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3 Best Restaurant POS Software

3 Best Restaurant POS Software

The restaurant industry is one of the largest industries in the world. Going out to eat is always going to be popular. With the pandemic ending, many new restaurants and eateries are popping up. As such, many of them are looking for a new point-of-sale solution. If your small business is looking for the best POS software, have no fear! Weā€™ve got the best 3 restaurant POS software options here. Keep reading to find out more!

Hereā€™s What Weā€™ll Cover:

What Is Restaurant POS Software?

The 3 Best Restaurant POS Software Options

Key Takeaways

What Is Restaurant POS Software?

Restaurant POS software stands for point-of-sale software. Itā€™s a form of restaurant software that allows for sales in the restaurant. These sale systems are a software solution to traditional, cash-only methods. As such, they come with a number of different options, all scaled to your business. 

What to Look For in Restaurant POS Software

If youā€™re looking for a new POS software for your restaurant, itā€™s likely that you want a comprehensive solution. This will consist of a number of different options. Most will come with the following components:

  • Cash registers
  • Cash drawers
  • A desktop application
  • A mobile app
  • Card readers for a number of different payment options

In addition to these basic components, there are a number of different key features that you may need to explore. It depends on the size and scale of your restaurant, of course. Some common features most businesses will need are below:

  • Sale features (contactless payments, mobile payments, online sales, etc.)
  • Delivery features (delivery management, ability to turn delivery service off and on, etc.)
  • Menu management (the ability to edit menu items, produce digital menus, etc.)
  • Table management (assigning tables to servers, marking tables as taken, etc.)
  • Customer loyalty programs
  • Detailed reporting
  • Inventory management
  • Team member assignments and employee management

The 3 Best Restaurant POS Software Options

Taking into account the features above, weā€™ve chosen the 3 best POS options for restaurants! Take a look at what tops the list, and what may be the best for your business.

1. Toast

No, itā€™s not the side that youā€™ll receive in a restaurant or some coffee shops. Toast is the name of the POS software! Itā€™s appropriately named and is the best option for most small restaurants or cafes. Everything produced by Toast is meant for restaurants specifically.

Toast can come with the following features for restaurants:

  • The Toast software
  • A Toast Flex POS terminal
  • Contactless card reader that accepts contactless payments, credit card payments, etc.
  • Online ordering systems and online payments
  • Optional payroll software
  • In-house delivery platform available

Any piece of Toastā€™s proprietary hardware is kitchen-proof. This means itā€™s resistant to spills, grease, and heat. The number of hardware options are varied, and it depends on the kind of restaurant you run. If you want something specifically built for restaurants, be sure to check out Toast.

2. TouchBistro

Restaurant owners like TouchBistro for a number of reasons. The biggest lovers of TouchBistro tend to be those who own food trucks, though. TouchBistro is a software option that doesnā€™t require the cloud to work. Thatā€™s the best thing for mobile restaurants where a connection isnā€™t always available. 

Specifically, TouchBistro is a hybrid POS model. This means that all of the software is locally installed, but data is sent to the cloud. This means that it can be used in offline mode! Thatā€™s incredibly useful for restaurant owners on the move.

What does this mean for your business? It means that you can focus on your customers and your food while youā€™re working. Detailed reports and sales reports will still be available, but after the system is connected again. TouchBistro is made specifically for iOS devices.

3. Clover

Clover is the best POS option for quick-service restaurants. These are establishments where the customer pays at the counter then waits for their food, hence the quick service part. Clover is meant to be used quickly. If you want to be able to send your employees out to take orders, you can choose to use the Clover Flex. This is the best way to shorten long lines and keep customers happy.

One of the biggest downfalls with Clover Dining is the need to purchase one of their tablets. The software doesnā€™t run on other devices. Itā€™s still the best option for quick-service establishments, though, since itā€™s entirely portable.

Key Takeaways

There are a large number of restaurant POS options available. However, the 3 listed above are the best for businesses of all sizes. If youā€™re running full-service restaurants or just a food truck, thereā€™s an option for you. If you need more information for your restaurant, be sure to check out our resource hub! We love helping small businesses like yours.


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