Find the best POS Systems for Bars

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Epos Now

Epos Now POS system is an effective business management, sales, and payment system for single-site, multi-site and online businesses. The system offers an extensive range of management and sales tools, with the option to expand t...Read more about Epos Now

3.3 (371 reviews)

50 recommendations

Toast POS

Toast POS is a flexible system built exclusively for restaurants and the food service industry. Offering tools like online ordering, delivery, takeout, mobile app ordering, contactless payments, and e-gift card purchasing, this so...Read more about Toast POS

4.2 (506 reviews)

19 recommendations

CAKE POS

CAKE provides an easy-to-use POS that owners will learn like a pro in a short amount of time. The restaurant management system takes care of everything in one place with integrated online ordering, curbside pickup, reservations, ...Read more about CAKE POS

4.6 (504 reviews)

17 recommendations

TouchBistro

TouchBistro is an all-in-one POS and restaurant management system that makes running a restaurant easier. Providing the most essential front of house, back of house, and guest engagement solutions on one powerful platform, TouchBi...Read more about TouchBistro

3.9 (395 reviews)

15 recommendations

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Lavu POS

Lavu is a Point of Sale solution designed for use by restaurants, bars, and nightclubs - from full-service, quick-service, and franchise restaurants, to food trucks, coffee shops, and lounges. Users can choose between bar, restaur...Read more about Lavu POS

4.2 (207 reviews)

10 recommendations

Rezku POS

Rezku is the premier POS, used by successful restaurants, bars and pizzerias to compete at a higher level, earn new business and eliminate headaches. Rezku comes complete with everything modern food and beverage concepts need for...Read more about Rezku POS

4.5 (27 reviews)

10 recommendations

SpotOn

SpotOn Restaurant is a cloud-based point-of-sale solution that enables businesses to streamline processes related to food ordering, tableside payments, customer retention and more. The online ordering functionality enables busines...Read more about SpotOn

4.4 (304 reviews)

7 recommendations

Linga rOS System

LINGA is an enterprise-ready cloud-based business platform with 20+ applications in addition to Point of Sale (POS). With over 17 years in the restaurant and retail markets, LINGA POS offers businesses hardware, software technolog...Read more about Linga rOS System

3.4 (36 reviews)

1 recommendations

Square Point of Sale

Square Point of Sale is a mobile POS system available for iOS and Android devices. Key capabilities of the Square POS system include online payment processing, sales reports, inventory tracking, digital receipts, email and SMS mar...Read more about Square Point of Sale

Marketing 360

Marketing 360 is a cloud-based marketing platform suited for entrepreneurs as well as small and midsize businesses. This solution allows organizations to run social media advertising campaigns, conduct search engine optimization (...Read more about Marketing 360

Clover

Clover POS is an integrated point-of-sale (POS) system with custom hardware designed for several types of retailers. This POS system is available in both web-based and server-based deployment versions and offers countertop hardwar...Read more about Clover

Loyverse POS

Loyverse POS is a cloud-based, mobile point-of-sale solution aimed at small retail, restaurant and salon establishments. With this software, users can manage inventory, visualize sales analytics and manage customer relationships. ...Read more about Loyverse POS

talech

Talech POS is a cloud-based retail, restaurant & bar and professional services solution that offers point-of-sale (POS), inventory and customer management, appointment scheduling and deep, real-time analytics. The solution stores ...Read more about talech

Aloha Cloud

Aloha Cloud is an all-in-one cloud-based restaurant POS solution. With 6” built-for-purpose handheld devices, a user-friendly UI and fast merchant payout, operators can focus on running their restaurant, not their technology. Aloh...Read more about Aloha Cloud

Lightspeed Restaurant

Lightspeed Restaurant is a cloud-based point of sale (POS) solution for restaurants suitable for full-or quick-service restaurants, bars, nightclubs, hotel restaurants, cafes and more. Key features include floor management, custom...Read more about Lightspeed Restaurant

Semper

Semper is a Property Management System that helps hoteliers manage their properties better so that they can increase revenue, improve guest satisfaction and save time. The software is either locally installed on premises or can be...Read more about Semper

Harbortouch POS

Harbortouch is a restaurant POS system designed to help small and midsize businesses manage inventory, promotions and employees on a centralized dashboard. The platform enables administrators to gain insights into sales reports ac...Read more about Harbortouch POS

Poster POS

Poster is a cloud-based mobile point of sale (POS) and inventory management solution for food service industry. The inventory management application can alert users when they are running low on a menu item. It allows users build t...Read more about Poster POS

Aloha EPOS

Aloha EPOS is a cloud-based software that helps businesses in the hospitality industry manage point of sale operations across multiple locations. The application enables organizations to handle the tableside ordering, sort seating...Read more about Aloha EPOS

Skytab POS

SkyTab POS is designed exclusively for restaurants, the hospitality environments, and the food and beverage industry. Built to meet the unique needs of these industries, SkyTab is fast, reliable, secure, and user-friendly. SkyTab ...Read more about Skytab POS

Buyers Guide

Last Updated: March 16, 2023

What are POS systems for bars?

Point-of-sale (POS) systems for bars are software platforms that make it easier for establishments to ring up custom orders, manage tabs, process payments, track inventory, run sales reports, and more. Acting as the digital hub of your business, POS systems can lighten the burden of running a bar while increasing security and transparency.

Screenshot-of-Shopkeep-POS-dashboard

Screenshot of Shopkeep POS dashboard

Here's what we'll cover:

Benefits of bar POS systems

The ideal bar POS system helps keep a check on the food inventory, finances and sales. The system also simplifies their bookkeeping requirements.

  • Quick and easy sales tracking: As bars and restaurants handle a large volume of credit cards and cash every day, the ideal system should help them track all sales up to the very last penny. The solution also tracks menu items that are selling the most along with the unpopular ones. Therefore, it allows owners to modify their menus based on the demand.

  • Smooth processing of credit card transactions: Almost all bar POS systems offer easy handling of credit and debit card processing. It enables the management to get rid of peripherals and additional systems. Therefore, it results in customers and bar owners accepting credit and debit card transactions as a secure and easy proposition.

    Fast and easy preparation of financial statements: The solution offers all the required financial figures, such as profit and loss statements, at the required time, thus, saving a significant amount of manual effort.

  • Improved security: The solution offers increased security to bar owners because servers are fully accountable for all sales and they cannot change customer checks without entering the correct password. This step also eliminates the chances of employee theft as well as inappropriate discounts for family and friends.

  • Check on employees: The bar POS software also keeps an eye on the employees by acting as a time tracker and preparing the establishment’s payroll. The solution maintains a record of the sign-in and sign-out times of employees, which facilitates the creation of accurate payroll.

  • Enhanced inventory tracking: The software also allows bar and restaurant owners to keep an eye on the usage of food and the complete stock. It enables users to identify different usage patterns so that they can eliminate instances of food shortage and over-ordering, and thus, allow better planning of food purchasing.

  • Offsite control: An advanced bar POS software also enables managers and owners to log in the system through a web connection. It allows users to remotely monitor sales and employee patterns to identify any problems and anticipate future issues.

  • Efficient utilization of human resources: Setting up a bar POS software also relieves the staff from tedious and time-consuming tasks such as double-checking discrepancies in sales figures and manually reconciling the cash register.

Common features of bar POS software

These are the features that bar owners should look for when evaluating point of sale systems that meet their specific needs:

Recipe definition and customization

These systems should allow users to customize drink orders, as well as look up drink components from definitions. Users can access a “hotlist” of popular drinks and then modify them on a per-item basis.

Order entry

The important order entry aspects of these systems include tab transfers, repeat orders and check consolidation. Most features are commonly accessible from the main order-entry dashboard.

Price scheduling

Multiple menus, specials, happy hours and other promotions need to be easily managed and customized within the system. Rotating prices should automatically change with the system’s internal clock.

Multi-user compatibility

Since a single terminal is often shared by multiple bartenders, these systems should include integrated login features for users. Card readers, fingerprint scanners or just numerical keypads are some of the popular integrations.

Tip tracking and payroll

Tips should be linked to user accounts to assist with both end-of-shift payouts and IRS recording purposes. These systems often integrate tip tracking with a time clock module to assist with payroll management.

Video and security system integration

These solutions often integrate with video surveillance systems to reduce shrink (beverage “sweethearting”) and loss. In addition, it’s becoming increasingly common for systems to integrate directly with bars’ security systems.

Customer relationship management (CRM)

While not a traditional module within these systems, vendors are now providing CRM functionality as many bars are using social media to promote events and specials, as well as connect with local patrons. Email marketing is one of the more common features.

Inventory management, ordering and receiving

Bar POS systems will need reporting and management features to manage inventory that moves quickly and fluctuates regularly. Bars will often establish regular shipping schedules with suppliers, so these systems will need to be able to accept automatic shipment notices (ASNs).

What type of buyer are you?

Whether you’re a small neighborhood sports pub, metropolitan wine bar, or full service brewery and taproom with a 50-person staff, there’s a bar POS system for you.

Small bars. If you have a single location, you should be able to get everything you need from a standard bar POS system with basic features such as tab management and payment processing.

Midsize bars. If you operate an expanding business with several serving areas and a high volume of customers, you'll likely benefit from some additional and more advanced bar POS features such as reporting and analytics, a drink database, and inventory management.

Large bars. Operators of larger bars with multiple locations should choose from advanced bar POS options with enterprise level dashboards and analytics, online ordering, and multiple locations management.

Key considerations when buying bar POS systems

Here are a few other things to keep in mind when you evaluate a bar POS system:

  • Flexibility options: As technology changes very fast, you need to select a POS system that provides regular upgrades and has an open API. This will enable it to be integrated with various new technologies and third-party apps in the future.

  • Employee and sales tracking: The bar POS system should allow the tracking of working hours, salaries and other employee metrics. It must also enable setting work schedules and forecasting sales to predict staffing needs better.

  • Effective inventory tools: The software should also provide inventory management tools for accurate inventory calculation and reduction of storage costs.

  • Reporting and analytics: The solution should be able to provide customer and sales insights using accurate charts and numbers.

  • Reliable support: The solution should also provide complementary expert training and round-the-clock support. It should also have a track record of proven customer satisfaction.