Best Bar, Nightclub & Pub POS Systems in 2023: Pros, Cons, Pricing

Countertop Kit	Handheld Kit	Guest Self-Service Kit	Toast KDS
Pay-as-you-go: $0 upfront; 2.99% + 15 cents processing fees Pay upfront: $799 plus $69 per month*	Pay-as-you-go: $0 upfront; 2.99% + 15 cents processing fees Pay upfront: $609 plus $69 per month*	Pay-as-you-go: $0 upfront; 2.99% + 15 cents processing Pay upfront: $999 plus $99 per month*	Custom-quoted; Contact Toast for pricing
Toast Flex terminal, payment device, router**	Toast Go 2 handheld order and payment device, indoor wireless access point, router**	22” Toast touch-screen kiosk terminal, payment device, router**	Wall-mountable touch-screen kitchen display system screen**
Purchase from Toast

* Toast’s standard processing rates of 2.49% + 15 cents apply to hardware and software packages that are paid upfront, rather than on a Pay-as-you-go plan.
** Includes setup and customer care.

• Pay-as-you-go Hardware
  Get Toast’s industry-grade hardware with no upfront cost by agreeing to pay slightly higher credit card processing fees. You can get hardware for up to two terminals. Toast is the only option on this list with pay-as-you-go hardware.
• Flexible bar tab management
  Pre-authorize payment cards so no cards are left at the bar. Set your Toast POS to give any employee the ability to add items to an open tab from any register. Toast has a mobile POS terminal—the Toast Go 2—so employees can take orders and close tabs tableside.
• Robust beverage integrations
  Toast features a host of third-party integrations so you can customize the POS. Beverage-centric inventory is supported by BevSpot. Breweries can track keg usage with BrewLogix and offer self-serve pours via PourMyBeer.
• Toast Pay Card
  For an additional fee, you can add the Toast Pay Card with PayOut, an app that enables your employees to access their wages and tips as they are earned. This is a game changer for bars with high employee turnover. Toast is the only system on this list with this feature.
• Text from the POS
  If your bartenders need more change, another bottle of tequila, or a manager to address a customer situation, they can send a text via the POS with the push of a single button.

• Automated inventory
  Lightspeed’s built-in inventory tracking is comprehensive, including physical count and vendor management tools. But, Lightspeed’s inventory tool is more automated than TouchBistro and Revel Systems. With Lightspeed’s Advanced Inventory function (available at the Pro and Enterprise levels), your POS will generate suggested orders based on low stock alerts and let you place several orders with different vendors by clicking a single button.
• Advanced insights
  The Lightspeed POS includes detailed reports called Insights (at the Pro and Enterprise levels) that offer a deeper look at your staff productivity and customer behavior. Customer reports update automatically based on payment information. You don’t have to manually input each customer visit or purchase; the system logs all of this for you, even if the same customer uses different credit cards.
• Cost-saving workforce management
  Lightspeed’s Workforce Management tools include a user-friendly staff schedule builder. 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 higher labor costs from early clock-ins.
• Recipe lookup
  You can enter cocktail recipes into the POS, so your bartenders can look up cocktails with the push of a button. This is especially useful in craft cocktail operations where customers expect bartenders to make any obscure drink they request.

• $1 hardware
  Like top-ranked Toast, Simphony operates on industry-grade hardware that is tested and rated to withstand wet, hot, and dusty conditions. Simphony advertises its terminals for as little as $1 each, but you’ll need to reach out to a Simphony sales rep to confirm your final pricing.
• Robust cash management
  Like Revel and Toast, Simphony can operate two cash drawers from a single till. You can track every cash transaction from each drawer, check cash status mid-shift for audits, track multiple paid-ins and paid-outs, and retain digital cash counts that are searchable later. Unlike other systems on this list, Simphony also includes petty cash tracking directly in the POS. These are the most robust cash tracking tools of any system on this list.
• Dynamic engagement screen
  Your Simphony POS home screens feature interactive live tiles to showcase whatever information your staff needs. You can include daily specials, weather widgets, shift notes, and even social media feeds, which can help your team see what customers are saying about their experiences in real time.
• Multilanguage support
  Simphony operates in over 20 languages. You can set up your system in Chinese, Japanese, Spanish, English and more—whatever language your team is most familiar with.

• 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 sales volume and card mix. Users can also get rate quotes from compatible processors First Data, Heartland, TSYS, triPOS, Worldpay, Chase Paymentech, and Elavon.
• Employee management
  Revel Systems includes employee scheduling in the entry-level POS. Revel’s schedule builder is easy to use but is slightly less robust than Toast’s add-on workforce management module.
• High till alerts
  Revel supports dual cash drawer tills, so 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.
• Robust, built-in inventory
  Revel has detailed inventory tools built into the POS itself. Unlike others on this list that require a third-party integration to get vendor and purchase order management, Revel’s tools are part of the POS, just like competitor Lightspeed. It also includes an integrated Stock Take smartphone app to speed physical counts.

• iOS-based user interface
  Anyone who has used an iPhone will pick up TouchBistro at lightning speed. This streamlined design makes TouchBistro so easy to use. In fact, many user reviews mention training new staff to use the POS in less than an hour. If your bar struggles with high turnover, TouchBistro could save you hundreds of dollars in training costs.
• Flexible payment processing
  Like the others on this list, TouchBistro has a built-in payment option, TouchBistro Payments. Like Lightspeed, Revel, and Simphony, TouchBistro integrates with a few other payment gateways like TSYS and Square, so users have the option to rate shop.
• Built-in inventory options
  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. In our experience, however, TouchBistro’s ingredient-level inventory tools require a lot more administrative legwork to update than more automated systems like Lightspeed and Revel.
• Reports To Go
  TouchBistro includes a smartphone reporting app that owners and managers can access on the go. TouchBistro calls its app “Reports To Go.” This app is available for iOS and Android phones and includes basic sales and labor reports along with void and discount tracking.

• One-day setup
  Square setup is the fastest of any system on this list. All you need to do is download the POS app and attach a bank account. Square will send you a free swipe card reader, or you can purchase a tap or dip card reader for $49.
• Affordable hardware
  Square operates on iPads or Square-built POS registers and handheld terminals. You can use hardware you already own or purchase hardware through Square website for $49 to $799 each. Almost every hardware tool offers easy monthly payments to reduce your upfront cost.
• Free baseline POS
  Like competitor Toast, Square for Restaurants offers a free baseline POS subscription. This Free tier is designed to support the smallest businesses, so it only comes with a single set of user permissions, but you can use the software on unlimited terminals.
• Item-level inventory
  Square for Restaurants includes simple item-level inventory tracking in the baseline POS. It is not ingredient-level like Revel or Lightspeed, but Square can easily track wines by the glass or bottle. If you need more advanced, ingredient-level inventory, Square integrates with Peachworks, Yellow Dog, Digital Pour, and our top-ranked inventory system, MarketMan.