Did you know that more than 80% of data related to the operations of your business is stored digitally? This includes technology like a POS system and complete business management suites that are currently hosted on the cloud or an external server. Well, focusing on crucial technology, POS, a vital part of restaurant businesses, here’s the thing.

With the advent of the internet, online ordering for restaurants has become increasingly popular. Many customers prefer the convenience of being able to order their food from the comfort of their own homes. Online ordering also allows customers to view the menu and specials for a restaurant before placing their order. This can be especially helpful for customers with dietary restrictions or who are looking for specific items. Overall, online ordering can be a great way for restaurants to increase their customer base and sales.

The finest restaurant POS solutions shine with their particular features compared with other brands in the market. Apart from processing money, successful restaurant POS systems assist restaurateurs like you with activities ranging from analyzing financial statements to employee management.

All of the above can decide whether your business succeeds or shut down following a single year of operation.

The following is a checklist of the finest POS systems for ambitious restaurants, while many of this software is also suitable for cafés, pubs, and eateries. These point-of-sale systems may handle everything from maintaining ingredient inventory to accepting internet reservations. Furthermore, some of them provide COVID-friendly capabilities to assist restaurants in serving their customers in an increasingly dynamic environment.

A checklist to Determine The best POS systems for your restaurant

Our rundown of the best restaurant POS systems includes feature-packed, all-in-one solutions that offer everything you require to successfully and efficiently run your eatery and make changes when needed:

Lightspeed

Premium-quality, feature-packed POS

Lightspeed is a highly advanced, fully-integrated platform, a popular POS system for restaurants. This premium POS can be used in both quick-service and full-service restaurants. It is counted among the most trustworthy choices for restaurant businesses because it concentrates on barcoded products. The provider’s large number of third-party integrations additionally makes it appealing to business owners who want to customize their software to their individual needs.

Features

  • Extensive integration features: You can easily connect to a vast library of integrations via Lightspeed. This allows you to add functionalities such as loyalty programmes and staff scheduling.
  • Customization: You can customize your POS as per specific sectors like hotels, fine dining, eateries, cafes, or bars.
  • Stock control: Lightspeed enables you to track ingredients individually via inventory management functions in the software interface.
  • Floor plan display: The software includes a floor plan display, which can direct servers to a table — as and when they need it.
  • Comprehensive menu option: There is a menu where you can include images of every meal and its corresponding descriptions.
  • Backup and support: Database backup and system updates are provided for free, and all plans include live training and 24/7 customer support.

Benefits

  • Lightspeed offers complete customer support via 24/7 service by call, mail, and online chat.
  • It serves as the perfect platform for restaurants dealing in barcoded inventory.
  • The pricing is straightforward and reasonable without any hidden costs.
  • The inventory management feature enables you to handle ingredients in depth.
  • It is easy to administer reservations in advance easily.
  • There is a loyalty app for customers that ensures consumer engagement.

Pricing

Pricing starts at 39 USD per month, and the highest price is 389 USD per month. There are also customized plans for enterprise solutions.

Square POS

Catering to multiple eatery businesses.

Square is a well-known restaurant brand with devoted solutions for serving tables and counters, pubs and lounges, cafés, delicatessens, and food carts. Square POS is a suitable alternative for midsize, on-the-go enterprises because of its solid industry reputation and attractive price tag. It’s a good solution for start-up eateries.

Features

  • Menu management: Offers menu management capabilities, including customized designs and item categorization, to make best sellers more accessible.
  • Menu modification: Bulk modifications allow you to modify your menus with new choices and items swiftly.
  • Integrations: A wide selection of 3rd-party integrations are available to make the distribution as simple as possible.
  • Easy tracking: Third-party systems for employee attendance monitoring and customer bookings can be added.
  • Single-platform order handling: Square’s order processing software lets you handle all of your orders from a single interface.
  • Table-management: It offers a user-friendly table management tool that allows you to tap tables to fit more guests or reorganize them to make more room.
  • Extensive reporting: Square’s reports include high-level overviews as well as in-depth analyses of your transactions by categories, item, and means of payment.

Benefits

  • Square is a versatile restaurant POS system that serves restaurant businesses of different sizes and scales.
  • It has multiple features such as statistics, stock management, and 3rd-party integrations.
  • Square showcases hardware equipment that is sleek and fashionable.
  • It also offers benefits like online purchasing and a free beginning plan.
  • You can include mployee management in its extensive list of advantages.

Pricing

For the “Plus” edition, Square charges a modest 60 USD per month. If you don’t mind a more limited set of features, you can opt for the free option.

TouchBistro

Ideal for full-fledged service.

TouchBistro is a sophisticated point-of-sale system created for and by restaurant employees. As its name suggests, they made it with restaurants in mind from the beginning. It has a configurable UI and great stock management features. Further, its menu administration and inventory control features make it suitable for various additional hospitality enterprises, particularly those with a large or complex inventory.

Features

  • Multiple apps: Offers a variety of apps to meet the demands of various restaurant establishments.
  • Table-order management: Provides a robust table-specific order management function with readily digestible menus, reducing errors and complimentary items.
  • Personalized table plans: Design custom table plans that you can use to locate your most expensive tables, modify seats, alter parties, and much more.
  • Direct order communication: Servers would be capable of sending orders directly to the eatery’s cooking section via various printers or screens.
  • Menu management: Design, update, and publish customizable menus to the system, as well as add and delete offerings on the go.
  • Inventory control system: Keep track of which things are sold and the materials used in each meal.
  • Extensive data collection: TouchBistro can send daily updates to senior management using the data acquired by the platform.

Benefits

  • It has a dynamic and intuitive interface.
  • It comes with a solid crew and inventory control system.
  • Customer support is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
  • TouchBistro also has locally installed point-of-sale software.
  • It boasts of a fantastic internal booking system.
  • The platform supports third-party delivery apps.
  • The POS has over 200 functions, covering practically everything that most eateries may ever want.

Pricing

TouchBistro has a range of pricing options beginning at 69 USD per month.

Toast

Best-suited for Android users.

The majority of POS systems function on iPads, as designed. Toast, however, has chosen Android-driven software that can operate on your current Smartphones and tablets. For a great experience, you can use it on Toast’s hardware that was built specifically targeting the restaurant business. As a result, Toast is best suited for smaller to medium-sized eateries with Android-compatible technology.

Features

  • Order management: Toast allows your waiters to take orders from guests at the table and pass them along to the kitchen and bartenders.
  • Modern payment getaways: Servers may accept payments using EMV cards or Samsung Pay using a card reader.
  • Cost management: Allows managers to quickly examine labour and dish expenses while accounting for permanent overhead expenses for a clear, consistent picture of total income.
  • Online orders: Toast enables online ordering, letting you establish a public-facing website where customers can place orders.
  • Menu management: Menus are updated in real time. It integrates with Toast’s delivery dispatching service to expedite orders.
  • Stock control: Toast uses inventory management systems to keep track of the price of every ingredient and ascertains regular portion proportions. You can also track wastage.

Benefits

  • Its design makes for an affordable option, and hence, it is ideal for Android customers.
  • It provides extensive menu customization capabilities.
  • Customer support is available 24/7 through call, email, and online chat.
  • Other benefits include table ordering plus payments supported on the platform.
  • There are many digital ordering methods available.
  • It offers enhanced employee monitoring and administration.

Pricing

Toast offers a free option, but its feature-packed options, including its takeaway app and internet orders, begin at 165 USD per month.

Upserve

Lending in-depth reports.

Both the front and back ends of Upserve have simple, straightforward interfaces. Because of its highly flexible structure and extensive reporting capabilities, it remains a popular choice. Getting reports on your business and employees is a tried and tested method to increase staff productivity. Hence, Upserve is opted for by many restaurant owners. Upserve additionally provides a robust set of capabilities. It’ll be an excellent fit if you manage a small-size restaurant or want to understand your overall sales better.

Features

  • Bill splitting: For guests who do not have a wealthy donor to cover the entire meal, Upserve offers a complete bill splitting.
  • Table orders: Its tablet also offers total table ordering.
  • Online ordering: Upserve offers online orders and deliveries, albeit the latter comes at an additional cost.
  • Reports and analytics: Upserve is proud of its analytics and reporting capabilities. Its simple dashboards might assist you in identifying trends in your restaurant’s operations. These can aid in improving employee performance and increasing guest loyalty.
  • Customer service: Upserve has a support crew on standby and is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Benefits

  • Upserve’s online ordering is fantastic and offers a seamless experience.
  • Customized onboarding features infuse recruits with confidence and restaurant know-how.
  • It supports operations in offline mode and boasts of 24/7customer support.
  • The interface is exceptionally adaptable and flexible.
  • A streamlined user interface makes it easy for you to handle the software’s functions.
  • Its in-depth reporting gives extensive insights into your eatery’s performance.

Pricing

Upserve has an excellent always-on function for internet disruptions and begins at $59 per month. It’s also very expandable, with more expensive options available when you require to scale up.

Conclusion

In an exceedingly harsh economic landscape, you may require one of the top restaurant POS solutions for businesses now — to ensure that you’re maximizing features and functionalities. Increased online ordering, such as 3rd-party deliveries and cashless payment alternatives, is expected to become the norm. Sophisticated internet restaurant POS systems can help you save time and money while improving your service quality and connections with customers.