2 of the Best POS system for Coffee Shops Reviewed by a Pro

The humble coffee shop is one of the most widespread small businesses. Coffee shops, or cafes, allow us a moment to ourselves during the hustle and bustle of modern life. For many, a visit to their local coffee shop is an integral part of their day where they can refuel before venturing out back into the world.

Coffee shops, like all hospitality businesses, come with their own set of challenges. The customer is king in a coffee shop and many will have very specific orders that need to be fulfilled in minutes. The average coffee shop will experience several rushes throughout the day (morning, lunch, and late afternoon) so coffee shop owners need access to tools that will help them manage.

Point of sale (POS) systems for coffee shops can have an incredible effect on how the business is run. Cafe or coffee shop POS systems allow businesses to take control over nearly every aspect of their operations and streamline their processes. This gives coffee shop owners the ability to make better coffee and provide excellent service to their customers.

Choosing a coffee shop POS system is easier said than done. If you're not familiar with the point of sale system industry, it can be easy to get confused by all the details and POS providers. Time spent comparing the myriad different coffee shop pos systems out there could be better spent improving the business.

With this in mind, we've chosen a selection of the biggest point of sale systems on the market and compared their strengths and weaknesses. With this blog, we hope to give coffee shop owners all the information they need to make an informed decision about the point of sale system that's best for their business.

What are coffee shop POS systems?

To put it in layman's terms, a coffee shop POS system is a combination of hardware and software that a business can use to run its operations. POS systems are highly specialize pieces of technology that handle the busy day-to-day of a business. Point of sale systems aren't restricted to coffee shops. You can find a point of sale system in almost every retail and hospitality business out there.

Coffee shop POS systems are designed to handle nearly every non-physical task in the business through a variety of helpful features and integrations. These features can include payment processing services, robust inventory management tools, and online ordering options.

POS hardware has evolved along with the software. While POS systems were quite basic in the early days of the industry, the hardware has become sleeker and easier to operate. The technology has progressed to such a point that some companies now offer a complete handheld POS system. A good example of this would be the Epos Now Pro+ which is an entirely palm-sized POS system.

Why do I need a coffee shop pos system?

Coffee shops are complex businesses with a set of unique challenges. The best coffee shop POS systems are designed to meet the exact needs of the sector. Customer management tools, loyalty programs, inventory tracking, and menu management are all features available in the best POS systems and can have a deeply positive impact on how a coffee shop operates.

Business admin is a great example of how a Coffee shop pos system can improve day-to-day operations. A coffee POS system such as the Epos Now Complete Solution comes with accounting software and integrations that can completely automate business admin. This automation will save a coffee shop owner hours of time that can then be invested back into the business.

One of the main strengths of coffee shop POS systems is their ability to integrate with a wide variety of apps. These apps augment your POS system and augment their in-built features. These integrations can cover everything from accounting software to vendor management to online ordering. With apps and integration, you can build a POS system that meets the exact needs of your coffee shop business.

What is the best Coffee Shop POS system?

Cafe POS systems need to be robust pieces of kit. Despite the famously laid-back atmosphere of coffee shops, the coffee business can be a stressful and intense sector to work in. The best Coffee shop POS needs to be able to handle a variety of different hospitality tasks and frequent rushes throughout the day.

POS systems are complicated pieces of technology. If you don't have any prior knowledge of the industry, it can be difficult to pick a POS system that works for your business. To help you make an informed decision, we've evaluated and compared some of the biggest POS companies in the market. By the end of this blog, you'll have all the knowledge you need to choose the right POS system for your business.

Epos Now

Founded in 2011, Epos Now has over a decade of experience providing POS systems to the retail and hospitality industries. When Jacyn Heavens, Epos Now's founder and current CEO, founded the company, his goal was to provide top-of-the-line POS systems to businesses that might not have been able to afford them before.

Since its founding, Epos Now has spread internationally and has become one of the most trusted names in the POS industry. Epos Now operates across the world and is proud to serve over 40,000 businesses.

Epos Now is a customer-centric business. This ethos means that all of Epos Now's systems are designed to make the lives of business owners and their staff easier. To achieve this, Epos Now embraces a level of flexibility that isn't found in other POS systems. Epos Now understands that each business has its own unique needs and gears its systems to meet these needs.

This commitment to flexibility is most obvious in Epos Now's sector-specific software modules. These modules take the basic Epos Now system and augment it to serve specific business types. Coffee shops have different needs from other hospitality businesses like restaurants. Sector-specific software modules solve this issue by providing a specialized service. 

In terms of customer support, Epos Now operates a 24/7 phone line. This line is open to any Epos Now customer with support starting the day you install your system. On your installation day, a representative from Epos Now will walk you through your system and configure it to your needs. In the rare event you have an issue with an Epos Now system, all support from the company is completely free.

In addition to the 24/7 phone line, there are several different ways customers can get in touch with Epos Now. There is a instant messaging chat service available on the Epos Now website and a users forum. The chat service is generally geared towards answering simple question while the forum is for more in-depth discussion.

POS software

Unsually for a POS system, Epos Now's software is operating system agnostic. This means that Epos Now software can run on all the major operating systems like IOS, Android, and Windows. This grants their customers the freedom to choose whatever operating system they want. As long as their system is compatible with the current Epos Now software, it's guaranteed to work.

Epos Now's software is a cloud-based system. This means that all of the customer data processed through Epos Now systems are stored in off-site servers. This has two major benefits.

Firstly, as your data is off-site, it's kept safe from accidental damage (water damage, unusual weather etc.) and hackers. Security is a key focus of Epos Now and the company goes to great lengths to ensure that their customers' information is kept under tight lock and key.

Secondly, with a cloud-based system, you're able to log in from anywhere with an internet connection. Being able to remotely login to your system means that you can keep an eye on your business even if you're not on the premise. This can be a particularly useful feature for coffee shop owners with multiple locations.

With their sector-specific software modules, Epos Now can precisely target the unique needs of a cafe with its coffee shop POS features. These features sophisticated inventory management tools, loyalty programs, online ordering options, and the ability to track sales in real-time.

Epos Now users can also take advantage of an extremely function offline mode. Some competitors in the POS industry require a stable internet connection to operate, this is not the case for Epos Now.

When your internet connection goes down, the Epos Now system will immediately switch to offline mode. While in offline mode, you'll still be able to conduct any in-person transaction. Any sales data collected during your internet outage will also be retained by your coffee POS system and processes once you're back online.

POS hardware

During rushes, coffee shops can become extremely busy. The best coffee shop pos hardware needs to be easy to use, functional, and sturdy. The Epos Now coffee POS system is designed to survive the day-to-day of a busy coffee business.

Epos Now systems come with a good starter set of hardware for a small monthly subscription fee. This set of hardware includes a POS terminal, a strong cash drawer, and a receipt printer. Each piece of Epos Now hardware is designed to survive the hustle and bustle of the hospitality industry.

In addition to their basic set, Epos Now offer a variety of first-party pieces of hardware accessories. This means you can build your system to meet the exact needs of your business. These accessories include barcode scanners, employee sign-in cards, and a kitchen display system. You can also buy additional cash drawers, receipt printers, and terminals with an intuitive POS interface.

POS technology is constantly evolving and the Epos Now Pro Range is a great example of that. The Pro Range consists of two hand-held POS systems. The Pro operates as a mobile card machine with an built in receipt printer so you can take quick transactions on the go. The Pro+ is a true marvel of POS technology. The Pro+ is an entire POS system in a palm-sized machine.

Payment processing

Epos Now is one of the few POS companies that offers and integrated payment processing with its service. By using their payment processing service, Epos Now Payments, their customer can enjoy one flat processing rate across all transactions. With Epos Now as their payment processor, no customer will be hit with suprise processing fees.

Epos Now Payments can process all payment methods. This include all major payment methods including credit and debit card, contactless payments, and mobile methods like Apple Pay and Google Pay.

If you'd rather not use Epos Now Payments, there are other payment processing options available. Epos Now has a relationship with any major payment processors. This means that you can negotiate your own fees and choose your preferred third party payment processor. Epos Now customer have complete control over their finances.

Integrations

Apps and integrations are an integral part of Epos Now systems. Epos Now operates their own app store that is full of award-winning first and third party apps. All coffee shops have their own unique needs and the Epos Now AppStore allows you to customize your system the way you want.

For coffee shops, there are a variety of useful apps that could help improve your business. This includes apps that can handle online ordering, inventory management, menu management, and the ability to set up a loyalty program.

As many coffee shop customers are regulars, creating a loyalty program can be a massive boost to your business. Epos Now has both first and third person integrations that can be used to set up a loyalty program.

Toast

Toast, Inc. is an American POS company. Founded in 2012 by three app designers, Toast went public in November 2020. Before this, they laid off 50% of their workforce in April 2020.

Toast is a hospitality-only company that offers restaurant POS systems. While this means that their restaurant pos systems aren't designed to operate a coffee shop, you can still run your business on a Toast system. If you are looking for a specialized coffee shop system like Epos Now, you will have to look elsewhere.

Unlike Epos Now, Toast does not offer a live chat support option. They do have a phone line for their customers but the hours it is available are not listed on their website.

POS software

As with Epos Now, Toast's system software is cloud-based. This means that their systems come with all the pros and cons of being cloud-based. While the data is safer in off-site servers, it does mean that Toast ultimately have complete control over your information. This could be problematic considering the fact they do not have a 24/7 support line.

Toast POS offers tiered pricing for various software bundles. While this does give Toast's customers some choice in their package, many integral hospitality features are locked behind paywalls. For example, Toast offers a basic inventory management feature for their basic package but employee management in not accessible unless their customer is willing to pay more.

Being a cloud-based system, Toast operates best when connected to the internet. While their system does have an offline mode, their features are severely limited without a connection.

POS hardware

Toast's basic hardware offering comes with most of what you need to start trading. This kit includes a touchscreen POS terminal, an internet router, and a card machine for contactless payments. While a business would be able to operate with this package, POS basics like a cash drawer and a receipt printer are noticeably missing.

All of Toast hardware uses an Android operating system. If your hardware runs on other operating systems such as IOS or Windows, you will not be able to run Toast. This means that some businesses will have to buy completely new systems to get working.

Payment Processing

As part of their system, Toast offers a first-party payment processing service. Toast's payment processing accepts all major payment methods including credit and debit card, contactless payments, and mobile options like Apple Pay and Google Pay.

While Toast's payment processing service will save business owners from having to negotiate their own fees with a third party payment processor there are some drawbacks. As a payment processor, Toast charges a custom rate for each business. This means that your processing rate could potentially change month-to-month depending on your sales.

integrations

On their website, Toast claim to have integrations with a number of different third-party developers and their own first-party apps. While this sounds great on paper, none of their integrations are listed on their website.

This makes evaluating their app offering difficult. One could assume they offer the basics such as inventory management and online ordering but there is no way to know for sure without booking a demo.

The best coffee shop POS system

Know that we've taken an in-depth look at two of the biggest names in point of sale software we can crown a winner. Epos Now undoubtedly offer a more robust service and there the best POS system for coffee shops.

If you'd like to read more of our POS reviews, take a look at our articles below:

• PayPal alternatives

• SumUp alternatives

• Lightspeed alternatives

• Toast alternatives

• Best POS system

• Best POS system for restaurants

• Best POS system for retail

• Best POS system for foodtrucks

• Best POS system for liquor stores

If you're in need of a hospitality or retail POS, get in touch with our expert team below.