Best food truck POS system: 6 best for iPad and Android tablets

POS systems should complement your business, not stand in the way of customers. For a food truck, this typically means features that help process sales quickly and manage orders between customers in a queue.

Mobile food truck POS systems rarely require floor plans, reservations or a complicated food menu. It is also common just to manage one truck, not many, so it’s enough for the software to suit just one location. That being said, there are scalable multi-food truck POS systems too.

Of the many till systems in the UK, only few brands of mobile POS for food trucks are great for the price. Most of them only work on iPad, but some are Android-compatible too. Let’s compare them.

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Photo: Emily Sorensen, Mobile Transaction

Square Point of Sale app on iPad, next to Terminal and Reader.

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Lightspeed Restaurant was built for restaurants primarily, but food carts could benefit from its many hospitality features. It has detailed staff permissions, modifiers, in-depth sales reports and advanced menu, layout and food management options.

The solution also comes with Lightspeed Payments built in, for accepting chip and contactless transactions on a card reader that Lightspeed sells. These transactions cost a fixed 1.6% for both debit and credit cards.

Image: Mobile Transaction

The interface of the Lightspeed Restaurant app can be tailored around your operations.

A customer-facing display is available on request, which makes it more transparent to customers what they are ordering.

The POS system integrates with online ordering systems like Uber Eats and Deliveroo. Lightspeed also has its own ecommerce platform synced to your food and sales system. The till software works on iPad only, but does work smoothly offline.

Every subscription includes round-the-clock support every day of the week. Once subscribed, you get a free onboarding session to help you get started with the software.

Subscriptions are paid monthly or annually and there is no minimum contract period. The Essentials (cheapest) iPad licence costs £59 (no VAT applicable) per month if you choose the annual plan. Paying monthly costs £77, so it’s certainly not the cheapest system – but it’s clear why when you see the myriads of restaurant features.

Payment integrations: Lightspeed Payments, Zettle

Can you try before committing? Yes, you can try the demo app in the App Store, or request information from the website.

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SumUp Point of Sale (or Goodtill, as it was originally called) is an adaptable, user-friendly POS system for iPad. Food trucks may be able to stick to its core features intended for most kinds of businesses – or add some of the optional modules for food and drink.

You basically subscribe to a Core POS Module (£29 + VAT/month) that includes general POS and reporting features. If needed, you add optional modules (£9-£29 + VAT/month each) with advanced, specialised functions for inventory management, customer loyalty, hospitality and more.

Image: App Store

The Goodtill POS app is intuitive with just the right features for a food truck.

The core-module software will suffice for many small food trucks, so whether you need more is up to the complexity of your food services. Core features include ingredient-tracking, product management, detailed sales reports, self-checkout mode and some loyalty tools.

The till interface is intuitive without too much clutter. You can actually tailor the food menu with different button sizes, images and colours to improve the user experience.

Apart from the SumUp Air card reader, the system can integrate with Zettle or Paymentsense. It also integrates with third-party software like QuickBooks, Xero and Shopify. The Goodeats module for online orders is free, but transactions cost 1.7% +12p for table orders or 2.7% + 12p for collection and delivery orders.

Subscriptions require a year’s commitment. Customer service is generally well-regarded, and SumUp’s customer service for the point of sale product is available every day most of the day.

Payment integrations: Zettle, Paymentsense, SumUp

Can you try before committing? You can book a free demo or trial of the software by completing SumUp’s contact form.

Best for: Food carts on a budget

Pricing: Free (optional add-ons available)

Compatibility: iPad, Android

Pros: Free software and customer display app, some loyalty features, offline mode

Cons: Integrations cost extra, Android app more limited

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Loyverse is similar to Square Point of Sale, as it is entirely free to use and works on both Android tablets and iPad. The till system is suitable for retail and hospitality alike – and for many mobile food trucks, the range of features is just perfect.

The free software has features for inventory, sales reporting and customer loyalty. You can reward customers with loyalty points to be redeemed at your food truck. The till interface is fairly user-friendly, but takes a little bit of getting used to.

Image: Loyverse

Loyverse has simple, general POS features suitable for food operations.

One area that Square doesn’t beat is Loyverse’s offline mode that allows you to use the checkout without a live internet connection. Refunds and card transactions would still require an online connection, though.

Loyverse is the only free POS system we know of that offers 24/7 customer support via live chat – but only when subscribed to any add-on (so it is not really free). Alternatively, there is a community forum for peer discussions and a useful help section with detailed user guides.

Payment integration: Zettle, SumUp

Can you try before committing? The core app is free to download and use indefinitely. Add-ons have a 14-day free trial without commitment.

Best for: Advanced but user-friendly

Pricing: £49 + VAT/mo

Compatibility: iPad

Pros: Easy to use, highly rated support, advanced menu & order management

Cons: Customer loyalty features extra cost, no Android compatibility, 1-year commitment

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Image: TouchBistro

TouchBistro has many food truck features and works in both portrait and landscape formats.

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Zettle Go (previously iZettle Go) is a POS system that’s ideal for very small eateries in the UK. It only has essential features for food trucks and no complicated extras that full-service restaurants would want. The software works on iPad, iPhone, Android tablets and smartphones, is free and has no contractual commitment.

Zettle Go app with Zettle Reader is an easy-to-use till system.

The POS features include a product library with variants and categories, discounts, basic sales analytics, tipping and staff accounts. The till interface is straightforward and built for speed, i.e. buttons are a good size to avoid typing errors and there are not too many buttons to confuse you.

Card payments are accepted through Zettle Reader for 1.75% per transaction (no other payment processors can be connected). You can also accept cash, payments on account and payment links for remote transactions.

Zettle by PayPal only offers support on weekdays between 9am-5pm. Generally, Zettle gets good reviews in the UK, but some users report slow responses.

What about downsides? There is no offline mode, which could be bad news for merchants with bad WiFi/mobile connectivity. You should therefore aim to have a good internet setup – or backup connection – in place at your food truck.

Payment integration: Zettle

Can you try before committing? You can request an offer from Zettle, as hardware deals can be tailored to the merchant.

Summary