In the ever-changing and innovative world of hospitality, Point of Sale (POS) systems remain crucial pillars for the efficient and seamless operation of restaurants.
With technology constantly redefining the dining experience, finding the best restaurant POS system in 2024 is incredibly important for establishments hoping to improve the customer experience and maximise efficiency.
We take a look at some of the top contenders empowering restaurants to manage transactions through cutting-edge POS software to help you find the perfect fit for your business.
Toast is a restaurant point of sale and management system that helps improve operations, boost sales and create an overall better customer experience. From food trucks and pizzerias to hotel restaurants and fine dining experiences, the system caters to all types of restaurants.
The POS system runs on Android-based software and serves as the heartbeat of your restaurant; giving you the tools to manage orders, sales, and payments in one place.
Via mobile handheld tablets, your customers pay, sign, and tip on their own. This leaves more time for your staff to focus on critical processes, such as enhancing the customer experience.
The end-to-end POS platform understands different types of restaurants with tailored systems for both full-service and quick-service. The all-in-one platform gives you the power to oversee every crucial aspect of your business from the front end to the back end.
There is no need for several additional systems as Toast already takes care of your online ordering system, digital and physical gift card program, loyalty program, inventory and employee management, kitchen management, and more.
The hardware itself is restaurant-grade and IP54 spillproof rated; making it perfect for an environment with regular food and beverage spillage. The design is made to fit in with any restaurant decor so nothing stands out as an eyesore.
All-in-all, Toast stands out as an exceptionally powerful restaurant POS system.
The pricing for Toast POS is divided into three tiers: starter, essentials, and custom.
As a whole, the platform would work well for all types of restaurants and stands out as one of the best around.
Lightspeed is a unified point of sale and payments platform empowering businesses throughout the world to boost operational efficiency and grow revenue.
The restaurant POS system is aimed at cafes and bars hoping to improve the overall customer experience through fast checkouts and effective table management.
Restaurants can personalise orders through modifiers, boost customer retention through loyalty programs, implement a range of payment integrations, and offer guests table-side ordering through an iPad ePOS.
Unlike many POS systems, Lightspeed does not have its own hardware system. You can either use it with an iPad or buy POS hardware from Veriphone.
They do offer a hardware kit that includes an iPad stand, kitchen printer, receipt printer, and cash drawer, but you’ll need to get the iPad yourself.
The pricing tiers for the Lightspeed restaurant POS system are divided into four tiers: starter, essential, premium and enterprise.
Lightspeed charges 2.6% plus 8 pence for card-present transactions. Keyed transactions are 2.6% plus 24 pence per transaction.
Lightspeed is best for bars, breweries, cafes, hotels, and full-service restaurants. They also cater to a range of different retail options.
NFS Hospitality provides one of the leading EPOS systems for restaurants, Aloha, which helps improve the customer experience, generate revenue and control costs.
The options for hardware include touchscreens, kitchen displays, printers, and mobile tablets. The cloud-based application comes with features for an integrated tab manager, check splitting, tip sharing, customised reporting, analytics, online ordering and labour management. With these features, restaurants can manage operations from anywhere at any time.
The specialised hardware and software are specifically designed to meet the needs of restaurants. The package even includes on-site training and support for those who need it, with a team of professionals available to assist.
The cloud-enabled solutions architecture and programming are consistent across multiple sites, giving restaurant staff the power to operate from multiple locations. While installation and configuration can be a bit cumbersome, the user interface is friendly and easy to use once you’re set up.
The Aloha POS system begins at £137 per month and includes a 7-day per week helpdesk, Aloha Takeout and the Pulse Realtime mobile application.
The NFS Aloha POS system is best suited for restaurants of all types and sizes.
Square provides an all-in-one restaurant POS system that gives you the tools to connect the front and back of house as well as your back office. With dedicated restaurant-specific solutions and a reasonable price tag, it is among the most popular of the POS systems.
Square POS has plenty of advanced features such as floor plan customisation, automatic restock scheduling, menu management, integrated payment solutions, and more. They also have a comprehensive app store with a wide range of useful restaurant-specific add-ons to choose from.
It comes with expansive payment features such as using an iOS camera to identify a customer’s reference ID via QR code or barcode scanning.
The Square Dashboard serves as the online headquarters for your restaurant where you can easily add locations, employees, items, and more.
The POS hardware covers all bases when it comes to taking and processing payments. You can even choose to use your iPad and turn it into the main device for your Square POS system.
The process to get started is easy. You just need to register on the site, receive your Square Reader in the mail, and you’re ready to go.
The platform is incredibly user-friendly and comes with 24/7 support through live chat, the phone, and social media channels.
The pricing of the Square POS system is divided into three tiers, free, plus, and the Square restaurant essentials bundle. Included with every tier are active fraud prevention, end-to-end encrypted payments, account takeover protection, live phone support and dispute management.
Square is best for small to medium-sized restaurants such as coffee shops, bars, pubs, ghost kitchens, and QSRs.
BOSS IT provides a fully integrated AI software system for the hospitality industry. The software lets you integrate your point of sale, online ordering, marketing, staff management, reservations, and loyalty rewards into one streamlined platform.
You can optimise schedules, track inventory levels, and efficiently allocate resources to decrease waste and improve profits.
BOSS IT work with all sectors of the hospitality industry including food trucks, pop-ups, bars, cafes, restaurants, food courts, QSRs, and more. You can select the necessary components that align with your business requirements and scale accordingly.
The feature-rich POS system covers all aspects of the sale process including menu customisation, up-selling functionality, station splitting and more to help you maximise your everyday efficiency.
The software solution is also equipped with an integrated AI component that evolves and enhances its decision-making prowess as you engage and provide more data. The data provided lets you learn about customer behaviour and get actionable insights based on your goals.
For pricing information, clients should request a consultation, as the vendor currently does not have set pricing tiers, and the cost will depend on your needs.
Bars, nightclubs, QSRs, pubs, gastro pubs, coffee shops, food trucks, pop-ups and food courts.
Redcat is a hospitality IT platform that helps restaurant owners and managers manage all aspects of their day-to-day operations through a single system. They provide a POS system known as Polygon.
The Redcat POS is easy to use and comes with a range of restaurant-specific features including robust table and inventory management, powerful back-office reporting, security tracking, employee management and scheduling, payment processing, and more.
The Polygon system is built for flexibility. You can easily manage administration, integrate loyalty coupons, customise your dashboard, and include additional instructions for food and beverage orders.
The Redcat POS system is perfect for restaurants, cafes, franchises and QSRs. There are also fully integrated add-on apps such as Polygon Accounting, Polygon Payroll, Polygon Loyalty, Polygon Payments, Polygon Reports, and selected membership and management systems.
As a whole, the system is powerful, flexible and extremely effective when it comes to improving efficiency, enhancing the customer experience, and ultimately increasing revenue.
For pricing information, clients should request a consultation, as the vendor currently does not have set pricing tiers, and the cost will depend on your needs.
Cafes, restaurants, QSRs and multi-site franchises.
Revel Systems is a point-of-sale and business management platform with intuitive POS software and robust management tools. The goal is to help restaurants and retailers deliver an improved customer experience, diversify revenue streams, and scale businesses with ease. Today, the cloud-based system powers more than 20K locations across top brands.
The features include an always-on mode to keep everything running even when the connection goes down, point-to-point encrypted (P2PE) to uphold security, discount implementation, customisable deployment, and more.
The multifaceted system can be used by all types of restaurants; from food trucks to fine dining experiences. You can tailor the system to suit your specific needs to help you achieve your desired goals.
The suite of solutions ranges from inventory management to employee management. It is complete with real-time monitoring, analytics, kitchen management systems, and reporting features.
Revel runs exclusively on Apple iPads but can be connected to many types of printers, payment devices, and self-service kiosks. You can customise the POS system and add more features and hardware to match your growth as a business.
The Revel Systems pricing begins at £89 per month.
Restaurants of all types and sizes can benefit from Revel Systems.
3S POS provides a highly flexible EPOS system, known for its adaptability in the UK market. Established in 2005, our system has earned the trust of various UK and international brands, including German Doner Kebab, Chaiiwala, EL&N cafe, Pepe’s Piri Piri, Fireaway Pizza, Oodles, Franksters, and many others.
The Point of Sale software is feature-rich and suitable for diverse business applications, catering to independent operators as well as multi-site groups. It can be customized to meet specific business and operational requirements.
Key features include:
3S POS offers businesses the tools they need to streamline operations and stay competitive in today's market.
App4 provides a complete solution for online and in-store ordering, marketing, loyalty, payments and delivery. They build you a customer-friendly, quick and painless ordering system with built-in loyalty and rewards that your customers can use.
The system is perfect for restaurants, bars, cafes, pubs, food outlets, and catering businesses. The service includes a customised website, an iOS and Android app, online and in-store marketing, loyalty program integration, payment processing, full training and ongoing support.
Unlike other restaurant POS systems, App4 design a website and app specifically tailored to your restaurant’s brand and style.
App4 can help you implement a new EPOS system or work with your existing provider. The platform integrates with a wide range of providers, order aggregators, delivery management, and accounting systems to consolidate all your business data in one place.
Additional features include branded mobile apps, self-service kiosks, table management tools, and streamlined ordering processes. As a comprehensive hospitality ordering solution, App4 stands out as one of the best restaurant POS systems in the UK.
The pricing structure for App4 starts at £79 per month with no free trial version available.
Small to medium-sized restaurants, takeaways, cafes, coffee shops, and local food delivery services.
In an era where efficiency and guest experience are paramount in the hospitality industry, me&u emerges as a transformative solution, ingeniously leveraging technology to streamline ordering and payment processes. Catering to a wide array of venues, from bustling food halls to cozy cafes, and even dynamic events and entertainment spaces, me&u offers a suite of products designed to elevate service and enhance operational efficiency. This review explores the innovative features, benefits, and overall impact of integrating me&u into hospitality venues.
Order & Pay through Powerful QR Codes: At the heart of me&u's offering is its QR code-based ordering and payment system. This feature not only minimizes waiting times but also empowers guests to control their dining experience, from browsing the menu to making payments, all from their smartphones.
Crew: The Staff App That Transforms Service: Understanding the importance of staff in creating memorable guest experiences, me&u introduces Crew, an app specifically designed for staff to manage orders and guest interactions efficiently, ensuring that the focus remains on service excellence.
Flex: Seamless Ordering and Split Payments: Flex by me&u addresses the common pain point of split payments in group dining scenarios. Whether ordering through a server or QR code, guests can effortlessly split the bill, enhancing satisfaction and reducing complications for staff.
Food Halls: Unified Ordering from Multiple Vendors: Me&u's innovative approach extends to food halls, where guests can order from multiple vendors in a single transaction. This not only simplifies the ordering process but also encourages guests to explore a variety of offerings without the hassle of multiple transactions.
Venues incorporating me&u have reported significant benefits, including a 30% increase in spend per head, a threefold increase in guest data acquisition, and a 41% uptick in return visits. These figures not only underscore the direct financial benefits of implementing me&u but also highlight the platform's role in enhancing guest loyalty and providing valuable insights into consumer behavior.
Me&u's ecosystem is designed around the concepts of "Serve" and "Grow," emphasizing that superior guest service leads to business growth. The platform's Grow features, including the Connect CRM, are tailored to harness the power of customer data to foster relationships, personalize marketing efforts, and ultimately drive repeat business.
Understanding the diverse needs of the hospitality sector, me&u offers seamless integration with a range of systems and services, including booking, delivery, loyalty, marketing, and WiFi. This ensures that me&u can effortlessly become a part of the venue's existing operational framework, enhancing capabilities without disrupting established processes.
Me&u stands out as a strategic ally for hospitality venues aiming to redefine the guest experience while achieving operational excellence. Its innovative ordering and payment solutions, coupled with powerful backend support and integrations, make it a compelling choice for venues looking to thrive in the competitive hospitality landscape. By prioritizing guest satisfaction and operational efficiency, me&u not only promises to increase revenue and guest retention but also positions itself as a leader in the future of hospitality technology.
EMenu is a powerful hospitality POS system designed to help restaurants increase sales and boost customer loyalty through innovative and exciting technology.
They’re a digital order and mobile POS solution that integrates with your existing system (any device, system and venue) to serve all your hospitality needs. The cost-effective and sustainable software system improves customer convenience and satisfaction, directly impacting sales.
EMenu helps you operate at maximum capacity with fewer staffing dependencies, easily update and switch menus, cut costs on paper menus and printing, and ultimately boost your food and beverage sales.
From effortlessly keeping up with all orders including collections and delivery to focused analytics on customer habits and preferences, EMenu is a superb tool for restaurants of all sizes
EMenu has a flexible pricing structure. Contact the EMen team for a free consultation to discover the best plan for your business.
EMenu is perfect for any hospitality business including restaurants, pubs, cafes, bars, hotels, and more.
Summing up, choosing the right restaurant POS system is of paramount importance. POS systems have a significant impact on the productivity, efficiency and success of a restaurant.
The best restaurant POS systems go beyond just processing orders and payments, but integrate all aspects of your daily operations into one powerful platform.
With a strong POS system in place, you can focus on the customer experience instead of day-to-day administration issues. When you invest in a feature-rich POS system, you’re investing in the future of your restaurant.
Looking to learn more about restaurant POS systems? At Tech on Toast, we have you have you covered. Feel free to reach out or browse through our website.
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