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Prices last checked Sep 26, 2026
Kitfinch
Best software forPlumbersHVAC companiesElectriciansRoofersLandscapersDentistsSalons & spasRestaurants

Point of sale software for the trades

A full-service or bar-style restaurant fits Toast, SpotOn, or TouchBistro, all built around table management and a kitchen display rather than a bare checkout screen. A solo stylist fits GlossGenius, while a multi-chair salon or spa group is better served by Vagaro, Boulevard, Fresha, or Mindbody, which tie checkout to the appointment and client record.

By Amine from KitFinch Prices verified Sep 26, 2026How we pick

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Our pick for each trade

All 12 tools for point of sale

Popular comparisons

All comparisons

The full guide

Our picks by business type

Profile Pick Why Watch out for
Restaurant already running its POS on Toast Toast POS hardware and software combined with online ordering and staff-management add-ons in one ecosystem Best value when already committed to the Toast ecosystem
Restaurant wanting a published pricing structure SpotOn Table management, kitchen display, and delivery-network connections tied to its own POS and payments Software cost is tied to processing volume rather than a single flat number
Table-service restaurant on iPad hardware TouchBistro Customizable floor plan, kitchen display sync, staff permissions, and over fifty built-in reports Reservations and online ordering are sold as companion products, not always included
Solo stylist or independent beauty professional GlossGenius Checkout, inventory tracking, and retail product management bundled with booking in one app Fewer multi-location and marketplace features than Vagaro or Boulevard
Salon or fitness business wanting one system across services Vagaro Booking and calendar shared across salon, spa, or fitness appointments feeding into checkout Interface and public feature detail are less specific than newer salon-first platforms
High-end salon or med spa group Boulevard Precision Scheduling and client profiles tied to checkout for a premium multi-location brand Heavier platform than a single-chair salon typically needs
Booking-heavy spa wanting checkout and marketplace in one Fresha Payment policy for deposits and advance payments tied directly to the booking before checkout Some payment tools are gated behind Fresha's own payment processing
Multi-location studio or wellness business Mindbody One shared schedule across staffing and booking with real-time sync feeding checkout Reminder and checkout specifics are less explicit on the public site than GlossGenius

What to look for

  • Built for your floor, not generic retail. A restaurant needs table and tab management with a kitchen display; a salon needs checkout tied to the appointment and client record.

  • Hardware that fits your space. Countertop terminals, handheld devices for tableside or curbside, and tablet-based systems each suit a different service style.

  • Deposits or card on file tied to checkout, so a no-show or late cancellation can still be charged without a separate manual step.

  • Delivery and online ordering ties, for a restaurant. Confirm whether your POS vendor offers ordering in the same ecosystem before buying a separate tool.

  • Reporting depth. Sales-by-category, labor-cost, and multi-location comparison views help catch problems before month-end rather than after.

  • A processing rate you can actually compare. Some platforms charge a flat monthly software fee plus card-processing costs; others price the software itself as a share of processing volume, so compare total cost at your real sales volume.

Why a restaurant POS and a salon POS solve different problems

A restaurant's checkout has to survive a dinner rush across a full floor of tables, splitting checks, routing orders to a kitchen display, and reassigning sections as parties turn over. A salon's checkout is usually a single transaction tied to one client and one appointment, but it needs to pull in service history, a deposit already on file, and product sales in the same screen a stylist is already using to manage the calendar. That is why the platforms in this category split cleanly by vertical rather than competing head to head: a generic retail register handles neither job well, which is why every tool here is purpose-built around one floor plan or the other.

Toast

Toast is a restaurant-focused point-of-sale platform combining POS hardware and software with online ordering and payroll or scheduling add-ons inside the same ecosystem, and it is one of the most widely deployed restaurant POS systems in the US. It fits quick-service and full-service restaurants that want POS, ordering, and staff tools from a single vendor rather than stitching several apps together.

SpotOn

SpotOn's restaurant platform ties its POS to table management, a kitchen display, and its commission-free SpotOn Order online ordering system, connecting directly to the GoTo Place app for direct customer orders.

For delivery, it connects to DoorDash Drive for flat-rate delivery plus direct DoorDash and Uber Eats integration, with additional networks reachable through a Deliverect aggregator connection.

TouchBistro

TouchBistro lets a manager "customize and edit your floor plan on the go" based on factors like distance between tables, time seated, and spend per table, with changes syncing automatically across the system.

Its kitchen display system connects front and back of house "to ensure orders are fulfilled on time, every time," and staff management tools set unique permissions per employee alongside scheduling and labor-cost features.

Reporting includes more than fifty built-in reports covering sales trends and staff performance, accessible from any device through cloud-based reporting, and the system runs on iPad hardware sourced directly through the company.

GlossGenius

GlossGenius accepts EMV chip cards, contactless payments, and digital wallets at checkout, on a flat processing rate with no hidden transaction fees.

The system pairs checkout with inventory tracking and retail product management, so a salon can ring up services and retail items in one place, and card-on-file functionality supports recurring transactions along with a buy-now-pay-later option for higher-ticket services.

Vagaro

Vagaro shares one booking and calendar system across "salon, spa, or fitness" appointments, which feeds directly into its checkout so a client's service history is already on screen at payment time.

Boulevard

Boulevard's Precision Scheduling ties a client's self-booking history and profile directly to checkout, aimed at higher-end salons and spas that want retention and loyalty tools built around the same transaction.

Fresha

Fresha's payment policy protects booked time through upfront deposits and advance client payments collected before the appointment, so a no-show still compensates the business even before checkout happens.

Mindbody

Mindbody runs staffing and booking off "just one schedule" with real-time updates pushed across every booking channel, keeping checkout in sync with whatever channel a client used to book.

Related reading

Frequently asked questions

What is the best POS system for a small business?
It depends heavily on the business type. A restaurant running table service or a counter typically fits Toast, SpotOn, or TouchBistro, while a salon or independent beauty professional fits GlossGenius, Boulevard, or Vagaro better, since those platforms pair checkout with booking and client records rather than a stand-alone register.
What are the main types of POS systems?
Common categories include countertop terminal systems, tablet or iPad-based systems, mobile handheld devices for tableside or curbside orders, and self-service kiosks. Restaurant platforms like TouchBistro typically combine several of these in one account, pairing a fixed terminal with handheld devices for the floor.
What is a good POS system for a bar or full-service restaurant?
Look for a restaurant-specific POS with a kitchen display, table and tab management, and floor plan customization rather than a generic retail terminal. Toast, SpotOn, and TouchBistro are all built around full-service and bar-style ordering, with TouchBistro letting a manager customize a floor plan based on factors like table distance and time seated.
Does a restaurant POS system also handle online ordering?
Many do, either built in or as an add-on from the same vendor. Toast and SpotOn both offer online ordering inside their own ecosystem, and TouchBistro sells online ordering as a companion product alongside its core POS, so check whether it is included or billed separately before assuming full coverage.
What POS system works for an independent salon or barber?
GlossGenius bundles checkout with inventory tracking and retail product management into the same app as booking and payments, aimed at independent stylists and small teams. A larger, multi-chair salon may prefer Boulevard or Vagaro, which pair checkout with more built-out client history and multi-location reporting.
Can a salon POS accept a deposit or card on file?
Yes. GlossGenius supports card-on-file functionality for recurring transactions and buy-now-pay-later options for higher-ticket services, and Fresha's payment policy protects booked time through upfront deposits collected before checkout ever happens. Both tie the payment step directly to the booking rather than treating checkout as a separate system.
How much does a POS system cost?
Cost varies by vendor and depends on the software plan, hardware, and card-processing rate, some of which are flat and some based on a percentage of sales volume. See the pricing table on this page and each tool's own pricing details for the specifics that apply to a given plan.

Sources we checked

Every feature and policy on this page comes from these vendor or government pages, last checked Sep 26, 2026. See how we review.

  1. touchbistro.com — touchbistro.com/pos/
  2. glossgenius.com — glossgenius.com/point-of-sale
  3. spoton.com — spoton.com/restaurants/
  4. vagaro.com — vagaro.com/
  5. joinblvd.com — joinblvd.com/
  6. fresha.com — fresha.com/for-business/features
  7. mindbodyonline.com — mindbodyonline.com/

Cite this page

Amine from KitFinch. “Point-of-Sale Systems for Restaurants and Salons.” Kitfinch, updated Sep 26, 2026. https://kitfinch.com/tasks/point-of-sale

Plain-text version for AI assistants: /tasks/point-of-sale.md

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