Quick Service POS
While getting your restaurant business up and running can be a time-consuming process, finding the right quick service POS system needn't be.
Good POS solutions streamline operations, help boost sales, and increase customer satisfaction.
We'll explain all you need to know about the 5 best quick service restaurant point-of-sale systems on the market, allowing you to make a well-informed purchase decision.
Let's get started!
Quick Service POS Systems
Square
- Best for small businesses
- Plenty of QSR POS features & easy to set up
- Free POS software & Square Reader
Lightspeed
- Best for ease of use & versatility
- Built-in payment processing & good inventory management features
- POS software starts from $39 per month with one POS terminal included
Revel
- Best for iPad- users
- Menu building features & front-of-house tools
- POS software starts from $99 per month
Oracle MICROS Simphony
- Best for businesses looking for a custom-built QSR POS system
- All-in-one QSR POS solution & third-party integrations
- POS pricing by quotation
TouchBistro
- Best for larger businesses
- Payment processing options & online ordering features
- POS software starts from $69 per month
Top Five Quick Service POS Systems
Let's dive into the leading point-of-sale systems for fast food and quick service restaurants (QSR). We'll explain the unique benefits that each one could bring to your business, as well as do a thorough price break-down.
Square
Square is a great choice for small businesses that are just starting up, as they offer completely free POS software and a free Square Reader for taking in-person card payments.
This QSR POS system is designed to save time at every step, not only in the front-of-house, but for back-of-house operations as well. It features conversational modifiers to improve the speed of ordering and it allows you to repeat orders in a couple of taps.
Since it is cloud-based point-of-sale software, you can make real-time updates to your menu across all devices in the restaurant. You can access the POS system and manage restaurants from anywhere in the world as long as you've got the internet.
Reporting and analytics features collate valuable data, letting you view your sales, employee performance, identify best-selling dishes, and more
Square has plenty of great quick service POS features including a kitchen display system to help improve order accuracy, inventory management, online ordering, third-party integrations, marketing, a customer rewards program, and mobile POS tools.
They offer free POS software including restaurant management software. Their paid restaurant-specific POS system plans start at $60 per month for the Premium plan. Some features like payroll, loyalty programs, and marketing tools are optional add-ons and Square charges additional fees.
For POS hardware, Square has a comprehensive range of items that can be purchased individually, or you could opt for one of their all-inclusive restaurant-specific POS hardware kits. You also get a free magstripe card reader when you choose this brand. See Square POS system cost for more details.
Hardware:
Software:
Payment Processing:
- Free and Plus plans
- Premium plan
Pros
Cons
Lightspeed offers a versatile and easy-to-use quick-service POS system. With built-in payment processing, Lightspeed's cloud-based POS system has plenty of great features to make running your quick service restaurant a breeze.
Excellent inventory management tools can be used to make your menu more profitable, minimize any food waste, and keep track of your stock.
Design a restaurant floor plan and manage your customers with the front-of-house and table management mode. You can also set up a customer loyalty program and offer gift cards.
Ensure order accuracy with a customer-facing display and save time sending orders to the kitchen with a kitchen display system. There are also online ordering and food delivery features, ideal for fast, casual restaurants.
This quick service restaurant point-of-sale system software is available in four pricing plans starting at $39 per month. Lightspeed also offers custom a POS solution with their Enterprise plan.
All these POS plans come with a free POS terminal and Lightspeed offers various POS hardware kits and individual items by quotation. They come with customer service support 24/7 and a dedicated account manager.
Hardware:
Software:
- Lightspeed Restaurant POS system (one POS register included in each package)
Payment Processing:
Pros
Cons
Revel POS system offers an all-in-one, iPad-based quick service solution. This cloud-based QSR POS system offers back and front-of-house tools that help save time and speed up service while maximizing order accuracy.
The menu-building software lets you customize each dish using pictures and descriptions and you can also include combos and modifiers. Since Revel is cloud-based, your multi-location menus can be amended from a single device with just a few clicks.
Powerful inventory management tools keep track of your real-time ingredient levels. You'll know exactly when to restock, never again running out of needed ingredients mid-service. It helps minimize waste and in turn, boost the profits of your business.
The Revel customer display system is a great front-of-house tool, ideal for any fast food business. Not only does it help to reduce order errors but it can show loyalty program details, and aid with customer relationship management.
Because it increases transaction transparency, that in-turn increases customer trust. You can use it to display promotions, encouraging your customers to return to your business.
Revel offers payment processing and allows you to take payment by any method including cards, digital wallets, and gift cards. They have plenty of other POS features to keep your business running smoothly such as an offline mode, mobile POS options, employee management, and reporting tools.
Revel POS software starts from $99 monthly per terminal. There are a few conditions to get this rate. These conditions include a minimum of two POS terminals, an annual bill and a 3-year Revel Advantage contract.
They have a full range of POS hardware and offer a complete installation service that starts from $674. You'll also get 24/7 support for your business.
Hardware:
Software:
- Starts at $99 per month per POS terminal, with the following conditions:
Payment Processing:
Pros
Cons
Oracle MICROS Simphony POS offers custom point-of-sale systems that can be used for any size and type of quick service and fast food business.
Their cloud-based, all-in-one QSR POS system offers all the top features needed to streamline operations.
The Oracle MICROS QSR POS hardware is durable and can easily handle the high volume of sales that quick service businesses encounter each day.
It has great speed, reliability, and security, helping to boost customer satisfaction. With their mobile POS option, all you'll need is a tablet, but they also offer traditional POS terminals.
If you want to improve the speed of your service while ensuring that customers are having a great experience, Oracle offers self-service kiosks. Customers order and pay using the kiosk, reducing waiting times and order errors.
Oracle also has a plethora of excellent QSR POS software features such as inventory management, transaction and order management, employee and scheduling, reporting and analytics, menu and table management, gift cards, and loyalty programs.
Discussion with their sales team is needed for Oracle's POS system pricing. They'll ensure that you get a fully customized setup with everything you need.
Hardware:
Software:
Payment Processing:
Pros
Cons
TouchBistro is a cloud-based iPad POS system that works for virtually every restaurant. They specialize in food service POS systems and have all the POS software and hardware to ensure the smooth running of any quick service restaurant, including larger-sized restaurants and businesses with multiple locations.
For payment processing, you can opt for Touch Payments or a third-party provider, whichever has the most suitable payment processing rates for your business.
TouchBistro allows you to deliver a great customer experience with fast-moving queues and mobile POS tools. It lets customers confirm their orders, avoiding expensive errors. It also tracks valuable data such as customer preferences, meaning you can impress your customers by asking if they would like their usual order the next time they visit.
Keep the back-of-house operations running without a hitch by using TouchBistro's powerful inventory management features and reporting tools. Real-time data about your stock, sales, employees, and more can be accessed at any time and from any location using your mobile device.
Online ordering tools make it quick and easy for customers to place orders for takeaway or delivery. They can do this using your business website or social media platforms.
TouchBistro offers a full range of POS hardware. Hardware bundles are available, or you can select specific hardware items individually, customizing your set up. All pricing is done by quotation.
Their POS software starts from $69 per month, but a wide variety of add-ons are available for extra fees. These include marketing features, gift cards, rewards programs, reservations, and online ordering.
Hardware:
Software:
- Starting from $69 per month
- Add-ons cost extra,
Payment Processing:
Pros
Cons
The Bottom Line
There is certainly no shortage of great quick service restaurant POS systems available on the market, each with its own strengths and benefits.
The quick service POS systems that we have reviewed can serve the needs of the majority of fast food and quick service restaurants, streamlining business operations.
I hope we have helped narrow down your options and you now have a better idea of the POS brands you're interested in.
No time to call around multiple POS companies for quotes? Let us do it for you! Simply fill out the questionnaire below and you will get price quotes on the ideal POS system for your restaurant business. And the best part - our service is completely free!
Tim Postlethwaite
Contributing Author
