A POS system for a retail store may not suit a pizza restaurant’s needs. For pizza places, delivery is crucial. So, their POS system should simplify order-taking and delivery management. When picking a pizza POS system, consider its user-friendliness, order and delivery tracking capabilities, online ordering, and quick payment processing. We’ve studied various POS systems to identify the best ones for pizza restaurants.
Running a pizza shop has unique challenges like customizable dishes, delivery service, and meal deals. The best pizza POS system should help manage these. Our team at Milagro, with experience in various pizzerias and using different pizza POS systems, regularly updates a ranking of the best pizza Point of Sale options. We evaluate many POS systems based on cost, ease of use, and features specific to pizzerias. Based on our assessments, we provide a list of the best pizza POS systems.
- Milagro: Top choice for all types of pizza shops
- SpeedLine: Great for handling complex orders
- Revel: Ideal for pizzerias
- HungerRush 360: Fits for advanced pizza tech
- Slice Register: Excellent for quick setup
- Square for Restaurants: POS for small shops
What is a Pizza POS System?
A Pizza POS System is software that helps you run your pizza shop beyond just making great pizza. It manages all parts of your business, like taking orders, tracking deliveries, marketing, and more. It’s the main system for your business, combining different tasks like tracking sales, managing inventory, handling customer relationships, and reporting finances. It’s your all-in-one POS tool for running your pizza shop.
Why do pizza shops need a unique POS system?
Pizza shops have unique needs that some restaurant POS systems might not meet. Here’s why:
- Customizable Menu: Pizzas can be customized with different sizes, crusts, toppings, and sauces. A good Pizza POS should make it easy to customize menu items.
- Delivery Management: Many pizza shops deliver. A Pizza POS should have features like driver assignment, delivery tracking, and route mapping.
- Split Payments: Pizza shops often serve groups who might want to split bills. Your POS system should handle this easily.
- Loyalty Programs: A built-in loyalty program can bring customers back. Your Pizza POS should let you set up and manage these programs easily.
- Online and Mobile Ordering: With more people ordering food online, your POS system should work well with online and mobile ordering platforms.
- Real-Time Reporting: You need to track your sales, inventory, and other key metrics. A Pizza Point of Sale (POS) system should give instant reports to help you make decisions based on data.
- Inventory and Recipe Costing: The right POS software can automatically calculate the profitability of each menu item and adjust prices based on changing ingredient costs.
In short, a modern cloud-based POS is a must for pizza shops. Choose a system that meets your specific needs and budget to get the most out of your POS system.
Top Pizza POS Systems
For Pizza shops, a high-quality Point of Sale (POS) system is not just good to have, it’s crucial for success. These systems can make operations easier, enhance customer engagement, and offer insights based on data to help your business grow. In this guide, I’ll look into the key features, advantages, and possible disadvantages of our most suitable POS systems for Pizza shops in 2024. We’ve studied all the main food service and restaurant POS systems to identify the ones that are best for pizza stores.
Milagro
Milagro is a top-tier hybrid POS system that works on Milagro terminals and handheld devices. It’s user-friendly and has many features. It’s great for pizza shops because it offers complex customizations, online delivery management, employee management, reservation management, and online ordering. It’s the best value for pizzerias. Milagro also has pay-as-you-go options for POS terminals, which helps small pizzerias start with no upfront cost. Its industry-grade hardware works well in busy pizza environments. It’s even more user-friendly now with faster order screens and improved server and driver shift reports.
Pros:
- No software costs with the pay-as-you-go plan
- Pay-as-you-go hardware lowers upfront costs
- Low-cost marketing and loyalty extras
- Choices for in-house and third-party delivery
Cons:
- Limited customization options
- Inventory management
SpeedLine
SpeedLine is a traditional Point of Sale (POS) system that’s been helping pizza shops for a long time. It shows all types of orders on one screen and automatically applies discounts when an order meets certain conditions. It can also connect with call center software, which is useful during busy times. The system makes it easy for cashiers to see the ingredients of popular pizzas and build custom ones.
Pros:
- The order screen clearly shows ingredients and changes
- You can take credit card payments in the field with long-range readers, which can lower fees
- It has advanced mapping tools for better delivery planning and marketing
- It offers flexible discounts and different prices to attract customers during busy times
Cons:
- It’s not fully based on the cloud
- Some changes can only be made by the SpeedLine support team
- The price isn’t fixed and requires a custom quote
Revel Systems
Revel Systems is a highly functional iPad Point of Sale (POS) system. It has many features including map-based dispatching and apps for delivery drivers. It also supports various payment processors, allowing busy pizza shops to find the best rates. With its complex combo-building features and open API, Revel Systems is great for pizza shops that want a customizable cloud-based POS. However, it’s best suited for pizza shops with 5 or more locations due to its scale.
Advantages:
- Map-based driver dispatch with a built-in app
- Supports multiple payment processors
- Combo builders and pizza-building screens for complex orders
- Automated inventory tools with purchase order management and counting app
Disadvantages:
- No free trial or subscription
- Hardware pricing requires a custom quote
- Requires a 3-year contract
- Doesn’t support pay-at-the-door credit card readers
HungerRush 360
HungerRush 360 is a cloud-based Point of Sale (POS) system that evolved from the previous locally installed POS, Revention. It was originally designed for pizza shops. The updated HungerRush has many useful tools like screens for building your own pizza and payment options all in one place. It also has built-in tools for ordering through various channels like online, mobile app, and text. HungerRush is similar to SpeedLine, but it’s cloud-based and has more advanced tools.
Pros:
- Takes orders in-person, online, over the phone, through an app, and via text
- Includes long-range card readers for payments at the door
- Order screens show ingredients and changes
- Has a customer loyalty and rewards system
Cons:
- Can be expensive
- Requires a 3-year contract
- May have more equipment than small pizza shops need
Slice Register
Slice Register is a Point of Sale (POS) system created by the well-known Slice online pizza shop marketplace, which has over 18,000 independent pizza shop members. It offers a simple plug-and-play solution, making it one of the easiest pizza POS systems to use. Small shops can quickly set up the Slice terminal, add menu items, and start taking orders in-person and online. Slice Register also offers many options for managing your brand and marketing to customers. It even lets you customize your website to highlight your business.
Advantages:
- A user-friendly system that’s quick to learn
- Has an integrated driver app for delivery teams
- The integrated Slice platform helps attract new customers
- Offers advanced features like AI monitoring and app-based delivery management
Disadvantages:
- Only supports one payment processor (Ayden), so you can’t look for better rates
- Doesn’t include tools for managing inventory
- Doesn’t support credit card readers for payments at the door
Square
Square for Restaurants is a Point of Sale (POS) system for food and beverage businesses, created by the well-known payment brand, Square. It’s a cloud-based system that works on iPads and hardware designed by Square. The basic software subscription is free and can be used on as many terminals as you need. You can also use your hardware and there are no long-term contracts. This system is user-friendly and works well for shops that don’t require complex order modifications. It comes with a free online ordering site, making it easy to accept online orders. However, it lacks some pizza-specific tools that other systems offer.
Advantages:
- No long-term contracts
- Free basic POS for unlimited terminals
- Free 30-day trial for premium software subscriptions
- You can use the hardware you already own
Disadvantages:
- Managing in-house drivers requires integration with a third-party
- Lacks pizza-building functions and has limited combo ordering tools
- Only supports Square as a payment processor
| Minimum Monthly Software Fee | Hardware Cost | Self-managed Delivery Tools | |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
$0 | $0-$1K+ | Advanced |
 |
Custom-quoted | Custom-quoted | Advanced |
 |
$99 | Custom-quoted | Advanced |
 |
$99 | Included with software fee | Good |
 |
Custom-quoted | Custom-quoted | Good |
 |
$0 | $0-$1K+ | Good |
Our Evaluation Method for Pizza POS Systems
We evaluated many popular Point of Sale (POS) systems for pizza shops. We looked at important factors like cost, ease of use, basic POS features, and specific tools for pizzerias. We also took into account the personal experience of our in-house restaurant expert with each system.
Here are the categories we used for our full evaluation:
- Breakdown: This refers to the detailed analysis of each POS system, including its features, strengths, and weaknesses.
- Pricing: This involves looking at the cost of each POS system. It includes the cost of software, hardware, and any additional fees.
- General POS Features: This refers to the basic functionalities that every POS system should have, such as sales tracking, inventory management, and reporting.
- Niche Pizza Functions: These are specific features that are particularly useful for pizza shops, such as pizza-building screens or delivery management tools.
- Ease of Use: This measures how user-friendly the POS system is. A system that’s easy to use can save time and reduce errors.
- Expert Score: This is a rating given by an in-house restaurant expert based on their personal experience with each system. It provides an additional perspective beyond the objective features and specifications.
In summary, the evaluation was a comprehensive process that considered a wide range of factors to determine the best POS systems for pizza shops. It combined objective criteria with personal expertise to provide a balanced assessment.
Key Features to Consider in a Pizza POS System
When choosing a Point of Sale (POS) system for your pizza shop, it should have features that meet your specific needs and make your daily tasks easier. Here are the key features to consider:
- Online Ordering: As contactless transactions become more popular, a good online ordering system is essential. It should allow customers to order from home via your website or a mobile app.
- Order Management: The best systems can combine different types of orders (dine-in, online, phone-in) into one platform for easy management and accuracy.
- Pizza Builder: A tool for customizing pizzas is important. It should allow for half-and-half pizzas, specific topping combinations, and other customizations.
- Loyalty Program: A POS that supports loyalty programs can help encourage repeat business. These programs usually reward customers with points that can be redeemed for perks.
- Inventory Management: The system should automatically track ingredients used per order and update your inventory in real time. Some systems may also allow for ingredient reordering directly from the app.
- Delivery Management: If you offer in-house delivery, choose a POS with strong delivery features, like delivery mapping and at-the-door payment processing.
- Third-Party Delivery Integration: Systems that integrate with third-party delivery services can help expand your delivery range and efficiency.
- Customer Management: A robust customer management system should store key information like customer contact details and preferences. Some systems can even record dislikes and other notes for personalized service.
- Payment Processing: Your POS should offer various efficient payment options at affordable rates. Some providers only support their payment processors, while others integrate with multiple processors.
- Reporting and Analytics: A successful POS system should provide comprehensive reporting and analytics to monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) and inform strategic planning.
- Pricing and Terms: The cost of the POS system should fit your budget. Many systems require 1- to 3-year contracts, so choose a provider with terms that suit your plans.
- Tailored Features: Depending on your needs, you might require additional features. For example, an intuitive system that requires minimal training could be important in a high staff turnover environment. If your pizzeria serves alcohol, consider a POS that caters to specific liquor service needs.
By considering these features, you can find a POS system that is reliable, easy to use, and tailored to your pizzeria’s specific needs.
Bottom Line
In summary, a good pizza Point of Sale (POS) system should be user-friendly, allow for custom orders, and work well with delivery apps. It should make things efficient for both your customers and staff.
Milagro is the best POS system for small, independent pizza shops and all other restaurant types. It has easy-to-use, professional-grade hardware, a tool for building pizzas, and built-in features for managing deliveries and working with third-party delivery services. Milagro can adapt to any operation. Its pay-as-you-go hardware options also make it easy for new pizza shops to start without any upfront costs. Consider getting a full trial to see if Milagro is right for you.
