Restaurant POS iPad
We’ve come up with the 5 best restaurant POS systems for iPads that not only seamlessly integrate with Apple, but are also at the top of their field in terms of the competition.
Selecting the wrong POS system will throw your business into a loop if you are trying to integrate with an Apple product.
That's why we've taken out the guesswork for you.
Read on to select which one is the best fit for your restaurant as we break down the benefits and specs of each system.
Top 5 Restaurant POS Systems For iPad
Quick Answer:
TouchBistro - Best iPad Restaurant POS System Overall
Toast - Best All-In-One iPad Restaurant POS System
Square For Restaurants - Best Restaurant POS For Smaller Restaurants or Food Trucks
Lightspeed - Best iPad Restaurant POS System for Full-Service Restaurants
Revel Systems - Best iPad Restaurant POS System for Large Restaurants
#1 TouchBistro - Best iPad Restaurant POS System Overall
TouchBistro POS System for iPad is an incredibly versatile POS system that is perfect for pubs, bars, and food trucks, beyond full- and quick-service restaurants.
Of course, the TouchBistro running tab features set it apart from some of the other iPad restaurant POS systems on this list, making it an excellent choice for a bar or pub in need of a point of sale system.
As of right now, TouchBistro POS System for iPad pricing starts out at $69 per terminal.
TouchBistro also gives business owners the ability to add other features to the POS system as well, including online ordering, gift cards, and reservations, which TouchBistro charges extra for.
One of the top features of the TouchBistro iPad restaurant POS system is the tab feature.
You can use it to combine tabs, run multiple tabs across different bar tops, and transfer a tab to a table with ease.
TouchBistro Restaurant POS also comes with customizable gratuities, upsell features, such as pop-up modifiers and suggestions, and quality payroll features. The TouchBistro iPad POS system even integrates with 7Shifts, which makes scheduling easier than ever.
Without comprehensive reporting and tracking, an iPad restaurant POS system isn't worth much. Luckily, TouchBistro restaurant POS provides ingredient-level inventory tracking, tax and accounting information, promotions, and personalized reporting for your staff.
The TouchBistro iPad restaurant POS system can be found in more than 23,000 establishments around the world, including many popular chain restaurants like Johnny Rockets and Little Caesars. If you're looking for a top-of-the-line iPad restaurant POS system to implement in your business, then TouchBistro might be the one you're looking for.
Pro's
Con's
With the Toast POS system, you get all of the iPad restaurant POS system tools that you could hope for in one place.
Whether you're dealing with email marketing, team management, payroll, or online ordering, Toast can help.
One of the neat things about the Toast iPad restaurant POS system is that it makes delivery easy, perfect for the post-pandemic market.
You can accept orders on the phone or online, streamlining delivery fees and dispatching drives. Customers can then track the status of their orders in real-time.
As the volume of the order increases, so do the fees.
You can then use the quality reporting and analytics features built into the POS software to get a summary of your delivery trends, which can help you make better decisions in the future.
Toast iPad restaurant POS system payroll is excellent as well. You can integrate your payroll very easily with this iPad restaurant POS system, allowing you to consolidate tax and tip data or track timesheets and hours. This centralized restaurant POS system hub keeps you compliant with labor laws while making sure your staff is getting paid on time.
The marketing solution that comes with Toast is available, helping business owners to build marketing lists with ease. All of the marketing campaigns can be run straight from your iPad restaurant POS system, meaning you don't have to juggle multiple platforms.
Some of the other POS system features available through the Toast iPad restaurant POS solution include the kitchen display system, which works without an Internet connection, inventory management with third-party integrations, tableside ordering for accelerating check times, and data/analytics wrapped in intuitive overview reports.
Pro's
Con's
Square is an incredibly popular restaurant point of sale solution that is very easy to use.
The Square for Restaurants iPad restaurant POS software uses modified serving tools, as well as inventory management features and more.
The great thing about this particular iPad restaurant POS compared to other restaurant POS systems is that the basic plan is completely free! All you need to pay for is integrated payment processing.
Of course, most business owners end up upgrading, as the advanced version has better features.
However, for food trucks or small restaurants just starting out, this iPad restaurant POS is a budget-friendly choice.
The free plan charges a payment processing fee of 2.6% + 10 cents for in-person orders and 2.9% + 30 cents for online ordering.
When you upgrade, you get access to ingredient-level inventory management features, which are pretty common in most iPad restaurant POS systems. The Plus plan, which is the first real upgrade, comes in at $60 per month.
Even though this particular iPad restaurant POS software caters to smaller establishments and food trucks, you can still find unique point of sale features like table management. The iPad POS system integrates with KDS and POS for delivery services, allowing for easy online ordering.
When you upgrade to the Plus plan, you can begin 86ing items, gain access to helpful kitchen reports, initiate automatic gratuity, use table timers, and reopen closed checks. Regardless, if you're looking to take orders and help customers move down the line fast, the Lightspeed iPad POS is a great POS system for quick-service restaurants to get started with and one of the best budget-friendly POS systems in the restaurant industry.
Pro's
Con's
With a rich assortment of high-quality, restaurant-focused features, tableside ordering, and tab/tip management, Lightspeed Restaurant POS is one of the best choices for full-service restaurants.
This POS system comes with the necessary flexibility so many people look for in a POS solution, including the ability to integrate your own payment processor and use third-party POS hardware.
All of the Lightspeed Restaurant POS plans are cloud-hosted.
Pricing is available on the website, though it can be completely customized depending on the volume of your restaurant.
As of now, the basic plan runs at $69 per month, though most restaurants seek to upgrade.
One thing to love about the Lightspeed iPad POS system is the eCommerce platform, which is easily tailored for a business of any size. The Lightspeed Restaurant POS also comes with a wide variety of helpful reporting options as well.
You'll find a top-notch loyalty program integrated into the point of sale software, allowing you to set up marketing campaigns with ease or track the spending habits of your customers. The Lightspeed iPad restaurant POS system makes it easy to track inventory and gather data for multiple locations.
The employee management feature in this restaurant POS system makes it easy for managers to schedule and divide permissions to employees. Business owners can also create menus or make changes in a snap.
If you choose to go with the Lightspeed POS system credit card processing, you'll get to enjoy competitive rates and a range of helpful integrations, such as marketing and accounting features. The company provides 24/7 customer support through phone and email too, making it a solid option for establishments that stay open late.
Pro's
Con's
Revel Systems POS system has an onboarding fee, unlike many other iPad restaurant POS systems, and is also one of the most expensive.
However, this POS system is also one of the best choices for large restaurants that have complex POS needs.
Revel integrates with several third-party apps, making it one of the most flexible iPad restaurant POS systems out there today.
From data aggregation to employee management, getting what you need with Revel Systems is easier than ever.
Plus, you can choose whether you want to use their payment processing system or your own.
As for right now, the Revel Systems POS system starts out at $99 per month for each terminal. However, the POS system service also comes with a $674 onboarding fee.
The great thing about this onboarding, however, is that it trains staff how to use the POS software and POS hardware.
The Revel Systems iPad restaurant POS solution can be integrated with self-serve kiosks too, making it an ideal solution for quick-service restaurants using automation. Some of the notable features of the Revel Systems restaurant POS software include automatic menu prompts for modification and upsells, loyalty programs, gift cards, employee management, inventory management, and customer relationship management software.
The inventory management feature found on the Revel Systems point of sale system goes down to the ingredient and provides in-depth details on the history of that particular ingredient. With analytics like that, you can see why this restaurant point of sale system has become such a popular choice.
Pro's
Con's
What To Look For In an iPad POS System
There are so many things to consider when looking for the right iPad POS system that the search can be a bit overwhelming. Here are some things that you should make sure your iPad POS system gives you access to.
Real-Time Menu Changes
Having the ability to update your menu in real-time is something you can't substitute with a restaurant iPad POS. You should be able to make these updates within your POS software and watch them appear across your menu boards and website in real-time.
Inventory Management
If your restaurant POS does not have inventory management features, look elsewhere. Any great restaurant point of sale system should consistently monitor what you have in stock and send you alerts when ingredients get low. Some iPad restaurant POS systems will even go as far as automatically reordering any items that are low.
Inventory management comes in many different forms and some inventory management solutions are better in some iPad restaurant POS systems compared to others. It's up to you to research the various capabilities to find the best one for your needs.
Staff Management
Good service requires a happy staff. Any truly practical iPad restaurant POS will give you access to features that help you manage your staff. With large teams and small shifts, managing staff scheduling can be a nightmare. Your iPad POS system should act as a staff messaging center and payroll portal to keep your restaurant on track.
A quality iPad restaurant POS will give you the ability to gather staff performance reports or check out staff schedules. Having the best staff on for the hardest shifts is crucial. Whether back of house or front of house, a good staff management system can help keep your team in order.
Reporting and Analytics
The best way to gauge how your restaurant business is doing is with reporting and analytics features.
Your iPad POS system should provide you with detailed reports on your business, including everything from staff to food to sales to profit.
The data should give you information on your service, your customers, and your costs.
You can then use this data to make better decisions for your restaurant in the future.
Online Ordering
A great iPad restaurant POS should provide online ordering capabilities. From third-party delivery service connections like DoorDash or UberEats to in-house delivery service, your iPad POS system should do it all.
Online ordering must also feed from the front of house to the back of house in real-time, so that you can keep the flow of your restaurant moving.
Offline Capabilities
Good iPad restaurant POS software can continue running, even when your internet connection is down. The last thing you want is to be dead in the water when your Internet connection goes down. Your payment processing will still work and all your data will be stored before syncing when the iPad POS system goes back online.
Mobile Management
Having mobile capabilities to go along with your iPad POS system can be extremely helpful. Many restaurant POS systems come with apps that you can set up to give you real-time notifications about anything happening at your place of business. No matter what, you can always stay connected to your restaurant with this unique cloud-based software.
Restaurant POS Hardware
The iPad POS system that you choose might also have external hardware necessary for operations. For example, you might need a customer facing display, a credit card reader, or a kitchen display system. Make sure to inquire about the restaurant POS hardware that the company offers, as these add-ons can be helpful depending on the business.
Final Thoughts - Which of These Restaurant iPad POS Systems Is Right For Your Business?
The restaurant industry will always be around so long as business exists and people need to eat. Of course, with new business surrounding the popularity of online ordering, it is important that you consider that when choosing an iPad POS system for your restaurant business.
There are so many factors to consider when looking for an iPad POS system, including staff management, online ordering, third-party integrations or add-ons, credit card and payment processing options, sales data, real-time modifications, tableside ordering, and more.
The iPad POS system that you ultimately choose should be designed to help you with any challenges you face while running your restaurant business. Get in touch with these POS software manufacturers and see if you are able to test their POS systems before purchasing. It's a great way to get started.
Overall, TouchBistro is one of our favorite restaurant POS Systems, as it is an all-in-one iPad point of sale system designed to elevate the customer experience with streamlined service and 24/7 support.
Tyler Connaghan
Contributing Author