The best food truck POS systems are affordable, flexible and created with the restaurant industry in mind. Consider monthly costs and payment processing fees, add-on features (like loyalty programs) and mobile hardware selection to choose the right option for you.
If you’re looking for food truck software with in-depth functionality and can afford the higher monthly service fee, you might consider TouchBistro. If affordability and multiple mobile options are your point-of-sale system priorities, you might consider Toast, Clover or Square.
Best POS Systems for Food Trucks From Our Partners
Calculate your monthly cost estimate
Input your business’s monthly transaction details and we’ll help you sort from the best valueProduct | Cost Estimate | Payment processing fees | Cost Estimate | Learn more | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
TouchBistro Learn more on TouchBistro's secure website | Get an estimated monthly cost for your business. | 4.0/5 Best for Overall functionality | N/A Quote-based. | $69.00 and up. | Get an estimated monthly cost for your business. | Learn more on TouchBistro's secure website |
Toast POS Learn more on Toast POS's secure website | 4.0/5 Best for Startup food trucks | 2.99% + $0.15 if you pay for hardware monthly; 2.49% + 15¢ if you buy upfront. | $0.00 Quick Start Bundle; $69 Core plan; $165 Growth plan. Custom plan also available. | Learn more on Toast POS's secure website | ||
Clover POS Learn more on Clover POS's secure website | 4.0/5 Best for Mobile POS system | In-person: 2.3% + $0.10 Online: 3.5% + $0.10 | $14.95 and up. | Learn more on Clover POS's secure website | ||
Square Restaurant POS Learn more on Square Restaurant POS's secure website | 5.0/5 Best for Free POS system | In-person: 2.6% + $0.10 Online: 2.9% + $0.30 | $0.00 Free plan; $60 Plus plan; Custom plan available. | Learn more on Square Restaurant POS's secure website |
Our pick for
Overall functionality
TouchBistro
Learn more
on TouchBistro's secure website
Payment processing fees
N/A
Quote-based.
Monthly fee
$69.00
and up.
With easy-to-use and expansive software, TouchBistro provides the reliability, speed and capabilities you need in a food truck POS system. As a hybrid POS system, it saves data locally in your iPad app and also in the cloud, meaning you can complete most POS functions — across multiple devices — even during an internet outage. And when your system is running online, it’s syncing data in real-time and can be accessed from anywhere.
Pros
- Tailored for the restaurant industry.
- Helpful features such as menu cloning, time tracking and inventory management.
- Customizable add-ons.
- Easy-to-use interface.
- Customer support available 24/7 at no additional cost.
Cons
- No free or pay-as-you-go options.
- No transparency on hardware or payment processing costs; quote only.
- Automatic contract renewal with short cancellation window.
Our pick for
Startup food trucks
Toast POS
Learn more
on Toast POS's secure website
Payment processing fees
2.99% + $0.15
if you pay for hardware monthly; 2.49% + 15¢ if you buy upfront.
Monthly fee
$0.00
Quick Start Bundle; $69 Core plan; $165 Growth plan. Custom plan also available.
Toast's POS system is designed for restaurants even to the point of including hardware that can withstand spills and heat. Its free plan is a low-cost option for food truck businesses that are just starting out.
Pros
- 24/7 phone, email and chat support.
- Free plan available with one or two POS terminals.
- Built specifically for restaurants.
- Flexible payment options with no interest or fees.
Cons
- Contract required.
- Lacks transparency of payment processing rates.
Our pick for
Mobile POS system
Clover POS
Learn more
on Clover POS's secure website
Monthly fee
$14.95
and up.
Clover’s impressive mobile hardware options can run on cellular data plans and its free customer engagement tools make it a strong choice as a mobile POS system.
Pros
- 24/7 customer support.
- Can pay for hardware in installments.
- Customer loyalty program available.
- Includes online ordering capabilities.
Cons
- Cannot use existing tablets that weren’t bought through Clover.
Our pick for
Free POS system
Square Restaurant POS
Learn more
on Square Restaurant POS's secure website
Monthly fee
$0.00
Free plan; $60 Plus plan; Custom plan available.
The free version of Square for Restaurants has mobile POS options and includes a free magstripe card reader. This limits your costs to only the related processing fees of a card transaction. Additional tools, such as team management, customer directory, online checkout and a virtual terminal, are also available in the free plan.
Pros
- Free plan available.
- App and card readers are compatible with iOS and Android devices.
- Can pay for hardware in installments.
- No long-term contracts or installation fees.
- All plans include free online ordering.
Cons
- Free plan doesn’t include 24/7 support.
- Customer loyalty program is an add-on for all plans.
TouchBistro: Best for overall functionality
Why we like it: As a POS system created by people from the restaurant industry, TouchBistro offers robust functionality for all kinds of food-service businesses, including food trucks. With its variety of features, flexible system and custom-built plans, TouchBistro can be a great option for food trucks of all shapes and sizes. Read our full TouchBistro review.
- $69 for base plan.
- $25 for gift cards feature.
- $50 for online ordering feature.
- $99 for loyalty features or marketing features.
- $229 for reservations feature.
An iPad is required to use as your portable POS terminal. Quote-based pricing is used for packages that may include hardware such as cash drawers, receipt printers, kitchen display systems and customer facing displays.
- Ordering: The TouchBistro mobile payments terminals let you take orders from inside or outside your food truck. You can add, edit and search order items and cash customers out with quick register buttons.
- Payment processing: TouchBistro offers direct payment processing integrations from top providers like Square and Worldpay. Additionally, TouchBistro accepts the full range of payments including cash, credit and debit cards and digital wallets such as Apple Pay.
- Menu: You can easily build a menu by adding or cloning items, sync it with other menus and schedule the introduction of specials based on time of day and season.
- Staff: The system includes built-in features to track all of your employee activity, monitor employee hours and performance and enable clocking-in and out functionality.
- Customer engagement: Add-ons are available for online-ordering, customer loyalty, marketing, gift cards and reservations for an additional monthly cost.
- Inventory: The system allows you to track your ingredient inventory, update inventory after new shipments come in and manage stock levels.
- Reporting and analytics: You can access your sales data anywhere. The system includes over 50 detailed reports such as daily sales and staff insights.
- Support: Customer support via phone, chat and email is offered 24/7/365 as well as self-service resources on its website.
» MORE: Best restaurant POS systems
Toast: Best for startup food trucks
Why we like it: Toast POS is mobile, affordable and easy to use. You can start out with the free plan and then upgrade as needed by moving to a more advanced plan or selecting add-ons that are important to your operation. Read our full Toast POS review.
- $0 for Quick Start Bundle.
- $69 for Core plan.
- $110 plus $4 per employee for Restaurant Basics plan.
- $165 for Growth plan.
- Custom plans available.
- $627 for Handheld Starter Kit (but $0 if you agree to a higher processing fee).
- $875 for Countertop Starter Kit (but $0 if you agree to a higher processing fee).
- $1,234 for Guest Self-Service Starter Kit (but $0 if you agree to a higher processing fee).
- 2.99% plus 15 cents per transaction, if you choose pay-as-you-go option on hardware.
- 2.49% plus 15 cents for card-present transactions, if you pay for hardware upfront.
- 3.50% plus 15 cents for card-not-present transactions, if you pay for hardware upfront.
- Menu management: This cloud-based system lets you access and update your menus from any device and manage availability of menu items.
- Inventory management: This add-on lets you monitor inventory, determine recipe costs, schedule recurring orders and send orders directly to your suppliers.
- Payments: Toast handles credit and debit card processing in-house, but doesn’t provide rates. Instead, processing rates are quote-based for each business.
- Reporting and analytics: The system lets access key reports and sales performance through a cloud-based system. You can view net sales, labor costs and monitor performance over a set period of time.
- Training: Toast has online lessons, videos and articles that can be used for training, plus live Toast classroom sessions and a test mode that can be used to become familiar with the system.
- Add-ons: For an additional fee, you can get features such as mobile ordering with QR code scanning capabilities, scheduling and team communication, marketing, customer loyalty programs and gift cards.
» MORE: Best POS systems for bars
Clover: Best mobile option
Why we like it: The Clover POS system was built to accommodate a variety of businesses. With mobile hardware choices and solid features, you may find that Clover is the best POS system for your food truck.
Compared to TouchBistro, the Clover POS software may be simpler; however, it still offers the capabilities you need to start your food truck and manage daily operations. Read our full Clover POS review.
- $14.95 for Retail Starter, Personal Services Starter, Professional Services Starter and Standard and Home & Field Services plans.
- $49.95 for Retail Standard, Personal Services Standard and Advanced and Professional Services Advanced plans.
- $54.95 for Quick-Service Dining Starter and Standard plans.
- $64.90 for Retail Advanced plan.
- $69.90 for Quick-Service Dining Advanced plan.
- $84.95 for Full-Service Dining Starter plan.
- $99.90 for Full-Service Dining Standard plan.
- $114.85 for Full-Service Dining Advanced plan.
- $49 for chip, swipe and contactless Clover Go card reader.
- $599 for Clover Flex mobile POS with printer.
- $799 for Clover Mini POS.
- $1,699 for Clover Station Solo.
- $1,799 for Clover Station Duo.
- 2.3% plus 10 cents for in-person transactions for most plans, though rates may also vary by hardware type.
- 2.6% plus 10 cents for in-person transactions on Retail Starter, Personal Services Starter and Professional Services Standard plans, as well as Home & Field Services Standard and Advanced plans.
- 3.5% plus 10 cents for online or keyed-in transactions.
- Menus: The POS system lets you create menu items, select categories and add color-coding to help with order accuracy.
- Ordering: The system accepts all major payment types including contactless and allows you to preset tip amounts.
- Inventory management: To keep inventory current, you can assign categories, labels, modifiers and variants.
- Team performance: The system lets you manage schedules and timesheets, set permissions and run reports to see how employees are performing.
- Analytics: You can track sales from any computer or mobile device and filter reports to show your busiest times and best-selling items.
Square Restaurant POS: Best free option
Why we like it: Perhaps one of the most well-known POS providers on the market is Square. Square POS offers an intuitive, simple system with a variety of mobile hardware options. Plus, the pricing is transparent and it offers free software. Square POS can be accessed as an app on both iOS and Android devices. Read our full Square for Restaurants POS review.
- $0 for Square Restaurant’s free plan.
- $60 for Plus plan.
- Custom pricing for Premium plan.
- $0 for Square magstripe-only card reader ($10 for each additional reader) or if using Tap to Pay for iPhone (iPhone not included).
- $49 and up for Square Reader contactless and chip card reader.
- $149 for Square Stand iPad POS or Square Stand Mount (iPad not included).
- $299 for Square Terminal mobile card reader with built-in printer.
- $799 for Square Register two-screen system.
- 2.6% plus 10 cents for in-person transactions.
- 2.9% plus 30 cents for online transactions.
- 3.5% plus 15 cents for manually keyed transactions.
- Orders: Square for Restaurants POS allows you to customize your menus from anywhere and take orders with QR codes.
- Payments: Square serves as your payment processor with its POS system. You can accept credit and debit cards, cash, checks and gift cards — both online and offline.
- Inventory: Square POS allows you to manage and track your inventory from anywhere. You can edit items, update quantities, receive low stock alerts and import or export inventory items.
- Dashboard: The Square Dashboard gives you the ability to manage your back-office operations in one place, with tools for inventory, managing customer profiles and viewing sales data.
- Team management: Set employee permissions, track employee time and optimize labor costs and staffing with employee reports and analytics.
- Directory: This free feature lets you add customer profiles with contact information, view purchase history and save credit cards on file.
- Analytics: Real-time analytics and sales reporting — giving you the ability to track sales, compare data based on timeframes and see what customers spend and return — at no additional cost.
- Square tools: In addition to the third-party integration options Square offers in its marketplace, you can also buy add-on tools such as Square payroll, marketing and customer loyalty.
- Support: Square provides customer assistance for its free plan Monday to Friday from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. If you upgrade to the Plus plan, you’ll have support 24/7. Help articles, videos and FAQ are also offered.
As a mobile, fast-paced business, you’ll want a food truck POS system that’s made for the restaurant industry, affordable, flexible and easy to use.
Here are some main factors to consider before reaching a decision.
Payment processing
A good POS system will give you the ability to accept multiple payment methods including credit and debit cards, digital payments, cash and gift cards. Also, consider whether you want a system that doubles as an in-house payment processing company or if you want the option to integrate with a third-party processor. Integrations can be ideal if they save you money, but using an in-house option is usually more convenient.
Menu and inventory management
Your POS system will need to have menu management capabilities, including the ability to customize your menu — accommodating different item types, categories, modifications and other useful options. The ability to track and manage your inventory as well as out-of-stock notifications are important, also.
Customer orders
The POS system should be able to take orders quickly and easily, communicate with any peripheral devices (like receipt or ticket printers) and allow for modifications, split payments, taxes, gratuity, promotions and discounts.
Mobility
An offline mode, so you can take orders and accept payments without an internet connection, as well as multiple mobile hardware options, like tablets and smartphones, is important.
In addition, consider how the POS system handles peripheral connections — can you connect to a Bluetooth printer, for example — as well as how and where you have access to your POS account. NerdWallet’s picks for the best mobile POS systems include options for restaurants, too.
Additional sales tools
In addition to basic business operations, you can benefit from a POS system that includes features such as employee management, customer relationship management and loyalty programs, analytics and reporting and third-party integration options.
Customer support
Look at systems that offer customer support in a variety of ways. This includes direct support via phone, live chat and email, as well as self-service resources such as tutorials, FAQ and community forums on its website. Some POS systems will also provide hands-on assistance with setup and training.
Hardware options
You’ll need hardware to operate your POS system, which can be your largest upfront investment. When looking at different POS systems for your food truck, you’ll want to determine what kind of mobile hardware is offered (tablets, smartphones or hand-held devices), where you can purchase the hardware, if you can use hardware you already own, what types of other devices are compatible with the core terminals and overall cost.
A version of this article was first published on Fundera, a subsidiary of NerdWallet.
Last updated on September 19, 2023
Methodology
NerdWallet’s point-of-sale systems provider ratings reward companies whose products and services are priced well and work in a variety of payment scenarios, among other criteria. Ratings are based on weighted averages of scores in several categories, including cost, system capabilities, contract requirements, customer service and integrations and add-ons. Learn more about how we rate point-of-sale (POS) systems providers.
These ratings are a guide, but services, hardware and pricing can vary widely from business to business and provider to provider. We encourage you to shop around and compare several providers.
NerdWallet does not receive compensation for any reviews. Read our editorial guidelines.
