5 Best iPad Restaurant POS Systems | Compare Top Software

5 Best iPad Restaurant POS Systems

Investing in the best iPad restaurant POS system will make management more convenient, enhance customer service, and boost profitability. In addition to helping you stand out from the competition, the right restaurant technology will better your overall bottom line.

The right iPad POS solution will streamline scheduling, and staffing, track employee performance, activity, and generate real-time reports as well as accept multiple payment types securely. This will not only simplify accounting, and reporting, it will also allow for faster ordering, and billing.

In order to solve such challenges in your business, you need to choose the right system. In this regard, you need to consider such POS aspects as online, and tableside ordering, payment processing, CRM, mobile POS, reporting and employee management.

If you are currently shopping for one, here are reviews of the top five iPad restaurant POS solutions you should consider.

1. Best iPad Restaurant POS System Overall: Lightspeed Retail

As far as restaurant functionality is concerned, Lightspeed is one of the leading POS solutions in the hospitality industry.

The system basically boasts of a unique blend of industry-specific capabilities, a professional, and sleek user interface, in-depth restaurant reporting, and intricate staff management. Timed events is a feature that is unique to this system. There are other features and capabilities you will come to like about the Lightspeed restaurant POS system, which we’ll discuss here.

Inventory Management

Managing your stock is the first step in creating a great experience. See what you have and what you need to never disappoint customers

Convenient Management

Without the right software in place, managing the inventory, employees, menu and customers in your business can be a daunting task. Although some of the day-to-day management tasks can be cumbersome and time-consuming, this solution is specifically designed to make them appear simpler.

With Lightspeed POS system, you do not have to be present in your business location for things to run effectively. The inventory manager on this system, for example, allows you to create a restaurant menu, edit, add or remove items with ease. The system allows you to use a photo and add descriptions alongside each menu item.

As far as employee management is concerned, Lightspeed allows you to create staff profiles for the various employees in the restaurant. By so doing, you can effectively limit employee access to the system for enhanced accountability. This is achieved by assigning the employees different access levels based on their roles in the business.

Real-time Access to Bar Data

Being one of the best cloud-based POS solutions for restaurants, this system offers you convenient access to accurate and real-time business data wherever you are. For example, you may use the system to access inventory, bar menu, reports, and employee information on the cloud whenever you need to.

You will also love the fact that the system supports multiple locations. This being the case, you can access business data on each of your business locations from a single cloud-based platform. Such a system will come in handy whenever you need to transfer stock from one location to another

Lightspeed Restaurant POS Downsides

The system cannot process payments when in its offline mode. As such internet outages will definitely disrupt operations in your restaurant.

2. The Best Restaurant Management iPad POS System: TouchBistro

Preparing food is a time-consuming process in any restaurant. As such, you cannot afford to waste any more of your customers’ time.

Handwritten orders tend to waste a considerable amount if time for the customers and servers alike. To curb this time wastage and boost customer service, you need to get a system that streamlines communication throughout the restaurant.

In addition to connecting front-of-house and back-of-house, TouchBistro has a horde of convenience features to offer, including:

Menu Management

Create a captivating restaurant menu, add, organize and clone items on the menu through a simple, and intuitive user interface. With the TouchBistro restaurant POS system, you will also be able to allow for custom menu modifiers on the spot. This will help the servers respond to customer queries with ease.

Additionally, the system is packed with a myriad of capabilities for a unique ordering, reporting, and prep experience. With such m nu management tools, you will be able to merchandise your menu items using full-color pictures. This has been proven to boost sales in restaurants.

Again, the solution makes it possible for you to automatically schedule promotions, and menus in your restaurant. This will, in turn speed up training for your employees and be in a better position to offer an improved guest experience.

Flexible Payment Processing

Although all restaurants are similar to each other in various ways, your payment processing needs are just as unique as your business model. This is why this provider offers several integrated and stand-alone payment processing options for restaurants.

In addition to the flexibility of choosing the payment processor you prefer; this system offers your customers the flexibility of paying using various methods.

Some of the impressive capabilities restaurant owners love about the TouchBistro payment processing include:

Customization

With this system, ringing up sales will be faster, accurate and flexible. In this regard, the provider offers you several flexibility tools at the register.

To begin with, the payment processor will allow you to split checks, and even accept payments by evenly, all-in-one or by seat. The system also features tip guides and branding tools to help you customize receipts.

With this processor, you will also be able to accept multiple payment tenders for a single check. You can as well adjust taxes, and gratuity in your business to be applied automatically at the checkout. In addition to accepting conventional payment options, this system also supports digital wallet payments.

Functionality

TouchBistro allows to send your customers digital receipts, hence save on paper. You will also be able to accept gifts cards as a form of payment in your business.

For enhanced convenience, this processor allows you to swipe in order to create customer tabs. Finally, the system features Offline Payments, to hell process payments in your business when the internet is down.

Floor Plan and Table Management

To is actually one of the restaurant-specific capabilities that make TouchBistro stand out from other hospitality POS systems.  This feature equips your business with the tools you need to lay out the overall restaurant floor plan, move parties around the establishment, and take orders by table.

The system makes it easier and more convenient for you to manage multiple floors and sections in the business simultaneously.

TouchBistro POS System Downsides

With this provider, you will be required to incur additional costs to get loyalty capabilities. Even so, the provider is known to offer a sketchy customer support.

3. All-in-One Restaurant iPad POS System: Upserve

Managing the various aspects of your restaurant is now possible with the Upserve all-in-one management platform.

With this system implemented in your business, you will have access to affordable payment processing, valuable insights, and point of sale tools. Over the years, such capabilities of the system have been proven to boost margins as well as save time, and money in restaurants.

Other capabilities that make Upserve one of the best iPad POS systems for restaurants include:

Menu Management

To begin with, this solution features an intuitive user interface. It is also equipped with an assortment of tools to make restaurant menu management fast and easy. Some of the Upserve menu management capabilities you will find beneficial include:

  • Menu Search – The servers may use this to look for menu items or even categories. By allowing them to fire orders right away, it will save the business a considerable amount of time.
  • Menu Intelligence -This feature allows you to understand how the menu in your restaurant resonates with the customers.
  • Pre-Authorize Tab – Having to close a long list of tabs at the last minute is both time-consuming and inconveniencing for the customers and business. Rather than having to swipe cards at the end of every business day, this tool allows the staff to drop signature slips. This will, in turn, result in faster closeouts and happier customers.

Easier and Smoother Shifting

In order to streamline operations and boost efficiency in your business, you need to ensure that the employees are performing to their level best. To make this easier for the staff in your restaurant, you need optimize employing scheduling and shifting. In this regard, Upserve offers you the insights and took you need.

Upserve POS System Downsides

As compared to some of the leading iPad restaurant POS systems, Upserve is known to experience outages more frequently.

4. The Affordable iPad Restaurant POS System: Toast

Though designed to streamline operations in your business, some POS systems may actually hold you back.

If you are looking forward to reaching your full potential, you should implement Toast restaurant POS system for enhanced user experience. Here are some of the aspects you will come to like about this restaurant cloud POS:

Pre-Authorization

Saving time and making payments more convenient for the customers will boost customer experience. This is what the pre-authorization feature on Toast is designed to help you achieve. In its functioning, the system will verify and then save card information securely.

As such, the server only has to swipe and save. As far as security is concerned, the system is designed to prevent fraud due to stolen or fake cards. The solution will also ensure that you do not have any unpaid tabs at the end of the night.

Toast Go

Although the restaurant POS software by the provider is meant to run on almost any iOS device, you should consider getting the Toast Go mobile solution. In addition to enhanced mobility, this solution will boost efficiency, customer experience and generate more revenue for your business.

Toast Go is basically a fully-integrated hand-held POS solution for restaurants that has interesting features to offer the business. The device is lightweight, and pocket friendly with an estimated battery life of 14 hours.

With this solution, the servers can accept tableside orders, and fire them directly to the KDS. You will also like the fact that this device is splash and drop resistant. The device is also capable of processing tableside payments and sending feedback alerts in real time

Toast POS System Downsides

With this system, you need to pay additional money to get extra capabilities by the provider. Additionally, the POS system is tied to Toast payment processor.

5. Most Customizable System: Revel Systems

Get your business a POS system that is easy to customize to its specific needs and is scalable to accommodate restaurants of different sizes.

In addition to these, the Revel restaurant POS system features multiple industry-specific capabilities for effective management, easier transactions as well as for attracting and retaining customers.

Some of the unique features of the Revel restaurant software include:

Kitchen Management

The back-of-house part of your business is a busy one. Even so, it needs to be managed more effectively to prevent errors and reduce wait times. Revel Systems is packed with an array of took to improve kitchen efficiency and ensure that everything is running as it should.

To allow for seamless communication, this system allows you to connect the restaurant kitchen directly to the POS system. By connecting the Revel kitchen display system (KDS) to the POS system will allow for swift communication between front-of-house and the kitchen.

Additionally, the system allows the servers to fire orders directly from the tableside to the KDS. Again, the system will also offer you valuable insights on how you can improve kitchen operations in the restaurant.

POS Security

To begin with the restaurant iPad POS solution by this provider is PCI-compliant. The cloud-based mobile solution essentially offers point-to-point Encrypted (P2PE) security for payments. Again, user access to the system is keenly monitored to the possible attacks. For enhanced accountability, the solution allows you to restrict employee access to the system.

Revel POS System Downsides

Setting the system up is relatively complex, you may need to deal with occasional software glitches.

While there are several things that you will need for smooth operations in a restaurant, few are as critical as a point of sale system.

Like a central nervous system is to the human body, a POS system coordinates the various aspects of the business for streamlined operations, enhanced efficiency and profitability.

However, you need to ensure that you have chosen the right system from the hundreds of POS solutions in the market. Basically, the right solution should simplify communications, scheduling, and staffing as well as track employee activity.

While shopping for the best solution for your business you have to settle for the one that has restaurant-specific capabilities.

While choosing that right iPad-based POS system for your restaurant, here area a couple of things you should consider:

Real-time Kitchen Connectivity and Communication

The right POS system for your business is one that allows for Swift and accurate communication between front-of-house and back-of-house and back-of-house.

In this regard, the system should allow the servers to accept orders at the tableside, preferably using an iPad and fire them directly to the kitchen display system in real time.

This will make ordering fast and more convenient for your customers. Additionally, it will reduce waiting time for enhanced customer satisfaction in the business. When the servers enter the order details into the POS interface at the table, the kitchen staff will get precise and accurate instructions without confusions commonly associated with handwritten orders.

Menu Management

As you may have noticed, most of the leading iPad POS solutions support self-ordering solutions like Kiosks or iPads placed at the table.

In such a case, you need to build a restaurant menu that is relatively easy for the customers. This is why you need to ensure that your preferred POS solution allows you to tailor the menu to your specific requirements.

In addition to enhanced flexibility, the system should feature the menu modifiers you need to craft an outstanding menu. Most restaurant iPad POS systems will also allow you to determine the best-selling products, and inventory levels right from the menu.

The menu on the POS system should also help you ascertain the specials and seasonal items that resonate with your customers. Such a menu should also allow the servers to find items easily while ringing up sales.

In this case, you should consider such capabilities as menu customization, templates, and menu search. With such features, you can easily edit the menu, automatically fire items, and even build courses.

Reduced Employee Turnover

Effective turnover management in your business will cut costs and maximize both personnel and inventory resources. This is now possible and automated in most if the leading iPad POS solutions for restaurants in the industry.

As such, you need to choose a system that has built-in features to help you keep a close eye on inventory and labor costs. Such a system will help you understand which servers are moving the most products or making the most money for the restaurant.

You may use this information to influence your staffing decisions for enhanced efficiency. For instance, you will b able to optimize the floor layout and decide which staff members should handle the various tables, based on their performance.

Enhanced Customer Experience

Just like the other service-based businesses, increased customer loyalty in your business will increase revenue. In order to make customers want to come back your restaurant over and over again, you just have to offer them the best level of service in the hospitality industry. The right restaurant iPad POS system will help you achieve this.

Do you want to split a check between different people, add a tip to an EMV payment or just want to close a tab? Whatever it is that your guests need, your preferred system should make it easy and convenient. For enhanced guest experience, here are some of the POS features you should consider:

  • Online Ordering – about 6 percent of restaurant customers prefer ordering online. Make it more convenient for such customers to order meals from your restaurant by integrating online ordering into the POS system.
  • Guest Breakdown – your system should be able to categorize guests to your business as either new or repeat guests. This will help you understand whether you need to bring in new guests or just drive up check average.
  • Tableside Service – Most of the leading restaurants have implemented mobile POS solutions in their businesses. If you haven’t, it is the high time you implemented the right mobile iPad-based POS system in your business. This will allow you to offer tableside services like ordering, and payment processing for enhanced customer experience.

Cloud-Based

Embrace the convenience, affordability and ease-of-use of a cloud-based POS system by investing in the best iPad-based system. As opposed to legacy systems, cloud-based solutions sync data, updates, activities and settings over the cloud.

This allows for access to the system through an array of devices and from anywhere. The fact that such systems run on portable devices like iPads allow for enhanced mobility.

Secondly, cloud-based POS solutions run on devices your are already familiar with. As such, the system will be easier to implement and use with minimal or no training at all. Finally, you will be able to access business data and settings remotely over the cloud.

Your choice of the right POS solution can actually affect efficiency, profitability and customer service in your business. As you have learned throughout this guide, this choice should rest upon such considerations as reduced turnover, and improved customer experience.

The five systems reviewed above are some of the best POS solutions for restaurants. The five options have all the industry-specific capabilities you need. However, none of the system is designed like the other. This guide will make your choice of the best iPad restaurant POS system easier.

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