not missing a feature.
Why does my review QR code not work?
Usually one of two things. Either it points at your Business Profile rather than the review box, so the customer lands on a page with no obvious place to leave stars; or it is printed too small, too low-contrast, or without clear space around it, so a camera cannot lock on. Check the destination first, then the print.
How big should a review QR code be?
A rough rule of thumb is one tenth of the scanning distance, so about 3cm across for a code read at arm's length. Where customers scan from further away — a counter, a site sign — it needs to be larger, and it is worth leaning bigger than the minimum. A code that is hard to frame gets abandoned rather than squinted at.
Does a Google review QR code expire?
No. A QR code just encodes a web address, so it keeps working indefinitely, and you can print as many as you like from the same one. The exception is a shortened link from a service you do not control: if that service shuts down, the code it generated stops working everywhere at once.
Can I put the QR code on my van?
You can, but be realistic about what it returns. A code on a moving vehicle is read at speed by people who are driving, so it earns far more as branding than as a source of reviews. Codes work where people stand still with a phone in their hand — the invoice, the counter, the job-site sign.
Is it allowed to ask for reviews with a QR code?
Yes. A QR code is only a shortcut to your review box, and asking every customer to leave a review is fine. What Google prohibits is incentivising reviews — discounts, gifts, free call-outs — and gating them, meaning asking only the customers you expect to be happy. Choosing where the code sits does not change either rule.
Do I still need to text customers if I have a QR code?
Yes, they do different jobs. The code catches the customer standing in front of it, and it cannot follow anyone home. The message is what reaches the customers who have already left, which is most of them, and it is the one that carries your review link straight to their phone. Use both on the same link.

The code covers the customer in front of you

The text message is what reaches the ones who have already driven off. ReviewGun sends that from your own phone, with your review link in it. $29 a month after 3 days free.

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Review requests for your trade

The rules above apply to any home service business. These go further, with the jobs, the timing and the objections that come up in yours.