Café POS System Selection【Complete Guide】

TL;DR

Core Problem: Don't know which POS system is best for cafés and coffee shops
Quick Answer: For cafés, POS systems with integrated "mobile ordering, takeout management, and inventory management" are optimal. With Seisei, you can manage in-store orders and takeout in one place, reduce wait times by 30% with mobile ordering, and increase sales by 20%.
Target Audience: Café, coffee shop, coffee shop owners, store managers
Expected Benefits: By choosing appropriate POS system, achieve 30% wait time reduction, 20% sales increase, and 20 hours/month work time reduction
Reading Time: 12 minutes

Important Terms

Café POS System

Definition: POS system specialized for cafés and coffee shops. Integrates mobile ordering, takeout management, and inventory management. Scope: Includes order management, payment, takeout management, mobile ordering, inventory management, sales reports. Features may differ from restaurant POS systems. Related: Coffee shop POS, coffee shop POS, mobile ordering system

Mobile Ordering

Definition: System for ordering from smartphones or tablets. Scan QR code to access ordering screen. Scope: Includes QR code ordering, table number input, payment, order confirmation. Effective for reducing wait times and increasing sales. Related: QR code ordering, touch ordering, self-ordering

Takeout Management

Definition: Features for managing takeout orders. Manages order reception, preparation status, handover. Scope: Includes takeout order reception, preparation time management, handover confirmation, takeout-only menu management. Related: Takeout system, delivery management

Café Challenges and POS System Solutions

Challenge 1: Lunch Time Congestion

Specifics:

Orders concentrated during lunch time
Long lines at register
Long customer wait times
Staff cannot keep up

Impact:

Customer satisfaction declines
Lost sales opportunities
Increased staff burden

Solution: Implement POS system with rich mobile ordering features

Effect (Seisei implementation case study, N=20):

Wait time: 30% reduction
Sales: 20% increase
Customer satisfaction: 25% increase

Challenge 2: Takeout Order Management is Complex

Specifics:

Managing phone takeout orders by hand
Order misses and errors occur
Cannot manage preparation time
Don't know handover timing

Impact:

Customer satisfaction declines
Work efficiency declines
Lost sales opportunities

Solution: Implement POS system with rich takeout management features

Effect (Seisei implementation case study, N=20):

Takeout order errors: 80% reduction
Work time: 15 hours/month reduction
Takeout sales: 30% increase

Challenge 3: Inventory Management is Manual

Specifics:

Managing coffee beans and ingredients inventory by hand
Slow to notice out-of-stock
Don't know ordering timing
Inventory loss occurs

Impact:

Inventory loss occurs
Ordering delays
Cost increases

Solution: Implement POS system with rich inventory management features

Effect (Seisei implementation case study, N=20):

Inventory loss: 25% reduction
Ordering time: 10 hours/month reduction
Cost: 10% reduction

Café POS System Selection Guide (Step-by-Step)

Step 1: Clarify Required Features (30 minutes)

Goal: List required POS features for your company

Actions:

Check if mobile ordering features are needed
Check if takeout management features are needed
Check if inventory management features are needed
Check if accounting integration features are needed
Check if sales report features are needed

Deliverable: Feature requirement list

Verification: Separate essential and optional features

Step 2: Determine Budget (15 minutes)

Goal: Set POS system budget

Actions:

Set initial cost upper limit
Set monthly fee upper limit
Check hardware costs
Estimate long-term costs

Deliverable: Budget plan

Verification: Get approval from management

Selection Checklist

Preparation Stage

Listed required features
Decided budget
Clarified current business challenges
Clarified implementation purpose
Listened to staff opinions

Comparison Stage

Selected 3-5 candidate systems
Organized each company's features in comparison table
Compared pricing plans
Checked for café-oriented features
Checked reviews and ratings

Café POS System Comparison Table

Evaluation Item	Seisei	Competitor A	Competitor B	Recommended
Mobile Ordering	✅ Rich	✅ Rich	⚠️ Limited	Seisei/Competitor A
Takeout Management	✅ Rich	✅ Rich	✅ Rich	All
Inventory Management	✅ Rich	✅ Rich	⚠️ Limited	Seisei/Competitor A
Accounting Integration	✅ Auto integration	⚠️ Manual integration	⚠️ Manual integration	Seisei
Sales Reports	✅ Rich	✅ Rich	⚠️ Limited	Seisei/Competitor A
Initial Cost	¥100,000~	¥80,000~	¥120,000~	Competitor A
Monthly Fee	¥5,000~	¥6,000~	¥4,000~	Competitor B
Support	✅ Rich	✅ Rich	⚠️ Limited	Seisei/Competitor A
Usability	✅ Simple	✅ Simple	⚠️ Somewhat complex	Seisei/Competitor A

Data Source: Café POS System Comparison Survey 2023, each company's official website (as of October 2023)

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q1: Is a POS system necessary for cafés?

A: Recommended if you want to resolve lunch time congestion, streamline takeout orders, or improve inventory management. Especially POS systems with rich mobile ordering features can reduce wait times by 30% and increase sales by 20%.

Q2: Are mobile ordering features essential?

A: Effective if you want to resolve lunch time congestion. Customers can order from smartphones, so register wait times can be reduced.

Q3: What can takeout management features do?

A: Can receive takeout orders, manage preparation status, and confirm handover. Through these features, takeout order errors can be reduced by 80%.

Q4: Are inventory management features necessary?

A: Convenient if you want to streamline coffee bean and ingredient inventory. Can prevent out-of-stock and optimize ordering timing.

Q5: Are accounting integration features necessary?

A: Convenient if you want to streamline accounting work. With systems where POS and accounting are integrated (Seisei, etc.), sales data is automatically converted to accounting data.

Summary

When choosing a POS system for cafés, the following points are important:

Mobile ordering is effective: Can reduce wait times by 30%
Takeout management is important: Can reduce errors by 80%
Inventory management is useful: Can reduce loss by 25%

Seisei Features:

✅ POS + Mobile ordering + Takeout integrated
✅ Initial cost ¥0
✅ 30% wait time reduction
✅ 30-day free trial

References

Industry Reports

Café POS System Market Survey 2023 - Market trend data
Café POS System Comparison Survey 2023 - Feature and price comparison
Café Business Survey 2023 - Usage data

Each Company's Official Website

Seisei official website - Café POS system information (as of October 2023)
Major café POS system companies' official websites - Feature and price information

Internal Data

Seisei Customer Effectiveness Report 2023: Comparison data 3 months before and after implementation (N=20)
Café POS System Implementation Case Studies: Effectiveness measurement data

Final Update: October 25, 2023
Next Update Scheduled: April 2024