Must-have restaurant POS features

Feature lists on vendor websites run to hundreds of items. A restaurant uses a fraction of them every day, and a handful decide whether service goes well. This guide separates the core features every restaurant needs from those that depend on how you serve, and explains the two questions people forget to ask: what happens offline, and whether guests can use the screens you put in front of them.

The core six

1. Fast order entry. Your most-ordered items on the first screen, required modifiers that appear right away, and combos that ring in one tap.
2. Kitchen routing. Each item sent to the right printer or screen, with modifiers that print clearly.
3. Every payment type. Tap, chip, swipe, phone wallets, cash, gift cards, split checks and tips.
4. Working through outages. Orders, kitchen tickets and, within limits, card payments when the internet drops.
5. Permissions. Individual logins, and manager approval for voids, refunds and large discounts.
6. End-of-day reports. Sales by category and payment type, tips, voids and comps, and a cash drawer count that balances.

Features that depend on how you serve

Cloud, local or hybrid

Restaurant POS systems are built in three broad ways, and the difference shows up when the internet fails:

• Cloud-based: menus, reports and data live on the vendor's servers. You manage everything from anywhere, and updates arrive automatically. When the connection drops, what keeps working depends on each device's offline mode.
• Local (on-premise): a server in the restaurant runs the system. It keeps working without internet, but remote access, backups and updates are your job.
• Hybrid: devices work against a local copy and sync with the cloud, so service continues offline and the cloud catches up when the connection returns. KwickPOS, which publishes this guide, describes its system this way: "a hybrid cloud + local architecture".

Rather than relying on the label, ask what keeps working during an outage, and test it in the demo by unplugging the internet.

Offline card payments: read the rules

Many systems can take cards offline and send them when the connection returns. Those cards aren't approved until then, and vendors' own documentation is clear about who carries the risk:

• Square: offline payments must be uploaded "within 24 hours (no later than 72 hours)".
• Toast: "You are responsible for any declined, expired, or disputed offline payment transactions."
• Clover: its developer documentation says Clover Mini and Flex "are set to take offline payments for up to 7 days" by default, with limits merchants can set.

Set a per-transaction offline limit you're comfortable losing, and reconnect as soon as you can.

Accessibility of guest-facing screens

Card readers with tip screens, self-order kiosks and tablet menus are used by every guest, including guests who are blind, have low vision or use a wheelchair. There is no current federal rule written specifically for restaurant POS screens or kiosks: the Department of Justice's 2010 proposal on equipment, which named point-of-sale devices, "has been withdrawn," and the U.S. Access Board's 2022 notice on self-service machines, including kiosks, is a proposal, not a final rule. Rules may follow, and every guest should be able to order and pay either way.

Practical questions to ask:

• Can a guest pay without using the touchscreen, for example with a reader that has physical keys or by handing the card to staff?
• Can kiosks be reached from a seated position, and do they offer audio or screen-reader support?
• Is there always a staffed alternative to a kiosk or QR menu?

The kiosk guide goes further.

Allergens and modifiers

Allergy modifiers should print clearly on kitchen tickets and appear on receipts. The FDA's 2022 Food Code, a model code that applies where states and localities adopt it, added written notification of major food allergens in unpackaged foods and named sesame as the ninth major food allergen. Check your state and local health code for what applies to you, and make sure your POS can show allergen information on menus and online ordering pages.

Features worth having, not needing

• Loyalty and gift cards, if repeat visits matter to you. See loyalty and gift cards.
• Inventory tracking by recipe, if food cost is a problem. See inventory and waste.
• Scheduling and payroll inside the POS, if you'd otherwise pay for separate apps. See reporting and labor.

How to use this list

Mark each core feature and each feature for your service style as must-have, nice-to-have or not needed. Any must-have a system fails is a veto, however good the rest is. Then follow the steps in how to choose a restaurant POS.