Start here
Start with the operating path: order → payment → production → pickup. Toast and TouchBistro are restaurant-led starting points; Square is often the simpler counter-service starting point; Shopify POS matters when packaged goods and ecommerce are central. Demo the complete rush-hour workflow before choosing.
Map the order before comparing brands
- Counter order with no kitchen ticket
- Counter order routed to a kitchen printer or display
- Preorder for scheduled pickup
- Online order mixed into the same production queue
- Custom cake or catering deposit with a later balance
- Packaged retail item sold beside prepared food
Test a real rush-hour basket
Do not accept a polished one-item demo. Ask the seller to build and refund a realistic order while another employee changes it.
- Two drinks with size and milk modifiers
- One heated item and one packaged item
- Tip, discount, tax, partial refund, and reprint
- Kitchen routing to the correct station
- Out-of-stock ingredient or item pause
- Online pickup order arriving during the transaction
Count the systems around the register
- Kitchen display or printer
- Online ordering and delivery integrations
- Gift cards and loyalty
- Tip pooling or payroll handoff
- Label printer for prepared or packaged goods
- Inventory for ingredients versus sellable finished goods
- Accounting export and daily deposit reconciliation
Plan for an outage
Offline mode is not one universal feature. Ask what can be sold, which cards can be accepted, what limits apply, how transactions upload later, and what staff see when a payment is declined after reconnecting. Keep a written fallback for opening week.
Sources to confirm before buying
Features, terms, support, and compatibility can change. These links are starting points; the written quote and agreement control the actual purchase.