Have you actually done this work?
Yes. We integrated a client's existing Micros and Symphony POS systems into a new digital platform covering order and menu management across multiple locations, alongside customer and delivery-agent apps. The engagement ran five months with an eight-plus person offshore team, delivered in 2022. The client reported online orders rising 50% within three months and delivery efficiency improving 60%. The full case study is published on this site.
Should we build a POS from scratch or integrate with the one we have?
Integrate, in most cases. Micros, Symphony, Toast, Square, and similar products already handle order entry, payment hardware, and fiscal compliance, which are expensive and unglamorous to rebuild. The project that usually creates value is connecting that POS to the things it does not do well: online ordering, delivery, loyalty, or group reporting. Building a POS from scratch is justified mainly when your service model does not fit any product, or when you are building a POS as a product to sell.
What if our POS has no usable API?
This is common with older on-premise systems, and it decides the shape of the project. Options in order of preference: a vendor integration module or middleware if one exists; a database-level or file-based interface where the vendor sanctions it; or a parallel path where online orders reach the kitchen by a dedicated screen or printer and sales are reconciled in reporting rather than in the POS. We establish which option is real before scoping, since each has very different cost.
Does a restaurant POS have to work offline?
Yes. Unlike most software, a POS cannot pause. If connectivity drops mid-service, staff must still take orders, send them to the kitchen, and take payment. That means local-first order capture with a local kitchen path and reconciliation on reconnect, and a card payment fallback path. Offline capability is the single largest architectural difference between a POS and an ordinary web application, and it has to be designed in from the start.
How is a restaurant POS different from a retail POS?
Retail sells a fixed item at a counter and closes the transaction. Restaurants open a check that stays open, add courses over time, split it by item or by guest, move it between tables, apply service charge, route different items to different kitchen stations, and settle at the end. Table and check lifecycle management, kitchen routing, and splitting are the core of a restaurant POS and are largely absent from retail systems.
Can you handle table service, counter, and delivery in one system?
Yes, and most operators need at least two. The service modes differ in how a check opens and closes, not in the underlying items, so we model check lifecycle per mode over one shared menu and pricing structure. Quick service needs the fewest taps to payment; table service needs check longevity and splitting; delivery needs address, dispatch, and a different fulfillment path.
How do you handle payments and fiscal requirements?
Payment goes through certified terminals or a provider SDK so card data never lands in your systems. Fiscal requirements are jurisdiction-specific and can include certified receipt formats, sequential invoice numbering, tax registers, or government reporting. These are legal constraints, not features, and we confirm the obligations for each market before designing the payment and receipt path.
What does the kitchen side of a POS project involve?
Routing items to the correct station, sequencing courses so a starter does not arrive with a main, timing so that hot and cold items land together, modifier and allergen visibility on the ticket, and a display or printer that stays legible in a hot, busy kitchen. Reliable ticket delivery matters more than any feature: an order the kitchen never saw is worse than a slow interface.
Can you support multi-outlet and franchise operations?
Yes. That means central menu and price management with controlled local overrides, consolidated sales and labour reporting, per-outlet tax and fiscal configuration, franchise-level access separation, and staged rollout of menu changes. Group operators typically feel the pain in reporting and menu control before they feel it in the terminal itself.
How long does a POS project take?
A POS integration connecting an existing system to online ordering, delivery, or reporting typically takes two to four months, which is close to the five-month scope of our delivered project including customer and driver apps. A custom POS built from scratch with offline capability, payment certification, and kitchen routing is a considerably larger undertaking and we will discuss whether it is genuinely warranted.
What engagement models are available?
We offer a Dedicated Development Team for continuous product work and Staff Augmentation to extend your in-house team. Our delivered POS project ran as an offshore team of eight-plus. Share your requirements and we prepare a tailored proposal within 48 hours, including team composition, timeline, and cost estimate.
