Practical answers to the questions restaurant owners ask about point-of-sale systems and technology, from what a POS does and what it costs to processing fees, online ordering, and third-party delivery apps. This is general educational information, not legal, tax, or financial advice; always confirm pricing and contract terms directly with each vendor.
POS stands for point of sale, the system where staff ring up orders, send tickets to the kitchen, take payments, and record every transaction. Modern restaurant POS platforms combine a touchscreen terminal, payment processing, menu programming, and reporting in one place. Beyond checkout, most now handle online orders, table management, and staff logins, which makes the POS the operational hub of the business.
A restaurant point-of-sale system is the hardware and software used to take orders, process payments, and track sales. A typical setup includes a terminal or tablet, a cash drawer, a receipt printer, and often a kitchen printer or display. The software manages your menu, applies taxes and discounts, splits checks, and produces sales reports. If you are comparing options, our guide to choosing a restaurant POS walks through the decision.
Almost all do. A POS is not legally required, and a tiny operation could technically use a basic card reader and manual tickets, but nearly every restaurant relies on a POS to process cards, route kitchen orders, track sales, and stay organized during a rush. It also simplifies bookkeeping, tax reporting, and theft prevention. As you plan the business, see our guide to opening a restaurant for where the POS fits.
A server or cashier enters items on a touchscreen, which builds a check and sends order details to the kitchen printer or display. When it is time to pay, the POS calculates tax, applies any discount, and processes the card through an integrated payment processor. Every sale is logged into reports on sales, items, labor, and taxes. Cloud systems sync this data across devices in real time; compare them in our POS buying guide.
There is no single best system; the right choice depends on your service style, budget, and needed features. Widely used options include Toast, Square for Restaurants, Clover, TouchBistro, Lightspeed, and SpotOn. Full-service restaurants often favor Toast or TouchBistro, while cafes and quick-service spots lean toward Square or Clover. Compare processing fees, hardware costs, and contract terms before committing. See our POS buying guide for a full comparison framework.
Common restaurant POS platforms include Toast, Square, Clover, TouchBistro, Lightspeed, SpotOn, and Revel. Toast and Square are especially popular with independents because of their all-in-one hardware and transparent pricing. Larger chains often run enterprise systems like Oracle Micros or NCR Aloha. The mix keeps shifting as cloud-based providers add features, so focus less on popularity and more on which system fits your menu and workflow.
Large chains like Pizza Hut typically run proprietary or heavily customized enterprise POS systems rather than the off-the-shelf products independents buy. Historically many pizza chains have used systems such as Oracle Micros or purpose-built in-house software tied to their online ordering and delivery. Specific setups vary by franchise and change over time, so treat any single answer as approximate. For your own restaurant, an independent-focused platform is a better fit.
Toast runs on Android-based touchscreen terminals and handhelds. You program your menu, modifiers, and prices in the back-end dashboard, then staff tap items to build checks, fire orders to the kitchen, and take payment. Managers use the same dashboard for reporting, labor, and online-ordering settings. Toast provides onboarding and training, and its help center covers day-to-day tasks. Expect a learning curve of a shift or two for new staff.
No. Restaurant365 is restaurant accounting, inventory, and back-office management software, not a point-of-sale system. It integrates with POS platforms like Toast and Square to pull in sales data, then handles bookkeeping, scheduling, and food-cost tracking. You still need a separate POS to take orders and payments. Think of Restaurant365 as the financial and operations layer that sits behind your POS rather than a replacement for it.
For nearly all operators, no. Building custom POS software is expensive, slow, and hard to maintain, and it means handling payment security and PCI compliance yourself. Established platforms already offer reliable hardware, payment processing, and support for a monthly fee. Building your own only makes sense for very large or unusual operations with dedicated technical teams. Most owners are better served choosing an existing system that fits their needs.
Look for menu and modifier management, check splitting, table and course management, integrated payments, and detailed sales and labor reporting. Useful add-ons include online ordering, delivery-app integration, gift cards, loyalty, inventory tracking, and employee scheduling. Reliability and offline mode matter too, since a crash during service is costly. Prioritize the features your service style actually needs rather than paying for a long list you will never use.
Many do, at least partially. Cloud-based systems like Toast and Square can keep taking orders and, in some cases, cache card payments during an internet outage, then sync once the connection returns. Offline capability varies by provider and plan, and some functions like real-time reporting or online orders pause until you reconnect. Always confirm exactly what works offline before buying, and keep a backup connection such as a cellular hotspot.
Costs vary widely. Software subscriptions commonly run about $60 to $200 per terminal per month, and hardware for a single station often falls between $600 and $1,500, with full multi-terminal setups costing several thousand. Some providers offer low or free upfront hardware in exchange for using their payment processing. Factor in processing fees, add-on modules, and support. If cash flow is tight, review restaurant financing options.
Processing fees typically run about 2 to 3.5 percent of each card transaction, plus a small per-transaction fee of roughly 10 to 30 cents. The exact rate depends on the card type, your pricing model, and your processor. Some POS companies bundle a flat rate, while others pass through interchange costs. Over a year these fees add up significantly, so compare them carefully when choosing a system.
Flat-rate pricing charges one simple percentage on every card sale, which is predictable but often more expensive at higher volumes. Interchange-plus adds a fixed markup on top of the card networks' wholesale rates, so your cost varies by card type but is usually cheaper and more transparent for busy restaurants. High-volume operators often save with interchange-plus, while small or new restaurants may prefer flat-rate simplicity. Ask any processor to explain their model.
Sometimes, but not always. Some POS platforms are open and let you choose a third-party processor, while others, including Toast and Square, lock you into their in-house processing. Bundled processing can be convenient but may cost more, so read the contract carefully. If keeping processing flexible matters to you, prioritize a processor-agnostic POS. Otherwise weigh the all-in-one convenience against the higher fees you may pay.
A basic station usually includes a touchscreen terminal or tablet, a card reader, a cash drawer, and a receipt printer. Most kitchens add a kitchen printer or a kitchen display system to route orders. Busier restaurants add handheld devices for tableside ordering, extra terminals, and a router with reliable internet. Buy only what your floor plan requires, and confirm hardware works with the software from our POS buying guide.
Legacy or on-premise systems store data on a local server in the restaurant and often require higher upfront costs and manual updates. Cloud-based systems store data online, update automatically, and let you view reports from anywhere, usually for a monthly fee. Cloud systems dominate new installations because of lower upfront cost and remote access, though they depend on internet connectivity. Most independents today choose cloud-based platforms.
The simplest route is to enable the online-ordering module built into your POS, which keeps menus and orders in one system and avoids extra commissions. You can also use a dedicated ordering platform or add an order-online button to your website and Google Business Profile. Third-party apps like DoorDash and Uber Eats reach more customers but charge commissions. For more common questions, browse our restaurant answers library.
For most restaurants, using your POS's built-in ordering or an established platform is faster, cheaper, and more reliable than building from scratch. These tools handle payments, menu updates, and mobile design for a modest fee or commission. Building a custom system only pays off at large scale with technical staff. Keeping ordering tied to your POS also avoids re-keying orders and reduces mistakes during service.
With third-party delivery, apps like DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub list your menu, take customer orders, and dispatch their own drivers. Orders arrive through a tablet or your POS integration, your kitchen prepares the food, and the driver picks it up. The app charges a commission, often 15 to 30 percent per order, in exchange for reach and logistics. You control menu, pricing, and hours within the app.
Third-party delivery apps are companies that connect diners with restaurants and handle the delivery for a fee. The largest in the U.S. are DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. They provide the customer app, payment handling, and drivers, so restaurants gain exposure without hiring their own delivery staff. In exchange they take a commission on each order and own the customer relationship, which is the main trade-off for operators.
Yes. Both DoorDash and Uber Eats are third-party delivery services, meaning they are separate companies that take orders and deliver food on behalf of restaurants. Grubhub, Postmates, and regional apps work the same way. They differ in market share, commission structure, and available marketing tools, so many restaurants list on more than one. Compare their fees and reach in your area before signing up.
Commissions commonly range from about 15 to 30 percent of each order, with the higher tiers including more marketing and delivery services. Some apps offer lower-commission pickup or marketplace plans, and some cities have capped fees at certain times. Because these commissions cut deeply into thin margins, some restaurants raise delivery menu prices or steer customers toward their own ordering. Read each contract and run the math on your margins.
It depends on your volume and margins. Third-party apps bring reach and drivers without hiring, but their commissions can erase profit on each order. In-house delivery keeps more revenue and the customer relationship but requires drivers, insurance, and dispatching. Many restaurants use apps to build awareness while steering repeat customers to their own online ordering. Test both, track the true cost per order, and adjust.
Yes, most modern POS platforms offer integrations that push third-party orders straight into your system and kitchen, so staff do not re-enter them on a separate tablet. This reduces errors, keeps menus in sync, and consolidates reporting. Integration may require a middleware service or an added fee depending on your setup. Confirm which delivery apps your POS system supports before committing to either one.
A kitchen display system is a screen that replaces paper tickets, showing incoming orders directly to cooks. Orders route automatically from the POS and delivery apps, and cooks bump items as they finish. A KDS can improve ticket times, reduce lost or misread tickets, and track how long orders take. It is an add-on to most POS systems and is popular in high-volume and quick-service kitchens where speed matters.
QR-code ordering lets guests scan a code at the table to view the menu, order, and pay from their phones without waiting for a server. It gained popularity for reducing contact and freeing up staff, and many POS systems now offer it. It can speed table turns and lift average checks, but some guests still prefer traditional service. Offer it as an option rather than the only way to order.
Most modern systems include sales reporting by default and offer inventory tracking as a built-in feature or paid add-on. Reporting covers sales, top items, labor, taxes, and trends, which helps with ordering and pricing. Inventory tools can deduct ingredients as items sell and flag low stock, though they require accurate setup to stay useful. For deeper accounting, many owners pair the POS with dedicated back-office software.
Start with your service style and must-have features, then compare the total cost of software, hardware, and processing fees, not just the sticker price. Check contract length, offline capability, support quality, and integrations with delivery and accounting tools. Ask for a demo and talk to other operators using the system. Our guide to choosing a restaurant POS lays out the full comparison step by step.