Find Top Hospitality POS Systems, Software & Packages

Hospitality POS Systems, Software & Packages

Running a hospitality business has many moving parts. You have inventory to monitor, staff schedules to set, guests to entertain – the list goes on. While your guests enjoy their time in your establishment, you’re cooking up a storm behind the scenes trying to make sure everything runs smoothly and that your guests have an exceptional experience right from their first interaction with your business. 

Thankfully, today’s hospitality software takes the pressure off to help you automate operational tasks, streamline your workflow and improve efficiency. Choosing good software can free up a large chunk of your time so that you can focus on other key areas of your business.

In this guide we will cover:

1. Software for cafes, restaurants and bars: Restaurant POS systems have all the features to help you manage and run a successful establishment.
2. Software for small hotels, guesthouses and B&Bs: Property management software (PMS) helps you manage bookings, check-ins, guest communications and more.

What is a POS system for cafes, restaurants and bars?

In simple terms, a point of sale (POS) system is the software and hardware used to accept your customer’ payments. For cafes and restaurants using a traditional POS system, it may be an excel spreadsheet, cash drawer and EFTPOS machine. However, businesses using a modern POS system have access to a suite of business management tools that will help you grow.

Think of a modern POS system as the glue that holds your cafe or restaurant together. You can integrate your stocktake, team management, order tracking, guest bookings and accounting in one place. It allows you to take quicker payments, better manage your staff and make better business decisions.

What are the key features of a hospitality POS system?

There are many POS systems on the market today, but the most popular features they offer include:

• Inventory management: Stay on top of your stock levels and analyse cost-cutting opportunities.
• Customer loyalty programs: Set up a loyalty and reward scheme to bring your customers back to your shop.
• Employee management: Schedule shifts, assign permissions to staff, track hours and integrate payroll.
• Reporting and analytics: Analyse your best-selling items, customer trends, which employees are most efficient and other insights to help you grow.
• Kitchen display system: Get rid of your paper ticketing systems and improve the workflow of your chefs and floor staff.
• Accounting: Keep your books in order and prepare your accounts for financial reporting.
• Self-order kiosk: Cut overheads expenses and automate your ordering system - particularly good for takeaway eateries.
• On-screen tipping: Give your customers the opportunity to offer a token of gratuity as they pay with a credit card.
• Online ordering: Improve customer service for those who may be in a rush with online pre-ordering options.
• Reservations: stay on top of your reservations with easy access to customer details and floor capacity data.
• Email automation: Send seamless marketing campaigns, promotional offers and updates to your customer base.

What are the best POS systems for cafes and restaurants?

Some of the most popular POS systems for cafes, restaurants, eateries and bars include:

• Toast
• Upserve
• TouchBistro
• CAKE
• Square
• ShopKeep
• Revel

How do I choose the best POS system for my cafe or restaurant?

With so many POS systems on the market, it can be difficult to choose. Here are some key considerations:

• Set your budget - some POS systems are considerably more expensive than others 
• Determine the requirements and the features you need
• List your biggest pain points and things you want to improve
• Assess how much of a learning curve is required
• Choose a scalable POS if you plan to expand 

What is property management software?

Running a small hotel business without hotel management software is possible, but it doesn’t give you the tools and systems that are needed for long-term growth. Hotel property management software centralises the core functions of your business and gives you the tools to efficiently manage your bookings and front desk system. 

What are the top features of property management software?

Some of the features of a hotel property management system include:

• Front desk management
• Guest communications
• Sales channel management
• Housekeeping/maintenance 
• Dining
• Space and club management

What are the best property management software for small hospitality businesses?

Some of the most popular property management systems for small hotels, guesthouses and B&Bs include:

• Cloudbeds
• Hotelfriend
• eZee Frontdesk
• RoomRaccoon
• Frontdesk Anywhere 
• Misterbooking

How do I choose the hotel property management system?

Choosing the right PMS for your hotel can be time-consuming, but it’s worth putting in the time to find a system that will see your business right the way through. Some important factors to consider include:

• Determine your needs and decide what essential functions you will in a PMS
• Set a clear budget to weed out options that are too expensive 
• Integration options - will you need the PMS to sync with other software?
• Reads reviews from other hoteliers to learn about the real-life application of the tools
• Assess the level of customer support and training to help you while you set up

There are so many tools on the market today to help you run and grow your business. If you have any more questions about which software and tools you should use, you can reach out to our community and get advice from others in the industry.