How to Choose the Best POS System for Restaurants

# How to Choose the Best POS System for Restaurants Choosing a POS is one of the highest-leverage decisions a restaurant owner makes. The wrong choice means staff friction, slow service, and thousands of dollars per year in subscription and transaction fees. ## 1. Start with your workflow, not the feature list Map how an order moves through your restaurant today. Where do tickets get lost? Where do staff wait? ## 2. Must-have features for restaurants - Modifier-heavy menu support - Kitchen ticket printing (80 mm thermal) - Multi-branch with per-branch staff scoping - Cashier session open/close with cash reconciliation - Online ordering and delivery management built-in ## 3. Watch out for hidden fees Many POS vendors advertise low monthly prices, then charge **2.4%–2.9% per transaction** on top. On $40,000/month revenue that's $960–$1,160 extra every month. [Use the OperoPOS savings calculator](/free-pos-cost-calculator) to compare. ## 4. Why OperoPOS OperoPOS is a 100% free [restaurant POS system](/restaurant-pos-system) with built-in online ordering, delivery zones, drivers, multi-branch and multi-language. No monthly fee, no transaction fee, no credit card required. [Create your free account →](/auth)