Choosing the right POS for your restaurant shouldn’t be a daunting task. Check out these helpful tips!

Running a restaurant is a beautiful blend of art and logistics. While your culinary creations draw in crowds, it’s the behind-the-scenes systems that keep everything humming. One of the most critical tools in your operational arsenal? Your Point of Sale (POS) system.

Choosing the right POS isn’t just about ringing up orders—it’s about streamlining service, managing inventory, tracking sales, and enhancing customer experience. So how do you pick the perfect one for your restaurant? Let’s break it down.

1. Understand Your Restaurant’s Needs

Before diving into features and pricing, take a step back and assess your business:

• Type of restaurant: Quick service, full-service, bar, food truck, or multi-location?
• Volume of transactions: High turnover during peak hours? Multiple terminals needed?
• Staff size: Will you need user permissions, training modules, or mobile access?
• Menu complexity: Do you offer combos, modifiers, or seasonal items?

Knowing your unique needs helps you filter out systems that aren’t built for your style of service.

2. Must-Have Features to Look For

Here are the essential features every modern restaurant POS should offer:

• Order Management: Easy table-side ordering, split checks, and custom modifiers.
• Inventory Tracking: Real-time updates, low-stock alerts, and ingredient-level tracking.
• Employee Management: Clock-in/out, role-based access, and performance tracking.
• Reporting & Analytics: Sales trends, peak hours, and menu performance insights.
• Payment Processing: EMV, mobile wallets, contactless payments, and tipping options.
• Customer Relationship Tools: Loyalty programs, email marketing, and feedback collection.

3. Cloud-Based vs. Legacy POS

• Cloud-Based POS: Accessible from anywhere, automatic updates, lower upfront costs, and scalable.
• Legacy POS: On-premise, often more robust for large operations, but can be costly and harder to update.

For most modern restaurants, cloud-based systems offer flexibility and ease of use—especially if you’re growing or managing multiple locations.

4. Budget Wisely

POS systems vary widely in cost. Consider:

• Upfront hardware costs: Tablets, printers, cash drawers.
• Monthly software fees: Subscription-based pricing.
• Payment processing fees: Per transaction or flat rate.
• Add-ons: Loyalty programs, online ordering, delivery integrations.

Don’t just go for the cheapest—go for the best value. A slightly higher investment can save you hours of labor and lost revenue.

5. Support and Reliability

Even the best systems can hiccup. Make sure your provider offers:

• 24/7 customer support
• Onboarding assistance
• Regular updates and security patches

A responsive support team can be the difference between a minor inconvenience and a full-blown service meltdown.

Final Thoughts

Your POS system is more than a cash register—it’s the digital backbone of your restaurant. Choosing the right one means smoother operations, happier customers, and better insights into your business.

Why Your Restaurant Deserves a Smarter POS System — And Why Now Is the Time to Switch

In the restaurant business, every second counts. Whether you’re flipping tables on a Friday night or managing inventory before the weekend rush, your point-of-sale system should be your most reliable teammate — not a source of frustration. Yet many restaurants are still using outdated POS solutions that slow down service, limit growth, and leave money on the table.

If your current system feels more like a relic than a resource, it’s time to rethink what your POS can do for you.

The Hidden Costs of Sticking with an Outdated POS

You may not notice it day-to-day, but legacy POS systems can quietly erode your bottom line. Here’s how:

• Slow transaction speeds frustrate customers and reduce table turnover.
• Limited customization makes it hard to accommodate modifiers, split checks, or half-and-half pizza orders.
• Poor reporting tools leave you guessing about your most profitable menu items or peak hours.
• Lack of integration with online ordering, delivery apps, or loyalty programs means missed revenue opportunities.
• High processing fees and opaque merchant service charges eat into margins — especially if you’re not optimizing for Level II or commercial card data.

What a Modern POS System Can Do for You

Today’s restaurant-focused POS platforms are built to solve real-world problems with speed, flexibility, and intelligence. Here’s what you gain by upgrading:

• Customizable menus with dynamic pricing, modifiers, and combo logic — perfect for specialty items and upsells.
• Integrated online ordering and delivery that syncs with your kitchen and inventory in real time.
• Smart reporting dashboards that show you what’s selling, when, and why — so you can make data-driven decisions.
• Lower interchange rates through Level II data submission and commercial card optimization.
• Built-in marketing tools like loyalty programs, SMS campaigns, and customer feedback collection.
• Cloud-based access so you can manage your business from anywhere — even while sipping coffee at home.

Real-World Example: The Pizza Shop That Doubled Its Friday Revenue

One pizzeria switched to a modern POS that allowed half-and-half pizza pricing, automated upsells, and integrated online ordering. Within two months, they saw:

• A 40% increase in online orders
• A 25% boost in average ticket size
• A 2x increase in Friday night revenue

All because their new system worked the way their business actually operates.

Change Doesn’t Have to Be Painful

Switching POS systems might sound daunting, but SalePoint offers white-glove onboarding, menu setups, and staff training. If hardware cost is an issue, we can help find hardware leasing programs to ease the upfront cost.

And if you’re worried about downtime? Most transitions can be completed in under 48 hours — with zero disruption to service.

The Bottom Line

Your restaurant deserves a POS system that works as hard as you do. One that doesn’t just process payments, but actively helps you grow, adapt, and thrive. If your current setup is holding you back, it’s not just a tech problem — it’s a business opportunity waiting to be seized.

Ready to serve up something better?

Stop Losing Money Over Mistakes and Upgrade Your POS

If your staff is fumbling through confusing modifier screens or your kitchen keeps sending out the wrong orders, your point-of-sale system isn’t just outdated—it’s costing you money.

Modern diners expect personalization. Your team deserves clarity. And your bottom line demands efficiency. That’s where a smarter POS solution with custom modifier capabilities changes the game.

Precision = Fewer Mistakes, Happier Guests
Custom modifiers empower servers to capture exactly what the guest wants—no more guessing, no more remakes. That means fewer comps, faster table turns, and better reviews.

Faster, Smarter Kitchen Workflow
Modifiers translate into clear, actionable instructions for the kitchen. No cryptic notes. No back-and-forth. Just smooth execution and faster ticket times..

Built-In Upsell Opportunities
Want to add avocado? Upgrade to premium toppings? Charge for extra sauce? A modern POS makes it effortless to upsell without slowing down service—boosting your average ticket with every order.

Personalization That Drives Loyalty
Guests love having control over their meal. When your POS makes it easy to customize, they’re more likely to return—and rave about the experience.

Bottom line: If your current POS is confusing your staff and frustrating your guests, it’s time to switch. A system built for customization doesn’t just improve operations—it unlocks new revenue and elevates your brand.

Throughout our history, SalePoint has offered products to the market in addition to our internally developed software. This allows us to address various industry verticals that require specialized solutions that our current products may not fit.  We are happy to announce a new relationship with Agiliron out of Portland, Oregon. SalePoint is now reselling their software.

Agiliron is a SaaS Solution Suite for Omni-Channel Commerce focused on helping Product Based Businesses (Retail, Wholesale, Distribution, eCommerce) “Sell More in More Places. But Manage in One.

The core product offering is an Integrated Solution Suite targeted at Product-based Businesses looking for Top-line and Bottom-line growth. The suite facilitates business expansion through various Sales Channels while reducing the operational complexity and costs through effective Front-office and Back-office functions. It also significantly improves visibility across the entire business through aggregation of data across all channels into a single database along with Business Intelligence capabilities.

The Agiliron product suite allows SalePoint to offer a complete enterprise solution to the market and fill in voids in our current solution set with a product that has been widely implemented in the industry.

It allows retailers to sell through multiple channels effectively. Our strength in retail systems fits nicely with offering this new product.  Let us know if you need a new Omni-Channel software solution.

Trovato has been integrated with TransactionTree for digital receipts and transaction history.

The TransactionTree platform helps build a two-way relationship with your customer, deliver personalized content to drive sales and provide post-purchase support after the sale.

You can find more information at https://www.transactiontree.com/solutions/clerkless/digital-receipt-solutions/.

In order to better serve the industries, we sell to, SalePoint has partnered with Fiserv.  This partnership provides cost competitive merchant services solutions as well as the ability to offer Fiserv’s Clover point of sale solution to those merchants that fit Clover’s functionality.

This expands our solution offering to serve a wide range of customers including smaller retailers where the Clover solutions are a good fit.Some of our customers using Fiserv First Data credit card processing include Door County Medical Center, Chain Reaction Physical Therapy, Preferred Auto Body, and Triton Eye Care.

Working directly with Fiserv, SalePoint is able to offer merchant services rates that often save merchants more money over their existing agreements, improving their bottom line.

Additionally, the solution expands the type of credit card payments a merchant can take as payment.  Consumers today expect to be able to tap, dip or swipe their cards as well as use their phones to pay.

If you would like to learn more about these new solution offerings, just give us a call.  We would be happy to review your current merchant services statement to determine if there are opportunities for improvement.

Loyalty programs can increase your revenues, encourage repeat business, and help you retain your customers.

SalePoint integrates our Trovato software with SNIPP Loyalty.  Let us tell you about the great features and benefits of the SNIPP Loyalty program.  Contact us for more information.

SalePoint implemented Limitless Point of Sale solutions at Peak News and Gifts shops in the Denver airport.

Peak News was unhappy with their old point of sale solution and with the support they were receiving from their POS vendor.

SalePoint implemented new POS hardware and POS software and provided implementation and ongoing support for the solution.

Peak News has expanded the solution to include self-service kiosks in the gift shops.

The gift shops are high volume stores due to the airport traffic and require fast, efficient and reliable point of sale systems to serve their customers.

Special requirements included accepting airline travel vouchers for purchases.

If you are traveling through the Denver airport, please stop by Peak News and Gifts.

SalePoint, a leading provider of innovative technology solutions to businesses for over 34 years, has been hearing about extra processing fees cutting into small business margins.  Small businesses have been using QuickBooks® software to invoice and process credit payments for their customers for years.  But suddenly, they say they’ve been hit with an extra fee that is cutting into their profits. For many, this extra expense is really hurting them.

Using the QuickBooks software to process credit card payments allowed small business owners to select which funding option they preferred.  They could pay an extra ACH fee to get their funds the next day, or opt for the free 5-day ACH funding.  But earlier this year, QuickBooks opted to remove the free 5-day funding option.  Now, these small businesses are required to pay the extra ACH fee for next day funding and it is hurting their profits.

Well say “No More!” to those extra fees. You CAN use a different authorizer and still use QuickBooks for all your other business needs.  We simply overlay our authorizing process onto QuickBooks and get you great processing rates without the extra ACH funding fee. Now you can have your cake, and eat it too!

If you are not aware of the fee increase from QuickBooks, give us a shout and we will explain how this will impact you.  (858) 546-9400 x254 or  info@salepoint.com

QuickBooks is a registered trademark of Intuit, Inc.

SalePoint is here to help you find the solutions and products that meet your business needs.  Let us help you reclaim your hard-earned dollars.  

SalePoint, a company delivering innovative technology solutions to businesses for over 34 years, has found that businesses are open to fraud and chargebacks simply because they didn’t realize they were not EMV and PCI compliant.  What is EMV and PCI?  EMV is short for Europay, Mastercard, Visa and is the security technology used worldwide for payments.  It more commonly refers to a credit card with a smart chip.  PCI is short for Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard or PCI-DSS.  It is a set of requirements to ensure that companies that process credit cards maintain a secure environment.

Updating your technology to a new point of sale (POS) with integrated credit payments can help your business become compliant and save you money.  Many card authorizers will charge a non-compliance fee that can cost several thousands of dollars each year.  Using EMV payment devices also reduces your business’s risk of fraud and chargebacks. 

A new POS integrated with updated EMV compatible payment devices can limit the liability you may face.  Having an EMV device that is using end-2-end encryption can protect your business from inadvertently storing card numbers and from unwanted hackers.  These types of breaches can put your entire business and livelihood at risk.

Newer payment devices also allow customers to use different forms of payments.  Many are NFC (Near-Field Communication) compatible allowing customers to process touchless payments simply by waving their credit card over the payment device or pay by phone using Apple Pay or Google Pay. 

Making sure your business is EMV and PCI compliant should be on the top of your to-do list!