Best Cost-Effective Restaurant POS Systems In Australia

Running a restaurant in the Australian market? This is the right place to get started and find your ideal restaurant POS system. 

Choosing the right system can make a huge difference to the productivity and profitability of your business. Given that there are lots of options in the market, we will help you list out the top systems that might suit your budget and meet your restaurant requirements. Let’s dive into the top 3 cost-effective POS systems in Australia.

Top 3 Cost-Effective Restaurant POS Systems In Australia

1. Square Restaurant POS

Popular and cost-effective, Square POS for restaurants is an ideal system for small to medium-sized Australian cafes, restaurants, and quick-service businesses. What makes Square appealing to startups and growing companies are its Free plan, user-friendly user interface, and no long-term contract pricing.

Pricing Overview

The $0/month Free plan helps you take care of all the necessities, like setting up a menu, managing orders, and creating a basic table layout. Nevertheless, if you're looking for essential functions like advanced staff tracking, seat and course management, and end-of-day reports, consider the Plus plan at $129 per month per location. Square charges a starting cost for card transactions at 1.6%, in particular for companies handling significant numbers of transactions.

Square Works Well For

• Small eateries and cafes that require an easy-to-use, low-cost order and payment management solution.
• New restaurants are searching for a low-risk, no-contract point-of-sale system.
• Restaurants that integrate online sales should make use of Square’s free online ordering platform.

2. Odoo Point of Sale

Odoo POS stands out as an open-source, feature-rich option for Australian owners looking for a budget-friendly restaurant POS system. Odoo has a free tier that lets you handle standard restaurant operations like creating menus, processing orders, and maintaining inventory, compared to traditional systems with high upfront fees.

Pricing Overview

In both the Odoo Community and Enterprise editions, Odoo provides a free plan for this app. The hardware prices depend on those you choose, from computers, monitors, and receipt printers, to barcode scanners. Other costs may include app subscriptions if you require further functionality, implementation services if you’re not familiar with them, and payment processing fees from the payment processor of your choice.

Odoo POS Works Well For:

• Restaurants that have IT staff members who are familiar with certain technical configurations.
• Small/newly established, and medium restaurants can get started without having to make a large first investment because Odoo lets you try things out before committing.
• Restaurants searching for a flexible and integrated solution - that is, for example, one that integrates inventory control and accounting.

3. Abacus POS

Abacus is a cloud-based restaurant POS system designed specifically for Australia's businesses. Since its launch in 2015, this software has gained popularity due to its intuitive UI and frequent upgrades, ensuring restaurant owners get access to the newest features. Abacus is known to work extremely well in a variety of dining settings, such as food trucks and cafes.

Pricing Overview

Abacus's price structure is among its most alluring attributes. With the Access plan, you can get one registration license for $0 a month. This entry-level offering is ideal for small restaurants trying to save money upfront. However, with the Grow or Enterprise plans, additional licences can add up very quickly.

Abacus POS Works Well For:

• Small to medium-sized eateries and cafés that value flexibility and ease of use.
• Casual eating spaces are well-suited to its capabilities, especially with staff administration, menu adaptation, and floor plan control.

Key Criteria Of A POS System For Small Restaurants

Startups or new restaurants often face common challenges such as operating with a tight budget, limited staff counts, and the need for a leaner management system. Therefore, the ideal restaurant POS system for small businesses should be user-friendly, cost-effective, and productive. Below we suggest the key criteria of a great POS option that you can consider during the selection:

• Low setup costs: A POS system with low initial hardware and software costs will benefit new restaurants. Moreover, a lot of startups opt for cloud solutions that can be accessed through multiple devices, such as tablets or smartphones.
• Flexible pricing: It’s advisable to find a restaurant POS system that offers pay-as-you-go tiered pricing. This pricing model allows small businesses to only make use of the features they need initially and don’t need to commit to long-term costs that they shouldn’t encounter.
• Fast transactions: A restaurant POS system with a quick and efficient ordering and payment process is a must-have option for smaller eateries. This way, you can keep the service operating smoothly during peak times and reduce wait times.
• Tableside ordering & payments: Mobile POS systems are great options for new establishments. Orders can be taken directly from guests’ tables and quickly transferred into the kitchen, and payments can be collected without requiring customers to go to the counter.
• Integrated payment: The operations are simplified when the POS system has integrated payment processing. You won’t have to worry about separate payment terminals. Therefore, consider solutions that enable card transactions, mobile payments, or tap-and-go from multiple devices.
• Essential inventory management: New restaurants may not have complex inventory systems, however, you can still take advantage of basic functions like low-stock alerts and adjustments. This way, you can avoid running out of popular products in urgent times.
• Staff performance tracking: Several restaurant POS systems provide data on individual staff performance, such as commission earnings. This can assist you in rewarding top performers and offering specialised training.
• Sales recording: The most popular menu items, peak service hours, and daily sales are just a few of the critical information that you might need to review. Real-time reports from a POS system will help make quick and better decisions.
• Integrated promotion capabilities: It’s more valuable if the restaurant POS system offers features like SMS messaging, email marketing, or voucher integration. This helps you to nurture customers with the right offers to increase repeated visits and sales.
• Cloud-based and offline capability: When you can access the POS system from anywhere, you can oversee daily operations quickly and easily. Furthermore, a bonus from a POS system would be the ability to access it when the internet is down. This ensures that sales and orders continue uninterrupted.

What To Consider When Choosing A Cost-Effective POS In Australia?

• GST (Goods and Services Tax) management: Australia has strict GST laws, which must be efficiently handled by the POS or its integrated system. This includes automatically calculating taxes on receipts and invoices. Additionally, the system needs to simplify tax-related BAS reporting with less work on compliance.
• Local payment methods: Restaurant owners should also be able to integrate the POS system with local payment processors such as Tyro, Afterpay, or ZipPay. Contactless payments are also popular in Australia, so the system should also allow the tap-and-go payment method.
• Multi-currency support: Restaurant owners, especially those located in Sydney or Gold Coast with high tourist rates, need to select a POS system that allows transactions across countries and currencies (i.e. AUD, USD, Euro).
• Versatility for restaurant sizes: Australian dining options are diverse, such as restaurants, cafes, or food trucks. Therefore, it’s highly recommended to find a flexible restaurant POS system that can cater to those environments.
• Local support teams: It is essential to have a restaurant POS system that provides quick solutions to technical issues, particularly during peak business hours. Besides the POS vendor’s support team, you can search for its official local partner to get the quickest support. For example, with Odoo, consider contacting Havi experts as we are credited as the Official Partner of Odoo in Australia.
• Local supplier integration: The POS system should also offer seamless integration with your local suppliers. This way, you can streamline inventory management, ingredient costs and and ordering processes.

Restaurant POS Systems - Frequently Asked Questions

1. How does a restaurant POS system work?

A POS system is an automated cash register that simplifies restaurant operations. The POS system handles almost every task in a restaurant, from ordering, inventory monitoring, and payment processing, to sales recording. This system can also connect to multiple devices, such as payment terminals, printers, or barcode scanners to streamline operations and increase staff productivity.

2. What fees should I expect when implementing a POS system?

Several fees come with implementing a POS system: hardware, subscription, transactions, and maintenance fees. On one hand, you have your hardware: tablets, printers, and payment terminals that require an up-front cost. Additionally, the POS system might come with a monthly subscription fee. Thirdly, you have transaction fees that payment processors charge for every credit card swipe. Lastly, you might have to pay for a third-party installation or you might need some professional training if the receipt arrives.