For a food truck business, a strong point-of-sale (POS) system is just as important as a high-powered engine. POS hardware is essential for payment processing, managing menu items, ensuring order accuracy, and more – especially when your eatery is on the road. With so many hardware options to choose from, though, finding the right POS suite isn’t an easy task. To help you understand what POS features and systems matter most for food truck owners, we’ve put together this list of the best food truck POS systems on the market today.
Unlike sit-down restaurants, food truck owners have to deal with the responsibilities of constant mobility, which makes manual pricing, invoicing, and inventory management a major challenge. Without the real-time support provided by a strong set of POS software, keeping wait times low and profitability high isn’t always feasible. That’s why restaurant POS systems are critical to food trucks – having access to immediate cloud-based services and automations simplifies the checkout process and speeds up sales reporting, so you’re never losing time or revenue.
By adopting a powerful POS platform, your food truck gains access to a variety of customizable, user-friendly order solutions, keeping productivity and profit high wherever you go. Modern POS technology also grants your truck the ability to access new sources of revenue, like online ordering and loyalty programs, maximizing your income on every order sold. Use the following list to determine the best POS system for your food truck, and start earning more wherever the road takes you.
How do we evaluate POS systems for food trucks?
As experts in the restaurant POS system space, the Otter team understands that mobile eateries have different sets of needs to traditional sit-down businesses. We’ve evaluated every POS platform on this list for ease-of-use, customer support, pricing (upfront costs + processing fees), flexibility, integrations, and additional features. Across the following list, you’ll also find our recommendations for the needs of large and small businesses, as well as general evaluations of each POS platform’s providers to keep you fully informed.
When selecting a piece of POS technology – especially in the food truck business – keep in mind you’re committing to an ecosystem that includes both physical, real-world hardware (card readers, receipt printers, iPhone/Android-like mobile POS tools) and software (apps, programs, and internet-enabled services). No food truck has unlimited space, so seeking all-in-one technology is particularly important. We’ve taken these unique demands into account when evaluating these POS systems to make your decision process easier.
The 5 Best POS Systems for Food Trucks in 2024
#1: Otter POS
The Otter POS system is an all-in-one mission control platform for food truck and mobile dining businesses of any size or type. Otter’s variety of first-party apps help to eliminate the need for redundant add-on hardware and optimize your food truck’s speed. With over 100 integrations for third-party apps, Otter POS is also extremely customizable, always keeping your team in control. A range of additional features provides options for SMS notifications, AI Marketing, contactless payments, etc.
Pros:
- All-in-one software that consolidates everything you need to run your business into one screen
- Speed-focused POS functionality that makes training staff on the software easy and user friendly
- Seamless software updates, ensuring stability and preventing accessibility issues while also constantly being improved with new features
- Otter is the first POS designed with native integrations to encompass all your restaurant apps and needs in one system.
- Multi-location capabilities that centralize and allow for you to easily edit menus, make sales, and more across locations with one platform
Cons:
- Platform focuses on digital services, with few tools for physical menus.
- Some additional online and offline processing fees required (on a per-order basis)
- Currently not for full service restaurants due to lack of table management features
Pricing: POS features range from $19/mo (with 3.19% + 15¢ per order) to $59/mo (with 2.99% + 30¢ per order). Various add-ons are available from $10/ to $99/month. Learn more here.
Recommendation: As an all-in-one POS system, the Otter platform is ideal for food truck owners of any size looking to maximize their revenue without the need for excessive hardware. The platform is built for constant efficiency, and a high level of customization lets food truck owners decide which features are best for their personal needs. Full transparency throughout Otter’s pricing structure also helps users manage their revenue effectively, keeping profit high on every order sold. Otter is recommended for all mobile eateries looking to grow and succeed!
#2: Square POS
The Square POS platform is one of the most popular and recognizable pieces of payment processing software on the market today, and is used by food truck owners and customers alike. With Square’s dedication to cross-industry flexibility, your team can be sure that the tools they receive are well-tested and developed by a company with a strong track record of supporting small businesses. Square hardware is also known for a high level of integration support, making it popular even with clients of competing POS suites.
Pros:
- Strong first-party support – Square is a recognized brand worldwide
- Significant customization and integration options, maintaining client control
- Free pricing options, helping smaller businesses reduce unnecessary costs
- Online and offline modes, eliminating the need for a constant internet connection
- Extensive customer support resources, including multi-language help documentation
Cons:
- High monthly fees for non-free options, preventing maximized order revenue
- Poor feature support geared towards the unique needs of food truck businesses
- Limited hardware options, typically necessitating additional order technology
- Frequent UI changes and redesigns, harming long-term accessibility
- Focus on contact-heavy customer payments, potentially impairing service speed
Pricing: Base price ranges from $0/month (with 2.65% fee per transaction) to over $35/month (with 3.4% + 15¢ fees per transaction). Higher-tier quote pricing is available upon request.
Recommendation: The Square POS platform is usually considered the industry standard for efficient payment processing. As a POS suite with a large, cross-industry client base, though, keep in mind that Square’s functionality is not specifically-designed with food trucks in mind, which can limit functionality for mobile restaurateurs (and eaters). Square POS makes a good piece of add-on order equipment, but for a primary order processing environment, look elsewhere.
#3: Toast POS
Toast POS’s hardware is often seen in traditional restaurant businesses, and the platform has developed a firm following of owners across various cuisines and eatery types. Though much less common in food truck businesses than in sit-down establishments, the feature set of Toast POS still provides value to teams seeking an extensive list of first-party order features. Recently, the Toast platform has also introduced new mobile ordering hardware, further strengthening flexibility in kitchens with limited space.
Pros:
- Large array of restaurant features for order processing, menu management, etc.
- Heavy hardware diversity – handheld order tools, tabletop POS terminals, etc.
- Steady relationships with third-party delivery platforms (Uber Eats, DoorDash, etc.)
- Significant options for offline features & dedicated support options
Cons:
- Solutions are designed for sit-down restaurants, not food trucks, harming flexibility
- Offline functionality requires some additional fees, impairing profit on certain orders
- Exclusivity commitment required for usage, preventing revenue diversification
- Issues often reported with customer support – help resources can be vague
- Limited cloud-based functionality can prevent rapid usage of order and sales data
Pricing: Core Toast POS features are available from $69/month. Additional features are provided on a custom pricing model, and are exclusively quote-based.
Recommendation: While the Toast POS suite is often considered a strong choice for sit-down restaurants, food truck owners may find its functionality lacking in a few key areas. Toast’s hardware is quite powerful, but it’s known for demanding significant counter space and mid-service attention, which are clear obstacles in a mobile dining environment. Additionally, Toast’s quote-based pricing model may be difficult for food truck owners to contend with.
#4: Revel
A long-time player in the restaurant POS industry, Revel’s order processing tools have had over a decade of continuous development, and are fittingly full-featured and stable. The company prides itself on a high level of flexibility in both services provided and order payment models, aiming for a broad, general range of clients. Food truck owners that use the Revel platform can expect a wide range of features to cover common restaurant necessities, and can provide their eaters with loyalty programs and digital promotions.
Pros:
- Brand-wide focus on payment and hardware flexibility, heightening customization
- Variety of in-house hardware options to choose from, eliminating redundant add-on tech
- Heavy customer engagement features, encouraging repeat orders
- Open platform API, letting business owners add new functionality to POS software
- Designed for speed and efficiency in various environments, including food trucks
Cons:
- Poor customer support options – no 24/7 helpline, and help documentation is limited
- Vague, quote-based pricing model, preventing long-term profitability planning
- Limited third-party integrations, with few options for high-profile delivery apps
- API customization requires significant programming knowledge and time investment
- Lacking brand trust across the restaurant industry from business owners and eaters
Pricing: All Revel POS pricing is quote-based. Completion of a free platform demo is required prior to pricing being provided.
Recommendation: Revel POS is a familiar name in the restaurant industry. The company prides itself on high flexibility and a large amount of eater engagement tools, and offers various POS features to meet common needs of restaurant owners. Food truck operators will likely be driven away by the brand’s quote-based pricing model, though, and with few support resources, the platform can’t be as easily relied upon as its competitors.
#5: Korona POS
A recent entrant to the digital restaurant space, Korona POS has garnered excitement from a number of notable industry publications over the past year. Currently aimed mostly towards small businesses, of which food trucks are included, the Korona POS platform displays combined functionality for various POS-specific needs. As a fast-growing company, the Korona team has also been noted for their extensive customer support activities, and clients of the platform can enjoy 24/7 one-on-one support and hands-on demo opportunities.
Pros:
- High level of client support and interaction
- An array of POS features for order processing, customer loyalty, etc.
- Physical hardware and promotional items (gift cards, etc.) available for client usage
- Diverse collection of multi-location order tools, supporting client growth and development
- Advanced POS tools for loss reporting, order analytics, eCommerce options, etc.
Cons:
- Client base currently focuses on small and scaling businesses over established brands
- Feature list is entirely order-focused, with no tools for menu or brand management
- Certain parts of the system are still under continuous development, preventing stability
- Pricing is vague and quote-based, with little information on upfront or processing fees
- Steep learning curve required for first-party POS software and hardware
Pricing: Korona POS pricing is entirely quote-based. Personalized demos and free trial sessions are available upon request.
Recommendation: The Korona POS platform has seen plenty of buzz in the modern restaurant industry, and is poised to become a major POS competitor over the next few years. Certain food truck owners may be swayed towards this platform based on high client engagement and support resources, along with various order management tools. Be sure to keep long-term scalability in mind, though – as a still-developing restaurant tech brand, Korona POS is liable to change as it grows, which may require a shift in your own business’s planning going forward.
What makes Otter POS valuable for food truck owners?
The food truck industry may be a subset of the greater restaurant world, but mobile eateries have their own unique demands that a good POS system needs to meet for success. Unlike every other platform featured here, Otter POS has a proven track record in maximizing speed, efficiency, and profit in the food truck space. Our all-in-one suite of POS solutions simplifies order, menu, and brand management activities throughout your entire business, strengthening revenue and profit on every sale.
Don’t take our word for it, though! Here’s what a few of the food truck businesses we serve have to say about Otter POS:
“In a food truck, everything has to be fast. So [Otter] makes it fast, but it’s at the quality of a sit-down meal. We’re equipped to go.”
"It's truly designed to make restaurant life easier. I've even signed up for new delivery platforms and recently created my own online ordering app. Otter makes it simple, so why not?”
“Partnering with Otter has helped us decrease missed and duplicate orders, and make fewer errors overall. With Otter, it almost feels like we’re living a pre-tablet life. It’s great!”
For more on Otter’s mobile dining expertise, see our guides to the most profitable food truck items, the most valuable digital tools for food trucks, and the best cities to park your eatery next.
Food Truck POS FAQs
Do food truck owners have different POS requirements than sit-down restaurateurs do?
Yes! Food truck owners should keep their businesses’ unique kitchen and service requirements at the forefront of every POS-related decision they make. Be sure that you’re always choosing a POS solution that cuts down on counter space and eliminates obstacles to fast, efficient service.
Can my food truck use a traditional restaurant POS system?
It depends on that POS suite’s level of flexibility. Ask your provider about features like an offline mode (when wireless internet access is limited), additional hardware requirements, and compatibility with any third-party restaurant software you’re looking to use often.
As a food truck owner, what POS pricing model is preferable for my business?
Food trucks typically have a higher order-to-service-time ratio than traditional restaurants do, and your POS system’s costs should account for that. Generally speaking, you’ll want to look for POS technologies with lower processing fees to maximize value on every order.
Does my food truck’s POS system really need cloud-based functionality?
Yes! Cloud-based, internet-enabled order solutions help you gain critical sales and operating data without the need for constant software monitoring. Using the information gathered by secure POS tools, you can make informed decisions about your business’s operations.
What questions should I be asking my POS system provider before making a purchase?
Most POS providers will be interested in a one-on-one discussion with you before a financial commitment to their platform is made. During this discussion, consider asking the following questions to make sure this provider’s platform is right for your food truck:
- What upfront and recurring processing fees can I expect to pay for this system?
- Can you tell me more about your platform’s first-party functionality and services?
- How well does your POS software integrate with other third-party restaurant tools?
- What makes your POS suite specifically valuable for food truck owners?
- After committing to your platform, what level of customer support can I expect?
- Will your POS solutions require any additional hardware or software to provide value?
- Am I required to sign any exclusivity contracts while working with your POS suite?
Get first-place food truck profit with powerful POS tech!
If the food truck industry is a race, a great POS system is your shortcut to the finish line. The right POS solutions don’t just simplify your mobile restaurant’s front- and back-of-house service – they make every order you serve more valuable, and make it easier for your business to grow.
Use the guide we’ve provided here to determine the best POS platform for your food truck’s needs, and engage deeply with your provider for the highest level of order success. Choose POS tools for speed, efficiency, and profitability, and set yourself up for long term gains.
