Best Fast Food POS
Out of the 19 fast food point of sale systems we researched, 7 are worth recommending.
From employees to inventory, from customer management to marketing and beyond, a great POS system will take your fast food business to the next level.
See below as we compare these 7 top brands to help you decide which one is the right fit for your business.
Comparison Table
Price | Free Trial | Support | Hardware | Best For | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
$79 / month per terminal + $499 installation | Yes | 24/7 Support | Android POS hardware | Android Users | |
$69 / month per location | Yes | 24/7 Support | Web-based, macOS or Windows | Third-party integrations | |
$59 / month per terminal | No | 24/7 Support | iPad and Android POS Hardware | Those looking for tons of features | |
$29 / month starting | Yes | 24/7 Support | iPad POS hardware | Delivery | |
$69 per month + Additional Quotes | Yes | 24/7 Support | iPad POS hardware | Mobile | |
Free | Yes | Online chat | iOs and Android | New businesses | |
$99 / month | Yes | Portal Support | OPOS Hardware Station | All-in-one |
Top 7 POS System Reviews
As the best POS system for fast food, Toast is a wonderful choice for those on the search for a low-cost option.
Toast POS works for both phones and tablets, perfect for Android lovers who don’t want to bother with buying new iOS devices.
This solution wraps up all of the best features into a highly intuitive interface. The software includes just about everything you would need, including billing, sales, analytics reports, and layout management.
Subscription services start at $79 every month per terminal. Installations, whether remote or in-person, start around $499. Toast charges a flat payment processing fee as well.
Designed with kitchen in mind, their handheld and desktop hardware is dust-proof and splash-proof.
And as one of the best enterprise POS systems, Toast incorporates all the latest technology into their products. This software can continue working in battery-powered mode in the event that a power outage occurs.
Toast recently introduced “Toast Now”, which is a completely virtual service. Customers can now make orders online for contactless delivery, perfect for the post-covid market. WithToast Now, you'll get 3 months free, and it costs $50 per month thereafter.
To learn more, head over to Toast POS Reviews, How To Use Toast POS System, and Toast Customer Service.
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Lightspeed is well-known for having tons of great third-party integrations, which makes it one of the most flexible POS systems on our list.
You can easily connect third-party applications with your Lightspeed POS hardware. As a fast-food restaurant owner, you can customize the system to fit industry-specific needs and add unique features, such as employee scheduling or loyalty programs.
Of course, Lightspeed isn’t all about third-party integrations. The interface utilizes inventory management features that can help you to track ingredients.
There is a photo-supported menu that provides descriptions of different menu items and a floor plan display that allows servers to see order progress at individual tables.
Some of the key features with Lightspeed include tableside ordering, kitchen display, integration library, analytics, and menu management. The regular Lightspeed price starts off at $69 per month per location, though they do bill annually. The cost includes one feature-filled register and software/data backups and updates for free.
Overall, when you consider the tableside service and menu and employee management options that come with Lightspeed, it’s a top-notch POS system for fast-food restaurants and beyond. Plus, the software is incredibly scalable. No matter what size venue you run, you’ll be able to integrate Lightspeed to fit your needs.
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#3 Shopkeep
If you’re looking for the best of the best, ShopKeep is a perfect choice.
This POS solution comes with a wide variety of tools that are made to boost margins and productivity.
When you implement ShopKeep in your business, you can speed up your order taking and create repeat customers. Plus, ShopKeep features a wide variety of fast food-specific features.
The aspect we love the most is that this system is scalable and can keep up with a growing business.
There is an integrated marketing tool suite in ShopKeep to help attract more customers as well. You’ll be able to input email addresses and customer details.
You can use all of this collected information to generate marketing campaigns that are ultra-personalized.
Another great thing about ShopKeep is that you’ll be able to take orders and process payments quickly. Servers can send orders to the kitchen as soon as they are taken. ShopKeep also allows employees to write extra notes on orders and modifications. This feature can curb mistakes and improve overall customer service.
Visit ShopKeep POS Reviews for a more in-depth analysis.
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If you’re looking for a slew of POS features, researching Upserve will be well worth your time.
This particular solution comes with a variety of features that you won’t find on many other systems, including offline functionality, training mode, bill splitting options, tableside ordering, and online order management. Plus, they have tools to track inventory and sales!
One reason to love Upserve is that it provides incredibly deep analytics that are presented on an easy-to-read dashboard.
You can easily spot business trends and stay up to date as to how your fast food restaurant is doing. Analytics can improve guest retention and staff performance.
Plus, you’ll be able to predict dish popularity and make the necessary changes to your business!
The Upserve support team is one characteristic that makes this POS solution so attractive. At the start, you’ll end up spending $59 every month per terminal. If you can afford to spend that much, you’ll enjoy optimizing your daily needs. It is important to note that with the $59 every month plan you don’t get some crucial features. You must pay $99 every month to add inventory management.
Overall, Upserve has a slew of impressive restaurant-specific features and it is best for those who want a feature-rich system.
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The Harbortouch point of sale solution is another great fast food POS system for those seeking out industry-specific features.
Some of the features include dynamic customizations and caller ID integration.
There is a handy delivery dashboard that provides fast food restaurant owners with total oversight to drivers and delivery vehicles too.
The dashboard provides driver status at any time so that you’ll always know which drivers are out for delivery and which drivers are still available.
You can also gauge how long an order has been waiting in the queue, which allows for more efficient deliveries and driver scheduling.
Harbortouch provides inventory control so that you can keep your business stocked. You can easily import the inventory in your restaurant into your Harbortouch database. The POS system automatically tracks your stock levels and sales in real-time, as well as creates automatic purchase orders any time stock is running low.
It is worth noting that the Harbortouch POS system is tied into the payment processing system from HarborTouch, so you will have to use their payment processing. If you don’t have a payment processor already, however, and you like what they are offering, this might be an advantage. It depends on your situation.
Our Harbortouch Review dives deeper into the features that you'll get with this POS software.
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Loyverse is an excellent choice for businesses that are just getting off the ground, as this is a free POS option.
Plus, it can be installed on just about any device, whether it is an Android or iOS operating system.
Although Loyverse is free, it contains robust features.
For starters, Loyverse has the ability to email customer receipts beyond allowing printed receipts. The system accepts cash, credit, or both, and can easily process refunds or discounts when necessary.
The software can also create tickets and save them for processing at a later time. This allows
customers to pay later if they call in an order, as well as allows for items to be modified once orders have been placed.
Loyverse offers multi-location management and per location tracking. If any of your stores locations go offline, the system will continue tracking, processing, and uploading orders. You’ll never have to stress about a technical blackout during a lunch rush again.
One impressive thing to note is that Loyverse employs ingredient inventory tracking, sending out notifications when specific items are low in stock so that you can avoid running out of essential items. To create a predictive analysis of inventory trends, Loyverse computes reports for you too. The reporting also shows how the business is running and why. At a glance, you can see which items are performing well or how many customers order certain dishes at specific times of the day.
As for customers, you can keep track of them using the loyalty program and award points to those who frequently dine. Having a loyalty program helps to bring in more and more customers.
Overall, Loyverse is an excellent option for beginner business owners who want a free option to get things off the ground. Even with the “free” stamp, this POS solution should not be underestimated.
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If you’re looking for a single, cloud-based POS platform to manage your fast-food establishment form front to back, then LS Retail is a wonderful choice.
With innovative technology and unified commerce solutions, LS Retail allows fast-food restaurant owners to manage their businesses with ease.
The POS system also provides owners with actionable business data, which can be used to make better decisions or eventually scale out in the future.
One of the top LS Retail features is the diverse inventory management.
It’s probably the number one reason that most customers go with LS Retail.
Of course, standard inventory management is there to make sure items remain in stock by notifying those in charge when items get low. Beyond standard inventory management, LS Retail works by organizing items with low inventory thresholds. It sorts items by the vendor if you wan and prints out reports. These inventory management tools are incredibly accurate and help keep business running smoothly.
LS Retail helps create discounts and custom prices as well. It places various products into subgroups to help with the organization. For those who like visual platforms, you’ll love LS Retail. The interface is best described as a visual interface, which makes it much easier to navigate. Overalls LS Retail has all of the necessary tools to run a successful fast-food establishment and it is one of our favorites on the list.
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What To Look For In A Fast Food POS System
Kitchen Display System
Kitchen display systems are made to increase efficiency between the kitchen and the front of house or cashiers. Order processing can be automated with a good kitchen display system. Orders can be routed to relevant stations as soon as they are processed within the system, reducing overall preparation time. You won’t ever have to worry about two or more cooks dealing with the same order.
Forget about the old days of having to take a printed ticket back into the kitchen. With automated kitsch display systems, you can provide cooks with all of the necessary information, including order numbers, order items, and modifications. Customer wait-time is cut in half and orders can be taken to completion much faster.
Order Confirmation Board
If your fast-food establishment has a drive-thru, you might want to consider getting a POS system that can connect to an order confirmation board. Order confirmation boards are made to be read during the day or night and allow customers to see their orders as they update them in real-time. Order confirmation boards are great for both employees and customers, as they increase efficiency, simplify ordering operations, and reduce the probability of mistakes, ultimately reducing the number of unsatisfied customers.
Kiosks
Self-sufficient kiosk POS systems are all the rage these days. Sometimes, your staff can feel quite overwhelmed. If you are in a busy location with employees trying to simultaneously run a drive-thru and in-house customers, situations can become difficult. With self-order kiosks, customers can quietly go about ordering what they want. You won’t have to stress about people taking long with their orders and creating large queues.
Kiosks allow customers to pay for their orders after they place them, increasing efficiency. This allows both in-house and drive-thru lines to move much faster.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why Should I Get a Fast-Food POS System?
A great fast food POS or point of sale system can help a fast food restaurant achieve growth in terms of business. OF course, getting a fast food industry-specific POS system is equally as important as having one in general.
A restaurant business must record sales, know where specific food orders were placed whether online orders or in-house orders, and create a system to track inventory. Great POS software can help manage ingredient inventory, staff scheduling, online ordering, and so much more.
Here are some of the top reasons to acquire a fast-food POS system for your restaurant:
- Help restaurant managers track the schedules and work hours of their employees
- Help the front-of-house and back-of-house employees communicate with ease
- Streamline both in-house ordering and online ordering from start to finish, all while sending out email receipts
- Log business data every day so that restaurant owners can get a better idea of growth at the end of each month.
- Create loyalty programs with discounts or gift cards
Must I Purchase POS Hardware?
Software is typically the main focus when it comes to a great POS system. However, the hardware is equally as important. If your POS bundle does not come with hardware, you will need to acquire some.
Here are a few physical POS accessories that you can expect to acquire along with your POS system:
- Card Readers: It's not enough to have a cash drawer. You need to have a reader for debit cards, credit cards, or gift cards. You can even purchase a card reader the size of a dime that can be plugged into the jack of an iPhone. Decide whether you need portable card readers or countertop cubes.
- Touchscreen: Touchscreen POS systems are similar to desktop computers, though they are typically smaller and much better for running this type of software. Almost all up-to-date POS companies utilize iPads or other types of tablets for touchscreen displays.
- Self-Service Kiosk: As we said before, self-service is the new thing for fast-food restaurants. The only way to provide customers with the benefit of self-service is with a self-serve kiosk. You will likely need to purchase a self-service kiosk third-party, as many companies do not provide them with their standard hardware or software.
Bottom Line - Which Fast Food POS System Should I Get?
If you’ve been searching for the best POS systems for restaurants, there is no need to look any further. All of the restaurant POS systems that we listed are the best around for fast-food. They come stocked with industry-specific features, giving fast-food establishment owners all they need to operate efficiently and collect business data.
Of course, it is up to you to research the differences and similarities between the various POS restaurant systems on this page to find the right one for your budget and needs.
Once you have found the best fast food POS system for your business needs, you need to get in contact with the vendors to get a quote for your business. Quotes are dependent on additional needs and business size.
Tyler Connaghan
Contributing Author