Restaurant POS

Introduction

The till is where a restaurant takes orders, splits bills, sends tickets to the kitchen and takes payment. This category covers the software that does those jobs and records every sale for reporting. Some products run in the cloud on iPads or Android tablets, some run on a computer in the building, and a few are a licence you buy once. All 265 profiled products mention hardware, whether their own terminals or ones you supply. Many add table plans, kitchen screens, stock control and staff tools on top. The problem it solves is a single accurate record of what was sold, by whom and when, in place of paper tickets and end-of-night guesswork.

Who needs it

Table-service restaurants, bars, cafes and takeaways that handle more than a few orders a day. It becomes worth having when paper tickets cause mistakes, when you open a second site and need sales in one place, or when you want stock, staff hours and takings to agree. Chains need central menu control, while a single site can start with something lighter. Receipt and tax rules differ by country, so check yours first.

Written 30 September 2026