Everything you need to take orders, manage reservations, handle deliveries, track your finances, and roster staff. These picks are built for hospitality businesses that move fast and need tools that just work.
Purpose-built for food service with table management, coursing, kitchen display integration, and menu modifiers. The free plan covers a single location with one POS terminal. Hardware is affordable and the interface is dead simple for staff to learn.
More advanced floor plan management, detailed reporting, and multi-location support. Better suited for full-service restaurants that need table-side ordering and split-bill features. Pricier than Square but more capable at scale.
The largest reservation network, which means diners find you through the app itself. Table management, guest profiles, and automated confirmation emails are all included. Best for restaurants that rely on bookings for dinner service.
Strong in Australia, Europe, and Asia-Pacific markets. Offers reservation management with Google integration so diners can book directly from search results. Generally cheaper than OpenTable with no cover fees on some plans.
The largest delivery network in most markets, which means the most eyeballs on your menu. Commission is steep (around 30%), but the volume can be worth it for building awareness. The merchant dashboard gives decent sales analytics.
Strong competitor to Uber Eats, particularly in North America and Australia. Similar commission structure but sometimes offers better promotional tools for new restaurants. Being on both platforms maximises your reach.
Connects to Square and most restaurant POS systems so daily sales flow into your books automatically. Track food costs, supplier invoices, and staff expenses in one place. BAS/GST reporting built in for Australian venues.
Drag-and-drop rostering, shift swapping, time clock, and award interpretation built for Australian hospitality. Staff get a mobile app to view rosters and request leave. Integrates with Xero for payroll export.
Strong alternative to Deputy with a clean interface and good labour cost forecasting. Popular in the UK and Europe. Includes shift planning, time tracking, and payroll integrations.
Hospitality is high-pressure and low-margin. Every tool in this stack needs to save you time, reduce errors, or put more customers through the door — ideally all three.
Square for Restaurants gives you a reliable POS without monthly fees, which matters when margins are tight. OpenTable or Quandoo fill your tables during quiet periods and reduce no-shows. Uber Eats and DoorDash extend your reach beyond walk-ins, though you should watch the commissions carefully. Xero keeps your books clean with automatic POS integration, and Deputy handles the rostering headache so you're not texting staff at midnight about tomorrow's shift.
Start with Square's free plan and add the other tools as your venue grows. Don't pay for software you don't need yet.