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Best POS Systems for Food Trucks of April 2024

Food truck POS systems offer industry-specific features like customer-facing screens, menu management and loyalty programs.
By Randa Kriss, Lisa A. Anthony
Last updated on January 2, 2024
Edited byChristine Aebischer
Fact checked and reviewed

⏰ Estimated read time: 10 minutes

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The best food truck point-of-sale (POS) systems are affordable, flexible and created with mobile restaurants in mind. To find the right POS system for your business, consider monthly costs and payment processing fees, add-on features (like loyalty programs) and mobile hardware selection to choose the right option for you.
Here are our picks for the best food truck POS systems.

Best POS Systems for Food Trucks From Our Partners

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Estimates assume an average interchange fee of 1.81% + $0.10, based on our latest available data. Estimates provided reflect online and in-person transactions, but exclude any keyed transactions. Estimates are based on the lowest monthly plan and processing fees for each provider.

Product
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Payment processing fees
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Toast POS

Learn more

on Toast POS's secure website

Get an estimated monthly cost for your business.
4.5/5

Best for Startup food trucks

2.49% + $0.15

if you buy hardware upfront; 3.09% + $0.15 for pay-as-you-go option.

$0.00

Quick Start Bundle; $69 Core plan; $165 Growth plan. Custom plan also available.

Get an estimated monthly cost for your business.
Learn more

on Toast POS's secure website

TouchBistro

Learn more

on TouchBistro's secure website

3.5/5

Best for Overall food truck POS system

N/A

Quote-based.

$69.00

and up.

Learn more

on TouchBistro's secure website

Clover POS

Learn more

on Clover POS's secure website

4.0/5

Best for Mobile POS hardware

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

Startup food trucks

Toast POS

Learn more

on Toast POS's secure website

Payment processing fees
2.49% + $0.15

if you buy hardware upfront; 3.09% + $0.15 for pay-as-you-go option.

Monthly fee
$0.00

Quick Start Bundle; $69 Core plan; $165 Growth plan. Custom plan also available.

Our pick for

Overall food truck POS system

TouchBistro

Learn more

on TouchBistro's secure website

Payment processing fees
N/A

Quote-based.

Monthly fee
$69.00

and up.

Our pick for

Mobile POS hardware

Clover POS

Learn more

on Clover POS's secure website

Monthly fee
$14.95

and up.

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.

Our picks for best food truck POS systems

TouchBistro: Best overall food truck POS system

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.

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.

Clover: Best mobile POS hardware

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.

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.

How to choose a food truck POS system

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 January 2, 2024

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.
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