The Best POS System for Restaurants and Bars 2024

• Accepts Diverse Payment Methods: Accept various payment methods, including credit cards, debit cards, and mobile wallets. This flexibility ensures convenience for customers and enables quick and secure payment processing.
• Transparent and Competitive Fees: Square prominently displays its payment processing fees on its website. This transparency means you won’t encounter any hidden costs or surprises.
• In-House Add-Ons and Integrations: You can access in-house add-ons, including restaurant management software for teams and shifts, loyalty programs, and invoicing.
• Payroll Solution Integration: Businesses can seamlessly integrate Square’s payroll solution into their accounts. With pricing comparable to top payroll software, this feature centralizes data and simplifies payroll management.
• User-Friendly Interface: Square’s intuitive interface ensures that restaurant staff won’t need extensive training. Whether handling payments or using advanced features like table management, the user-friendly design enhances efficiency.

Premium: This pricing plan includes four essential software tools for restaurants to operate efficiently. The tools included in the cost are:

• Countertop POS (One included)
• Mobile POS App (unlimited)
• Square Kitchen Display System (unlimited devices)
• Square Kiosk (unlimited)

Square has a transparent pricing structure for its business services, including its POS system. You can use its free plan to test its interface and basic features before committing to a subscription, but we suggest opting for its 30-day free trial for the Premium plan instead, as you’ll get access to its advanced features.

Square’s restaurant POS software would be best suited for small restaurant or bar owners who are just starting out or looking for an affordable and user-friendly solution. It’s particularly well-suited for those who want a comprehensive system with transparent pricing, advanced features like menu customization and staff management tools, and the flexibility to start with a free plan before upgrading to a paid subscription.

• Tableside Ordering System: Enable your staff to take orders and process payments directly at the tables.
• Seat Joining and Splitting: TouchBistro makes it a breeze for staff to join or split seats, items, and bills within seconds.
• Flexible Billing Options: Your waiting staff can easily change the billing options for patrons who share meals, pay separately, or switch tables.
• Intuitive Menu Configuration: With just a few clicks, you can create, configure, and sync your menu and items. Customize background colors for menu items to highlight promotions and upselling opportunities.
• Staff Management: The built-in staff management features let you track employee activity, optimize labor costs, automate payroll, and increase security with individual staff logins across all devices. Alternatives like Square and Epos Now sell these features as add-ons, so this is a big plus for TouchBistro.

TouchBistro has a single restaurant POS system pricing plan that’s rich in features and compatible with numerous third-party and in-house apps. The basic plan costs $69/month; however, its payment processing fees are custom, and you can expect its price to go up if you need additional features, such as a kitchen display system, which costs $19/month, or online ordering, for $50/month – which is something of a drawback if you’re on a tight budget.

For streamlined front-of-house operations:

• Tableside ordering capabilities
• Customer-facing displays
• Payment processing solutions

For optimized back-of-house efficiency:

• Kitchen display system (starting at $19/month)
• Profit management tools (starting at $330/month)

For enhanced guest engagement:

• Online ordering (starting at $50/month)
• Reservations management (starting at $229/month)
• Loyalty programs (starting at $99/month)
• Marketing automation (starting at $99/month)
• Gift card solutions (starting at $25/month)

TouchBistro stands out with its exceptional compatibility with other business services like accounting and inventory management tools, as well as its in-house services such as gift cards and profit management features. This makes it a great choice for restaurants, particularly those looking for a beginner-friendly platform with tailored features and functionality specific to the food and beverage industry.

• Comprehensive Reporting and Analytics: Toast provides robust reporting and analytics capabilities, allowing you to gain deeper insights into your business’s performance and customer behavior.
• Performance Monitoring: Monitor your restaurant’s performance over any period, whether it’s daily, weekly, or monthly to help you pinpoint strengths and weaknesses.
• Labor Cost Tracking: Whether you’re analyzing a single location or viewing data across your entire business, Toast helps you optimize staffing.
• User-Friendly Interface and Real-Time Item Countdowns: The intuitive interface simplifies menu management and helps you prevent the awkward “86″ situation so your servers and your kitchen are in sync.
• Customer Support: Toast excels in customer support, offering responsive assistance 24/7.

Toast offers a comprehensive free plan for startups and two premium plans for small-to-large-sized businesses. It offers lots of flexibility to its customers with its add-ons, making Point of Sale an exceptional plan that you can mix and match with its other features.

It already incorporates most of its add-ons, but restaurant owners looking for advanced team management features should opt for its custom plan.

With its integrated online ordering platform, delivery logistics, and marketing/analytics tools, Toast emerges as a strong option for restaurants and bars looking to establish or enhance their online ordering and delivery sales channels in a streamlined and data-driven manner, especially for multi-location operations or those aiming to scale up delivery in the future.

• Mobile Management: Lavu’s mobile apps allow you to remotely manage your restaurant business, keeping you informed about performance even when you’re on the move.
• Compact iPad POS Devices: In limited space, bulky cash drawers and monitors are impractical, so the iPad solution streamlines operations, making it ideal for mobile setups.
• Efficient Order Taking: Handheld devices empower you to take orders from customers waiting in line, leading to better customer experience.
• Lavu Pay: Lavu integrates in-house payment processing through Lavu Pay which simplifies POS features, ensuring seamless operations even when offline – an essential benefit for food trucks.
• Preauthorized Tabs: If you’re running a bar or a nightclub, you will greatly benefit from the Preauthorized Tabs feature. This essentially lets you collect customer payment information at the start of the night, acting as a safety net against unpaid tabs.

Lavu offers three customizable pricing plans to suit businesses of different sizes. Although each plan includes Lavu Pay, inventory management, reporting, and numerous other capabilities, upgrading to its more expensive plans offers online ordering, gift cards, and other advanced features.

Lavu POS is a great choice for bars or nightclubs that require a customizable, cloud-based POS system. It offers features specifically tailored for them, such as menu management, order and delivery management, inventory tracking, and integration with various third-party apps and payment processors.

• Low Transaction Fees: Clover stands out with some of the lowest transaction fees in the industry, surpassing competitors like Square, Shopify, and Vend.
• App Market Integration: You can enhance Clover’s functionality by integrating third-party apps. Whether you run a fast-food joint or a full-service restaurant, you can customize your Clover experience to suit your specific requirements.
• In-Depth Reports and Analytics: Get access to comprehensive reports and analytics – real-time sales tracking, detailed tax reports, and cost analysis by item, which empower you to make informed business decisions.
• Loyalty Programs and Promotions: Clover offers features like loyalty programs, promotions, and gift cards without additional fees.

Clover prices its services differently for quick-service and full-service restaurants, and the final price depends on the hardware you need.

Clover POS is best suited for small and medium-sized businesses in the restaurant and bar industry thanks to its user-friendly interface and customizable features. Its low transaction fees and robust reporting capabilities make it a good choice for business owners seeking efficient, cost-effective POS solutions.

• Omnichannel Selling: Enables a seamless shopping experience for your customers across various channels – whether in-store, online, or anywhere in between. This flexibility ensures that your brand remains accessible and consistent, regardless of the platform.
• Local Pickup: Efficiently manage and fulfill local pickup orders directly from your POS system. This feature streamlines the process for customers who prefer to collect their orders in person.
• Buy In-Store, Ship to Customer: Imagine making sales in your physical store and shipping products directly to customers from available inventory. Shopify’s integrated system calculates taxes and shipping rates automatically during checkout, making it convenient for both you and your customers.
• Smart Inventory Management: You can create purchase orders for vendors, receive demand forecasting suggestions based on product performance, request inventory transfers, and receive low-stock alerts. This unified view of inventory helps optimize stock levels and reduce errors.
• Detailed Sales Reports: Shopify POS generates daily sales reports with granular information about staff and product performance. These reports empower you to identify bottlenecks, recognize top-performing items, and make informed decisions to enhance your business.

Shopify has a slightly complex pricing structure. It offers two pricing tiers, with Starter or Retail pricing plans costing $5/month and $79/month, respectively, and its omnichannel plans with a separate monthly fee. These plans include Basic, Shopify, and Advanced at $24/month, $69/month, and $299/month, respectively.

Shopify POS is ideal for retailers of all sizes due to its robust features, ease of use, and seamless integration with Shopify’s online store platform. It provides a comprehensive solution for managing sales, inventory, staff, and customer relationships.

• Accounting Integration: Lightspeed integrates with the best restaurant accounting software to prevent data errors with accurate data syncing.
• Inventory Management: Always have the necessary inventory and save time on tedious stock-taking tasks. It allows you to easily import entire product catalogs, add new items, change prices, create product categories, and add multiple product types and categories so you can sell by bottle, keg, and case.
  
• Customizable Menu: Create your menu in minutes, add or remove items at will, add modifiers, or create combos in just a few taps. This makes it possible to easily manage your menu offerings and provide clear information to customers.
• Multiple Location Management: With this feature, you can get all your data for every location you have in your POS so you can see an overview of your entire business.
• Reporting and Analytics: View detailed reports on products, sales, staff performance, end-of-day summaries, and accounting numbers. Access mobile reporting to analyze your business performance on the go.
• Age-Prompt: The system will automatically prompt staff to verify customers’ ages, which is crucial for bars. No other POS system we’ve seen has offered this functionality. Lightspeed will also remind your staff of any ongoing promotions, discounts, and special offers.

Lightspeed offers its cloud-based POS services at an affordable price for small restaurants, cafes, and bars, but it gets expensive for large businesses.

However, opting for one of its more expensive plans means you’ll receive dedicated, one-on-one support and strategic advice tailored to the hospitality industry. Thanks to its 14-day free trial period, you can try Lightspeed risk-free before committing to a subscription.

Lightspeed is an ideal POS solution for cafe owners seeking better insights into server performance and actionable data, thanks to its integrated payment processing, advanced features, and customizable menu options.

• Tab Management: This feature allows customers to move around freely without closing out their tabs. Staff can pre-authorize payments and keep customer notes, resulting in less payment chasing and improved customer experience.
• Mobile POS Compatibility: Staff can take orders on the go using mobile devices, enhancing efficiency and reducing wait times for customers.
• Customizable Menu Design and Restock Alerts: The system allows for customized menu designs, and it provides instant restock alerts for bartenders, ensuring that the bar never runs out of popular products.
• Dynamic Pricing and Happy Hour Discounts: You can implement dynamic pricing strategies, such as offering happy hour discounts on certain products, which can help drive sales during specific periods and enhance customer satisfaction.
• Integration with Business Solutions: Epos integrates with popular business solutions, including the best CRM software, delivery apps, and email marketing platforms.

Epos offers a complete solution for businesses looking for reliable hardware and software. However, Epos doesn’t disclose its software pricing, meaning you’ll need to contact its sales team for a quote.

Epos POS system is an excellent choice for nightclubs and bars as its unparalleled inventory management gives owners full control over stock levels and reduces overpouring by staff.

• Enterprise Scalability: Well-suited for large businesses managing multiple locations.
• Integrated Payment Processing: Revel Systems offers an in-house payment processing solution called Revel Advantage, which seamlessly integrates with its POS software. It also supports integrations with various third-party payment processing providers, allowing your staff to split bills, accept multiple payment types, and ensure secure transactions.
• Reliable Cloud Platform: Trustworthy, secure, and continuously updated for seamless operations.
• Comprehensive Feature Set: Revel Systems offers other features, including inventory management, employee scheduling, reporting and analytics, and more.

Revel Systems doesn’t have a transparent pricing structure on its website, meaning you have to contact the sales team for a quote. However, that’s ideal for larger businesses, as Revel Systems will likely tailor its services to your unique needs.

Revel Systems is an excellent restaurant POS suitable for establishments with multiple locations. It offers a robust, cloud-native platform that can scale seamlessly as your workforce and business operations grow across different sites. 

• Sales Analytics: With Loyverse, you can track your sales trends and compare performance across different time periods. You’ll be able to identify your most popular items, analyze sales by employee, and export detailed reports for in-depth analysis.
• Advanced Inventory Management: Loyverse helps you stay on top of your stock levels with features like low stock notifications and purchase order management. You can easily import items, track stock across multiple locations, and perform inventory counts using barcode scanners or manual entry.
• Multi-Location Support: You can also manage multiple store locations (including employees, customers, sales, and inventory) from a single account, simplifying oversight and making it easier to keep everything running smoothly.

Here’s a breakdown of the monthly and annual prices for Loyverse’s add-ons:

While Loyverse’s addons are paid, you can access the following functionalities for free:

• Loyverse POS — Point of Sale
• Loyverse Dashboard
• Loyverse KDS — Kitchen Display
• Loyverse CDS — Customer Display

Loyverse is great for businesses that need a flexible and affordable POS system. You can start with their free POS system, which is great for basic needs, and then add extra features as your business grows.

Loyverse is best for businesses prioritizing sales and inventory management. It’s ideal for companies who need robust tools to track sales trends, manage stock levels across multiple locations, and generate detailed analytics reports.

Most POS providers offer monthly or annual subscription plans, which can vary based on the number of terminals, users, or locations. There are also fees charged by the payment processor for processing credit and debit card transactions, typically a percentage of the transaction amount plus a flat fee.

Providers usually charge extra for advanced features or integrations, such as loyalty programs, advanced reporting, or inventory management tools.