This article was originally published on 03/10/2019.
Restaurant point of sale (POS) systems can help businesses focus on different essential activities involved in running a restaurant. In this article, we have curated a list of the three best POS systems having a minimum of 4/5 star user rating listed on Capterra Australia.
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Operating a restaurant may involve many tasks such as inventory management, sales analytics, and table management, and it’s not just daily operations that need to be considered. Managing a variety of business aspects across multiple applications might be a bit challenging. However, point of sale (POS) systems can help restaurant owners streamline their overall business operations from a centralised place.
What is a point of sale (POS) system and why do restaurants need it?
‘POS’ is an acronym for ‘point of sale’, which refers to the point at which a retail transaction is carried out. POS software are typically tools that process the payment made by a customer to a merchant. However, POS platforms are not just for retailers.
Restaurants can also implement POS systems to manage daily activities such as online food ordering, bookkeeping, and table management. Considering the number of cash and card transactions that potentially pass through a restaurant daily, a POS system could be helpful.
In this article, we have given a list of the best three POS software having top average overall ratings. The tools have been selected based on factors such as software having user ratings above 4/5 stars and more than 20 user reviews over the past two years. The full methodology for selecting the tools can be found at the end of this article. The tools listed below are arranged in alphabetical order.
1.
- Ease of use- 4.7/5
- Customer service- 4.6/5
- Features- 4.4/5
- Value for money- 4.5/5
CAKE POS is a tool that offers different solutions for restaurant management. From waitlist management and mobile marketing to online ordering and payment processing, this tool can help restaurant owners potentially grow their business. The tool lets users accept contactless payment options —such as Apple Pay or Google Pay— making it convenient for customers to pay. This software offers the ‘curbside management’ feature with customised two-way texts, meaning retailers could allow customers to place an online order for pick-up at a local store. The tool also lets customers make reservations online and queue up virtually for in-person visits.
Additionally, CAKE POS allows users to send automated texts and call customers once their table is ready to minimise potential no-shows. The tool also helps in delivery management by enabling customers to place online orders with contactless delivery options. Other helpful features of the tool include table management, inventory management, split checks —meaning dividing a bill for payment via different options, which could be between customers or payment methods— and managing tips for the restaurant workers. With the help of this software, users can also access dynamic reports containing weekly sales data, wages, employee hours, and more. The tool’s hardware package typically comes with one POS terminal, one payment cube, one thermal printer, and one cash drawer. Additional details on the subscription plans can be found on their website.
2.
- Ease of use- 4.4/5
- Customer service- 4.0/5
- Features- 4.4/5
- Value for money- 4.3/5
GoFrugal is POS software that helps users in restaurant management by providing features such as online ordering, delivery management, inventory management, order tracking, and table management. The platform allows users to get visual access to table availability, steward availability, bills due, and kitchen order tickets (KOTs) from one centralised dashboard. The software also allows users to get reports on the best-selling and non-moving dishes using the kitchen order tracking feature. Restaurants can also manage online food orders, change menus and prices, and offer promotional discounts at their convenience using this software.
Moreover, with the help of the tool’s dashboard, users can view the table summary, meaning being able to view which table is occupied and which table is available at a given time. They can also pinpoint which steward serves which particular tables and the total number of guests in the restaurant during the day. In addition, the software allows users to create ‘recipe repositories’ by mapping relevant ingredients in different units of measurement (UOM). For instance, while baking a cookie, the tool could let users store accurate measurements of every ingredient used in the making and create a repository to maintain consistent taste. In addition, the tool also helps users manage tips and split checks. Additional details on the different plans offered by GoFrugal are available on their website.
3.
- Ease of use- 4.6/5
- Customer service- 4.7/5
- Features- 4.6/5
- Value for money- 4.6/5
SpotOn’s restaurant POS system can help users manage online ordering, digital reservations, waitlisting, and more via the tool’s dashboard. The tool offers ‘Doordash’ —a delivery application— as the in-built delivery partner that can help deliver all the online orders. Users can also access a restaurant’s sales data with the help of analytical reports generated by this tool. The software generates a QR code for ordering and payment purposes. Customers can scan the QR code at the table and then order and make payments without needing a physical menu or credit or debit card.
Moreover, the tool offers other helpful features such as automated SMS confirmations, two-way table-ready messaging, menu management, delivery management, check splitting, and table management. The software also enables users to accept e-gift cards as a form of payment. In addition, the tool provides the ‘built-in item customisation’ feature, which helps users select specific add-ons and choose the best-paired suggested item that could go well with the pre-selected food dish. For example, while placing an order for a burger, the tool can potentially automatically suggest a soft drink or some other food item that would go well with the burger.
Additionally, the software’s multi-vendor support feature can help customers view menus from multiple vendors on a single website. For more details on the added features and different subscription plans, visit their website.
Methodology
To be considered for this article, the software had to meet the market definition of restaurant POS software and the minimum average overall rating of more than 4/5 stars. For the list given above, the following factors were considered:
- All three tools justify Capterra’s market definition of restaurant POS systems: restaurant POS software offer point of sale solutions specifically for the restaurant and bar industries. These type of software provide ordering, billing, reporting, accounting, table tracking, and receipt printing capabilities for restaurants and bars. Hardware such as computers, monitors, and printers are often included in the purchase of POS systems.
- The software listed above have the following core features: order management and separate checks.
- They have average overall ratings above 4/5 stars.
- Have more than 20 user reviews over the past two years (15 July 2020 to 15 July 2022).
- From our resultant list, we then selected the top three tools having the highest average overall ratings as compared to other products.
- These tools also have the highest ratings regarding the following four features —customer support, ease of use, value for money, and functionality.
