The Complete Guide to Restaurant POS System Cost, Features & FAQs

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What is a Point of Sale System?

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The software and technology that restaurant owners employ to run their business is known as a restaurant POS system. The majority of POS systems in restaurants are cloud-based, which means that the data is stored on a secure internet server. This, in turn, means you can use any device with an internet connection to access and manage your restaurant, whether it's a PC, tablet, or smartphone.

Your POS system's offline mode allows you to continue working even if your internet is down. In essence, a POS system allows you to operate from anywhere, regardless of whether or not you have access to the internet.

A restaurant employee can enter a customer's order into a POS system, and the information is promptly sent to the kitchen. Modern restaurant POS systems are capable of much more than just accepting orders. Restaurant POS systems are now used by a wide range of venues, from food trucks to fast food outlets and fine dining establishments.

Benefits of a POS System

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The benefits of a POS system are many and we've listed them here.

Easy to use
Restaurant Point of Sale system software has an easy design that makes it simple for employees to learn. This reduces training time and allows employees to be more productive overall.

Speed
A modern restaurant POS makes it easier to process transactions. With a mobile POS system, one cashier can work through a long queue to accept advance orders so that the kitchen can get started, while the other cashier takes payments.

Accuracy
POS system eliminates many human communication problems between wait staff and kitchen or bar staff.

Automation
Your POS will be able to notify when you run out of ingredients or when supplies need to be restocked. Some point of sale systems can even place orders for you.

Identify best-selling items
The POS system will give you a report of your best-selling items. This will guide your menu and inventory planning and promotions.

Inventory management
It will provide you with real time inventory information, from the raw materials available in your warehouse, to the amount of each item used on a given day across outlets. This will ensure better Order Management.

Fast checkout process
Diners will be able to use their credit cards and other payment methods during checkout. This will quicken the checkout process. Customers' payment preferences will be stored within the cloud, and prompted on their next visit for a better customer experience.

Theft control
By tracking what is ordered and paid for, the POS system will alert you to potential theft.

Better customer service
A POS System cuts down on manual work, saving employees time and resulting in improved customer service and better profit margins.

There are so many different POS systems to choose from. How do you know which one is best for your needs?

This blog breaks down the cost and features of the best 3 systems so you can make an informed decision about which one is best for your needs.

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How Much Do POS Systems Cost?

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A POS system comes at a price. In general, systems with more features will cost more. POS software can cost between $35 and $160 per month, while POS hardware is often a one-time payment and start at $450, depending on your business needs.

POS hardware costsHardware is the physical component of a POS system. A credit card processing device comes with a mobile POS. However, for other devices, you will have to purchase a credit card reader, cash drawer, and receipt printer separately. There are also all-in-one POS hardware options available. These can cost anywhere between $3,000 to $5,000. Additional receipt printers can cost $200 to $400. Kitchen printers can go up to $380, while cash drawers start from $73. Networking costs start at $270.

POS software costs
There are two types of software- cloud based and legacy systems. A cloud based system stores your restaurant data on remote servers with a live internet connection. You can access this information anywhere, on any device with an internet connection. Prices begin at around $40 per month per device. You can even avail of it at a discounted yearly cost.

Legacy systems are traditional POS systems that store data on your restaurant's server. You can access data remotely only by using third party software. The price of this may vary, depending on the provider.

Additional features for a Hotel Restaurant
Online ordering integration- Around $30 per month
Accounting integration- Around $30 per month
Loyalty program integration- Around $20 per month

POS Features to Consider for Mid-size and Small Businesses

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Simple user interface
It improves customer service. With a simple and easy to use interface, your employees will be able to learn the system faster, which will save you time and money.

Flexible payment
Always look for a system that provides several service providers for credit card processing.

Loyalty cards
Your POS system must be able to accept loyalty and discount cards as well as sell them.

Online ordering
It must allow you to accept orders online. This will boost your sales and scale your revenue.

Kitchen displays
This feature ensures that orders are delivered correctly the first time, reducing waste and reducing dissatisfaction among kitchen personnel, waitstaff, and customers.

Inventory management
Any restaurant POS system should incorporate inventory management features to avoid excessive costs and running out of supplies.

Employee management
You must be able to add new employees, set wages, and grant them leave so they can execute the jobs you've assigned them.

Employee scheduling
This feature allows you to keep a tab of who is working on which day. You can also schedule staff as per their convenience and your requirements.

Time clock
You can monitor your staff's clock in and clock out timings.

Analytics
The POS system draws up reports on sales, profits and losses on a daily, weekly and monthly basis.

Customer Support
A dedicated support team is a must to ensure good Customer Support at all times.

How Much Should You Spend on a POS System?

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Choose a system that will provide the most value to your restaurant. It will be worthwhile if the software, support, and services prove to be an investment, rather than an additional business expense.

You can shell out upto $2,000 on hardware, software and installation charges. Depending on the size of your business, revenue stream, and additional features you desire, you could end up paying roughly $1,000 each year for your POS system.

You know that you need a POS system, but which one? How much should it cost? What features should it have?

The Complete Guide to POS System Cost, Features & FAQs is here to help. We break down the different types of systems, their cost, and the features they offer so that you can make an informed decision about what’s best for your business.

Download now!

Top 3 Restaurant POS Systems with Reviews

These are the top 3 Restaurant Pos Systems of 2022-

Plum POS
Plum POS is a cloud-based point-of-sale system that allows you to keep all your restaurant data in one place. It is available on the restaurant app store, Hubworks.com. Plum POS sports a feature called Any Connector that allows restaurant owners to connect with kiosks, digital signs, and portable POS devices. It includes a predefined menu for a variety of restaurant types, allowing you to quickly set up your POS system yourself. In case they have trouble setting up, new customers can contact Plum POS's 24/7 customer support service for help.

Square
It includes robust menu management capabilities, including customized layouts and item grouping, to easily identify top-selling items. Furthermore, third-party systems for employee time monitoring and customer reservations can be integrated with this software. Square's excellent order management technology lets you handle all of your orders from a single interface.

TouchBristo
TouchBistro offers a variety of apps to meet the demands of various restaurant formats. This system allows wait staff to send orders directly to the kitchen via kitchen printers and display units. Its menu management feature allows you to design, update, and publish custom menus to the POS software, as well as add and delete menu items. It also sends low inventory alerts and provides robust table-side order management features.

POS System FAQs

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Q. What are the benefits of upgrading my point-of-sale hardware?
A. Modernizing your POS hardware can improve your customer experience. It easily integrates your online and offline businesses and identifies inefficiencies in your business processes. While the POS hardware you employ may not appear to have a significant impact on your customers, it does. A contemporary system allows your customers more payment options, including those that are contactless.

Q. Would the terminal be able to process a sale if the server went down?
A. Even if the server is down, POS software with an offline mode will continue to work. Data from offline transactions is transferred to the RAM and is transferred back when the connection is re-established.

Q. Is it possible to move data from an existing Pos System to a new POS software system?
A. Before you investing a new POS system, Make Sure your present program can export customer and inventory details to the new system. Do this by checking with your POS vendor.

Trying to figure out how much you should spend on a POS system?

The Complete Guide to POS Systems Cost and Features breaks down the cost and features of various systems so you can make an informed decision.

Download now!

Frequently Asked Questions

When you're buying your first business, you're naturally going to have questions, and one of them will probably be about how much it will cost to get set up. There's no right or wrong answer, so it's best to figure out which system is the cheapest option before spending money on anything else. That being said, there are a few things you have to consider before making a decision. For example, even though Square Register POS systems are generally one of the most affordable options, they're only designed for small businesses. When you're buying your first business, you're naturally going to have questions, and one of them will probably be about how much it will cost to get set up. There's no right or wrong answer, so it's best to figure out which system is the cheapest option before spending money on anything else. That being said, there are a few things you have to consider before making a decision. For example, even though Square Register POS systems are generally one of the most affordable options, they're only designed for small businesses.
Small businesses with less than 10 employees can get away with a simple cash register or a check-out counter for processing transactions. But for businesses that process a lot of transactions daily, a POS system becomes the only solution to reduce the time spent on transactions and to make it more efficient. A POS system can help small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) to manage their inventory, sell goods and services, and record sales transactions. It can also help in automating repetitive processes like self-service check-out, inventory management and sales taxes. A POS system can be as cheap as $100 or as expensive as $100,000. It all depends on what you are willing to invest in the system, how much you will use the system, and how many functions you want the system to include. Small businesses with less than 10 employees can get away with a simple cash register or a check-out counter for processing transactions. But for businesses that process a lot of transactions daily, a POS system becomes the only solution to reduce the time spent on transactions and to make it more efficient. A POS system can help small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) to manage their inventory, sell goods and services, and record sales transactions. It can also help in automating repetitive processes like self-service check-out, inventory management and sales taxes. A POS system can be as cheap as $100 or as expensive as $100,000. It all depends on what you are willing to invest in the system, how much you will use the system, and how many functions you want the system to include.