5 Best Cafe POS Systems for 2018

A cafe POS system is designed to help small coffee shops and eateries efficiently manage counter, seated, take-out, and delivery orders, plus oversee general business needs. Customer service tools, quick order-taking, and ticket-tracking top the list of needed features in good cafe POS software. Those tools and more are what our top 5 cafe POS picks provide.

Best Cafe POS System for 2018 – Summary Table

How We Evaluated & Selected the Best Cafe POS Systems for 2018

Most cafe POS systems deliver basic counter sales functions and store management features such as payment processing, sales tracking, menu management, and business analytics. most But certain features set a basic retail-oriented POS from one geared to meet the demands of a busy cafe, beverage bar, or eatery. These are:

• Runs on sleek, low-profile countertop registers
• Supports tableside orders and payments via mobile device
• Manage open tickets & customer tabs
• Clear menu listings and prices
• Order entry that allows customization
• Tie menu recipes to ingredient inventories
• Time-specific menus and prices
• Fires orders or tickets to a kitchen display screen
• Supports online, phone-in, takeout, and delivery orders
• Tip tracking and end-of-day payouts
• Multi-user environment with staff tracking
• Customer relationship management (CRM) features
• A built-in customer loyalty program

These are the features that make a busy cafe environment run smoothly, minimize lines, shorten customer wait times, and turn sales data into meaningful business reports. After reviewing an array of popular restaurant POS systems, these 5 top the list in effectively balancing features and price for small businesses.

Best Cafe POS Software for Small Cafes & Startups: Square

Square tops our list for small cafe operations and startups because it’s a free POS system that can be customized to your specific service needs. You read that sentence right, Square’s cafe POS software is completely free, but that’s not the only reason to use it. Square delivers a full suite of sales, inventory, and customer management tools designed to help any cafe startup or small eatery run efficiently. And it does it all using simple, intuitive software that works on budget-friendly iPad registers and smartphones.

Take orders and payments anywhere in your cafe via countertop register or mobile device

You can run Square on whatever devices work best in your cafe or eatery workflow. If you already have iPads and/or smartphones, you don’t even have to invest in new register hardware. You can take orders and payments using your tablet or smartphone from day one using Square’s digital payment system that supports e-signing and emailed receipts.

Of course, many cafe owners prefer to run at least one register station, and you can do that too. In fact, unlike other cafe POS systems in our list that charge a monthly fee per register, Square is free to run on 1 or 100 separate registers.

What You Can Do with Square Cafe POS Software

Despite its low price tag, Square is packed with features that cafe owners and staff alike will appreciate. Square’s secure payment system is built right into the POS software, so there’s no complicated merchant provider setup and card reader integration needed. Add to that a complete suite of tools that help you track inventory items, create and categorize menu items, manage staff time, and market to customers, and Square delivers what most cafes need in a POS.

Here’s how Square meets our cafe POS evaluation challenge:

Square Cafe POS System Features & Details

Along with meeting nearly every desired cafe POS feature for free, with Square, you also get:

• Advanced employee management tools & built-in payroll*
• Gift card sales & redemption*
• Built-in customer feedback tracking, email* and Facebook* marketing integration
• Access to all software features via smartphone, tablet, and computer

Some of Square’s advanced features* are add-ons that come with a monthly fee. But if you need these features, you’ll find they’re worth the fee, plus you only pay for what you use. The real beauty of Square’s system is that a shoestring operation can start out with a feature-packed POS system with $0 cost, and add needed features as growth demands.

What a Square Cafe POS System Costs

Square charges no monthly, startup, or cancellation fees, but if you accept credit or debit card payments, Square does charge you a processing fee per-sale. For most in-store cafe sales, this runs 2.75% of the total ticket, which is quite competitive in terms of small business credit card processing fees. Plus, there are no hidden fees or end-of-month charges with Square’s completely transparent, predictable fees. And cash and check sales cost you nothing.

Along with the credit card processing fee, there are hardware costs if you need one or more register stations. Here’s what these costs typically run for Square cafe POS stations:

Square Cafe POS Register Station Hardware Costs

Hardware	Cost
Cafe POS Software	$0 - no startup, monthly, or cancellation fees
Credit card processing	Built-in with Square Payments: For in-cafe sales: 2.75% of ticket amount Online orders: 2.9% + 30¢ per order Phoned-in order payments: 3.5% + 15¢ per sale
Advances Cafe POS Features	Email & Facebook marketing: From $15/month Loyalty program: From $25/month Gift cards: 90¢ each Staff management: $5/month per employee Add payroll: From $5/month
Square credit card readers for smartphones & tablets	Magstripe reader: Free with your Square account Contactless & chip card reader: $49
iPad Register Station	$169 for an iPad stand with contactless card reader (add an iPad for $498) Build out a Square iPad register to suit your needs and add a-la-carte peripherals like a cash drawer, receipt printer, or kitchen printer.
Square Register (New)	$999 one-time purchase Or pay over time: $49/month for 24 months Using Square Register, your credit card processing fees drop to 2.5% + 10¢ per sale

What’s Missing from Square Cafe POS Software

THere are two things that Square doesn’t do that might affect whether it’s the right cafe POS system for your operation. These are:

1. You must use Square to process credit card payments — Square is a credit card processor, so you can’t use your own merchant account provider and try to get lower rates. However, up to around $30K/month, Square really offers the best deal for cafe sales, plus you can usually negotiate a lower processing rate with Square once you reach that volume. See how Square’s fees compare to others here.
2. Square doesn’t tie ingredient inventory to menu items — You can set up menu items with inventory quantities, but Square doesn’t let you tie ingredients in inventory to menu items. So, you can’t automatically deduct ingredients from stock quantities as menu items sell. This more advanced inventory management feature is available with other top picks on our list, like ShopKeep and Lightspeed Restaurant POS.

The lack of these two features is why we recommend Square for small cafes and startups. But if you’re a larger operation that doesn’t need these two features, Square is work a serious look. It certainly packs a lot into its sleek, modern, nearly zero-cost cafe POS system.

Visit Square

Best Free Cafe POS Software with a Loyalty Program: Loyverse

Loyverse is another free cafe POS solution and one of its many impressive features is a built-in loyalty program, called Loyalty Ocean, with no add-on costs. Truly, Loyverse seems too good to be true when you run through the features it delivers for free, but it’s the real deal. Loyverse isn’t a bait-and-switch company at all that lures you in then hits you with fees for basic POS features. In fact, the only fees that Loyverse charges at all are for an optional employee management module ($5/month per employee) and premium support ($15/month). That’s it.

Loyverse cafe POS software can be downloaded to both Android and Apple devices and the backend is accessible from any device or computer.

What You Can Do with Loyverse Cafe POS Software

Along with its free price tag, Loyverse helps you control costs by being compatible with both Android and Apple devices. This offers major savings if you already have tablets and smartphones. Loyverse even provides a complete list of hardware compatible with each type of system so you can build out registers.

As soon as you download and set up Loyverse, you can start accepting cash and check sales. For credit card payments, you need to sign up with one of Loyverse’s compatible payment processors: Vantiv, SumUp, or iZettle. Each of these lets you accept all types of credit card payments (swipe and chip cards), along with ApplePay and AndroidPay. You’ll get Loyverse-ready credit card readers and terminals from the payment processor you choose.

After setting up a payment solution, you’ll find everything else you need to operate your cafe or eatery built right into Loyverse’s amazingly robust cafe POS system. You can create menus, track ingredients for menu items, take orders and complete sales at registers or tableside, send marketing messages to patrons, and much more. Plus, you have the Loyalty Ocean loyalty program available to customers from day one. All in all, the features list is impressive, especially considering Loyverse’s free price tag.

Here’s how the Loyverse free cafe POS system meets our evaluation challenge:

Loyverse Cafe POS System Features & Details

Along with each of these free features, Loyverse also delivers:

• Manage staff time cards and logins for $5/month per employee
• Multi-location management
• Offline mode if the internet goes down
• Barcode scanning using mobile device cameras
• Business analytics and detailed reporting

What the Loyverse Cafe POS System Costs

Like Square, Loyverse is free cafe POS software with no startup, monthly, or cancellation fees. You will have to pay credit card processing fees if you accept credit card payments, but these fees are set by the processor you choose. Recording cash and check payments cost you nothing.

You will have hardware costs for any register cash drawers, printers, tablets, or smartphones that you need to buy. But you can purchase these wherever you find the best deal. So cost-wise, what you pay to set up Loyverse can be $0, or more depending on your hardware needs.

Loyverse Cafe POS Register Station Hardware Costs

Hardware	Cost
Cafe POS Software	$0 - no startup, monthly, or cancellation fees
Credit card processing	Rates from integrated providers: Vantiv, SumUp, or iZettle
Advanced Features	Staff management: $5/month per employee Extended service: $15 to $19/month
Credit card readers & terminals	Purchase directly from your payment processor
Register Station	Build out a Loyverse iPad or Android register with compatible peripherals like a cash drawer, receipt printer, or kitchen printer from your choice of seller

What’s Missing from Loyverse Cafe POS Software

There’s very little missing from Loyverse’s cafe POS system features, but users do report a few things on their wish lists. You can’t print a bill for seated service payments, receipts print when the payment is completed. For seated service, you’ll need to complete checkout on a mobile device. This is a hiccup for some eateries, but for most cafe sales needs with counter service, this isn’t a problem.

Another shortcoming that users report is the lack of integrations to outside partners. Currently, there are no integrations to connect online ordering, email marketing, or bookkeeping software. These are things to look for in the future as Loyverse opens up its API for integration, but that hasn’t happened yet.

Aside from those issues, Loyverse delivers a full suite of cafe POS tools with a free loyalty program, which is all many shops need to run smoothly and grow a loyal following.

Visit Loyverse

Best Cafe POS Software for Detailed Inventory: ShopKeep

ShopKeep offers a full range of POS features, but its raw goods inventory tracking really takes the cake. It lets you tie the usage of each food ingredient or consumable, like an egg or a paper cup, to each sale. This real-time component-level inventory tracking is a great feature for high-volume food or beverage sales. It’s also handy if you need to closely track the quantities and value-on-hand of costly goods like organics or specialty foods. Plus it helps you accurately reorder based on sales velocity and low-level alerts that you set up.

ShopKeep’s raw goods tracking ensures you never run short on consumables or ingredients

What You Can Do with ShopKeep Cafe POS Software

Detailed ingredient-level inventory tracking is just one highlight of ShopKeep’s excellent cafe POS software. It also offers a powerful set of sales, ticket management, and employee tracking tools, and delivers it all in an easy-to-use iPad-based interface. You can also use your choice of merchant services providers for credit card payments, like Cayan, or use the built-in ShopKeep Payments.

Here’s how ShopKeep’s cafe POS system features meet our evaluation challenge:

ShopKeep Cafe POS System Features & Details

So ShopKeep doesn’t build-in every feature, but it integrates with a number of excellent partners to deliver these features. The downside is there are added costs, but you only add the tools you actually need. ShopKeep also lets you:

• Manage employee schedules, clock-ins
• Offer gift card sales & redemption
• Run detailed business analytics reports
• 24/7/365 customer support

What a ShopKeep Cafe POS System Costs

ShopKeep doesn’t publish its pricing online, but in our research, most small cafes and retail stores are quoted $69/month per register to access the software. That applies to both countertop and mobile devices. If you want to use one countertop register and one mobile iPad, that’s $69/month x 2. But, you can have unlimited users on these systems, so you’re not paying per-user.

ShopKeep uses iPads and iPad Minis as registers and you do have to purchase these from ShopKeep. Here’s what it will cost you to set up and run ShopKeep in your cafe.

ShopKeep Cafe POS System & Hardware Costs

Service/Hardware	Cost
Cafe POS software	$69 per month per register or mobile device
Credit card processing	Your choice: ShopKeep Payments or connect your own merchant account
Expanded features	Added capabilities via 3rd party integrations
iPad stand register	Select from a number of simple iPad stands for regular size tablets and iPad Minis, starting at $99
iPad countertop register kits	You can use a simple iPad screen checkout or build your own register starting around $800 that includes a cash drawer, iPad stand, and receipt printer

What’s Missing from ShopKeep Cafe POS Software

If you run a seating area, ShopKeep doesn’t track table layouts for seating or assigned waitstaff stations. Plus it doesn’t have an actual kitchen or drink line screen, instead, it prints tickets to these locations. Some of our other picks offer these features which are nice for larger operations, but most small cafes can do just fine without them.

Compared to some on this list, ShopKeep’s $69/month per register fee can be a bit pricey. But if tight inventory control is a must for your operation, ShopKeep’s stellar inventory tools, many sales features, and excellent 24/7/365 support can be worth every penny.

Visit ShopKeep

Best Cafe POS Software for Managing Multiple Shops: Lightspeed Restaurant POS

Lightspeed Restaurant POS is a very feature-packed POS system that delivers every management tool a cafe or small eatery needs. Plus, its multi-location management capabilities let you efficiently manage several shops within one centralized system. Lightspeed offers every feature on our cafe POS evaluation list, and then some. If you need to manage sales, inventory, staffing, orders, delivery, and much more, Lightspeed Restaurant POS does it all, and even tracks every detail per-location.

What You Can Do with Lightspeed Restaurant POS Software

The shorter list is what can’t you do with Lightspeed Restaurant POS. With robust built-in features and countless integrations, Lightspeed answers every sales, inventory, seating, and kitchen management need a cafe owner can dream up. The only real downside is that all of these features lead to a lengthier setup than other POS systems on our list. Plus some perks, like loyalty and email marketing, require third-party integrations and added setup. This is why we tend to recommend Lightspeed for larger operations.

Lightspeed Restaurant POS is a very cost-effective solution if you need 5 or more mobile devices or registers

For all of its features, Lightspeed Restaurant POS is reasonably priced, starting at just $69/month. Another cost-saving plus is that Lightspeed works on a variety of devices that you might already own: iPads (including Pro and Mini) and iPhones act as registers, but you can access the back-end management system via any computer, tablet or smartphone.

Here’s how Lightspeed Restaurant POS system features meet our cafe POS evaluation challenge:

Lightspeed Restaurant POS System Features & Details

Lightspeed Restaurant POS also gives you an array of staff management tools. It’s also known for providing detailed business analytics that can be reported in aggregate or per-location. Here are a few more notable features:

• Manage employee schedules, clock-ins
• Create table layouts for managing seating area
• Offer gift card sales & redemption
• Offline mode allows you to operate without an internet connection
• Location-specific customer data collection for promotional needs
• Run detailed business analytics reports business-wide or per-location
• 24/7/365 customer support

What a Lightspeed Restaurant/Cafe POS System Costs

Lightspeed Restaurant POS has a tiered price structure. Monthly fees start at $69/month for 1 register and go up to $198/month for up to 5 registers. After 5, you pay an added $37/month per register. If you run a large operation or several locations, you’ll want to contact Lightspeed for a custom quote.

Priced against other paid cafe POS systems on our list, Lightspeed runs just $40/month per register if you need 5, which is less costly than both ShopKeep and Toast. That’s something to consider when considering paid POS options.

Lightspeed Restaurant POS System & Hardware Costs

Service/Hardware	Cost
Lightspeed Restaurant POS Software - 3 Plans	$69/month for 1 register $129/month up to 3 registers $198/month up to 5 registers Contact Lightspeed for multi-location pricing
Credit card processing	Choose from several providers like Cayan and others
Expanded Features	Advanced business reporting +$29/month Extra registers +$37/month (for $198/month plan only) Added capabilities via 3rd party integrations
iPad, iPhones & Android devices	Use an iPad register terminal with add a-la-carte register hardware like stands or printers Use iPads (all sizes) and iPhones for tableside or mobile counter ordering
Purchase Register Bundle	From $1100 - includes iPad stand with card reader, cash drawer, and receipt printer
Lease a Register Station	From $69/month. Lease a full Lightspeed Restaurant POS register through Lightspeed’s partnership with RedFynn

What’s Missing from Lightspeed Restaurant POS Software

Lightspeed can handle just about anything in a cafe operation, though features like online ordering, a loyalty program, and email marketing require third-party add-ons. This means you have to set up these accounts and pay for added services. But, if you need to manage a high-volume shop or several busy locations, Lightspeed’s core inventory, staff, and cafe sales management features are top-notch.

Because of this, we recommend Lightspeed Restaurant POS for the larger, fast-growing, or multi-location cafe business or eatery chain. Smaller and startup operations are usually better off with Square or Loyverse.

Visit Lightspeed Restaurant POS

Best Cafe POS Software for Fast-Growing Cafes: Toast

Toast blends the best features of both Square and Lightspeed in one system. Like Square, it’s an all-in-one service combining payment provider and POS software for quick and easy setup. Like Lightspeed, it’s chock-full of sales, inventory, kitchen, and staff management features designed specifically for the foodservice industry. Of our 5 top picks, Toast is the most expensive solution. But for a bustling cafe, its ease of use and advanced features can be worth the cost.

Toast works on Android devices that you purchase from them preloaded with Toast cafe POS software

What You Can Do with Toast Cafe POS Software

Toast was created specifically for the foodservice industry and it shows. You’ll find detailed menu and order functions at your fingertips on Android-based register and mobile screens. You can tie ingredients to menu items to manage inventory, and even split inventory items to track measures and pours. And value-added features like a online ordering, email marketing, promotions, and gift cards are built into the system, no third-party add-ons needed.

Here’s how the Toast cafe POS system meets our cafe POS evaluation challenge:

Toast Cafe POS System Features & Details

Of our 5 top picks, Toast is the only that builds every feature on our list into its core system. Some, like online ordering, are paid add-ons, but they’re still built-in features. When you’re ready to turn them on, they’re ready to perform for you.

In addition to our evaluation features, Toast also delivers:

• Countertop kiosks for self-service ordering
• Employee schedules, clock-ins, and tip management
• Track staff cash drawer access
• Table layouts and tools to manage waitstaff stations
• Real-time monitoring of kitchen or drink line order status for timely pickups
• Offline mode allows you to operate without an internet connection
• Detailed business analytics reports
• 24/7/365 customer support
• More features with integration partners

What a Toast Cafe POS System Costs

Toast is the highest-priced cafe POS solution on our list. It starts at $79/month for one register, which is reasonable even for a small shop. Additional mobile or countertop registers run about $50/month each. But, you also have to buy your register tablets and mobile devices from Toast, and those start at $450. In this aspect, Toast and ShopKeep are similar, unlike Square, Lightspeed, and Loyverse, which you download to your own devices.

Toast does discount its monthly pricing based on your volume, so the per-register monthly cost for a busy establishment can be lower. The reason Toast offers volume discounts is that they also make money off of your credit card processing. Like Square, Toast is it’s own credit card processor. So, if you run high volumes of credit card sales, you can negotiate for lower monthly fees.

Toast Cafe POS System & Hardware Costs

Service/Hardware	Cost
Toast Cafe POS Software	$79/month for 1st device; $50/month per additional device, monthly fees can be lower for high-volume outlets
Credit Card Processing	Built-in with Toast Payments: Flat-rate fees per quote
Expanded Features	Loyalty program +$25/month Gift Cards Integration +$50/month Online ordering +$50/month
Handheld Device Package	From $450 - includes Android tablet preloaded with Toast and credit card reader
Basic Register Station	From $850 - includes Android tablet, stand, credit card reader and receipt printer
Full Register Station	Around $1350 for a register with Android touchscreen, cash drawer, card terminal and printer

What’s Missing from Toast Cafe POS Software

For cafe sales, inventory, kitchen, drink line, dining area, and staff management features, Toast takes the cake. But there’s one thing you can’t do if you settle on Toast for your cafe operation: You can’t use your own merchant account provider to process credit cards.

You have to use Toast’s built-in flat-rate payment processing services, and these fees aren’t published. You negotiate fees based on your average sales volume when you sign up with Toast. As your credit card sales volume grows, you can negotiate your rates lower, but you’ll never be able to price-shop for a better deal without completely leaving Toast POS.

That said, Toast has a loyal following according to user reviews, so the processing fees aren’t a source of complaints. But, this is something to keep in mind as you consider your cafe POS system options.

Visit Toast Cafe POS

The Bottom Line

Our top 5 Cafe POS systems all deliver a good core set of features that any cafe or small eatery can put to good use. Which is best for you comes down to fine details. Choices in credit card processors, tight inventory controls, advanced employee management, multi-location oversight, marketing and loyalty programs, and integrations to outside vendors are the areas where these 5 cafe POS systems tend to differ.

And let’s not forget price. Square and Loyverse are the least expensive options and offer impressive features, but your credit card provider options are limited with both and Loyverse doesn’t expand with outside integrations. ShopKeep, Lightspeed Restaurant, and Toast come with monthly and potentially higher hardware costs, but give you more expanded feature options. Taking advantage of free trial periods is a good idea if you’re considering a paid cafe POS system before fully committing.

Have you used any of the cafe POS systems we reviewed here, or another solution for your operation? We’d love to hear your insights and experiences in the comments below.