A good bar point-of-sale (POS) system streamlines your bar operation by accepting popular payment types, automatically applying happy hour pricing, and tracking your liquor inventory in real time. The best bar POS systems easily ring happy hour specials and include speed screens for quick ordering, alongside handheld ordering and payment devices for table service. You don’t need to invest a lot to get a good POS system; the tools on this list range from $0 to $119 per month.
Based on our evaluations, the best bar POS systems are:
- Toast: Best overall bar POS
- Upserve by Lightspeed: Best for craft cocktail bars and upscale lounges
- Revel Systems: Best for high-volume bars and nightclubs
- Harbortouch: Best for bars on a budget
- Lightspeed: Best for hotel bars
- TouchBistro: Best for wine and beer bars
- Square for Restaurants: Best for bars switching from cash-only operations
Can you run a bar without a POS? With the increasing popularity of EMV chip cards and mobile wallet payments, it’s becoming near impossible to do so. Keeping up with customer demand for contactless payments and speedy service is much easier with a POS. Plus, a POS with inventory tracking can help you overcome one of the biggest challenges of bar ownership— employee theft—which can save you money in the long run.
Top Bar POS Systems Compared
Monthly software fee | $0–$272 | $59–$359, plus $40–$60 per terminal | $99 per terminal | From $39 | From $59 | From $69 | $0–$60 |
Installation fee | $0–$250 | Custom Quoted | $674 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Hardware costs | $0–$799+ | $220–$1,350 | Custom Quoted | Provided free with one-year service agreement | Custom Quoted | Custom Quoted | $169–$1,818 |
Available Payment Processors | Toast Payments | Upserve Payments | Revel Advantage, First Data, Heartland, TSYS, TriPOS, Worldpay, Chase Paymentech, Elavon | Shift4 Payments | Lightspeed Payments, Dejavoo by Worldpay, Cayan, Bridgepay | TouchBistro Payments, TSYS, Square | Square |
Processing rates | From 2.49% + $0.15 | Custom Quoted | Varies by processor | From 1.39% + $0.20 | Varies by processor | Varies by processor | From 2.6% + $0.10 |
Hardware | Proprietary Toast terminals | iPads or proprietary Upserve terminals | Revel-configured iPads | Proprietary Harbortouch terminals | iPads | TouchBistro configured iPads | iPads and iOS devices |
If you’re not sure which bar POS would best suit your needs, continue reading below for a more in-depth review of each system that we recommend. Or, you can start your search with this quick quiz below. It is only four questions, takes less than a minute, and will provide a result without redirecting you to another page.
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How We Evaluated Bar POS Systems
We compared a dozen of the most popular POS systems based on what’s important to bar owners, including ease of use, niche bar functions, general POS functionality, and price. We also considered our retail and restaurant experts’ personal evaluations of each software.
Based on the above criteria, Toast is the overall best bar POS system. The software received the highest overall score according to our grading system for bar POS software (4.41 out of 5). Based on our personal experience testing different POS software, Toast is also one of the top software we would personally recommend to the bar owners we have worked with.
Click through the tabs below for our in-depth evaluation criteria:
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Finally, we considered any standout features of each system and whether the software and hardware options offer a good overall value for the price. We also judged each system’s popularity among bar owners and awarded points based on our personal experience interacting with the software and the company’s customer support.
Toast: Best Overall Bar POS System
Toast
What We Like
- Cost-effective for small bars
- Dynamic handheld Toast Go 2 terminals support busy bars
- Extensive inventory tools automate manager tasks
- Insightful tools support employee management and team communication
What's Missing
- Locked into Toast’s payment processing
- Requires proprietary hardware
- Two-year service contract
Toast Pricing
- Software subscription fee:
- Starter $0 (up to two terminals),
- Essentials $165 (includes online ordering and delivery),
- Growth $272 (includes gift cards, marketing and loyalty)
- Hardware costs: $0–$799+
- One-time installation fees: $0 for self-install, $250 for remote guided installation assistance, custom-quote for onsite installation assistance
- Processing fees:
- 2.49% + $0.15 for in-person transactions for Starter users who purchase hardware upfront
- 2.99% + $0.15 for in-person transactions (for Starter subscribers on a pay-as-you-go hardware plan)
Toast is a cloud-based POS system designed for the bar and restaurant industry. This POS powerhouse frequently tops our list of best restaurant POS systems. Pricing for Toast’s entry-level Starter plan starts at $0 per month for up to two terminals, making this system as affordable as competitor Square for Restaurants. Toast, however, offers more robust features for the price, like flexible tab management with payment pre-authorization settings and in-app team messaging. If your bar needs more expansive tools, Toast also offers user-friendly inventory with vendor management and industry-grade handheld Toast Go 2 tablets.
Toast earned a score of 4.41 on our bar POS ranking. It earned a perfect 5 out of 5 for niche bar features like credit card pre-authorization, cash management, and bar-supporting software integrations (as did second-place ranked, Upserve). Toast also earned a perfect score for ease of use (as did Upserve, Revel Systems, and Harbortouch), and our experts rated it as the best value for money.
Toast operates on industry-grade hardware that you must purchase through Toast. (Image from Toast)
Toast's Toast Go 2 handheld devices are ideal for processing tableside orders and payments in busy bars. (Image from Toast)
You can create time-locked menus—Happy Hour promotions—with a few clicks in the Toast manager dashboard. (Image from Toast)
With Toast, bartenders can open bar tabs with a credit card swipe and pre-authorize the card for later payment. (Image from Toast)
Toast's text alert feature allows bartenders to hail a manager directly from the POS screen. (Image from Toast)
Toast's new integrated xtraChef inventory tools allow you to scan invoices with a smartphone. (Image from xtraChef)
Toast Standout Features
Toast offers its POS software at three subscription tiers: Starter, Essentials, and Growth. Pricing for the Starter package starts at $0 per month for up to two terminals. Essentials, which includes online ordering tools, is $165. The Growth package, which adds marketing and loyalty software, is $272 per month. The higher-level subscription tiers put Toast pricing in line with competitors like Upserve and Revel.
Toast POS operates on Toast’s IP54 spill-proof rated Toast Flex tablets and mobile devices. Toast is a deeply networked system, with terminals communicating through a local network that is backed up by the cloud; giving the system robust offline functionality. Most users can install the Starter Kit hardware using Toast’s simple instructions, but systems with multiple terminals may require on-site installation assistance, costing from $250–$499+. If your bar is large, this can make Toast a higher upfront investment than Square or Harbortouch. But Toast offers in-house financing to spread the payments over the length of your service contract.
Toast’s standout features include:
- Free Starter POS: Starter subscribers can get a hardware Starter Kit consisting of a Toast Flex terminal, cash drawer, card reader, and receipt printer for $0 upfront. The fees for the hardware are rolled into a slightly higher payment processing rate of 2.99% + $0.15 per in-person transaction. Starter subscribers who prefer to pay for hardware upfront can get the Starter Kit hardware for $799.
- Toast Go 2 Handheld Terminals: Toast’s handheld POS terminal, the Toast Go 2, is a spill-proof and drop-tested device that can fit into a bartender’s or cocktail server’s apron pocket. Busy sports bars and cocktail lounges that offer table service can use the Toast Go 2 to process orders and card or mobile wallet payments.
- Inventory tracking with xtraChef: In June 2021, Toast purchased the restaurant inventory app xtraChef. Toast already offered very sturdy ingredient-level inventory management software, but this new partnership makes Toast’s inventory the strongest available in a cloud POS. Users can scan invoices on their smartphones, then use automated tools to store the data and apply general ledger codes. The system applies price changes in real time, so your cost of goods sold (COGS) is always accurate. Your team can quickly perform physical counts from iOS or Android smartphone apps.
- Employee management: Toast’s integrated Payroll and Team Management function (available at a custom-quoted price) allows you to complete new hire paperwork digitally, create schedules based on staff availability, and ensure compliance with local labor laws. The system also simplifies payroll and end-of-year tax reporting and includes robust labor cost reporting and budgeting tools.
- Manager Alert Messaging: This unique feature allows you to create custom message alerts that your team can use in the Toast POS app. If, for example, a bartender needs manager assistance to get through a business rush or handle a customer complaint, they can send an alert through the POS, which sends a detailed text to the manager’s cellphone. You can create custom alerts for common issues or use templated alerts from the Toast app.
- Marketing Tools: Like Square, Revel, and Upserve, Toast automatically generates customer profiles from credit card payments. The system also collects email addresses to send digital receipts, which you can use to send email promotions directly from the Toast management dashboard. This comes in handy if your bar regularly hosts live music, theme nights, or drink specials.
- Bar integrations: Toast features a host of third-party integrations so bars can customize the POS to meet their needs. If you want more bar-centric inventory, you can add Bevspot. Breweries can track keg usage with BrewLogix and offer self-serve pours via Pour My Beer. For added security, bars can add the Solink integration that syncs security cameras with your POS data to identify customer issues or employee theft easily.
Upserve by Lightspeed: Best for Upscale Cocktail Bars and Lounges
Upserve by Lightspeed
What We Like
- Baseline system includes marketing and staff scheduling software
- Workforce management tools save money by preventing early clock-ins
- Built-in reputation management alerts you to negative online reviews
What's Missing
- Pricey
- Payment processing, installation, and hardware prices all require custom quotes
- Locked into Upserve Payments
Upserve by Lightspeed Pricing
- Monthly Software subscription fee:
- Core – $59 plus $60 per terminal
- Pro – $199 plus $50 per terminal
- Pro Plus – $359 plus $40 per terminal
- Hardware costs: $219.99 for an iPad stand (iPad not included), $499 for Tableside Mobile POS, $1,350 for a preconfigured Upserve terminal (printers and cash drawer sold separately)
- One-time installation fees: Custom quoted
- Processing fees: Custom quote based on card mix and business type
Upserve by Lightspeed is a hybrid POS that, like Toast, is designed to operate exclusively in bar and restaurant businesses. The system is streamlined, with an elegant user interface and slim handheld tableside mobile terminals that wouldn’t look out of place in even the swankiest cocktail lounge. Where some POS screens can look bright and cartoonish, Upserve’s dark mode screens and tabbed navigation bars are unobtrusive in low-light environments. In addition to standard bar functions like swipe-open bar tabs and credit card pre-authorizations, Upserve includes reputation management features that track your online reviews.
On our bar POS rating system, Upserveby Lightspeed earned a 4.35 out of 5, putting it close on Toast’s heels. This POS earned high marks for its ease of use and outscored the competitor for general POS features (the inclusion of a mobile reporting smartphone app edged it above top-ranked Toast). Upserve by Lightspeed lost quite a few points on price, though. The combination software plus per-terminal monthly rate made this system the most expensive baseline subscription on the list.
Upserve by Lightspeed's Tableside Mobile POS device helps your team manage a packed bar. (Image from Upserve by Lightspeed)
Upserve by Lightspeed's workforce tools allow you decline early clock-ins, which can save you money on labor costs. (Image from Upserve by Lightspeed)
Alert your staff to schedule updates through SMS text messages, so no one ever misses a shift. (Image from Upserve by Lightspeed)
Your staff can download the free Upserve Inventory app from the Apple App Store to speed physical inventory counts. (Image from Upserve by Lightspeed)
Upserve by Lightspeed's mobile reporting app lets bar owners monitor bar performance from a smartphone. (Image from Upserve by Lightspeed)
Upserve by Lightspeed Standout Features
Upserve offers three software subscription tiers: Core, Pro, and Pro Plus. Upserve’s entry-level Core package starts at $59 per month plus $60 for each terminal, for $119 per month for software for a single terminal. This is $20 more per month more than the closest competitor Revel Systems, making Upserve the priciest entry-level system on this list.
For that price, Upserve by Lightspeed includes functions that other systems, like Toast and Square for Restaurants, charge more for. Core subscriptions include marketing tools, reputation management, and workforce management. Bars looking to unlock additional functions like automated inventory management, loyalty program, and bartender performance insights will need the Pro package at $199 plus $50 for each terminal per month.
Upserve by Lightspeed’s standout features include:
- Robust Core subscription: Upserve by Lightspeed’s Core subscription tier includes marketing tools, campaign management, and comprehensive employee scheduling tools. You can generate customer profiles from payment information and collect emails to create targeted email campaigns. When you promote a special or an event on social media, the Campaigns tool tracks related restaurant reviews/social media activity, total and average sales, total guest visits, and new vs repeat guests, so you know which promotions and events are working.
- Cost-saving workforce management: Upserve by Lightspeed’s Workforce Management tools include a user-friendly staff schedule builder. After creating a schedule in the Upserve management dashboard, you can send the schedule to staff via email or text message. The system will block staff from clocking in early and require a manager to override if a staff member tries to clock in off schedule. So you’ll never be surprised by last-minute shift swaps.
- Staff performance reports: Upserve by Lightspeed tracks your server and bartender productivity, letting you drill down to see sales patterns and turn averages. This allows managers and owners to identify top performers and training opportunities. The Server Performance report is included in Pro and Pro Plus subscriptions.
- Reputation management: Upserve by Lightspeed’s Reputation Management tool tracks social media and review sites, alerting you to new reviews the moment they appear. So you can quickly respond to negative reviews. The tool also allows you to compare your bar’s reviews with competitors’ reviews to easily see where you are succeeding and where you have opportunities to improve.
- Strong inventory tools: Like competitors Revel and Toast, Upserve’s built-in inventory tracking is comprehensive, including physical count and vendor management tools. Like Revel Systems, Upserve’s inventory module includes a free smartphone app to speed physical counting. Upserve’s inventory is just slightly more user-friendly than Toast and Revel Systems. Upserve will generate a suggested order based on your real-time low stock counts. You can then send these orders to multiple vendors by clicking a single button.
- Mobile reporting app: Like competitors TouchBistro and Revel systems, Upserve by Lightspeed includes a mobile reporting app that allows bar owners and managers to access key performance data in real time from a smartphone. There’s no need to remember your password to log in to a browser; you can see sales, labor, and stock information with the click of a button.
Revel Systems: Best for High-Volume Bars and Nightclubs
Revel Systems
What We Like
- High till alerts let you move cash to the safe when the tills get full
- Robust inventory management features help control costs
- Loyalty and Marketing are included in baseline membership
What's Missing
- Requires a three-year contract
- Robust system can be overwhelming for small bars
Revel Systems Pricing
- Monthly software subscription fee: $99 per terminal
- Hardware costs: Custom quoted
- One-time installation fees: $674
- Processing fees: Varies by processor. Revel Systems is compatible with Revel Advantage, First Data, Heartland, TSYS, TriPOS, Worldpay, Chase Paymentech, Elavon
Revel Systems is a hybrid iPad POS that operates via a local area network with the cloud as a backup, similar to Toast and Upserve. This enables the system to work even in the case of an internet outage. Revel Systems offers precise real-time inventory tracking and credit card pre-authorization for bar tabs. Revel Systems also has dual till cash registers and allows you to set high cash alerts when tills hit a percent amount. Like top-ranked Toast, Revel Systems also integrates with security software like Solink and Envysion that allow high-volume bars to identify theft or customer issues.
Revel Systems earned a score of 4.29 out of 5 on our bar POS system rating system. This POS earned points for offering multiple payment processing options and its comprehensive training materials. The system lost some points for its cost and three-year contract length. Unlike Toast and Upserve, Revel Systems lacks a purpose-built order and payment device. Instead, Revel relies on iPads in handheld cases, which works fine, but is a less elegant tableside solution in a busy bar.
Revel Systems hardware options include dynamic iPad stands with terminals and customer-facing displays. (Image from Revel Systems)
Revel Systems supports several types of mobile card readers to keep your bar EMV compliant. (Image from Revel Systems)
For tableside order and payment, Revel Systems relies on iPads in mobile cases with attached card readers. (Image from Revel Systems)
Your Revel System's POS will alert you in real time when staff is nearing overtime, saving you in labor costs. (Image from Revel Systems)
Revel Systems includes a streamlined schedule builder in the baseline POS. (Image from Revel Systems)
Revel's Stocktake smartphone app lets your team perform physical inventory counts on smartphones. (Image from Revel Systems)
Custom permissions allow you to choose what information employees see during inventory counting, useful if your bar struggles with theft.(Image from Revel Systems)
Revel Systems Standout Features
Revel Systems’ pricing starts at $99 per month per register, which is a higher base cost than every system on this list besides Upserve. However, Revel includes inventory management that is functionally comparable to Toast’s and Upserve’s offerings at no extra charge for baseline subscribers. And unlike Toast, Square, Upserve, and Harbortouch, Revel users can choose from eight different payment processors to ensure they get the lowest processing rates available.
Revel Systems’ standout features include:
- Flexible payment processing: Revel Systems has a built-in payment processing solution called Revel Advantage. Payment processing rates are not disclosed on the Revel website; quotes are customized based on your bar’s sales volume and card mix. Users can also get rate quotes from compatible processors First Data, Heartland, TSYS, TriPOS, Worldpay, Chase Paymentech, and Elavon. If your bar does a high volume of business, those fees can add up, so getting the lowest possible rates can have a significant impact on your bottom line.
- Employee Management: Like Upserve by Lightspeed, Revel Systems includes employee scheduling in the entry-level POS. Revel’s schedule builder is easy to use but is slightly less robust than Upserve’s; it doesn’t include time clock enforcement, and you can’t text schedules to staff (only email and print the schedule). If you want clock enforcement and text-enabled schedules, you can rely on Revel’s integrations with Homebase, 7shifts, or HotSchedules.
- High till alerts: Revel supports dual cash drawer tills, which helps two bartenders operate from the same POS terminal. In addition, Revel users can set a maximum dollar amount for each cash drawer. The system will alert you when the cash drawers are over the limit so your staff can drop excess cash in the safe. This feature helps busy bars that process a high volume of cash secure their profits.
- Robust Inventory: Revel has detailed inventory tools, which allow you to track ingredients as you sell drinks and food. Like Toast and Upserve, Revel will alert you to low stock and allow you to generate purchase orders for future orders from the management dashboard. Revel includes an integrated Stock Take smartphone app to speed physical counts, and allows you to choose whether stock taking employees can see the “expected” count for inventory items or can only blind count. This setting can prevent employee theft.
- Insights by Revel App: Many bar owners want to keep their finger on the pulse of business when away from the bar. Like Upserve and TouchBistro, Revel Systems offers a smartphone app—Insights by Revel—which allows you to view your bar’s performance in real time without logging in to a browser.
- Security Integrations: Like top-ranked Toast, Revel Systems integrates with security tools Solink and Envysion to sync your POS data with your security cameras. This allows you to quickly search security footage for movement at unexpected times, and pull up video of questionable transactions as they were processed. This can save bar owners hours when investigating missing inventory or suspicious cash transactions.
Harbortouch: Best Budget Bar POS System
Harbortouch
What We Like
- Subscription comes with free hardware
- Skytab Handheld device supports tableside orders and payments
- One-year contract
What's Missing
- Locked into parent company Shift4’s payment processing
- Operates on proprietary hardware
Harbortouch Pricing
- Software subscription fee: $39 per terminal, per month
- Hardware costs: Hardware is included free with a software subscription and enrollment in Shift4 Payments
- One-time installation fees: Installation support is included free of charge
- Processing fees: Varies based on card mix and business type. We were quoted 1.39% + $0.20 for in-person transactions
Harbortouch is a locally networked, cloud-backed hybrid POS system (like Toast and Revel systems). Like Toast and Upserve by Lightspeed, Harbortouch operates on proprietary hardware. Unlike those other systems, however, Harbortouch provides hardware free to subscribers. Pricing starts at an affordable $39 per terminal, per month, and requires enrolling in the parent company’s payment processing—Shift4 Payments. Contracts only require a one-year commitment, and include guided installation and 24/7 customer support free of charge.
On our bar POS system ranking, Harbortouch earned a score of 4.07 out of 5. That free hardware with included installation earned this system big points, as did its purpose-built handheld order and payment handheld device. Unlike every other POS on this list, however, Harbortouch does not support many bar-supporting third-party apps, which cost it some points. Like Square for Restaurants, Harbortouch’s built-in inventory tracking tools are not robust; bars would need to add a third-party integration with Orca to get the same functionality as Toast, Upserve by Lightspeed, and Revel Systems’ inventory tools.
Harbortouch's Skytab handheld order and payment device supports table service in busy bars. (Image from Harbortouch)
Servers can see only their tabs or view all open tabs from the Skytab screen and quickly order additional rounds or close tabs. (Image from Harbortouch)
Harbortouch allows users to customize the pre-authorization amount for cards connected to bar tabs along with other check settings. (Image from Harbortouch)
Bartenders can easily toggle through easy to read tab view screens in the Harbortouch Terminal. (Image from Harbortouch)
Harbortouch automates till counting, logging end of shift till counts in the system, saving you pen and paper, and helping you track cash shortages.(Image from Harborotuch)
You can schedule social media posts from your Harbortouch management dashboard to let customers know about upcoming events. (Image from Harbortouch)
Harbortouch Standout Features
Harbortouch has every function that a full-service bar needs, from time-locked menus to pre-authorized bar tabs and menu customization to real-time inventory tracking, contactless payments, customer loyalty, and staff scheduling tools.
Harbortouch’s standout features include:
- Free, preconfigured hardware: Your free Harbortouch hardware will arrive preconfigured with order screens that are customized to your needs. The Harbortouch team will set up speed order screens, specialty cocktail menus, or order screens for various spirits, whatever makes the most sense for your operation. This can take a substantial administrative load off your shoulders.
- Guided training and installation: Your Harbortouch POS comes with installation and 24/7 customer support at no additional cost. Training and software updates are also included. The free installation really sets Harbortouch apart from competitors like Revel Systems, which charges $674 just for installation.
- Cash auditing tools: Harbortouch tracks your closing till counts directly in the POS, so you have a record of every coin and bill in your POS database. This saves you paper each night and makes your cash counts more traceable if there are any discrepancies.
- Centralized social media management: Like Upserve by Lightspeed, Harbortouch includes tools to track online reviews. Harbortouch goes one step further, though, integrating with your bar’s social media channels to schedule posts on Facebook and Twitter. This is an easy way for bars hosting live music or special events to plan social media marketing campaigns.
Lightspeed Restaurant: Best POS for Hotel Bars
Lightspeed Restaurant
What We Like
- Multiple payment processor options
- Can use pre-existing hardware
- Integrates with hotel management software
What's Missing
- Offline mode cannot spool payments
- Built-in inventory does not include vendor management
- Advanced reporting requires an additional monthly fee
Lightspeed Pricing
- Software subscription fee: $59 per month for first terminal + $34 per month for each additional terminal
- Hardware costs: Custom-quoted
- One-time installation fees: None
- Processing fees: Varies by processor used; Lightspeed Restaurant is compatible with Lightspeed Payments, Dejavoo by Worldpay, Cayan, Bridgepay
Lightspeed Restaurant is a cloud POS for the food and beverage industry. With pricing starting at $59 per month, this system is priced in the middle of the pack of competitors on this list; less expensive than Revel Systems, Upserve By Lightspeed, and TouchBistro, but pricier than Square for Restaurants, Harbortouch, and Toast’s Starter system. Lightspeed Restaurant includes built-in tools for employee management, inventory, loyalty, in-depth reporting for additional monthly fees of $12 to $39. Unlike the others on this list, Lightspeed Restaurant integrates with hotel management software and quickly processes room charges as payment. If you want to kick the tires on this POS, you can try a 14-day free trial.
Lightspeed Restaurant earned an overall score of 3.91 out of 5 on our bar POS system ranking. The system scored well for price and its free trial offer. It is also easy to use and comes with 24/7 customer support. The system would have scored higher if it had a mobile reporting app (like Upserve by Lightspeed and Revel systems), more robust inventory (like Toast, Upserve by Lightspeed, and Revel systems), and a purpose built handheld order and payment device (like Toast, Harbortouch, and Upserve by Lightspeed).
Lightspeed Restaurant's quick order screen is easy to navigate at a glance.(Image from Lightspeed)
Lightspeed Restaurant users can purchase hardware peripherals like cash drawers, printers, and routers directly from Lightspeed. (Image from Lightspeed)
You can turn your Lightspeed into a tableside order tablet with a mobile iPad case. (Image from Lightspeed)
Its easy to add timed menus like Happy Hour promotions in the Lightspeed management dashboard. (Image from Lightspeed)
Lightspeed Restaurant Standout Features
The Lightspeed Restaurant POS has all the features a small bar needs to manage a team of bartenders, track inventory, and process orders and payments. Full-service bars and restaurants will find restaurant features like table mapping, kitchen display systems, and menu management. Lightspeed’s many modules work together seamlessly to feed your bar’s data into Lightspeed’s easy-to-read reporting and analytics system.
Lightspeed Restaurant’s standout features include:
- Flexible Payments: Like Revel Systems and TouchBistro, Lightspeed offers built-in payment processing and integrates with a few other payment processors, so users can shop around for rates. In Lightspeed’s case, the system integrates with Dejavoo by Worldpay, Cayan, and Bridgepay.
- Flexible hardware: Lightspeed Restaurant is browser- and cloud-based and runs on compatible iPads that operate with iOS 12.2 or higher. Like Square for Restaurants, Lightspeed sells compatible hardware, or you can bring your own iPad and purchase peripherals like printers and cash drawers from Lightspeed.
- Hotel software integration: Lightspeed Restaurant POS integrates with hotel property management software (PMS) systems to process room payments.
- Bar integrations: You can expand your Lightspeed Restaurant POS system’s functions with various third-party integrations. This system syncs with accounting apps like QuickBooks and Xero, and popular scheduling apps like HomeBase. For bar operations, it has integrations like BeerSAVER for draft beer monitoring and RapidBar for expanded bar inventory tools. Like Toast and Revel systems, Lightspeed Restaurant also integrates with the security app Solink.
- Ecommerce tools: Like Square for Restaurants, Lightspeed Restaurant also supports an easy-to-use online ordering site for selling bottled beverages for pick up or delivery, if your local liquor laws permit. For Lightspeed users, this site comes at an additional $12 per month.
TouchBistro: Best for Wine and Beer Bars
TouchBistro
What We Like
- Can bring your own iPads
- User-friendly order screens
- Multiple payment processing options
What's Missing
- Inventory uploading can be clunky
- Does not save payment information on bar tabs
- Add-on software can get pricey
TouchBistro Pricing
- Software subscription fee: $69 per terminal, per month
- Hardware costs: Custom-quoted
- One-time installation fees: None, the system is self-installed
- Processing fees: Varies depending on which processor you use
TouchBistro is a user-friendly iPad POS system designed specifically for food and beverage businesses. The system has a small footprint, and, like Square for Restaurants, is easy to self-install. The baseline POS includes everything you need to run a small bar, from basic employee scheduling to speed screens and inventory tracking. At $69 per month for a single terminal, TouchBistro falls in the middle of the list price-wise. But, TouchBistro supports multiple payment processors, so users may save money in the long run by negotiating lower processing fees.
TouchBistro earned a score of 3.76 out of 5 based on our bar POS system ranking criteria. The system earned high marks for supporting multiple payment processors (like competitor Revel Systems). It lost some points for limitations in reporting and inventory tracking. While TouchBistro includes inventory tools in the baseline POS, the tools are best used to track whole ingredients like bottles of wine and beer. Bars that want detailed ingredient-level inventory tracking with physical counting tools and vendor management will be better supported by something like Revel or Toast.
TouchBistro sells multiple styles of iPad stands, cash drawers, printers, and card readers to customize your POS setup. (Image from TouchBistro)
Enabling speed order screens on TouchBistro saves your bartenders time by streamlining the order screen. (Image from TouchBistro)
For tableside ordering and payments, TouchBistro relies on iPad in handheld cases. (Image from TouchBistro)
TouchBistro Standout Features
TouchBistro POS is offered at $69 per month for a single terminal, which is less expensive than Revel systems and Upserve by Lightspeed. Anything beyond a single terminal requires a custom quote from TouchBistro. The baseline system is streamlined and user-friendly and includes inventory tracking, simple schedule building, timed menus, and access to third-party integrations. Advanced features like loyalty, gift cards, and online ordering come with additional monthly fees ranging from $25 to $99.
TouchBistro’s standout features include:
- Easy self-install: TouchBistro provides detailed installation instructions in its online user knowledge base. Most TouchBistro users find it only takes a couple of hours to get their TouchBistro system up and running. The company also offers setup support services at custom-quoted rates for bars that want individual attention in the installation process.
- Flexible payment processing: Like the others on this list, TouchBistro has a built-in payment option, TouchBistro Payments. The system integrates with a few other payment gateways like TSYS and Square, so users have the option to bring their own processor if they find a better rate.
- Flexible hardware: TouchBistro operates on all but the first generation of iPads. You can bring your own iPads or purchase them through TouchBistro. TouchBistro also sells top-rated thermal receipt and kitchen printers, customer display screens, self-service kiosks, cash drawers, and a wide array of other accessories at custom-quoted prices.
- User-friendly inventory: TouchBistro supports two inventory systems, one of which is a basic countdown for individual items like bottles of wine, which may be all a wine bar or brewery needs. Cocktail bars and pubs that serve food may prefer the ingredient-level inventory. You can also attach descriptions, ingredient lists, and preparation instructions to menu items on the POS order screen to ensure your team always uses the correct recipe.
Square for Restaurants: Best for Bars Switching From Cash-Only Operations
Square for Restaurants
What We Like
- Baseline subscription is free
- No long-term contracts
- Can bring your own hardware
- Transparent pricing
What's Missing
- Locked into Square payment processing
- Free subscription has only one set of user permissions
- Attaching cards to bar tabs takes multiple steps
Square for Restaurants Pricing
- Monthly Software subscription fee:
- Free – $0
- Plus – $60
- Enterprise – Custom quote
- Hardware costs: $169 – $1,818
- One-time installation fees: None
- Processing fees:
- 2.6% + $0.10 for in-person swiped, dipped, or tapped transactions
- 2.9% + $0.30 for online and invoice payments
- 3.5% + $0.15 for card not present transactions
*Custom rates are available for businesses that process more than $250,000 annually.
Square for Restaurants is a cloud-based bar and restaurant POS that operates on iPads. This easy-to-use system requires no long-term contracts, which is perfect for bars that operate seasonally, or small bars that want to test drive a POS before committing. If you’ve spent time searching for a POS, you’ll appreciate that Square for Restaurants clearly lists all pricing on its website. Large operations can request a custom quote for payment processing and software. Small bars switching from cash-only operations can pay as they go and make adjustments to their Square for Restaurants POS as business grows.
Square for Restaurants earned a score of 3.70 on our bar POS rating system. The system scored well on price, and earned points for its lack of a long-term contract. Unlike the other systems on this list, though, Square doesn’t support credit card pre-authorization, which can be a real drawback for high-volume bars. The system also lost some points for the limits of the free baseline POS, which offers limited customer service hours and only a single set of user access permissions. If you need more than a single set of user permissions, you’ll need to upgrade to the Square for Restaurants Plus tier at $60 per month. Though Toast’s less expensive and higher functioning Starter POS might be a better fit.
Square sells iPad stands, cash drawers, printers, and card readers, but users can bring their own iPad. (Image from Square)
For tableside orders and payments, you can place your Square card reader and iPad in a handheld case. (Image from Square)
For ingredient-level inventory and invoice management, Square for Restaurants integrates with MarketMan. (Image from MarketMan)
You can sell online for pick up or delivery through the integrated Square online store (if local liquor laws permit). (Image from Square)
Square for Restaurants Standout Features
Square for Restaurants is available at three subscription levels: Free, Plus, and Premium. The Free subscription—as the name suggests—has no monthly, startup, or cancellation fees. It also does not require a long-term contract. This Free subscription supports a single set of user permissions and cannot print individual bartender shift reports, though. If you want to track individual staff member sales and block some functions from your line-level team, you’ll need to upgrade to a Plus-level membership ($60 per month).
Square for Restaurants’ standout features include:
- Flexible hardware: Square for Restaurants users can run the system on iPads they already own. To customize your configuration you can purchase hardware peripherals like cash drawers, receipt and kitchen printers, card readers, and iPad stands from Square.
- Attaching payments to bar tabs: Square doesn’t support credit card pre-authorization to start bar tabs. Bar operators can get around this by using the customer profile function to create a customer profile, store payment information on the profile, then attach the profile to the bar tab. This requires a few extra steps, but for a free POS—and a lower-volume bar—it can be worth it. High-volume bars, however, will be better off with Revel Systems or another system on this list.
- Inventory management: Square allows you to create menu items and track sales by item. Unlike Toast, Square doesn’t store recipes or track ingredient-level inventory. For this reason, Square’s built-in inventory works better for bars that mainly serve individually bottled drinks like beer or wine, which don’t need as detailed tracking as complicated cocktails. Though you can add ingredient-level inventory via Square’s integration with MarketMan.
- Bar integrations: Square users can customize their POS with integrations like Bevspot for bar-focused inventory and recipe-costing tools and DigitalPour for keg management.
- Ecommerce: If your local liquor laws permit online alcohol sales, you can add an online ordering site for free using Square Online Store.
- Square business suite: Square offers additional modules such as Square Loyalty, Square Marketing, Square Payroll, Square Appointments, and Square Online Store that all communicate seamlessly with the Square POS. Pricing for each module varies from free to $35+ per month; pricing is transparently listed on its website.
Bottom Line
Toast earned the highest score on our bar POS system ranking. Toast has spent 2021 making its powerhouse POS software accessible for a wider variety of bars and restaurants. The POS has everything a full-service bar needs, from user-friendly employee and customer management to massively functional inventory tools that communicate with vendors and speed physical counts. If cost is a concern, you can start with Toast software and hardware for free, confident that the system will grow with your business if your needs change. To see if Toast is a fit for your bar, visit Toast for a demo.
