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What is the difference between a restaurant POS and a cash register?
A cash register takes payment and issues the receipt. A restaurant POS runs the venue: tables, orders, the kitchen and the reports. Many venues need both, and they are often separate devices.
Short answer
- A cash register issues the receipt for a sale. A restaurant POS manages the venue: tables, orders, the kitchen and reports.
- Cash sales may need a receipt from a registered fiscal cash register; the rules depend on the country.
- Restaurant software that is not connected to a fiscal cash register does not issue the fiscal receipt by itself.
Side by side
| Job | Cash register | Restaurant POS or management software |
|---|---|---|
| Issues the fiscal receipt | Yes, where a fiscal register is required | Not by itself, unless integrated with a register |
| Tables and courses | No | Yes, depending on the product |
| Orders to the kitchen | No | Yes, depending on the product |
| Reports by dish or waiter | Limited | Yes, depending on the product |
What 4restaurants.net does
- Keeps the table bill and the orders. The table bill is not a fiscal document.
- Sends orders to the kitchen screen and deducts ingredient stock when the order is fully paid.
- Leaves the fiscal receipt to your registered cash register: there is no integration with it.
What to check before you buy
- Whether the vendor publishes a fiscal integration for your country, and in writing.
- Who issues the receipt for card payments in your venue, and how.
- Whether the kitchen screen works on your devices and how often it updates.