Food trucks are popular. There are over 30,000 food trucks in operation in the United States, and that number looks set to grow. Managing a food truck is no easy task, however, as food truck owners have to be able to manage all their business operations while they’re on the go. Finding the best POS system for food trucks is crucial for ensuring they can process orders and payments quickly and easily.
If you’re new to food truck management, you may not know what a POS system is or how POS systems for food trucks are different from restaurant POS systems. There’s a lot to learn, but this comprehensive guide to food truck POS systems will tell you everything you need to know about implementing this technology in your food truck.
A POS system (or point-of-sale system) is software that lets you process payments and manage orders. It’s a little bit like a cash register but far more advanced. POS software is often cloud-based and has better functionality to give small business owners more control over their operations.
A food truck POS system is an all-in-one payment processing system that’s perfect for a food truck business. Compared with typical restaurant POS software, food truck POS systems often have fewer features because there’s no need for more complicated functionality like online reservations or table management. Instead, they’re optimized for ease of use and usually have an offline mode that can be essential while on the go.
There are many benefits to POS systems for food trucks. Making a POS system part of your equipment list could help you save time on processing orders and improve the customer experience.
Let’s look at ways a POS system could help your food truck business.
A food truck POS system can help you streamline your order system and process payments more quickly. The faster you can process payments and get food to customers, the more orders you can complete during a service run and the more money you can bring in.
POS systems for food trucks can accept various payment options:
Contactless payments
Debit and credit card payments
Gift card payments
Cash payments
Depending on the type of payments you want to accept, you’ll need to purchase additional hardware such as a card reader, receipt printer, and cash drawer. Once these are set up, your mobile POS system will allow you to accept customer payments quickly and easily, leaving you more time to focus on preparing quality food.
Many POS systems include inventory management software as standard. You (or a member of your back office team) simply upload the inventory you need for each menu item and insert the quantity you have of each piece of inventory. When orders are placed, the POS software will update your stock levels in real time, so you always know exactly how much food you have left.
Inventory management tools like this let you automate your menu management processes, saving you and your team the effort of taking stock manually.
POS software often has built-in customer relationship management (CRM) tools that can help you promote your food truck. If customers sign up for an email list or rewards program, you can use the software to set up an effective email marketing plan that can entice your diners back for more.
Email marketing can be a fantastic way to spread the news about upcoming events that your food truck may be part of, and you can use it to send special offers or promotions to your loyal customers. Using POS software means you can manage all your email campaigns in one place, allowing you to send emails quickly and easily.
Food truck POS systems can help you improve the overall customer experience.
Many software options have loyalty program functionality, meaning customers can earn loyalty points for each purchase and spend those points to get money off. Rewards programs like this can significantly increase customer loyalty and encourage return visitors.
You can also pair your POS software with customer-facing display systems like KioskBuddy to introduce a self-service option at your food truck. KioskBuddy lets you turn your AppleiPad into a self-service kiosk. Customers place and pay for orders themselves, and the kiosk integrates with your kitchen display system to send real-time updates to your cooking team. This means you can focus less on payments and incoming orders and more on making tasty food!
If you’re using a POS system in conjunction with a self-service device like KioskBuddy, you’ll find it easier than ever to upsell. You can set up the self-service interface to automatically suggest extra menu items and add-ons to customers — e.g., fries, dips, side dishes, and anything else that might complement a particular meal.
While it’s simple enough to offer these extras yourself, research shows that customers are more likely to place large orders when they use self-service software because they’re less embarrassed to order a lot of food.
Using a self-service kiosk with your food truck POS system could lead to larger orders, meaning higher profit margins for you.
Choosing the right POS software depends on your business needs, so there’s no one-size-fits-all solution. Several companies offer POS systems that can work well in a food truck setting, including:
Square POS
Toast POS
TouchBistro
Clover
Think about your order management system and look at the functionality of each system. Businesses with more than one food truck may need employee management tools and an online ordering system. In contrast, smaller operations can often make do with good customer support and basic sales reporting.
In addition to considering the functionality you need for your food truck POS system, you’ll want to look into the pricing structures available. Remember that you’ll need to budget for the POS software and hardware required to process payments.
Some systems charge a monthly fee for unlimited use, while others charge a pay-as-you-go processing fee. This is usually a percentage of your sales plus a small extra charge.
For example, Square POS charges 2.6% of the sale cost plus $0.10 per transaction. Toast POS has various payment plans, but the basic option for a single POS unit is 2.99% of each sale cost plus $0.15. Alternatively, monthly plans start at $69 a month.
You may also need to factor in the price of add-ons required to make the system work in your food truck, such as a cash drawer or receipt printer. One of the cheapest ways to set up payment-processing hardware is to use the Square Kiosk, which costs $149. It provides a customer-facing display and accepts contactless and card payments.
Most food truck POS systems have an offline mode but typically require Wi-Fi or another internet connection to use all the features. You may need to purchase a 4G stick or use your cellphone’s hotspot — bear this in mind when considering your budget.
As is true for any small business, running a food truck takes hard work, a bit of luck, and the right equipment. Choosing the right POS system for food truck management is an essential step in running your business.
Square POS is an excellent choice for most food truck owners. It’s quick and easy to set up and has a flexible pricing structure that can suit business owners with one or more food trucks.
KioskBuddy works with Square POS to turn your tablet into an easy-to-use self-ordering device. Customers place and pay for their orders with just a few taps, and KioskBuddy works with Square POS to process payments. You just need KioskBuddy, a tablet, and a Square Kiosk to get started.
Sign up for KioskBuddy to enjoy a more straightforward ordering process in your food truck.