5 Best Food Truck POS Systems 2019

Food trucks specifically need a POS that can take food orders, ring up customers, and take payments on the go. The best food truck POS software is affordable, can take payments offline, and is easy to use. We evaluated dozens of food truck POS systems by price and features to determine the best available options.

Top 5 Food Truck POS for 2019

How We Evaluated Food Truck POS

The most important quality for a food truck POS system is that it’s mobile and can be operated via tablet or phone, because food trucks are always on the move. Other factors we evaluated include price, affordability, and features like menu management. The best POS systems for food trucks will typically include a robust payment processing center, menu and inventory management features, and analytics, all in an easy-to-use mobile system.

The specific criteria we used to evaluate food trucks include:

• Mobility – We looked at how functional each POS would be in a mobile food truck environment.
• Price – We evaluated each POS by hardware costs, setup fees, payment processing fees, and monthly software feed.
• Ease of Use – Since food trucks are a fast-paced business, we looked at programs that are easy to use so businesses can process orders quickly.
• Payment Processing – We only considered restaurant management software that is able to take orders and process payments securely.
• Menu Management – We looked at programs that let you input menu items and allow for custom orders and substitutions.
• Order Management – We looked at how the software handles in-person orders and whether or not customers can order ahead.
• Inventory Management – We looked at whether or not the software can track your inventory levels on an item or ingredient level.
• Reports and Insights – We looked at whether the software can provide insights into overall sales, top-selling menu items, etc.

Based on the above criteria, Square is our top choice for small business food truck POS system because it is free to use, operates on iPhones, iPads, and Android phones, and has built-in payment processing that accepts offline payments. Plus, the interface is extremely intuitive, so businesses can get set up and start taking orders right away.

Square: Best Overall Food Truck POS System for Small Businesses:

Square is the only point-of-sale software that has no monthly fee. Square is easy to set up and comes with a free magstripe card reader, so the only thing businesses need to start taking orders is an iPad, iPhone, or Android smartphone. It is the least expensive option on our list and is the easiest to setup, making Square a great fit for a small or startup food truck business.

Square Pricing

Square has a very simple and affordable pricing structure, including:

• No monthly fee: Square is the only food truck POS system on our list that has free software.
• 2.75% flat-rate payment processing: Square has built-in payment processing at a flat-rate with no minimums. Businesses only pay for what they use.
• Free magstripe card reader: Square comes with a free magstripe card reader so businesses can start accepting payments right away. Additional readers are $10.
• Minimal hardware requirements: To use Square, businesses just need an iPhone, Android smartphone, or ideally an iPad (which can be purchased new for under $400).
• Optional hardware available through Square: Chip readers available for $49, several types of receipt printers for $300 to $400, different iPad stands for $119 to $129. Alternatively, businesses can purchase a full POS hardware kit with an iPad mini, stand, receipt printer, and contactless card reader for $1,055.

Square for food trucks is free to use and has no monthly fee. Businesses just need an iPad, which can be purchased for under $400, or a smartphone, and can add additional hardware like chip card readers, food truck cash registers, and ticket printers as needed.

Square Features

Square includes all the major features food truck businesses need, like the ability to take orders and payment at your window, in-line, or online. Businesses can create custom menu items, set taxing and tipping options, and customize receipts. Square can also take payments offline. By using Square POS, you also have access to the large library of Square features and add-on software like loyalty programs, email marketing, and payroll.

The most important Square for food trucks features are:

Mobility and Payment Processing

Just like all of the other food truck POS systems on our list, Square is completely mobile. Business owners need an internet connection to operate the POS, but Square can still process card swipe payments with no internet connection. Businesses can also connect receipt and ticket printers via Bluetooth. Square has built-in payment processing at 2.75 percent per transaction.

Menu and Inventory Management

For order management, Square is a basic POS that is not food truck or restaurant-specific, so businesses manually enter each menu item and any modifiers as individual products. Square doesn’t have advanced inventory management features or menu costing. Reports show how much of each item was sold, but there is no connectivity between what products are sold and inventory stock levels like Toast, Lavu, and TouchBistro offer.

Square makes it easy to add and edit menu items.

Reports and Insights

Square for food trucks has a great analytics dashboard that takes detailed sales data and presents it in easy-to-digest graphs and charts. In real-time, businesses can see what menu items are selling well, customers insights, and more.

What Square Is Missing

Square is a great all-in-one solution for small or new food truck businesses. While Square is a great value option for smaller businesses because there is no software fee, Square’s payment processing rates are higher than third-party providers such as Cayan. So, larger food truck businesses that have very high sales volumes might want to consider an option like Lavu with a monthly software fee but lower transaction processing rates.

Square Reviews

Overall, Square has positive reviews. Square is a really popular point-of-sale system for food truck businesses because it is free to use, and you can add additional features like payroll and marketing as you need them. Visit our Square Review Page to learn more.

How to Get Started with Square

Square is our top choice for food truck point-of-sale software because it is free, easy to use, and comes with a free magstripe card reader. Square allows businesses to start taking orders and processing payments right away, with minimal setup or upfront investments. Visit Square today to sign up for your free account and get started.

ShopKeep: Best Food Truck POS for Ingredient-Level Inventory Tracking

ShopKeep is a robust point-of-sale system that includes features like individual ingredient tracking. ShopKeep lets businesses connect individual ingredients, like rolls or eggs, to a menu item so businesses can accurately track what ingredients they have on-hand and order supplies based on sales data.

ShopKeep Pricing

ShopKeep has a mid-range price point and allows businesses to choose their own credit card processing providers. ShopKeep pricing details include:

• $69/month: ShopKeep does not publish prices, but our review page estimates ShopKeep costs about $69/month per register.
• Third-party payment processing: With ShopKeep, businesses choose their own credit card processing provider.
• Apple hardware: ShopKeep uses iPads and iPad minis, which can be purchased new for under $400.

Overall, ShopKeep is a robust POS system that provides lots of features at a comparatively lower rate, including sales data, employee management, and order management, all in an easy-to-use iPad interface.

Additional ShopKeep features include:

Mobility and Payment Processing

ShopKeep is a cloud-based point-of-sale that runs on iPads and iPad minis. With ShopKeep, businesses can accept all major payment methods, split checks, print kitchen tickets, and take custom food orders. However, ShopKeep cannot accept offline payments unless businesses use Clover card processing. ShopKeep is therefore a good option for food trucks that operate in an area where they will have a steady internet connection.

Menu and Inventory Management

ShopKeep lets businesses create different menus for different times of day, and create different order modifiers for different menu options. Where ShopKeep really shines is with inventory management. ShopKeep tracks inventory levels down to individual ingredients. This is a great option for food trucks with limited space because you can stock and order ingredients very accurately based on sales data.

Reports and Insights

In addition to ingredient tracking, ShopKeep offers many other detailed reports showing which items are most profitable, what menu items sell the most, and sales data by the hour. Business owners can access this information from desktops or mobile apps. Overall, ShopKeep provides valuable insights at a low monthly cost.

What ShopKeep Is Missing

ShopKeep is a great option for food trucks that want ingredient-level inventory tracking. However, the biggest flaw with ShopKeep for food truck businesses is that it does not accept offline credit card payments. If you have a truck that is always on the move, another option like Toast, with offline payments, may be a better option.

ShopKeep Reviews

Overall, reviews for ShopKeep are very positive. Business owners like that it is easy to use and provides detailed sales data. Businesses also like that ShopKeep has friendly and responsive around-the-clock support. Some reviews mention confusing payment plans or unexpected costs. Visit our ShopKeep Review Page to learn more.

How to Get Started with ShopKeep

ShopKeep is a good food truck POS system for businesses that want ingredient-level sales tracking for keeping accurate inventory levels. Visit the ShopKeep website to learn more and to request a free demo.

Toast: Best Food Truck POS System for Advanced Reporting

Toast is a customizable, cloud-based point-of-sale and management system that only runs on the Android operating system. Toast has advanced back-end features such as inventory management as well as front-of-house tools like built-in customer profiles and a broad range of order modifiers. Overall, Toast is pricier than some of the other software on our list but comes with more options like menu costing, customer profiles, and a broad range of modifiers.

Toast Pricing

Toast is one of the pricier options on our list. Details include:

• $79/month per terminal
• $899 for hardware: Most popular hardware package includes one 10-inch terminal, flip stand, and magnetic card reader. Zero percent interest and 36-month financing available.
• $499 installation and setup fee
• Flat-rate payment processing: Toast has a flat-rate payment processing fee that is not published online.

Toast’s monthly fee is just slightly more expensive than ShopKeep. Compared to Square, which has no monthly fee, Toast is rather expensive. But, Toast comes with extra features like menu costing that can be valuable for larger businesses or businesses with lots of inventory. The setup fee is a unique expense, but most other providers don’t offer in-person assistance, so depending on your preferences, this could be a pro or con.

Toast Features

Toast provides a food truck POS system and payment processing all in one package, like Square, as well as more detailed reporting features. It is one of the most expensive options on our list but is a good fit for busy food trucks that want a sophisticated, all-in-one solution.

Additional Toast features include:

Mobility and Payment Processing

Like Square, Toast has a built-in payment processing solution with a flat fee. Unlike ShopKeep, Toast comes automatically configured to accept offline payments. In the event there is no internet, Toast will take the card’s information, encrypt it, and store it to send out for verification when the device is back online.

Menu and Inventory Management

Unlike Square and ShopKeep, Toast is specifically designed for the food service industry, which is reflected in many of its features. Similar to ShopKeep, businesses can tie ingredients to menu items for inventory tracking. Toast also lets businesses create and customize menu items with modifiers.

Toast’s POS system is very mobile-friendly.

Reports and Insights

Toast has real-time sales and inventory analytics with a customizable dashboard. Businesses can see sales by item, category, time, of day, and more. Toast also tracks customers, so over time businesses can see repeat customers, their order histories, and how frequently they visit. Toast also offers options to add on loyalty programs, gift cards, and online ordering for additional fees.

What Toast Is Missing

Similar to Square, with Toast, businesses have to use their built-in payment processor, the fees for which are not published online. If you want a food truck point-of-sale that lets businesses choose their own payment processor, ShopKeep, TouchBistro may be a better fit.

Toast Reviews

Overall, reviews for Toast are very positive. Businesses like that the program is intuitive and is specifically built for the restaurant industry. Negative reviews say that Toast can be expensive, especially when factoring in upfront implementation costs and add-on features like gift cards or loyalty programs.

How to Get Started with Toast

Toast is a great option for food truck businesses that want detailed reporting and analytics such as ingredient-level inventory management and menu costing. Toast is also one of the only Android-based point-of-sale systems on our list. Visit the Toast website to book a free demo and receive a custom quote.

Lavu: Best Food Truck POS System for Online Ordering

Lavu is a cloud-based POS system specifically designed for restaurants that operate on iPads. Lavu offers standard features like menu customization, easy order taking, and employee management. What sets Lavu apart are the ToGo, Delivery, and Routing integrations. These features coordinate online orders, pickup orders, and delivery within the same POS platform, which is why Lavu is our top choice for food trucks that offer online ordering.

Lavu Pricing

Lavu is a moderately priced food truck POS system like ShopKeep. Details include:

• $69/month per register. Lavu monthly fees are the same as ShopKeep.
• Hardware kits start at $399. This includes an iPad stand and magstripe card reader. iPads are an additional $399 each.
• Optional payment processing. Lavu has its own payment processing system that businesses can use if they want an all-in-one system. But, unlike Square and Toast, food trucks can also integrate other payment processing solutions if they want to find a lower rate.

Lavu Features

Lavu has food service industry-standard features such as menu customization, the ability to split checks and process payments, and inventory monitoring. More advanced options, such as online ordering and digital menu boards, are available as add-ons. These add-ons make Lavu a more flexible option compared to other programs because businesses can pick and choose which features they want while still having everything run under one program.

Lavu online ordering.

Additional Lavu features include:

Mobility and Payment Processing

Lavu offers Lavu Pay, which is Lavu’s own payment processing solution. However, unlike Toast and Square for Restaurants, Lavu does not force restaurants to use this service. Lavu POS is also compatible with Square and other third-party payment processing services, so restaurant owners can shop around for the best rate. Lavu has an offline mode, so depending on what payments processor you choose, Lavu can still accept payments without an internet connection.

Menu and Inventory Management

Like Toast and ShopKeep, Lavu can connect inventory items with menu items to keep track of ingredients as they are used. With Lavu, businesses can create custom menus and modifiers for specific menu items. Lavu also has a few unique features, including Happy Hour, where businesses can set percentage or dollar-off discounts for a specific time period and a Combo Builder so food trucks can set specific meal combos.

Reports and Insights

Lavu offers ingredient-level inventory tracking and sales data. Like ShopKeep, Lavu offers real-time reporting and insights on a desktop and through the mobile app.

What Lavu Is Missing

Lavu’s reporting features are not quite as robust as Toast; Lavu reports mainly focus on ingredients and inventory management rather than sales data.

Lavu Reviews

Online reviews for Lavu are mostly positive. However, some reviews state that Lavu is lacking in reporting features. Others state that the software can be glitchy at times, and customer service does not always respond as quickly as the business owners would like. Read our Lavu Review Page for more information.

How to Get Started with Lavu

Lavu is a good option for food truck business owners that want an industry-specific, point-of-sale system with features that allow for online ordering. Visit the Lavu website to learn more and to sign up for a free 14-day trial.

TouchBistro: Best POS System for High-Volume Food Trucks That Need Self-Ordering Kiosks

TouchBistro was designed by former restaurant staff to create an intuitive and effective point-of-sale system for food trucks and restaurants. TouchBistro offers most of the same features as the other POS systems specific to the food service industry. However, TouchBistro is a great option for businesses that are very high volume or have multiple trucks and would benefit from having multiple self-serve kiosks to reduce lines and wait time.

TouchBistro Pricing

TouchBistro has four different pricing levels based on how many iPads you need for taking orders. All plans include the same features, just with different numbers of licenses.

TouchBistro Pricing Tiers

TouchBistro Features

All TouchBistro plans include unlimited users, menu management, remote reporting access, and the ability to operate offline. TouchBistro offers self-ordering kiosks so lines can move faster and food truck businesses can focus on cooking orders instead of taking orders. Overall, TouchBistro is similar to other food service POS systems on our list, with the additional option of customer-facing displays.

TouchBistro self-ordering kiosk

Additional TouchBistro features include:

Mobility and Payment Processing

TouchBistro offers full offline support, so orders and payments can be processed offline. Businesses that use TouchBistro choose their own payment processing service, so you can shop around for the lowest rate, unlike Square or Toast, which require businesses to use their processing service.

Menu and Inventory Management

TouchBistro tracks inventory levels down to the ingredient based on sales. Similar to Toast, restaurants can also create recipes and run menu costing through this software. Lavu, Toast, and TouchBistro all have automated inventory tracking at the ingredient level.

Reports and Insights

TouchBistro offers over 50 different reports with customizable templates. Similar to Square and Toast, TouchBistro lets restaurants create customer profiles and store information for future reference for free with the basic software.

What TouchBistro Is Missing

TouchBistro can be more difficult to set up than plug-and-play cloud-based solutions like Square. If you are getting TouchBistro to have multiple kiosks, you will need to set up a mini server for all of them to communicate. This may not be realistic if your truck is tiny, and wouldn’t be practical for a smaller business. But, if you have a booming food truck business that needs to cut down lines and wait times, getting self-serve kiosks through TouchBistro might be worth the effort.

TouchBistro Reviews

TouchBistro is a very popular point-of-sale system that is easy to use. Overall, reviews are very positive, and businesses like that customer service is very helpful and responsive. However, some business owners state that TouchBistro can be expensive.

How to Get Started with TouchBistro

TouchBistro is a great option for food trucks that need self-serve kiosks. Overall, this POS system is very popular with easy-to-use features. Visit the TouchBistro website to book a free live demo, request a quote, or sign up for a free trial.

Bottom Line

Food trucks need a point-of-sale system that is mobile and can help streamline operations to efficiently take and process orders in a minimum amount of time and space. Food truck businesses also need a reliable solution that can still take payments even without an internet connection, so that food trucks on the move never have to worry about missing revenue opportunities.

Square POS is the best POS system for food trucks because it is free to use, super easy to set up, and simple to use. Businesses can start taking orders right away with minimal upfront costs and can always add additional features like payroll, marketing, and loyalty programs. Visit Square for a demo and to sign up for a free account.