What is a restaurant POS system?
POS stands for point of sale. In a restaurant, a POS is not just the cash register: it is where a table is opened and the order is sent to the kitchen, while the fiscal receipt is issued on the cash register.
Short answer
- A restaurant POS system is the application where the waiter opens a table and records the order.
- The order taken at the table is sent to the kitchen.
- The fiscal receipt is issued through the electronic fiscal cash register, which the law requires for on-site payments (OUG 28/1999).
- Each dish has a recipe card with ingredient weights, and ingredient stock levels are tracked separately.
- The application produces reports by day, by dish and by waiter.
What a restaurant POS is made of
The components of a POS system in a restaurant with a kitchen
| Component | What it does | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Table order | Records the dishes at the table and sends the order to the kitchen | On the floor, from the device the team uses |
| Kitchen | Receives the orders sent from the tables | In the kitchen |
| Fiscal cash register | Issues the fiscal receipt and the Z report | At the till, connected to the ANAF system |
| Stock levels | Shows the stock levels of ingredients | In the same application as the menu |
| Reports | Sales by day, by dish and by waiter | In the admin panel |
What the law says
- A fiscal receipt is mandatory for every on-site payment and must be issued by an electronic fiscal cash register (OUG 28/1999).
- The application does not replace the fiscal register: the receipt is issued through it, not separately.
- Fiscal registers must be connected to the ANAF IT system, which periodically collects the fiscal reports.
- For business customers, the invoice is issued in a separate invoicing program; the receipt remains the document issued at payment.
Practical example
Example: table 12 orders two pasta dishes and a glass of wine. The waiter sends the order, and the kitchen receives the dishes with the order time.
At payment, the fiscal register issues the receipt for the table. The daily report shows sales by dish and by waiter, and you check the stock levels separately.
Common mistakes
- Confusing the table bill with the fiscal receipt: the fiscal receipt is issued only through the cash register, not from the floor application.
- Not noting each order clearly with its table and time, so you cannot tell what has left the kitchen.
- Leaving dishes without a recipe card, so you do not know which ingredients each sale uses.
- Not noting the reason for each cancellation, so you cannot easily see what happened to a cancelled order.
How 4restaurants.net helps
- The order taken at the table is sent to the kitchen from the same application.
- The application gives a non-fiscal table bill; the fiscal receipt stays on the restaurant’s own cash register.
- Ingredient stock levels sit in the same application as the orders, so you can check them in time.
- Reports by day, by dish and by waiter show the sales of the service.