The best food truck POS systems are created with mobile restaurants in mind. They offer industry-specific features like customer-facing screens, menu management and loyalty programs.
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Randa Kriss is a senior writer and NerdWallet authority on small business. She has nearly a decade of experience in digital content. Prior to joining NerdWallet in 2020, Randa worked as a writer at Fundera, covering a wide variety of small-business topics and specializing in the lending and banking spaces. Her work has been featured by The Washington Post, The Associated Press and Nasdaq, among others. Randa earned a bachelor's degree in English and Spanish at Iona University (formerly Iona College).
Hillary Crawford writes about small-business software at NerdWallet and is certified in QuickBooks Online and web design. Her previous roles include news writer and associate West Coast editor at Bustle Digital Group, where she helped shape news and tech coverage. She's appeared on Cheddar News and also worked as a policy contributor for GenFKD. Hillary earned a bachelor's degree with high honors in political science from the University of Michigan.
Email: <a href="mailto:hcrawford@nerdwallet.com">hcrawford@nerdwallet.com</a>.
Senior Writer & Content Strategist | Small business, business banking, business loans
Randa Kriss is a senior writer and NerdWallet authority on small business. She has nearly a decade of experience in digital content. Prior to joining NerdWallet in 2020, Randa worked as a writer at Fundera, covering a wide variety of small-business topics and specializing in the lending and banking spaces. Her work has been featured by The Washington Post, The Associated Press and Nasdaq, among others. Randa earned a bachelor's degree in English and Spanish at Iona University (formerly Iona College).
Hillary Crawford writes about small-business software at NerdWallet and is certified in QuickBooks Online and web design. Her previous roles include news writer and associate West Coast editor at Bustle Digital Group, where she helped shape news and tech coverage. She's appeared on Cheddar News and also worked as a policy contributor for GenFKD. Hillary earned a bachelor's degree with high honors in political science from the University of Michigan.
Email: <a href="mailto:hcrawford@nerdwallet.com">hcrawford@nerdwallet.com</a>.
Ryan Lane is an editor on the small-business team and a NerdWallet authority on student loans. He spent more than a decade as a writer and editor for student loan guarantor American Student Assistance and was a managing editor for publisher Cell Press. Ryan’s work has been featured by The Associated Press, USA Today and MarketWatch, and he previously co-authored the U.S. News & World Report Student Loan Ranger blog. Email: <a href="mailto:rlane@nerdwallet.com”">rlane@nerdwallet.com</a>.
Ryan Lane is an editor on the small-business team and a NerdWallet authority on student loans. He spent more than a decade as a writer and editor for student loan guarantor American Student Assistance and was a managing editor for publisher Cell Press. Ryan’s work has been featured by The Associated Press, USA Today and MarketWatch, and he previously co-authored the U.S. News & World Report Student Loan Ranger blog. Email: <a href="mailto:rlane@nerdwallet.com”">rlane@nerdwallet.com</a>.
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Senior Writer & Content Strategist | Small business, business banking, business loans
Randa Kriss is a senior writer and NerdWallet authority on small business. She has nearly a decade of experience in digital content. Prior to joining NerdWallet in 2020, Randa worked as a writer at Fundera, covering a wide variety of small-business topics and specializing in the lending and banking spaces. Her work has been featured by The Washington Post, The Associated Press and Nasdaq, among others. Randa earned a bachelor's degree in English and Spanish at Iona University (formerly Iona College).
Hillary Crawford writes about small-business software at NerdWallet and is certified in QuickBooks Online and web design. Her previous roles include news writer and associate West Coast editor at Bustle Digital Group, where she helped shape news and tech coverage. She's appeared on Cheddar News and also worked as a policy contributor for GenFKD. Hillary earned a bachelor's degree with high honors in political science from the University of Michigan.
Email: <a href="mailto:hcrawford@nerdwallet.com">hcrawford@nerdwallet.com</a>.
Senior Writer & Content Strategist | Small business, business banking, business loans
Randa Kriss is a senior writer and NerdWallet authority on small business. She has nearly a decade of experience in digital content. Prior to joining NerdWallet in 2020, Randa worked as a writer at Fundera, covering a wide variety of small-business topics and specializing in the lending and banking spaces. Her work has been featured by The Washington Post, The Associated Press and Nasdaq, among others. Randa earned a bachelor's degree in English and Spanish at Iona University (formerly Iona College).
Hillary Crawford writes about small-business software at NerdWallet and is certified in QuickBooks Online and web design. Her previous roles include news writer and associate West Coast editor at Bustle Digital Group, where she helped shape news and tech coverage. She's appeared on Cheddar News and also worked as a policy contributor for GenFKD. Hillary earned a bachelor's degree with high honors in political science from the University of Michigan.
Email: <a href="mailto:hcrawford@nerdwallet.com">hcrawford@nerdwallet.com</a>.
Ryan Lane is an editor on the small-business team and a NerdWallet authority on student loans. He spent more than a decade as a writer and editor for student loan guarantor American Student Assistance and was a managing editor for publisher Cell Press. Ryan’s work has been featured by The Associated Press, USA Today and MarketWatch, and he previously co-authored the U.S. News & World Report Student Loan Ranger blog. Email: <a href="mailto:rlane@nerdwallet.com”">rlane@nerdwallet.com</a>.
Ryan Lane is an editor on the small-business team and a NerdWallet authority on student loans. He spent more than a decade as a writer and editor for student loan guarantor American Student Assistance and was a managing editor for publisher Cell Press. Ryan’s work has been featured by The Associated Press, USA Today and MarketWatch, and he previously co-authored the U.S. News & World Report Student Loan Ranger blog. Email: <a href="mailto:rlane@nerdwallet.com”">rlane@nerdwallet.com</a>.
NerdWallet's content is
fact-checked for accuracy, timeliness, and relevance by humans.
It undergoes a thorough review process involving writers and editors to ensure
the information is as clear and complete as possible. Learn more by checking
our
Editorial Guidelines.
Content was accurate at the time of publication.
Why trust NerdWallet
250+ small-business products reviewed and rated by our team of experts.
80+ years of combined experience covering small business and personal finance.
75+ categories of best business software selections.
NerdWallet's small-business software content, including ratings, recommendations and reviews, is overseen by a team of writers and editors who specialize in business software, including payment processing, accounting and payroll. Their work has appeared in The Associated Press, The Washington Post, Nasdaq, Entrepreneur, ABC News, Yahoo Finance and other national and local media outlets. Each writer and editor follows NerdWallet's strict guidelines for editorial integrity to ensure accuracy and fairness in our coverage.
Advertiser disclosure
You're our first priority.
Every time.
We believe everyone should be able to make financial decisions with
confidence. While we don’t cover every company or financial product on
the market, we work hard to share a wide range of offers and objective
editorial perspectives.
So how do we make money? Our partners compensate us for advertisements
that appear on our site. This compensation helps us provide tools and
services - like free credit score access and monitoring. With the
exception of mortgage, home equity and other home-lending products or
services, partner compensation is one of several factors that may affect
which products we highlight and where they appear on our site. Other
factors include your credit profile, product availability and
proprietary website methodologies.
However, these factors do not influence our editors’ opinions or ratings, which are based on independent research and analysis. Our partners cannot
pay us to guarantee favorable reviews. Here is a list of our partners .
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.
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.
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.
Cannot use existing tablets that weren’t bought through Clover.
Clover’s impressive mobile hardware options can run on cellular data plans. Plus, its free customer engagement tools make it a strong choice as a mobile POS system for food trucks.
Restaurants can customize plans by adding loyalty programs, reservation capabilities, online ordering or employee scheduling software.
24/7 phone support.
No long-term contract or termination fees.
Cons
Charges setup fee.
Offline mode includes the hidden cost of a router.
SpotOn’s monthly software fee and payment processing fees along with its ability to integrate with third-party hardware make this system an affordable and appealing option. It also offers customizable add-on features such as a loyalty program and team management software. The company also has a strong reputation for its hands-on approach to customer support, from installation and training to 24/7 availability for assistance.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Cannot use existing tablets that weren’t bought through Clover.
Clover’s impressive mobile hardware options can run on cellular data plans. Plus, its free customer engagement tools make it a strong choice as a mobile POS system for food trucks.
Cannot use existing tablets that weren’t bought through Clover.
Clover’s impressive mobile hardware options can run on cellular data plans. Plus, its free customer engagement tools make it a strong choice as a mobile POS system for food trucks.
Restaurants can customize plans by adding loyalty programs, reservation capabilities, online ordering or employee scheduling software.
24/7 phone support.
No long-term contract or termination fees.
Cons
Charges setup fee.
Offline mode includes the hidden cost of a router.
SpotOn’s monthly software fee and payment processing fees along with its ability to integrate with third-party hardware make this system an affordable and appealing option. It also offers customizable add-on features such as a loyalty program and team management software. The company also has a strong reputation for its hands-on approach to customer support, from installation and training to 24/7 availability for assistance.
Restaurants can customize plans by adding loyalty programs, reservation capabilities, online ordering or employee scheduling software.
24/7 phone support.
No long-term contract or termination fees.
Cons
Charges setup fee.
Offline mode includes the hidden cost of a router.
SpotOn’s monthly software fee and payment processing fees along with its ability to integrate with third-party hardware make this system an affordable and appealing option. It also offers customizable add-on features such as a loyalty program and team management software. The company also has a strong reputation for its hands-on approach to customer support, from installation and training to 24/7 availability for assistance.
Jump to
How much are hardware costs for food truck POS systems?
Here's how these costs stack up for our top picks.
POS System
Hardware Costs
Square Restaurant POS
$0 for Square magstripe-only card reader ($10 for each additional reader) or if using Tap to Pay for iPhone (iPhone not included).
$59 for Square Reader contactless and chip card reader.
$149 for Square Stand iPad POS or Square Stand Mount (iPad not included; monthly financing available).
$149 for Square Kiosk for self-serve ordering.
$299 for Square Terminal mobile card reader with built-in printer (monthly financing available).
$399 for Square Handheld portable POS system with built-in barcode scanner (monthly financing available).
$799 for Square Register two-screen system (monthly financing available).
Toast
$494.10 for Handheld Starter Kit (but $0 if you agree to a higher processing fee).
$1,123.20 for Countertop Starter Kit (but $0 if you agree to a higher processing fee).
$1,438.20 for Guest Self-Service Starter Kit (but $0 if you agree to a higher processing fee).
Clover
$199 for chip, swipe and contactless Clover Go card reader.
$349 for countertop card reader.
$749 for Clover Flex mobile POS with receipt printer.
$699 for slimmer Flex Pocket with no printer.
$849 for Clover Mini POS.
$799-$899 + $25 per month for kitchen display system.
$1,799 for Clover Station Solo.
$1,899 for Clover Station Duo.
$3,499 + $34.95 per month for self-ordering kiosk.
SpotOn Restaurant
$600 for the KDS.
$750 for the Station POS.
$850 for the Counter POS.
Other hardware devices, like the handheld option, are custom.
What additional features do food truck POS systems offer?
The best POS system for your food truck will fit your specific needs. Here's a look at some notable features among our top picks to help you compare options.
POS System
Notable Features
Square Restaurant POS
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.
Toast
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.
Clover
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.
SpotOn Restaurant
Menu management: SpotOn lets you add and edit items on your restaurant's menu screen. You can also import menu items.
Payment processing: Credit card processing fees decrease as you level up from a free to paid plan and, in addition to cards, you can accept Google Pay, Apple Pay, Venmo and PayPal.
Table layout: Select from a variety of table types and add new tables to your dining room as needed.
Reporting: You can generate reports on daily sales, hourly sales, payroll, profit and more.
24/7 support: Representatives are available around the clock by phone and email.
Review management tools: SpotOn aggregates online reviews about your restaurant so you can read and respond to them all from one place.
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.
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 May 21, 2025
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.