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Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the foodservice industry has taken a massive hit. Restaurants all around the world have all seen a significant decrease in business. However, as things started changing for the better and the customers started coming back, the owners and managers of these restaurants began to realize the value of having good point of sale systems to help track inventory, employees, and sales.
If you’re looking for the best POS system for your restaurant, you’ve come to the right place. In this comprehensive guide, we will discuss the key features of the best POS systems for restaurants on the market. We will also compare pricing plans and monthly fees to help you find the best option for your business. And finally, we will give you a breakdown of each system's order management and support options. So whether you're looking for a free POS system or one with a low minimum deposit requirement, we have you covered! Now, let's get started.
Square for Restaurants is one of the best rated POS systems for restaurants, and there is a good reason behind that. It is a part of a well-known Square family that has been in payment processing since 2009. Square for Restaurants is an excellent solution and a good fit for restaurants, bars, and breweries of all sizes.
Whether you are a small business just starting out or a large-scale enterprise with hundreds of employees, Square for Restaurants can accommodate all your needs.
The platform is straightforward and extremely fast. It offers an intuitive interface that allows you to manage orders, track inventory, and create reports in one place. You can also accept payments in many different ways, including credit cards, gift cards, and digital wallets, making Square for Restaurants one of the best POS systems for motels and restaurants.
If you need help or have any questions, Square's excellent customer support is always there to help. You can download the Square for Restaurants app to any Android or iOS device and use it as a portable POS system for your business.
Square has several pricing plans to choose from and a free plan that covers the basic day-to-day services. The plans all include menu and table management, fast order entry, and more. If you wish to access some advanced features and have 24/7 support, you can subscribe to one of its paid plans. The Plus plan will cost you $60 per month per location plus $40 per month per additional device.
Although it’s one of the best free POS systems for restaurants, Square for Restaurants also offers a Premium plan designed for those who need an all-inclusive solution for their business. The pricing for this plan is tailored based on your specific business needs, and you can request a quote from Square's sales team directly from the website. Both Plus and Premium plans include a 30-day free trial option you can try before actually committing, so you can easily test all of the features and decide which ones are essential for your business.
Toast POS is an excellent restaurant management platform. It is one of the best cloud-based POS systems for restaurants that offers a wide range of features, making it an ideal solution for restaurateurs of all sizes. Toast currently empowers more than 40,000 nationwide restaurants and helps them connect employees, operations, and guests and ensure they have the best possible experience.
Toast is extremely user-friendly and easy to set up, so you can get started right away. It offers order management, inventory tracking, and a wealth of reporting features to help you make solid data-driven decisions for your business. The platform also integrates with many popular third-party systems, so you can easily connect your restaurant with the rest of the world. What's more, Toast has excellent customer support that is always happy to help.
There are three pricing plans to choose from. Those looking to find the best POS systems for small restaurants can try the Starter plan, which is free and is designed for restaurants that need one of two terminals only. It offers access to all the basic features of Toast, such as Online Ordering, Toast TakeOut, and Toast Delivery Services, along with a limited number of integrations.
If you need more features or software integrations, you can upgrade to the Essentials plan for $165 per month or go to the site and request a quote for the Custom plan. There's also a special offer called New Restaurant Basics, which costs $110 and is ideal for new restaurants that want to boost their operations from the start.
When you weigh all the pros and cons, Toast is a great solution that offers a lot of features at a reasonable price. It is one of the best POS systems for restaurants in the USA and should definitely be considered if you are looking for a new system to manage your business with.
Lightspeed Restaurant POS is another popular cloud-based iPad POS system that helps restaurants increase efficiency while saving money. It has an intuitive reservation system, 24/7 customer support, and a great variety of helpful features to accommodate the needs of restaurants of all sizes. Some of Lightspeed's stand-out features include a great baseline POS system, built-in integration with hotel PMS software, and a third-party delivery consolidation tool.
As one of the best iPad POS systems for restaurants, Lightspeed is exceptionally lightweight and can be set up in minutes. It doesn't require any complex software installation, and you can access it from anywhere in the world. You simply need an internet connection and a supported web browser. There are four pricing plans to choose from. However, there is no free plan, which can be overwhelming for smaller businesses.
Lightspeed offers four pricing plans: Essentials, Plus, Pro, and Enterprise. The Essentials plan includes a complete hardware bundle for one-location restaurants and costs $39 a month. The Plus plan is tailored for full-service restaurants and bars and comes with a price tag of $119 per month. The Pro plan is ideal for growing restaurants and hotels and includes advanced reporting, insights, and inventory management features. It costs $289 a month. And if you own a multi-location business and wish to use one of the best restaurant POS systems for 2022, the Enterprise plan might be just what you need. This plan is a custom solution, and as such, the pricing is variable, and a quote is available on request.
All things considered, Lightspeed is a great POS system that offers amazing features, excellent customer support, and a high degree of flexibility. Its numerous pricing tiers allow the company to target restaurants of all sizes, and the pricing is reasonable when you consider the value and features it provides. That said, we would have liked a free plan or at least a lengthy trial period such as some of the competitors on this list offer.
Next on our list of POS systems for restaurants is Clover, a cloud-based solution that is quickly gaining traction in the market. It has a sleek and intuitive design and comes with a ton of features that cater to the needs of small businesses and large enterprises alike. The company started its journey in 2012 and has since processed hundreds of billions in credit card transactions.
Users can access Clover from any device as long as it has an internet connection. As one of the better cloud-based POS systems for restaurants, the service has a wide range of integrations with popular third-party software and services, such as QuickBooks, Shopify, and Mailchimp. Clover also has a built-in loyalty program to help you reward your most loyal customers. The service can also assist you in managing your inventory, staff, and finances with ease. It can also help you track your sales and performance over time to help you make data-driven decisions for your business.
When it comes to features, Clover definitely doesn't disappoint. However, it does come with a price tag that might be too steep for some small businesses. The company offers three all-inclusive packages: Starter, Standard, and Advanced.
The Starter package is designed for businesses just starting out and includes a Station Solo POS system with a 14” screen and the Table Service Restaurant Plan with 24/7 live support. It comes with a one-time fee of $1,349 and a $69.95 monthly fee after that.
The Standard plan offers one of the best POS systems for restaurants that need a more robust version of the Starter plan. It includes all previously mentioned features plus a Handheld Flex for tableside orders and payments and tableside ordering for $1,848 + $79.90 a month. The last and the most comprehensive package is the Advanced plan, which comes with everything from the Standard plan and adds the Station Duo POS system with 14" merchant-facing and 7" customer screens along with a take-out station with to-go payments. The starting price for this plan is $89.85 per month plus a one-time fee of $3,497.
The final name on our list of the top five POS systems for restaurants is TouchBistro, another cloud-based POS system with an impressive array of features, such as menu creation and editing, automatic inventory management, table management, order taking, and more. The company was founded in 2010 with a mission to help restaurant owners run their businesses more efficiently and profitably. Since then, TouchBistro has powered more than 29,000 restaurants worldwide and processes more than $13 billion in payments annually.
TouchBistro is a great POS system for restaurants looking for an affordable and easy-to-use solution. It doesn't have the robust features of some other providers on this list, but it does the basics very well. The company offers various POS software plans that are a bit different than those you will find at its competitors. It ranks among the best POS systems for restaurants, and reviews are generally very positive, mirroring our opinion that TouchBistrois a well-rounded POS system.
The basic plan costs $69 a month, and if you need some advanced features, you can add them to that plan at an additional cost. Online ordering starts at $50 a month, Gift cards at $25 a month, the Loyalty program is $99 a month, the Self-Serve kiosk starts at $69 a month, and Reservations will set you back $229 each month.
One of the things we liked the most about TouchBistro is its payment integrations. With it, your restaurant can accept cash, credit and debit cards, and digital wallet payments by using an external payment processor, making TouchBistro one of the best restaurant POS systems. This is a huge plus for small businesses that want to have the ability to accept as many payment types as possible.
Choosing a POS system for your restaurant is not an easy task. However, it’s something that every restaurant owner should do before opening their doors to customers.
POS systems are highly beneficial to restaurants and can help increase efficiency, accuracy, and profitability. According to relevant restaurant industry data, providing users with multiple payment options can lead to a 14% increase in order sizes. All in all, POS terminals can help you manage your business better and keep track of all the details that make a restaurant successful.
Here are some of the features that you should look for when checking out popular POS systems for restaurants.
One of the first things you should check for in a POS system is inventory management. You should make sure that the system you choose can keep track of your current stock, so you never run out of supplies. The best POS solutions will allow you to set up alerts when certain items are running low and send notifications to employees on their smartphones or tablets.
Restaurant inventory can get pretty complicated, and you might need some additional features, such as purchase order management, low-stock alerts, and the possibility to track different vendors.
Employee management is an important factor you should not overlook when choosing a POS system for your restaurant. The best POS systems for restaurants and bars will allow you to create employee profiles, which will include their contact information, job titles, and assigned shifts. They will also allow you to run reports about sales by employees and track their performance.
This is a great way to identify your top performers and give them a raise or bonus. They will also let you assign tasks to different employees, set up employee schedules, and track their clock in/out times.
Another thing you should consider when looking for the POS system for your restaurant is third-party integrations. All top POS systems for restaurants have APIs that allow them to connect with other software applications and services, such as accounting software or online ordering platforms. This can help streamline operations and make it easier for your staff members to get their work done.
The best POS systems will allow you to keep track of your customers, so you can personalize their experience and increase customer loyalty. They will also let you run sales reports by individual customers, which can help you identify your top-spending patrons and give them a discount or unique offers. It also helps you keep track of customer complaints and feedback, so you can improve your service.
Finding the best POS systems for restaurants isn't an easy task, and menu management is one of the most crucial features to look for. You need to make sure that the system you choose can display your menu in a visually appealing way, so customers will know what dishes are available and how much they cost.
The system also needs to be able to handle changes quickly and easily and keep track of different ingredients for each dish. This feature is extremely important for restaurants that have a lot of different dishes on the menu, constantly change their offerings, or have seasonal specials.
An obvious way to compare POS systems for restaurants is by looking at the upfront and ongoing costs. The most expensive systems can cost several thousands of dollars per month, while the most affordable ones start at just $30 or so per month, and some rudimentary ones are even completely free.
However, it's important to remember that not all expensive systems are worth the price and not all affordable systems are bad. You should look for the features you need and a pricing plan that fits your budget. Don't forget to factor in maintenance and support fees as well, since some POS systems have high additional costs despite seeming deceptively affordable at first.
Depending on the type of POS terminal, the price can range from $30 to hundreds of dollars. However, some POS systems come with free terminals, or you can use your own mobile device as a terminal. Just be advised that there are usually monthly fees associated with these systems.
If you are looking for advanced products and features, such as a card reader or a receipt printer, the cost of those devices will also be added on top of your other expenses. It might end up being a costlier solution than if you purchased a terminal separately. Some of the best restaurant POS systems offer free trial periods, so you can see if the system works for your business before spending any money.
Square is a mobile POS system that offers different plans based on your needs. Clover is provided as both a hardware and software solution. It is an all-inclusive solution for restaurants with advanced features like inventory management, employee scheduling, and time clock integration. If you're looking to add more functionality to your restaurant, both are good options but check out our detailed reviews above for more details.
When it comes to cheap POS systems for restaurants, Square is definitely one of the top picks. It offers a free POS system with limited features, but if you want more functionality, there are different plans available at affordable prices. It is one of the most popular options for small businesses, and it's easy to see why: it has everything you need in a POS system without breaking your wallet.
There is no one-size-fits-all answer to this question, as the best POS system for your restaurant will vary depending on your specific needs. However, some of the best POS systems for restaurants include Square, Clover, and Toast.
All these companies offer different features and rates, so be sure to do your research before deciding which one is best for you. You should also ensure to check their monthly fees and minimum deposit amounts before making a final decision.
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Advertiser Disclosure: Fortunly.com is an independent review site dedicated to providing accurate information about various financial and business-related offers. Fortunly.com remains financially sustainable by participating in a series of affiliate partnerships - it’s visitors’ click on links that cover the expenses of running this site.
How and where the offers appear on the site can vary according to the partnership terms. Affiliate partnerships may affect where a particular product is listed within a review, but they don’t affect the review’s content in any way.
Our pages may include reviews of products or services for which we do not receive commission and are not tied to affiliate partnerships; information included in these reviews has been solely collected by Fortunly.com and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer of this product or service. Product/service details may vary. Please see the issuer’s website for current information.
Fortunly.com’s in-house writing team writes all the site’s content after in-depth research, and advertisers have no control over the personal opinions expressed by team members, whose job is to stay faithful to the truth and remain objective. The Fortunly.com website does not include reviews of every single company offering loan products, nor does it cover all loan offers or types of financial products and services available.