The 6 Best POS Systems for Takeaway – Canada

Lightspeed’s POS enables you to open tabs and create combos for your most popular items, to help speed up the queue at the bar. It also comes with a self-order menu option and tableside ordering features for your seated customers.

Its reporting features could be stronger – there's no previous year comparison on the dashboard, for example – but that’s about all we didn’t like about Lightspeed.

Lightspeed's Direct Order Mode is perfect in a takeaway, so you can take orders and payments quickly and efficiently. It's intuitive interface makes it simple to use, even for those who are not super tech-savvy. Delivery and contactless online ordering can be integrated into the system, diversifying your revenue and expanding your takeaways reach.

There is a 14-day free trial period, and the software pricing starts at $69 per month, which is about the average for the best POS systems.

Treat your customers how you would your food – that’s one of the many recipes for success in the food industry. TouchBistro knows this.

TouchBistro comes integrated with CRM (customer relationship management) software to help you promote exclusive offers and one-time deals to help your customers feel special and, most importantly, satisfied.

TouchBistro offers table management tools so your staff can provide your customers with a seamless service. The system is fast and intuitive making it suitable for providing quick and quality service.

TouchBistro scores highly in our research for help and support, so you can be sure that you won't be left hanging if you run into any snags.

You can add on features such as marketing although this comes at an extra cost. If you plan to expand in the future, this POS system will allow you to scale as your business grows.

Looking to get your finances in better shape? Then we’d recommend trying Square and its free software. Square is one of the best small business point of sale due to its affordability. 

You do pay a percentage per transaction (at least 2.6%), one-off fees for your hardware, and monthly fees for add-ons such as Square Loyalty ($25 per month), but you can’t really argue with the initial cost.

As far as takeaway POS features go, we particularly like Square’s customisable menus, per-item sales tracking, and reporting tools.

Square scores highly in our research and offers tons of great features for your takeaway. It's Square for Restaurants POS system starts at $60 per month but it isn't necessary to opt for the paid version for a takeaway. You can still access tons of great POS features, take orders and process payments with the free version.

Some Square for Restaurants features include adding advanced discounts and bulk additions to menus.

The hardware that comes alongside the software such as a card reader and stand are affordable so you don't have to fork out thousands just to set up a POS system. Square is cloud-based and will run on any iPad or iPhone that has a Lightning port and runs iOS 10.0.2 or later.

With award-winning support to its name, Nobly was an easy choice for our top six takeaway POS suppliers. But that’s not the only reason why it made the cut.

Nobly POS and its Nobly Ordering app come with zero monthly or setup costs, charging 3% plus 20 cents per order instead.

We also found the Nobly Ordering dashboard was packed full of features (it might seem overwhelming at first if you’re a tech beginner, though), enabling you to track revenue, new customer details, and your overall performance.

Nobly includes full inventory management tools so you can easily track inventory levels, ensuring you never run out. Stock checks and inventory updates can happen with just a few clicks. The system produces sales reports so you can make accurate decisions about your takeaway.

Nobly integrates with accounting and management tools to consolidate your processes. Integrations include Quick books, Xero and Deputy.

Catering specifically to online takeaway businesses, Hike believes it can help you hike up your sales using its simple-to-use, feature-heavy POS software. After our research, we don’t disagree.

With Hike, you can accept all the leading payment processors including PayPal, Tyro, and iZettle, plus accept gift cards and loyalty point payments. We found the interface really intuitive, with your real-time sales figures available within a few taps of the screen.

Hike works on any iPad, PC and Mac making it versatile software and ensuring you and your staff aren't limited to behind the counter, chunky hardware. The software also works offline so you can continue serving even if the internet goes down.

Hike integrates with tons of apps such as Xero, QuickBooks, and Mailchimp.