7 Best iPad Restaurant POS Systems
Are you looking for a restaurant POS system? Instead of the expensive, clunky, and complicated-to-run equipment of yesteryear, all of your restaurant’s Point of Sale needs can be handled with an iPad. Yes, an iPad. And that’s not all. An iPad POS system can be used to manage your entire restaurant, from staffing to stock inventory to delivery driver management.
In this post, we compare the most popular iPad restaurant POS systems to help you identify the right one for your restaurant.
1. Truffle POS (Recommended)
Truffle POS is your one-stop point of sale solution that scales with every size and type of restaurant. Truffle POS is the fastest growing restaurant management platform in North America, and offers the most in-demand and innovative features in its iPad-based software.
Truffle POS is also one of the most flexible and scalable iPad POS systems available on the market. It includes a robust suite of features, including cloud kitchen management, the ability to order online, and self-service table ordering solutions.
Cost:
3 packages, including:
- Appetizer – Starting at $69.99 per month
- Entree – Starting at $149.99 per month
- The Works – Call for pricing
Stand Out Features
- Staff Management
Truffle POS integrates with 7Shifts, which allows you to plan employee schedules for maximum efficiency. Identify your top performers and schedule them for the best, or highest pressure spots. You can also use this feature to track performance and monitor overtime.
- Contactless Food Pick Up
Give your customers the opportunity to pick up their food without contact. With our Contactless Food Pick Up feature, you can offer several contactless options to your customers, including the ability to order food online (through an app). You can also store food in secure warming lockers for pickup. When the customer is ready to pick up their meal, they can unlock the locker without touching it, using a QR code reader. This allows you to keep up with ever-shifting health mandates.
Other features include:
Digital menu boards allow you to update the daily menu quickly and regularly. The ability to issue gift cards gives you another opportunity to market your restaurant and increase revenue and future foot traffic.
Positives of Truffle POS include:
- Delivery mapping
- The ability to process online payments
- Self service table ordering
- Inventory management
2. Touchbistro
TouchBistro is a Toronto-based all-in-one restaurant management system that’s used by 23,000 restaurants worldwide. TouchBistro sells several products, including POS systems, digital menu boards, and kitchen display systems.
Cost
Starting at $69/month for POS software license
(Hardware, online ordering, gift cards, reservations, and other features are extra charges per month, starting at $25)
Stand Out Features
- Menu Engineering
TouchBistro offers full-color photos that helps waiters upsell different menu items when table side. The software offers different suggestions of what to serve. You can also load your menu with promotions, such as daily specials. This way, your wait staff can depend on the menu instead of their memory to recommend the right item.
Also, menu engineering means that you can delete items you’re running low on.
- Table Side Ordering
Give your customers the option to order on a device from their table, instead of waiting for staff to take their order. This makes the process quicker and more accurate.
- Bar Features
Use TouchBistro to run tabs for your customers. You can also transfer a tab to a table ticket or combine several tabs into one.
Other features include:
- The ability to process payments in-house through TouchBistro payments (You can also process through Square, PayPal, Worldplay, and more)
- The ability to print or email receipts to your customers
Positives of TouchBistro include:
- Affordability
- Easy to use interface
- Detailed retail features
- No long term contracts
Downsides of TouchBistro include:
- Limited integrations
- The inability to process credit card payments offline
- Sluggish customer service
- The online ordering feature costs more
3. Lightspeed
Lightspeed is an all-in-one cloud-based POS solution. In addition to POS systems, Lightspeed is also an eCommerce software provider. It offers services to support restaurant, retail, and hospitality businesses.
Cost
3 packages:
- Lean – Starting at $69 per month
- Standard – Starting at $119 per month
- Advanced – Starting at $199 per month
- Enterprise – Custom pricing (Hardware starting at $59 for one register)
Stand Out Features
- Contactless Ordering and Payments
Welcome your customers back while offering safe, contactless ways to interact. With contactless ordering and payments, your staff doesn’t need to physically handle credit card payments from customers.
- Transparent Checkout
Customers can check out through your branded iPad. Your checkout display can show menu images, item price, tax, and order total.
Other features include:
- Personalized customer profiles
- End of day reports that include detailed analytics
Positives of Lightspeed include:
- 24/7 support over phone and chat
- 14 day free trial
- Multi-store support
- Offline mode
Downsides of Lightspeed include:
- Limited amount of payment processors
- May experience downtown or service outages
- The interface is complicated
- Expensive
4. Revel
Revel Systems is a pioneer in the iPad POS market, and was one of the first to create a tablet-based point of sale system. Revel is a cloud-based software that’s used by over 20,000 businesses, including restaurants and retail.
Cost
Starting at $99 per month per terminal
(Onboarding fee starts at $674)
Stand Out Features
- Inventory Management
You can see what’s in stock and what needs to be ordered at a glance. This POS allows you to catalog every ingredient and add brand names, images, and prices. With Revel POS, you can track inventory qualities so that you’re always informed of what’s happening in the kitchen.
- Restaurant Floor Plan
Create and make adjustments to your floor plan to enable social distancing. You can also use this feature to accommodate special requests and to better serve your customers.
Other features include:
- The ability to save customer preferences for future orders
- Automatic menu suggestions that prompt the server to recommend different add-ons
Positives of Revel include:
- A floor plan of your restaurant that can be easily and quickly modified
- Self-service kiosk
- Customer relationship management software included
- Offline mode
Downsides of Revel include:
- Expensive
- Complicated interface
- Has an onboarding fee
- Lengthy contract
5. Upserve
In late 2020, Upserve was acquired by Lightspeed. However, Upserve is considered an affiliate and offers its own POS solution. Upserve is a restaurant management software for both quick service and full service restaurants. In addition to Point of Sale terminals, Upserve also offers a full suite of hardware, including tableside, printers, and kitchen display systems.
Cost
3 packages:
- Core – Starting at $59 per month
- Pro – Starting at $199 per month
- Pro Plus – Starting at $359 per month (Upserve POS terminal also required, starting at $40 per terminal)
Stand Out Features
- Menu Intelligence
Upserve POS allows you to track what ingredients you have in stock and what you’re out of. This allows you to quickly remove menu items that you’re unable to prepare with ingredients on hand. You can also use the “best selling” feature to suggest the top menu items to your customers. Also, Menu Intelligence lets you identify which dishes aren’t doing well, which can help you decide what to axe.
- Report cards
Upserve issues report cards for each server so that you can track your waiters’ activity on the floor, including comps, discounts, and voids. Use this feature to spot training opportunities.
Other features include:
- A live mobile app that lets you manage your restaurant remotely, including tracking labor costs, sales, and spotting opportunities to increase revenue
- Online ordering through a custom website that you can launch within 48 hours after signing up
Positives of Upserve POS include:
- Detailed reports
- The ability to create promo codes
- Customer rewards and loyalty
- Custom email and SMS notifications for customers
Downsides of Upserve POS include:
- Expensive
- Buggy
6. Square for Restaurants
Square for Restaurants is a cloud-based POS solution from the makers of Square, Inc., the merchant services and mobile payment platform. Square for Restaurants provides an all-in-one restaurant POS software that runs on the iPad. It is good for smaller restaurants with simple, one-page menus.
Cost
3 packages:
- Free – Unlimited devices and locations
- Plus – Starting at $60 per month
- Premium – Get a custom quote
Stand Out Features
- Easy to Create Restaurant Website
Set up a restaurant website in under an hour and start taking orders immediately. To make setting up your website even quicker, you can import menu items directly from your POS.
- Hardware for Every Restaurant Type
Whether you have a quick service, fast casual, or ghost kitchen, Square offers a range of hardware to meet every need.
- Contactless Payments
Using the contactless Square Stand (available on a premium plan), you are able to accept contactless payments. This allows you to turn your iPad into a payment portal.
Other features include:
- Order staggering allows you to limit how many orders you can receive in a specific time period
- Can automatically eliminate menu items when ingredients go out of stock
Positives of Square for Restaurants include:
- The ability to offer eGift cards
- Hundreds of integrations available
- Basic plan is free (you pay for payment processing)
- Easy to use
Downsides of Square for Restaurants include:
- Not as feature-rich as other POS systems on this list
- Loyalty program is extra
- Holds funds
- Must upgrade to receive premium 24/7 customer service
7. Lavu
Founded in 2010, Lavu is a cloud-based restaurant management system that was one of the first to develop a POS solution for iPad. Lavu serves a variety of restaurant types, from bars to pizzerias.
Cost
Starting at $69 per month
Stand Out Features
- Real-Time Reports
Get instant reports on labor and inventory to help you manage your schedule in real time. Find out on the fly if you need to add more staff or cut them early.
- Free Software Updates
Rest assured that your software is always up to date without being required to pay more.
Other features include:
- The ability to split complicated checks
- You can customize your menu and layout completely
Positives of Lavu include:
- Contactless payments
- Table mapping
- Affordable
- Menu has upsell suggestions
Downsides of Lavu include:
- Not intuitive
- Complicated UX
- Buggy
- Limited integrations
- Lack of third party integrations
Talech offers a lot of features but it doesn’t offer as many integrations as other options on this list.
What's the right POS system for your restaurant?
Now that we’ve looked at the top iPad restaurant POS systems, which one is right for you?
We may be partial, but we sincerely believe that our service, Truffle POS, offers the best range of features for restaurants of every size and budget.
But don’t just take our word on it. Here’s what a few of our customers think of Truffle POS:
“Truffle’s support and product are incredible, a very good support team. Very intuitive back end and ease of use.”
“It’s been incredible working with Truffle. We have moved a tremendous amount of business from 3rd party apps to the Truffle online ordering platform, increasing our sales by 20% and profit margins by 15%. The icing on the cake is Truffle’s amazing tech support.”
–Matt Phillips, CEO, Northern Chicken
“I would highly recommend Truffle POS to other Restaurateurs, They truly take a partnership approach and deliver the best service which allows us to deliver a unique customer experience.”
–David O., CEO, Mikado Restaurant
If affordability, ease-of-use, and functionality are important to you, Truffle POS is the clear winner. Truffle POS contains all of the in-demand features that restaurants need in a POS system. Truffle POS has helped restaurants just like yours increase sales and profit margins within just a few weeks of use. From product to support, Truffle POS is an amazing solution for restaurant management.
See the Truffle POS difference for yourself. Click here to schedule your 30 minute demo now.