5 of the Best Free POS Systems for Restaurants
Make Running Your Restaurant Easy
When it comes to owning and operating your restaurant, keeping costs and expenses manageable is likely one of your highest priorities. Luckily, your restaurant management POS system can be the source of some of the most surprising savings.
In this guide, you'll find the five best POS restaurant software titles that you can start using right now without spending a dime. Whether your needs are simple or a bit more complex in nature, you'll find the top-rated software that most closely fits your restaurant and goals.
Square
Square POS is one of the most popular POS systems to date, and for good reason. Not only is it 100% free, but it's also packed with plenty of features you'd expect to find in even some of the best commercial software on the market. With Square, users have access to inventory management, sales reports, restaurant analytics, customer management, invoicing features, integration with other select software platforms, data security, and so much more. The best part is all of Square's features can be enjoyed from a comfortable and intuitive interface.
After signing up to use Square, you'll receive a free card reader that will allow you to easily accept credit/debit card payments straight from your mobile device. While Square is considered to be one of the best POS restaurant software titles, it carries a per-transaction fee model that can make the service a costlier option than other free systems.
Loyverse
Loyverse (a term short for "Loyalty Universe") is one of the best restaurant POS systems for operating your restaurant entirely from a smartphone and/or tablet. Straight from your mobile device, you can accept credit/debit card transactions, manage more than one store location, create and provide discounts, issue digital receipts, manage inventory and employees, view analytics, reward customers for loyalty, etc.
Loyverse currently does not offer support for integration with other commerce platforms, and there are select advanced features that can be added to your POS system for a cost. For a basic restaurant management solution, Loyverse is an ideal pick.
eHopper
eHopper is currently regarded as one of the best free restaurant POS systems to date because it operates entirely from the cloud. One of eHopper's most notable features is that it can integrate seamlessly with a wide range of POS hardware. If you find yourself making the move from a previous POS system to a new one, eHopper could be the most ideal solution.
At the time, eHopper is limited to only being used on one register per client, and certain premium features come at a price. However, the free version of eHopper allows users to accept various types of payment, issue digital receipts, work while offline, integrate with other commerce software, issue discounts, reward customers for loyalty, and so much more.
uniCenta
uniCenta is regarded by millions of business owners as one of the best systems available for restaurant management because it's open-source. This means it's constantly being updated and improved to ensure its users succeed and stay ahead of commerce trends.
At the time, uniCenta is a top rated POS system because it offers employee/customer management, acceptance of debit/credit cards, sales reports and analytics, inventory management, support for multiple languages and currencies, etc. You'll also be pleased to find it's designed to work with almost any brand of POS hardware. For free, you can't go wrong with uniCenta!
Floreant
Like uniCenta, Floreant is entirely open-source in nature, meaning the software is constantly maintained and updated to keep business running smoothly and efficiently.
Floreant is one of the best systems for handling simple POS tasks, providing mobile support, managing employees and inventory, generating sales information and reports, and so much more. Restaurant owners can also take advantage of menu/table management, kitchen and tip features, bar tab management, and so much more. At the moment, there is a Pro version available that gives restaurant owners a much more complete set of POS features for managing their businesses.