It has been a rough road for restaurants in Canada since early 2020. The restaurant industry has been hit like a bomb by the coronavirus pandemic and there hasn’t been a more challenging time than to successfully run and manage a restaurant.
But this sector is witnessing a steady return to normalcy. As customers start to return to their favourite restaurants, it is important to have the right infrastructure to give them a no-fuss experience that will keep them coming back in the future. However, one way to do this is to set up a specially designed restaurant POS (Point-of-Sale) system that tracks inventory needed for menu items, accepts multiple forms of payment, and offers loyalty perks to customers.
With so many options in the market, it’s necessary to think about your restaurant’s specific needs and long-term plans, so you don’t have to pay for what you require.
TouchBistro, being an industry leader, offers customizable options. Founded in 2010, this POS system supports an unlimited number of users, providing 24/7 assistance. It is designed exclusively for restaurants and is a restaurateur’s best bud when handling inventory and managing transactions. TouchBistro’s license starts at $69/month which includes:
- Table and menu management
- Integrated payment processing
- Cloud-based analytics and reporting
- Restaurant inventory management
- Unlimited users and logins for restaurant staff and management
To get started, all you need is an Apple iPad. However, you can pick from all kinds of hardware to fully equip your restaurant. This robust POS system uses POS hardware partners to provide add-ons like:
- Self-serve kiosks
- Kitchen display systems
- Customer-facing displays
- Digital menu boards
You pay additional fees to process payments, but you can select from many companies that work with TouchBistro to find the best prices for your restaurant business.
- Square
Since 2009, this POS system has offered merchants free and paid options of all stripes. In addition, the free POS system provides built-in payment processing and can easily be used on multiple devices.
- Menu and table management
- An order manager
- An automatic tip feature
You don’t get real-time reports with the free version. You can sign up for the $60/month plan or even their premium plan, which doesn’t disclose their rate to get advanced services. Payroll and loyalty are paid regardless. Square services seamlessly integrate with various programs like Xero, QuickBooks, Chowly, and 7Shifts.
You can also purchase a Square terminal or contactless chip reader. In addition, Square offers financing options to make paying for the devices easier.
- Lightspeed
Lightspeed offers to order flexibility and affordable additional services for delivery and loyalty programs. Lightspeed, founded in the year 2005, is the oldest player in the sphere of POS systems, offering versatile carry-out capabilities, which is why many restaurateurs across Canada love to use it.
You only need to pay $69/month to bag all the standard features, with an additional register costing $34 a month. It includes:
- Manage your carry out orders and deliver to part ways with third party fees
- Seamlessly send orders to your POS
- Let customers order ahead
- Allow mobile ordering
- Quick Service Mode suits a pay-at-order workflow
You have loads of hardware options, from Lightspeed’s Apple iPad kit to software and hardware additional services that start at just $12/month, such as:
- Kitchen-facing displays
- Customer-facing displays
- Advanced reporting features
- Self-order table menus
- A restaurant website
Lightspeed’s robust assistance gives restaurateurs the help they need with comprehensive customer service, including 24/7 email or phone support, demos and videos, etc.
Most Sought-after POS Systems for Restaurants in Canada Share on X
- Clover
Clover is a perfect POS system that delivers space-saving POS devices for restaurants on the go. Since 2010, this POS system for restaurants has offered standalone payment and POS systems, partnering with numerous outlets, like Sam’s Club, to sell hardware.
The Clover Flex system puts a POS in the palm, making it the best bet for food trucks. With the all-in-one Clover Flex system, you need to pay $599 for the hardware and can accept all forms of payment, including tracking payments, running loyalty programs, saving data in the cloud, etc. In addition, it has a great battery backup which easily serves the entire day.
Clover also offers a fitting 3-month payment plan if you can’t afford to pay the entire $599 in one go. You have two options to pick for the Clover software and payment processing:
- Register Lite: $9.95/month with a 2.7% credit card processing + $0.10 for in-person transactions as well as 3.5%+ $0.10 for entered transactions.
- Register: $39.95/month with a 2.3% credit card processing + $0.10 for in-person transactions as well as 3.5%+ $0.10 for entered transactions.
Both the Register Monthly and Register Lite plans include features such as:
- Employee and payroll management
- Sales, tax, and payroll reports
- Credit card processing
- Remote tracking of activity, refunds, and sales
- Item-level analytics
If you’re planning to launch a full-service restaurant or require additional equipment, Clover provides a full range of robust hardware and equipment options, from full-featured POS systems to printers.
- Toast
A powerful POS system with a feature-rich loyalty program is available. Toast, founded in 2011, is a household name in the industry.
Along with top-notch POS services, Toast puts forward a powerful loyalty program, naming it the best POS software for loyalty features. You should choose the Growth Plan (starting at $340/month) to get the loyalty program as part of the package.
If you choose the Starter Plan (starting at $0/month) or the Essentials Plan (starting at $165/month), you need to pay an additional monthly fee to add the loyalty program. All of the three programs put forward:
- Order, table, and menu management
- Reporting and analytics
- Guest feedback
- Payment processing services
When it comes to processing payments, Toast does not post prices online. Instead, they will work with your business and find the right plan for your situation. They promise clear-cut pricing with no hidden costs.
The Key Takeaway
Perhaps now more than ever, you need a robust POS system for your restaurant business to ensure you maximize the features available in an extremely challenging business climate, helping you make your restaurant efficient and potentially even enhancing the quality of service and customer communication.
