Best POS System for Restaurants

Best POS ordnungsprinzip for RestaurantsWhile restaurant point-of-sale ordnungsprinzips share many features with their retail counterparts such as inventory tracking, reporting and customer management there are several restaurant-specific tools that can help you run your geschftliches miteinander more efficiently, such as table management, order modifiers and bill splitting. Depending on which font of restaurant you have, you may need your POS to have additional capabilities, such as managing reservations, bar tabs and delivery orders. Our 2018 research and analysis of POS ordnungsprinzips leads us to again recommend TouchBistro as the best POS ordnungsprinzip for restaurants.We chose TouchBistro from the dozens of POS systems we considered. To read our full methodology and landlandsee a more comprehensive list of POS systems, visit our best picks page here.Why TouchBistro?TouchBistro is our pick for the best POS system for restaurants because it has a strong mix of restaurant-spec ific features that help you manage inventory, orders, tables, reservations, catering and delivery, making it a good choice for nearly every type and size of establishment. It also has the other qualities we look for in a top POS system. Its competitively priced, month-to-month terms are available, and its compatible with multiple payment processors and third-party POS hardware, so you can shop around for the best prices.Editors note Looking for information on POS systems? Use the questionnaire below, and our vendor partners will contact you to provide you with the information you needCompetitive Pricing and TermsTouchBistros pricing is competitive. It has four plans available for its software, based on the number of iPads you intend to use with the system, and you can view rates (based on annual billing) and plan details on the companys website. Month-to-month plans are also available.All plans include the full selection of features, all updates, cloud reporting and support for an u nlimited number of users. Custom quotes are available, and the company offers a free trial so you can test-drive the system before subscribing.Solo $69 per month. Supports one iPad.Dual $129 per month. Supports two iPads.Team $249 per month. Supports up to five iPads.Unlimited $399 per month. Supports an unlimited number of iPads.TouchBistros loyalty program costs extra, and there are three plans to choose from. You can view pricing for this vorkaufsrecht on the companys website. All plans let you collect customer contact information, offer branded gift and loyalty cards, track points, and offer rewards.TouchBistro Loyalty Starting at $49 per month. This plan supports a single reward, such as discounts.TouchBistro Loyalty Plus Starting at $99 per month. This plan supports multiple rewards, and it includes targeted email and text marketing.TouchBistro Loyalty Premium Starting at $189 per month. In addition to Plus features, it comes with a white-label app that you can customize with your branding.The company posts its terms of service on its website, and you should read it before subscribing, as you would with any POS system. Youre not required to sign a lengthy contract to use TouchBistro, but if you subscribe to an annual plan and decide to cancel your account, prepaid fees are nonrefundable, so youll likely want to wait until the end of term to cancel to avoid losing money. Youll also need to submit a written cancellation notice 60 days before the term ends so it doesnt automatically renew.Choice of Integrated Credit Card ProcessorTouchBistro now has its own credit card processing service through a partnership with WePay called TouchBistro Payments. However, you can also choose to work with one of several other payment processing companies when you use this system, including Chase, PayPal, Square, TSYS (Cayan) and Worldpay (Vantiv). This is an important consideration, as it allows you to look for the best rates and terms, or may allow you to continue working with your current processor.POS Hardware CompatibilityTouchBistro works with the iPad, iPad Pro and iPad Mini. Your servers can use them to take orders and accept payments tableside or to attend to customers waiting in line, or you can attach them to stands to tischset up checkout stations. You can add extra iPads to your system to use as displays and kiosks, though there is an extra cost for this.Self-ordering kiosk Priced as an additional license. This allows customers to distributions-mix their own orders and pay with a credit or debit card using the same device.Customer-facing display Pricing varies, depending on your plan. Customer-facing checkout services show your customers the menu items, modifiers and prices of their orders as you enter them into the POS system, so they can verify that theyre correct.Kitchen display system Pricing varies, depending on your plan. It works with the kitchen printer to help kitchen staff manage orders and cooking times so they can run the kitc hen more efficiently.TouchBistro isnt a purely web-based system its a hybrid solution, so even if youre using a single iPad, you need an AirPort Extreme router to get started, and if youre using multiple iPads, you need a Mac Mini or iMac to use as a server. The locally installed network ensures that theres no disruption to your system if your netz connection goes down, which is advantageous for businesses in areas with spotty internet service. Because the system stores your data in the cloud, you can access reporting tools when youre away from your business using any device with a browser, as you would with other cloud-based restaurant POS systems.You can also add cash drawers, receipt and kitchen printers, and barcode scanners to your TouchBistro POS system. The company doesnt sell POS hardware, but it posts a list of recommended models on its website that you can consult to see if you can continue using what you already own, or shop around if you need to purchase new POS equipme nt.Ease of UseBecause TouchBistro is a hybrid system and you must install a router, and in some cases set up a Mac to use as a server, the setup is more involved than it is for some of its cloud-based competitors. However, the setup guides on the companys support page are very detailed and have step-by-step instructions with photos. The companys support team is available 24/7 to help you remotely if you want onsite installation assistance, TouchBistro has a partnership with Boomtown, so you can hire someone to set the system up for you.Once the system is set up, TouchBistro is easy to use and has an intuitive layout. When you log in, you see the floor plan screen, with buttons at the top for the menu, orders, register, reservations and options, and a button at the bottom of the screen for switching users. The tables are color-coded, so you can see which tables are open or reserved, and which seated tables are assigned to each server. Servers simply tap on a table to assign it to a g roup of customers, select party size and begin taking orders.What Are the Key Features of Restaurant POS Systems?When youre shopping for a POS system for your restaurant, you want to look for back-office functions that help you track your inventory, understand your customers and manage your employees. You want to be able to generate reports that help you use your abverkauf data to make better business decisions, and if you use other business applications, you want to be able to sync your data to save you the time of manually exporting and importing it. Finally, you want to make sure your POS system wont go down every time your internet connection drops. Heres how TouchBistro measures up for each of these feature sets.Inventory ManagementTouchBistro has automatedinventory tracking that works on an ingredient level and low-stock alerts to help you avoid running out of the supplies, including those you use to make menu items from scratch. It has cost-tracking tools that show your profi t margin on menu items to help you set menu prices. It doesnt manage vendors and purchase ordering, though.Customer ManagementThis restaurant POS system comes with a customer database that you can use to create accounts for your most frequent customers and catering clients. Here, you can see purchase histories, account balances, and add notes about customer preferences or allergies.Employee ManagementTouchBistro has role-based user permissions and allows you to create roles such as server, manager and chef so you can decide which tasks and information each can access. Your employees can clock in and out using the systems built-in timeclock, and when you add the pay rate for each employee or role, you can run labor reports. In-app messaging allows you to communicate with your staff, and your staff to communicate with you and other employees for example, if a server needs someone to cover or switch a shift.Reporting ToolsTouchBistro comes with more than 50 reports that help you ana lyze how your business is performing, with specialized reports on sales data and customer habits. It shows your best sellers and top servers, helping you identify trends to better strategize your menu. With its cloud-based reporting, you can access your sales data remotely using any device with a browser. This gives you the ability to keep tabs on your restaurant even when youre at home, on the road or on vacation.Third-Party IntegrationsOnly a few integrations are available, but there are options for accounting, bar inventory, scheduling and analytics. Only select partners can access TouchBistros API.Offline ModeAs mentioned above, TouchBistro is a hybrid POS system that uses a local router or server, so you can continue working without interruption if your internet connection is lost.TouchBistros Standout FeaturesTouchBistro is specifically designed for restaurants, and the company says it has more than 200 features. Whether you run a fine-dining restaurant, casual eatery, cafe, f ood truck, pub or any other type of restaurant, TouchBistro has the features you need. Heres a sampling of TouchBistros restaurant management features.Table and Bar ManagementYou can customize the floor plan to match your restaurants layout, and TouchBistros tables and seats tools make it easy to reserve tables, take and distribute orders, and even transfer items from one table or seat to another. This POS system also manages tabs, which is particularly helpful in a bar or pub setting.Modify and Customize OrdersTouchBistros intuitive interface makes it easy to add forced and nach wunsch modifiers to the system. Your servers can add customers special requests to menu items as custom modifiers as well. Whether you need to know how a customer wants their steak, substitute vegetables for potatoes or otherwise customize an order, TouchBistro accommodates it easily. The Modifier Report keeps a record of custom orders, so you can identify popular options and adjust the menu to cater to you r customers preferences.Automatic Discounts for EventsThis capability becomes very helpful during happy hour, promo days and other special events. Instead of servers manually inputting discounts, you can set up the system to automatically apply preset discounts based on time, day and other variables. Items automatically return to their regular pricing once the event is over.Bill SplittingSplitting the bill among large parties can be a real pain for servers. TouchBistro helps them save time and their sanity by making it easy to split entire bills by seat or combine and split different parts of the bill. It takes just a few taps to split drinks, appetizers and individual orders.Catering and Delivery SupportYou can accept deposits for large orders placed for future dates, whether youre hosting or catering a special event. The system applies the deposit to the bill, so when its time for your customer to pay, theyre charged the correct amount.You can also use the system to accept orders for delivery and takeout. When you enter the delivery address, TouchBistro displays the delivery route on a map and allows you to add notes to the driver.Customer SupportTouchBistro provides 24/7 customer support by phone and email with every plan at no extra cost. When we contacted the company, posing as a potential client, the representatives we spoke with were friendly and knowledgeable.TouchBistro has resources on its website to help you solve issues on your own, including video tutorials, step-by-step guides and a searchable knowledgebase. If youre interested in learning about TouchBistros latest updates and new features, you can check out the companys blog. You can also read articles that address the challenges of running a restaurant in the Restaurant Success Library.LimitationsTouchBistro is our pick for the best restaurant POS system, but there are a couple of issues to consider as you evaluate the system.The system relies on an Apple-based infrastructure. In addition to an iPad, youll need an AirPort Extreme router to get the system up and running. If you use more than one iPad, youll also need a Mac computer such as a Mac Mini, iMac or iMac Pro to use as a server. This is fine if youre already an Apple user, but if youre looking for an Android- or Windows-friendly POS system, TouchBistro isnt for you. Also, the AirPort Extreme router that you need for the system has recently been discontinued, though its still supported by TouchBistro and Apple.Unlike most services we reviewed, TouchBistro is not a cloud-based POS system. Rather, its a hybrid solution that has cloud-based reporting but runs on a local network, which is why you need the router and server. If the internet connection in your area is unreliable or slow, this may be a good option for you, since the systems functionality is dependent on the device and local network, not the internet. However, if you prefer a cloud-based POS system that you can access and change in real time from anywhere at any time with an internet connection, you may want to consider other options.Ready to choose a POS system? Heres a breakdown of our complete coverageHow to Accept Credit Cards Online, In-Store or AnywhereBest POS Systems for 2018Best All-in-One POS System for Small geschftliches miteinanderBest Mobile POS System for iPadBest POS System for RetailEditors note Looking for information on POS systems? Use the questionnaire below, and our vendor partners will contact you to provide you with the information you need Lori Fairbanks Lori Fairbanks has years of experience writing and editing for both print and online publications. After graduating from Brigham Young University with a Bachelor of Arts in English, she worked as a magazine editor and then as a freelance writer and editor for a variety of companies, including marketing firms and a medical university. She now writes for busine ss.com and Business News Daily about financial systems and services for small businesses, such as accounting software, credit card processing and point-of-sale systems. Start Your Business Business Ideas Business Plans Startup Basics Startup Funding Franchising Success Stories Entrepreneurs Grow Your Business Sales absatzwirtschaft Finances Your Team Technology Social Media Security Build Your Career Get the Job Get Ahead Office Life Work-Life Balance Home Office Lead Your Team Leadership Women in Business Managing Strategy Personal Growth Find A Solution HR Solutions Financial Solutions Marketing Solutions Security Solutions Retail Solutions SMB Solutions About Us Contact Us freund with Us Copyright Policy Terms of Use Privacy Policy Do Not Sell My Personal Information Advertising Disclosure Sitemap 200 Fifth Avenue, Second FloorWaltham, MA 02451infobusinessnewsdaily.com Copyright document.write(new Date().getFullYear()) All Rights Reserved. Company About Us Contact Us Partner wi th Us Copyright Policy Terms of Use Privacy Policy Do Not Sell My Personal Information Advertising Disclosure Sitemap Network Business.com BuyerZone.com