A restaurant point-of-sale system (also known as a restaurant POS system) can be a very beneficial tool in the restaurant industry. Whether you run a cafe, food truck, quick-service restaurant, or full-service restaurant, the right POS system can help you simplify and speed up your processes.
If you’re interested in learning about restaurant POS systems and want more information about some of the top software providers, you’ve come to the right place. Keep reading to discover the benefits of restaurant POS systems as well as the costs and features of the top five POS options.
A restaurant POS system is a payment-processing system used in restaurants to simplify and streamline payments and other back-of-house (BOH) operations. POS systems are used in various small businesses, but restaurant POS software has been designed to cater to restaurant needs.
You can think of a POS system as a more advanced cash register. It’s not just a cash drawer but a cloud-based POS that lets you accept credit card and contactless payments, cash, and gift cards. With a mobile POS, you can even take mobile payments, which is essential for on-the-go businesses like food trucks or food market sellers.
In addition to payment processing, POS systems provide a range of real-time metrics that give restaurant owners instant updates on their sales reports.
A full restaurant POS system is a combination of POS hardware and software. The hardware is usually a touchscreen device, such as an iPad or Android tablet, and the software takes the form of an app you can download onto that device. Additional hardware, such as a cash drawer or card machine, is required to process different payment types.
Whether you’re opening a new restaurant or your business is already up and running, there are various POS providers you can choose from, each of which has slightly different functionality. However, nearly all restaurant POS systems can help you in multiple areas of your business.
One of the main benefits of a restaurant POS system is that you can simplify your order system and front-of-house (FOH) communications.
Mobile POS systems are great for tableside ordering. Your FOH staff can take the POS right to the customer and immediately process the order.
You can also use a POS to process orders for takeout, and many also come with online ordering functionality or integrations.
If you have a kitchen display system (KDS), your POS device can send orders directly to the kitchen so that your chefs know what they need to cook without needing your FOH team to print or handwrite paper tickets.
Restaurant POS systems can also work in conjunction with self-serve kiosk apps like KioskBuddy. Customers can place and pay for orders with a few easy taps, and your POS system will keep track of the sales and send the order through to the KDS.
As well as simplifying the order-taking process, your POS acts as a payment processor. Most software can process contactless, card, and cash payments.
Many POS providers also have loyalty program capabilities. Customers can collect points on each dollar they spend and use those points to earn money off their next purchase. The right POS software lets you accept loyalty points as a form of payment and builds this information into your sales reporting so you can keep track of your bottom line.
Inventory tracking is a crucial job for BOH staff and properly managing it can help you reduce food waste in your food business. However, manually tracking your inventory can be time-consuming, and it’s easy to make mistakes.
Luckily, many POS systems come with inventory management tools as an add-on to help you streamline this process. Each time the POS processes a payment, it automatically updates the stock levels for the ingredients needed for the purchased meal. This will allow your BOH staff to closely monitor inventory levels without requiring lengthy stock checks.
A well-equipped restaurant POS system can also help you with other aspects of running your restaurant.
Table management tools like floor plans can help you see how many customers are dining and who will likely finish soon. Employee management functions let you organize shifts quickly and efficiently, while menu management tools make it simple to view and update menu items.
Now that you understand why you’d want to use a POS system in your restaurant, you’re probably wondering how much it would cost to set one up. Here’s a breakdown of five of the best restaurant POS systems and their pricing structures.
Square Restaurant POS has various plans available. There are no upfront fees for the software’s basic plan, so it’s an excellent option for anyone on a budget. You’ll pay a fixed fee of 2.6% plus $0.10 per in-person transaction and 2.9% plus $0.30 per online transaction. The basic plan includes sales reporting, but marketing tools and loyalty program functionality are add-ons that cost extra.
Alternatively, you can upgrade to a more advanced option (prices start at $60 per month plus processing fees).
The software works on Apple and Android tablets, meaning you won’t spend too much on extra hardware if you already have one. However, you’ll need something to process payments.
A Square Kiosk is a helpful device that fixes your iPad POS to the wall and has a built-in contactless and chip reader. It costs $149, and you can add a free plug-in Square Reader to take swipe credit card payments too.
Lightspeed POS is a more expensive option at $69 monthly for the Essentials plan, with an additional 2.6% plus a $0.10 processing fee for every transaction.
This basic plan includes tools for takeout and delivery, plus loyalty program functionality. However, features such as online ordering and inventory management aren’t included. You’ll have to upgrade to the Plus plan for these features, which is $189 a month plus processing fees.
The software works on iPads, but you’ll need a range of additional hardware, such as a card reader or receipt printer, to get started. Prices for this are available from Lightspeed on request.
Toast’s POS system has a free plan (the Starter Kit), but its processing fees are a little more expensive at 2.99% plus $0.15 per sale. The good news is that this includes hardware. Toast provides a mobile POS or countertop system to anyone using their software.
This free plan doesn’t include more advanced tools, so you'll need to upgrade if you want employee management and marketing tools in one place. Paid plans range from $69 to $165 per month (plus processing fees), depending on the features you need and the number of restaurants you have.
TouchBistro’s POS software prices start at $69 per month, including inventory tools, menu and table management, and tableside ordering systems. The processing fees vary depending on the number of sales you conduct.
TouchBistro is also suitable for offline use, making it a great option if you run pop-up events away from your main business premises. Hardware is not included, so factor this into your budget if you want to choose TouchBistro.
Clover’s POS is at the higher end in terms of pricing, but hardware is included. The quick-service restaurant POS costs $90 a month for a basic plan, $130 a month for a standard plan, and $175 for an advanced plan. More expensive plans come with more extensive features.
Alternatively, the full-service restaurant POS software (better suited to larger restaurants) has prices ranging from $150 to $290 a month.
Processing fees apply to all plans, making this one of the more expensive solutions.
From Square to Lightspeed POS, various hardware and software providers can simplify payment processing and other functions in your restaurant. With some setups, you can even add self-service kiosks to your business.
KioskBuddy works with Square POS to turn your tablet into a self-service kiosk device. Customers can place and pay for their orders with just a few taps. All you need to get started is a tablet, KioskBuddy, and the Square Kiosk hardware.
Sign up for KioskBuddy to set up an easy-to-use self-service kiosk that works seamlessly with your restaurant’s POS system.