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Based on our research, Square, Clover, and Zettle are the top three affordable POS systems for small restaurant businesses.

As a recession looms, business overheads are rising dramatically. Today's SMEs need to prioritise cash flow, which means searching for the POS system that provides the most value for money. To make things simpler, we've designed a simple Startups-exclusive comparison tool to give you tailored POS cost breakdowns based specifically on your available budget.

Our experts have been working with hospitality businesses for over 20 years. Our most recent round of research analysed restaurant POS systems against four key metrics: pricing, restaurant features, help and support, and customer satisfaction.

Below, we've curated our results to outline the pros, cons, and hidden costs of the top systems on the market. By the time you've read it all, you'll be able to make a confident POS purchase decision for your firm.

Startup restaurants founded in the last three years

Small restaurants that also sell retail products

Food trucks and other low-maintenance restaurants that need a simple till system

High-end restaurants that need to prioritise customer experience

Based on our in-depth research, we strongly recommend these three POS providers for hospitality businesses:

For expert advice on picking the right POS system for your restaurant business, simply  select which options and features you need to get bespoke quotes tailored to the needs of your business.

Our team of researchers analysed Square for Restaurants for pricing, help and support, customer reviews, and restaurant features. In every category, it achieved at least a top-three ranking making it our number-one recommended system for restaurant businesses.

Its vast library of features means Square can play the role of multiple systems, which makes it excellent value for money for small business restauraters.

Users are offered sophisticated table management features, and the option to integrate booking tools and delivery apps. The Square terminal is also one-touch, making for speedy transactions that can dramatically boost sales. 

Helpfully, users are not required to have a merchant account, which means you can start serving customers as soon as you’ve received the Square Card Reader and downloaded the Square for Restaurants software onto your iPad.

Indeed, ease of use is a big benefit of the Square for Restaurant POS, so it's easy to train new staff members on the system.

However, while the software is fairly rudimentary, it also comes with lots of possible integrations to be expanded upon  as your restaurant grows. 

What is bad about Square for Restaurants?

The one area that Square is lacking is front-of-house features. Managing orders or reservations isn't possible in-app. Consequently, we don't recommend it to full-service eateries or restaurants with multiple service offerings.

You can integrate the platform with third-party extensions like restaurant management tool, TapMango to access these functions.

But Square's primary audience is definitely quick-service startups that want to design a simple payment process, like a daytime cafe or sandwich bar.

One of Clover's biggest pull factors is its specialist focus on both the retail and restaurant industries. That's why we think it's a good option for delis that focus on serving food, as well as selling products in-person and online.

Clover's reporting tools are all geared towards selling. You can use the software to generate a complete sales overview including total sales per item, order types, and VAT.

The platform's transaction fees are also low (2.3% + £0.10 per sale) so even if you're flogging low-ticket items costing less than £5.

There's also a very large app store available with Clover, so you can tailor the software to fit your exact needs. Notably, it's one of the few POS choices that integrates with Mailchimp, which you can use to send marketing emails advertising special 2 for 1 dining offers or discounted products.

That doesn't mean Clover strays away from its core purpose as a restaurant POS. We gave Clover an impressive 4.6 out of 5 for hospitality features. The app puts in a solid performance for staff management, sales forecasting, and even facilitates sophisticated actions like being able to edit menus directly from the till.

What is bad about Clover POS?

Clover POS' lowest-priced software tier, Payments Plus, costs £4.10 per month. If this sounds too good to be true, that's because it is.

Payments Plus' thin library of features is lacking in areas like staff management. However, with several generously-priced tiers to choose from, Clover is a flexible POS tool that can grow alongside your restaurant business. You can splash out to get the plan you think will provide the most value for relatively little.

Indeed, the next tier up, Clover Register Lite, gives you access to core restaurant POS features like inventory and order management for just £8.20 per month.

POS systems can have a lot of extra perks or bonuses but the primary objective is simple: to process payments and transactions. Our analysis has shown that no tool does this better than Zettle, by PayPal.

Zettle operates a pay-as-you-go model, which has been the main driver of the company’s popularity in the UK. You simply purchase the card reader, then use it however frequently or sporadically to take payments of any type.

Zettle has recently pushed up its payment processing fee from 1.25% to 1.75%. However, the software itself is much cheaper than Square for Restaurants, so it's completely free to setup.

Still, if you don’t want to risk things, you can also sign up for a free seven-day trial.

That easily makes Zettle the best POS system for value for money, particularly if you're a startup that's looking to save on overheads. The Zettle hardware is also available for relatively little, with a Zettle 2 card reader setting you back by just £29.

The latest model is lightweight, fairly dirt resistant, and has some clever customer-focused features – like the rubber strips on the back which stop it from slipping off surfaces.

Used in conjunction with the Zettle POS app, you'll be able to take any payment from anywhere as long as you have a WiFi/4G/3G connection.

What is bad about Zettle?

Our expert team of researchers found that Zettle performs well for an affordable POS system that's popular with users. However, when it came to restaurant features, Zettle was our lowest-scoring software choice for industry-specific functionality.

You can't use Zettle in offline mode, so if your restaurant has an outdoor eating area you might experience connectivity issues that can stop you taking orders. No delivery support means Zettle is also unsuitable for takeaways.

Another drawback of Zettle is that, unlike other POS brands, such as TouchBistro, the app does not provide an internal CRM system within the app. Instead, you'll have to download third-party customer service extensions.

This lack of customer loyalty tools is another reason that Zettle is a better choice for businesses that don't involve a lot of customer interaction.

EPOS Now is a great choice for large restaurants with 10+ employees thanks to its sophisticated staff management features.

Post-COVID, the hospitality industry is suffering from labour shortages as more workers go off sick, requiring complex shift scheduling to manage absences. All EPOS Now systems come with a handy clocking in/clocking out function, enabling you to see exactly how many hours each employee has worked.

EPOS Now also integrates with booking systems and delivery apps to help you make the most out of being out of lockdown, while still keeping customers and staff safe. 

There's also its front and back of house synchronisation, its kitchen management features, and its workplace management system, Deputy. When you add all these to the above, you can see why EPOS Now is the best option for established or chain restaurants with large staff volumes.

What is bad about EPOS Now?

Easily EPOS Now's biggest flaw is its opaque pricing plans. According to the EPOS website you can either choose the purchase the system through a one off payment of £399 or £25 per month.

This gets you the EPOS Now software, a till system, printer, and personalised training and onboarding for every staff member – handy if you're hiring new workers regularly.

However, there are lots of hidden charges associated with this promise including an additional £39 charge for a payments, care and support package.

The payment plan of £25 per month is also based on a three-year payment plan for startup businesses and could differ depending on your firm's financial position. It's best to contact the EPOS Now customer service desk to understand exactly what you'll pay.

Unfortunately, it's a fact of life that EPOS sytems are notoriously difficult to understand. That's why we designed our Startups-exclusive cost comparison tool that will match you to provider quotes in just one minute.

TouchBistro’s specialist-restaurant POS software is rammed full of table management features to help you run and manage your business. These include sophisticated tableside ordering, in-depth back end reporting, and the ability to integrate with plenty of third party apps.  

For high end restaurants with cocktail bars, staff can process orders in just two taps, giving them more time to make customers feel welcome. At the table, naturally placed menu prompts enable servers to upsell on the spot, or inform customers of any allergy information. 

Similarly, the TouchBistro in-app floor view shows you wait staff how long the customers have sat there, so you can keep an eye on customer wait times and minimise the risk of complaints.

The indirect benefit of this POS system is that restauraters can increase customer loyalty, which is particularly give how competitive the restaurant market is.

Thanks to a built-in loyalty functionality, you can even collect information on what your members are ordering and send them targeted marketing material, such as offers on their favourite dishes or wines. 

What is bad about TouchBistro?

Just as we recommend TouchBistro for high-end restaurants offering a premium service, it unfortunately does not perform well for less-established firms or startups.

This largely comes down to cost. TouchBistro's first pricing tier, TouchBistro Solo, costs £59 per month which is over £50 more than our wallet-friendly provider, Clover.

On top of this, a second and third license for costs another £50 per month, while if you want 4+ users you'll pay £40 per additional license.

Plus, TouchBistro's significant number of drawbacks mean you'll also need to fork out for a lot of integrations that can manage basic POS tasks like reporting, payment processing, and online ordering.

Finally, Android users beware – TouchBistro is only compatible with iPad devices so it's a flat no if you're a die-hard Samsung or Google fan.

According to our research, the best POS systems for restaurants are:

All of the top five restaurant pos systems on our list offer all the features restaurants need to operate effectively during a pandemic, including delivery app integration, booking system integration, and table service facilitation. 

Still, POS systems have plenty of hidden fees and pricing caveats that can differ depending on your firm's traits, making it difficult to get an accurate cost measurement.

Before you decide on any POS software, we advise using Startups’ exclusive POS System comparison tool  to get bespoke pricing information.

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Aimee is Startups' resident expert in business tech, products, and services. She loves a great story and enjoys chatting to the startups and small business community. Starting her own egg delivery business from the age of 12, she has a healthy respect for self-starters and local services.

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