POS rollout checklist

Whether you're opening a new restaurant or switching systems in an existing one, the order of the work matters more than the speed. This checklist runs from four weeks out to the first weekend. Shorten it for a small café; lengthen it for several locations. If you're replacing an existing system, read switching POS systems first for the data you need to export before you cancel.

Four weeks out: accounts and hardware

1. Sign the agreement only after reading it against the contract checklist.
2. Open your merchant (card processing) account. Approval can take days, and you need it before you can test payments.
3. Order hardware: terminals, handhelds, card readers, kitchen printers or screens, cash drawers. See the hardware guide.
4. Decide who in your team owns the rollout and is the vendor's contact.
5. Ask your processor which PCI self-assessment questionnaire applies to you. The PCI Council suggests merchants "first contact the entity to which the SAQ will be submitted to confirm they are eligible".

Three weeks out: network

1. Check internet speed and reliability at the location.
2. Set up a separate network for the POS, apart from guest Wi-Fi.
3. Run wired connections to fixed terminals and kitchen printers where you can.
4. Set up a backup connection, such as a cellular router, if the vendor supports it.
5. Check Wi-Fi coverage everywhere handhelds will be used: patio, private rooms, the far end of the bar.

Two weeks out: settings and menu

1. Enter the business details, tax rates, tip settings and receipt text.
2. Build the menu: categories first, then items, then modifiers and their prices.
3. Set kitchen routing for every item: which printer or screen it goes to.
4. Set up employees and permissions: who can void, comp, discount and refund.
5. Set up online ordering and delivery-app connections, if you use them.

Work from your printed menu item by item. Modifiers cause most mistakes, so build them carefully: required choices, optional extras, and which ones cost money.

Ten days out: test everything

Ring test orders until every item has been sent to the kitchen at least once. Then test every way money moves:

• Card tapped, dipped and swiped; phone wallet; keyed card.
• Cash with change, and a cash drawer count.
• A split check, a partial refund, a void after payment, and a tip added after authorization.
• A gift card sold and redeemed.
• An online order arriving in the kitchen.
• An internet outage: unplug it and see what keeps working.
• The end-of-day close and the reports it produces.

Check that test transactions are voided or refunded, and that the first real deposit arrives in your bank account as expected.

One week out: train by role

• Servers and cashiers: taking orders with modifiers, splitting checks, payments and tips.
• Bartenders: tabs and pre-authorization, if you use them.
• Kitchen: reading tickets or screens, bumping and recalling.
• Managers: voids, comps, refunds, the cash drawer, the end-of-day close and the reports.

Train on the real menu with role-play orders, not slides. Short sessions per role work better than one long session for everyone.

Two to three days out: soft opening

Run a friends-and-family service or two slower shifts on the new system, with the old one or paper as a backup if you're switching. Keep a list of every problem and fix it before the real opening.

Opening day

• The vendor's support number posted at every terminal.
• A manager free to fix menu and printer problems, not working a station.
• Paper tickets and a manual card process ready as a fallback.
• A quick end-of-day review: what went wrong, what to change tomorrow.

The first weekend

Ask the vendor whether someone can be on call for your first Friday and Saturday nights. Review the first week's reports: voids, comps, items that sold out, and any orders that reached the kitchen late. Most menu and routing fixes happen in the first week.