Restaurant POS: The Features That Actually Matter

Restaurants aren't retail. A generic POS tried to be both and it's miserable at both.

The must-haves

Table management

A floor plan on the screen. Click a table, see the tab. Move guests between tables. Combine two tables for a party. If your POS can't do this in one tap, the waitstaff will do it on paper and you'll have mysterious cash variances.

Split bills — properly

By item ("I'll pay for my meal"), by person (equal split), by share (2/3 to A, 1/3 to B). Plus partial prepay. Plus separate payment methods on the same bill ("half card, half M-Pesa").

Course-pacing

Starters fire to the kitchen immediately. Mains fire when the waiter presses "ready." Desserts hold until the last main is cleared. Without this, the kitchen is either starved or swamped.

Kitchen Display System (KDS)

Paper chits are a disaster. A color-coded screen showing order age, station assignment, and completion status is what professional kitchens run on.

Modifiers and rules

"Medium rare, no onions, sauce on the side." These aren't notes — they're price-affecting modifiers the kitchen must see. And some combinations (e.g., "well done + with cheese") have fixed upcharges.

Happy hour / day-part pricing

Prices shift automatically by time of day.

Comps and voids (with reasons)

Manager-approved, with a required reason code. Tracks which staff compensate most (which is usually where the shrinkage is).

The metrics you'll watch

• Average cover (revenue per diner).
• Table turn time.
• Cost % per menu category.
• Void/comp rates by server.

Generic retail POSes do none of this. Don't force-fit.