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TouchBistro is a customizable POS system for restaurants of all sizes.
TouchBistro is our choice for the best restaurant POS system because it combines restaurant-specific functionality with flexible pricing. Designed for full-service restaurants, quick-service eateries, cafes, bars and food trucks, it can support businesses ranging from single-location operations to growing restaurant groups.
The software has a reasonable starting price, and TouchBistro is upfront about the cost of its core POS plans. You start with a low monthly fee and can add the features you need as your business grows, although pricing for most advanced add-ons requires a custom quote.
TouchBistro offers inventory management, customer loyalty programs, online ordering and reservation tools. It also supports tableside ordering and payment processing, helping restaurants take orders faster, streamline payments and turn tables more efficiently.
We like that TouchBistro POS is made specifically for restaurants and doesn’t try to cater to every industry. This focus allows TouchBistro to offer restaurant-specific tools, like drag-and-drop table management, customizable menu dashboards and ingredient-level tracking.
TouchBistro also makes it simple for servers and bartenders to upsell customers, split the bill and manage restaurant seating. These features streamline restaurant operations and improve the customer experience.
In addition, TouchBistro was one of the only hybrid POS systems we reviewed. Hybrid POS systems combine the flexibility of cloud-based POS software with the reliability of an onsite server. Your restaurant will continue to operate even if you lose your internet connection during a busy dinner rush, which can have a significant impact on your bottom line.
We were impressed by TouchBistro’s intuitive and user-friendly software. In particular, we liked how businesses can set up the TouchBistro POS dashboard to match their menu and table layout. Because TouchBistro is an iPad-based POS system, most of your employees will already be familiar with the system and feel comfortable navigating it.
We also appreciate that TouchBistro allows users to customize the system to meet their specific needs. For example, you can customize forced menu modifiers and upsell prompts to ensure a smooth ordering process. It’s also easy to add features such as reservations, online ordering and customer loyalty programs to elevate your overall guest experience.
TouchBistro offers a comprehensive set of features that serve restaurants of all sizes, and we like that the company continually updates and improves its software features. Here’s an overview of TouchBistro’s most impressive features.
TouchBistro is designed to make floor and order management as easy as possible, especially during peak hours. Here are some of its best restaurant management tools:
We like that TouchBistro allows restaurants to customize employee management and reduce the time spent on routine administrative tasks. Here are some tools that stood out to us:
We found TouchBistro’s inventory management among the industry’s best. The platform’s integrated MarginEdge back-office solution is a standout aspect of this functionality, giving operators a cleaner, more accurate picture of their food costs, inventory levels and waste patterns.
We were particularly impressed by the following inventory management capabilities:
The MarginEdge integration adds another layer of visibility by combining sales, labor and purchasing data in one place. This gives operators a more complete view of food costs and restaurant performance without relying on manual spreadsheets or separate reporting systems. We also like that MarginEdge can automatically pull sales and labor data from TouchBistro, helping restaurants increase profitability and track costs more efficiently.
During our testing, the initial inventory setup required some time and patience when we were manually adding ingredients, recipes and associated menu items. However, once the initial work is done, stock levels are updated automatically as customers place orders. This level of automation is a real advantage for busy kitchens because it reduces manual data entry, cuts down on human error and saves valuable time.
A restaurant that earns repeat business and customer loyalty is well-positioned for stable revenue and future growth. TouchBistro helps operators build stronger guest relationships with customer account tools that store purchase histories, track account balances and record customer preferences. Staff can access this information during service to provide a more personalized experience and better accommodate repeat guests.
We were particularly impressed by TouchBistro Reservations, an optional add-on that extends the platform’s customer management capabilities. The system lets restaurants manage reservations, waitlists and table assignments from a centralized dashboard while keeping reservation data connected to the POS.
Some of our favorite reservations features include:
We like that TouchBistro offers a dedicated platform instead of treating customer rewards as a minor POS feature. Available as an add-on, TouchBistro Loyalty helps restaurants create branded rewards programs, gather customer insights and encourage repeat business.
TouchBistro Loyalty includes several standout features:
We also like that TouchBistro offers a customer-facing web app that allows guests to track rewards, view loyalty balances and redeem offers from their mobile devices.
We really liked TouchBistro’s robust reporting and data analytics tools, which provide detailed information on a restaurant’s performance. The system offers more than 50 reports that update in real time, giving operators visibility into sales, inventory, staff performance and customer behavior. Cloud-based reporting also makes it easy to review key metrics and trends from anywhere.
TouchBistro provides a variety of reports and analytics dashboards to help restaurants monitor operations, identify trends and make more informed business decisions, including:
TouchBistro doesn’t offer as many integrations as some competing restaurant POS systems. However, it covers many of the categories restaurant operators rely on most, including accounting, inventory management, analytics, online ordering, payroll and payment processing.
We especially like that TouchBistro partners with a variety of third-party providers rather than trying to handle every function itself. Restaurants can connect tools for accounting, inventory tracking, employee scheduling, loyalty programs, marketing, reservations and delivery management, allowing businesses to build a technology stack that fits their specific needs.
Beyond its own payment processing service, TouchBistro has partnered with several third-party payment processors, including Chase Payment Solutions, Worldpay and Moneris. This gives restaurant owners more flexibility in how they accept payments and may reduce the need to switch providers when moving to TouchBistro.
We like that TouchBistro is upfront about pricing for its core POS plans. However, if you need a custom setup or add-on products, you’ll have to contact sales for a quote.
Restaurants can start with a Point of Sale plan for $69 per month, choose the $119-per-month Essentials Bundle with hardware and integrated payments, or request custom pricing for a more tailored setup.
Plan | Starting Price | What’s Included |
|---|---|---|
Point of Sale | $69 per month |
|
Essentials Bundle | $119 per month | Everything in the Point of Sale plan, plus:
|
Custom Setup | Custom quote |
|
The base POS subscription includes core restaurant management tools, but many of TouchBistro’s most advanced features are sold separately. Depending on your needs, you may need to add one or more of the following products, each of which requires a custom quote:
Other pricing details we found include the following:
We were impressed by TouchBistro’s implementation and onboarding process. Every customer is assigned a dedicated onboarding manager to guide them through setup, including front-end and back-end training and menu configuration. We also like how simple it is to customize your system by adding functions such as reservations, online ordering, gift cards and loyalty programs.
You can also modify the table layout, menu setup and forced modifiers for each dish or drink. And if you operate multiple restaurant locations, you can roll out these changes across all locations or make one-off tweaks for individual restaurants.
When it comes to hardware, we appreciate that the TouchBistro onboarding team helps you determine what’s best for your restaurant. Depending on your business’s needs, the company may recommend a mix of stationary terminals, line-busting devices and tableside POS devices. If you purchase your hardware directly from TouchBistro, you’ll also have a single point of contact for both your hardware and software support, which can simplify troubleshooting after launch.
Once your system is set up, employee training should be straightforward and quick. We like that the POS dashboard is intuitive and user-friendly, so the learning curve isn’t steep. Setting up forced modifiers can also reduce the amount of menu training employees need because staff are prompted to select required options before submitting an order.
TouchBistro offers 24/7 customer support via phone, email and live chat, which is a meaningful advantage for restaurant operators who work nights, weekends and holidays. We also like that customers who purchase TouchBistro hardware receive implementation and ongoing support from the same provider, eliminating the need to coordinate with multiple vendors.
If you prefer to troubleshoot on your own, TouchBistro’s searchable support hub provides on-demand access to an extensive library of help articles, administrator guides, video tutorials and product-specific documentation. We found resources covering everything from menu management and reporting to cloud features, third-party integrations and payment processing, making it easy to find answers without contacting support.
TouchBistro is a robust solution for restaurants, but we discovered a few limitations you should be aware of:
We researched and analyzed dozens of the best POS systems to identify the top industry solutions. We examined pricing, contracts, hardware, platform compatibility, must-have POS features, reports, payment processing, integrations, usability and customer support to help businesses choose the right POS system for their needs. When evaluating the best POS systems for restaurants specifically, we prioritized restaurant-specific capabilities such as inventory management, table management, online ordering, customer management, loyalty programs, usability and customization.
We recommend TouchBistro for …
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