If you are planning to start a food truck business, or already own one, you know that setting up a food truck can be overwhelming. You have to finance the truck, get the proper equipment and inventory, find adequate staff, and get the necessary permits. Amidst all this chaos, it is easy to forget the importance of small things such as a point-of-sale (POS) system.

You might think that accounting with a pen and paper is sufficient. But gone are those days when you could write orders on a legal pad and simply round everything up at the end of the day. Today, not only do you need to keep a detailed track of all orders and provide customers with receipts but you also need to accept payments via multiple modes such as credit/debit cards and digital wallets.

A POS system can streamline billing, payments, and bookkeeping for you, and make it easier for you to manage the finances of your food truck. To help you better understand food truck POS systems, we have prepared this guide. Here is what we will cover:

What is a food truck POS system?
Common features of food truck POS systems
What type of buyer are you?
Benefits of food truck POS system
Key considerations when purchasing food truck POS system

What is a food truck POS system?

A food truck POS system is a software that can record orders and accept payments for a food truck. It typically combines a payment processing center, inventory management features, and basic sales-related analytics. Most such systems are mobile-friendly and can be operated from a tablet or a phone.

Orders in Toast POS

Orders in Toast POS

Common features of a food truck POS system

The typical features of a food truck POS system are as follows:

Menu management	Create and modify a menu for the food truck.
Orders	Take orders from customers and keep a record. Some systems also allow you to display the orders on a separate screen for the kitchen staff.
Payment processing	Process payments for food orders via multiple modes, including credit/debit cards, mobile wallets, and cash transactions.
Invoices	Create custom invoices for food orders and send them directly to customers over email or text message. The invoices can also be printed with the help of additional printing equipment.
Reporting	Access information such as gross sales, sales count, and revenue with the help of reports. Some systems provide more detailed reports such as the food items that sell better than others and the peak business hours for the truck.
Third-party order management	Streamline and manage orders from third-party food delivery sources such as Postmates and DoorDash.
Inventory management	Manage the availability of items, such as fresh vegetables and cooking aids, to ensure smooth operations.
Automatic discounts	Create discounts for specific food items, categories, or order quantities and auto-apply them when required.

Some systems also provide the following advanced features:

Location management	Integrate multiple food trucks into a single system and manage their payments as well as inventory centrally.
Staff management	Track the attendance and work hours of staff members. Also, use the data to calculate labor costs and identify top performers.
Payroll	Auto-calculate and manage payroll for staff from within the POS system.
Loyalty program	Create customer loyalty programs and enroll and reward customers directly from within the POS system.
Email marketing	Create, send, and track email marketing campaigns to promote the food truck business.

What type of buyer are you?

To find the right food truck POS system for your business, it is important to understand what type of buyer you are. Food truck POS system buyers usually fall into the following two categories:

Basic buyers: Such buyers look for the bare minimum features in the system; taking orders and processing payments are their two major needs. Often, they may also want the ability to create order invoices and integrate with third-party food delivery services. Such buyers can go for a cloud-based food truck POS system, on a per terminal per month-basis or on a per-transaction basis.
Advanced buyers: These buyers want to go beyond taking orders and processing payments. They also want to keep a record of their customers and manage their staff from within the same system. Typically, these are the businesses with multiple food trucks but solitary food trucks that have been established for a while can also fall into this category. Such buyers should explore cloud-based food truck POS systems that either provide advanced features (as mentioned above) or integrate with third-party software to fulfill the needs.

Benefits of a food truck POS system

Food truck POS system helps food truck businesses streamline their orders and payment processing. The benefits of the system are:

Orders management and inventory tracking: With orders entered into a POS system, there will be no mistakes in preparing and delivering the right food items. You can also make sure no add-ons, toppings, or special cooking instructions are missed. Additionally, the system helps you track how much food has been sold and what is left in stock such that you always know before the food is about to run out.
Hassle-free payment processing: Manually processing payments for hundreds of orders can be an overwhelming task. Mistakes tend to happen and sometimes money goes missing. Moreover, juggling cash and digital payments can create additional confusion. With a system like this, all these tasks can be streamlined and you can save time and effort on processing payments for your food truck business.

Key considerations when buying a food truck POS system

With dozens of food truck POS systems on the market, it can be difficult to find one for yourself. To help you out, we have listed the considerations you should keep in mind:

Determine hardware requirements: Food truck POS systems typically run on smartphones and tablets. This means you will need to set aside a dedicated device for the purpose, so make sure you account for the cost of that. Additionally, you may need a magstripe card reader/contactless card reader/chip reader and a receipt printer. Talk to the vendor about the hardware requirements and see if you can get a deal or some reference.
Understand the terms and conditions of digital payment processing: Built-in payment processing systems usually come at a flat, per transaction fee. This can range anywhere from 10 cents/transaction to 2-3% the value of the transaction. Before you choose a food truck POS system, talk to the vendor about this and make sure you understand the terms and conditions of digital payment processing.
Watch out for hidden costs: The vendors of some food truck POS systems can have hidden costs, such as implementation fees. These hidden costs can be as high as a few hundred dollars. Before you finalize a system, talk to the vendor about this and ensure you know what you are signing up for.

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