F&BosA restaurant POS for India should cover GST billing, kitchen tickets, tables, split payments and offline billing as the basics, then recipe-linked inventory and dish-level margins to control food cost, and customer profiles, loyalty and multi-outlet reports to grow. The 25-point checklist below tells you what to ask in every demo.
Feature lists on vendor websites all look alike. The difference shows up when you ask the right question and watch the vendor do it on your own menu. This checklist is built for that. For the bigger picture of how a POS works, costs and launches, see our restaurant POS system guide.
The 25-point restaurant POS features checklist
Prints as a clean document, without the site menu.
| # | Feature and why it matters | Ask the vendor | Who needs it | ✓ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Billing and GST | ||||
| 1 | GST billing by order type Most restaurants charge 5%, hotel restaurants may charge 18%, and Zomato/Swiggy orders fall under Section 9(5). | Does it apply the right GST to dine-in, takeaway and delivery automatically? | All | ☐ |
| 2 | Compliant bill format Bills need your GSTIN, the CGST/SGST (or IGST) split, the SAC code and your FSSAI number. | Can I see a sample bill with every required field? | All | ☐ |
| 3 | Fast billing Slow billing creates queues at peak hours. | How many taps to bill a three-item order with a modifier? | All | ☐ |
| 4 | Modifiers and notes "Less spicy" or "no onion" must reach the kitchen clearly. | Do modifiers print highlighted on the KOT? | All | ☐ |
| 5 | Discount and void controls Unchecked voids and discounts are a common source of leakage. | Can I restrict voids and discounts to managers and require a reason? | All | ☐ |
| Kitchen | ||||
| 6 | KOT routing by station Grill, tandoor, bar and dessert should each get only their items, including changes and cancellations. | Can orders route to different printers or screens by category? | Dine-in, QSR | ☐ |
| 7 | Kitchen display with prep times A screen replaces lost paper and shows which dishes are running late. | Does the kitchen display track prep time per ticket? | QSR, cloud kitchens, busy kitchens | ☐ |
| 8 | Delivery and online orders in one place Delivery is a large share of sales and must count in your stock and reports. | Is aggregator integration live today, and does it sync menus and stock? | Delivery-heavy outlets | ☐ |
| Floor and ordering | ||||
| 9 | Table management Dine-in runs on knowing which tables are free, eating or waiting for the bill. | Can I split, merge and transfer tables? | Dine-in | ☐ |
| 10 | Captain ordering app Orders taken at the table reach the kitchen instantly. | Does the captain app run on phones we already own? | Dine-in, fine dining | ☐ |
| 11 | QR menu ordering Guests can browse and order from their phones at busy times. | Do QR orders go straight to the kitchen and the bill? | Cafés, QSR, casual dining | ☐ |
| 12 | Reservations and waitlist Bookings and walk-ins on one screen help you seat guests faster. | Are reservations linked to the floor plan? | Dine-in, fine dining | ☐ |
| Payments | ||||
| 13 | Split payments Tables pay with UPI, cards and cash, often on one bill. | Can one bill be split by guest and by payment method? | All | ☐ |
| 14 | Day-end reconciliation Cash, UPI and card totals must match the drawer and the bank. | Does the day-end report show each payment method separately? | All | ☐ |
| 15 | Offline billing with sync Internet outages happen during the busiest services. | What exactly keeps working offline, and how does it sync? | All | ☐ |
| Inventory and food cost | ||||
| 16 | Recipe-linked inventory Each sale deducts ingredients by recipe, so you see real consumption. | Does every sale deduct stock by recipe, with yield for prep loss? | All with a kitchen | ☐ |
| 17 | Purchases and supplier price history Ingredient price rises quietly erode margin. | Can I see what I paid each supplier for an item over time? | All with a kitchen | ☐ |
| 18 | Wastage logging in rupees Waste only gets fixed once it has a rupee value. | Can staff log waste with a reason and see its cost? | All with a kitchen | ☐ |
| 19 | Dish-level margins Popular dishes can still lose money at today's ingredient prices. | Does it show each dish's margin at current ingredient costs? | All | ☐ |
| Customers | ||||
| 20 | Customer profiles and visit history Knowing regulars and their preferences builds loyalty. | Is every bill linked to a guest profile, with visit history? | Dine-in, cafés | ☐ |
| 21 | Loyalty and campaigns with consent Repeat guests drive profit; India's DPDP Act requires consent for marketing. | Does it record consent and let guests opt out? | Dine-in, cafés, QSR | ☐ |
| Management and control | ||||
| 22 | Role permissions, audit log and data export Every action should be traceable, and your data must stay yours. | Is there an audit log, and can I export all my data free? | All | ☐ |
| 23 | Owner reports on your phone Owners need the day's numbers daily, wherever they are. | Which reports and alerts can I see on my phone? | All | ☐ |
| 24 | Multi-outlet management Growth needs one menu and one view of every outlet. | Can I compare outlets side by side on one dashboard? | Chains and growing brands | ☐ |
| 25 | Staff attendance and payroll data Attendance feeds salaries and controls labour cost. | Does attendance feed payroll or export to it? | All with staff | ☐ |
How to use it: tick a feature only when the vendor shows it working on your menu, not when they say it's "coming soon". From fandbos.com/guides/restaurant-pos-features-checklist.
Which features are must-haves for your format?
- Every restaurant: features 1–5 (billing and GST), 13–15 (payments and offline billing), 22 and 23 (control and reports).
- Dine-in and fine dining: add 6 (KOT routing), 9–12 (tables, captains, QR, reservations) and 20–21 (guests and loyalty).
- QSR: add 6–7 (KOT and kitchen display) and 11 (QR ordering); speed matters most.
- Cloud kitchens: add 7–8 (kitchen display and delivery orders) and 16–19 (inventory and margins).
- Growing brands: add 24 (multi-outlet) and 25 (attendance and payroll).
What each group of features does for you
Billing and GST (1–5)
The basics, but easy to get wrong. A POS must apply the right GST to each order type, print every field a compliant bill needs, and bill fast enough for your peak hour. Controls on discounts and voids stop the most common leaks at the counter. Our GST for restaurants guide explains the tax rules. Check your bill against our sample GST restaurant bill.
Kitchen (6–8)
Clear, instant tickets to the right station, including changes and cancellations, are what keep food coming out on time. A kitchen display adds prep times, so you can see which dishes slow you down. Delivery orders should land in the same flow, so they count in your stock and reports. See our KOT system guide. Not sure whether you need screens? Compare a kitchen display system vs a KOT printer.
Floor and ordering (9–12)
Table status, captain ordering and reservations keep dine-in service smooth. QR ordering takes pressure off staff at busy times; see how QR menu ordering works. Our guide to table management in a restaurant POS covers floor plans, split bills and merged tables.
Payments (13–15)
Split bills across UPI, card and cash; reconcile every method at day end; and keep billing when the internet drops.
Inventory and food cost (16–19)
This is where a POS starts paying for itself. When every sale deducts ingredients by recipe, you can compare what you should have used with what you actually used, track supplier price rises, put a rupee value on waste, and see each dish's margin at today's prices. Our guide to restaurant POS with inventory shows how it works, with worked examples. Our guide to AI in restaurant POS explains which AI features help most here.
Customers (20–21)
Guest profiles linked to every bill show who your regulars are and what they order. Loyalty and campaigns bring them back, as long as you record consent. The best results come from targeting the guests who drive profit, not just visits, an idea we explore in Loyalty platforms are solving the wrong problem.
Management and control (22–25)
Permissions and an audit log make every action traceable; owner reports and alerts on your phone keep you informed; multi-outlet dashboards and attendance data matter as you grow. For which reports to check and how often, see 12 restaurant POS reports every owner should check.
The benefits these features bring
- Faster service: quicker billing and instant KOTs mean shorter queues and faster table turns.
- Fewer errors: correct GST and clear modifiers on every order.
- Less leakage: every KOT matched to a bill, and every void and discount recorded.
- Lower food cost: recipe-linked inventory and margins show where money goes.
- More repeat guests: profiles and loyalty bring regulars back.
- Better decisions: the day's numbers on your phone, every day.
Restaurant POS best practices
- Set up the menu, taxes, printers and stations fully before go-live, and print test bills.
- Give every staff member their own login; restrict voids and discounts to managers.
- Add recipes for your top 20 dishes first, then the rest.
- Review voids, discounts and cash differences every day.
- Check food cost and dish margins every week.
- Collect guest consent at the first visit, not later.
Comparing several systems? Use this checklist alongside our comparison of the best restaurant POS software in India and our guide to choosing a restaurant POS.
Frequently asked questions
What features should a restaurant POS have?
At minimum: GST billing by order type, a compliant bill format, KOT routing or a kitchen display, table management for dine-in, split payments with day-end reconciliation, offline billing, and daily reports. Restaurants that want to control food cost also need recipe-linked inventory and dish-level margins; growing brands need customer profiles, loyalty and multi-outlet reports.
What are the benefits of a restaurant POS system?
Faster, error-free billing; correct GST on every bill; clear orders for the kitchen; fewer missed bills, voids and unauthorised discounts; real-time sales and stock reports; lower food cost through recipe-linked inventory; and guest data that brings regulars back.
Does a restaurant POS need a loyalty program?
Not on day one, but it pays off once you have regulars. Look for customer profiles linked to every bill, simple rewards, and campaigns that record consent, since India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act requires consent for marketing messages.
How do I use this POS features checklist?
Print it or keep it open during each vendor demo. Ask the question in the third column for every feature, tick the ones the vendor shows you working on your own menu, and compare how many must-haves each POS covers for your format.
What are restaurant POS best practices?
Set up the menu, taxes and printers before go-live; give every staff member their own login and restrict voids and discounts to managers; add recipes for your top dishes first; review voids, discounts and cash differences daily; and check food cost and dish margins weekly.
Related POS guides
Restaurant POS system: the complete 2026 guide
How a POS works, GST and UPI, costs and launch.
Read the guide → COMPARISONBest restaurant POS software in India
Ten systems compared on price, aggregators and offline billing.
Read the guide → KITCHENWhat is a KOT system?
How kitchen order tickets work and why they matter.
Read the guide →