Legacy POS Systems vs Cloud-Based POS: Which One to Choose for Your Restaurant Business?  

Last updated on February 9th, 2023

The most successful business owners, and especially restaurateurs, realize that even though delicious food can draw patrons to your establishment but they will return due to exceptional hospitality. Offering diners an exceptional dining experience isn’t an art but it is a need for intelligent management. Luckily, POS systems can help with this.

Point of sale (POS) technology is essential for restaurants. It allows you to process the latest payment methods and manage your inventory and most importantly, keep track of every transaction’s data. In 2025 the restaurants’ POS terminals market is expected to increase to a total in the range of $24.7 billion.

Three major stepping stones to POS development are

• The first register for cash was created in 1879.

• The first software for point-of-sale, developed through Microsoft Windows in 1992, set the stage for the advent of point-of-sale systems.

• The first cloud-based POS system was introduced by the UK in 2002, ten years later.

The two main kinds of POS software Legacy POS Systems vs Cloud-Based POS currently available comprise on-premise POS as well as cloud-based POS systems. Each type has its advantages and drawbacks. Purchasing the food service POS system is an enormous expense. It is therefore logical that restaurant owners worry about selecting a restaurant’s POS system. This should be done by taking into consideration all choices available.

The number of features available on the POS will determine which to select. This article will highlight the main differences between legacy and cloud-based point-of-sale systems (Legacy POS systems vs cloud-based POS) to help you in choosing the right control system to manage your restaurant. Let’s first look at the features and differences between these POS systems.

What is a POS System in a Restaurant?

It’s a question you need to seek an answer to if you’re an aspiring newbie who wants to run restaurants in the current technological age. Point of sale systems for restaurants, also known as POS, acts as a command center, seamlessly integrating the front kitchen and back-office operations all in one spot.

Point-of-sale software provides real-time, end-to-end solutions for business owners who want to increase their competitiveness in the field of hospitality. The top restaurant POS software offers options like table management that intuitive online booking and payment services, as well as real-time reporting on sales and effective Customer Relationship Management (CRM) techniques, to mention just a few.

What is a Cloud-Based POS?

Cloud-based POS is fundamentally Software as a Service (SaaS). It allows data to be stored and retrieved via a remote server, instead of being saved locally on computers. All it needs to function is an active internet connection.

In plain English, this is the fact that all of the database, which includes the daily reports on transactions as well as inventory information and customer records, are accessible online via online restaurant-POS systems.

Cloud-based management of restaurant POS is available from any place and does not require a specific location for restaurants. Cloud services can also be flexible, making it easy to add additional features to cloud services.

The market for cloud POS systems is expected to be $3.73 billion in 2023, according to Markets as well as Markets study.

What is a Legacy POS?

Common restaurant POS systems, often known as old-fashioned POS systems, dominate the industry of restaurants. These systems make use of a private internal network as well as local servers to save your information locally.

Staff members have used them to process restaurant bill invoices and to create KOTs (Kitchen Order Tickets). The systems are plagued by the risk in the event of loss or corruption, the high cost of initial setup, access and security issues, and the need to maintain a manual process for uploading data.

It’s like streaming movies downloaded from OTT services, as opposed to streaming them online. Family photos stored on your desktop computer – which isn’t accessible via the internet – are another instance of an off-premise POS system.

Cloud POS vs Legacy POS – Which One to Choose?

Cloud-based POS systems as opposed to traditional POS systems, we are aware that implementing a flexible cloud restaurant-based POS solution is crucial for restaurants to handle different branches and operations properly. Restaurants are moving away from traditional the traditional POS system to cloud-based solutions for POS as technology improves.

While cloud POS requires an internet connection to function, the array of functions it provides is far greater than the features of traditional POS systems. When comparing both platforms, it becomes apparent that a cloud-based system for POS for restaurants has more benefits than traditional POS systems.

One of the most important POS technological advancements currently involves cloud-based POS. At present, 61% of all fast-food establishments in the US employ cloud-based POS systems. Additionally, new vendors require cloud-based POS systems instead traditional systems for POS for sixty percent of the cases.

Restaurant owners stand a higher opportunity to improve their operations using cloud-based POS systems than older POS systems. Every restaurant format can benefit from complete cloud restaurant management that is provided by a cloud-based POS system.

Benefits of Cloud-based POS Systems

Cloud-based POS offers a variety of important functions that are superior to conventional POS systems.

• The management can monitor the restaurant’s daily weekly, and monthly sales as well as annual, because of the extensive analysis of item and ingredient-level data.

• Based on predetermined events such as birthdays and other special occasions; The CRM module frequently offers deals and discounts to customers. The CRM module also saves the customer’s data. CRM is an effective way to build stronger relationships with your customers by tracking their eating habits and shopping behavior. In turn, you’ll be able to determine what you want to promote because using a cloud-based point-of-sale system that is used for restaurants permits you to collect details about the customer’s basic needs as well as details about previous purchases.

• The inventory and stock modules keep track of the stock that’s available and alerts staff when they are ready to replenish. It can assist in avoiding spending too much. Certain POS systems allow immediate ordering of inventory. They can aid you with keeping track of the inventory you have, tracking stocks, and even locating highly sought-after items.

• The anti-theft program informs the supervisor of any irregularities such as non-authorized rebates, KOT printing reprints or employee thefts, etc.

• Delivery, payments, and other third-party apps can easily be integrated with Cloud POS systems. Making the whole process, from ordering to serving, and delivery, seamless for the client can be achieved by integrating payment systems and other food and food aggregators.

• The restaurant business develops quickly. You need to be able to introduce new concepts in a matter of days. Finding and correcting the underperformers is essential in the form of menu adjustments or promotions. The cloud-based restaurant POS systems allow you to implement your ideas faster and more efficiently.

Challenges of Implementing a Legacy POS System

You’ll face a variety of obstacles when implementing an older POS system. There are several factors to consider:

• The interface and operating system of the old POS are no longer supported and the application is so slow that it severely hinders restaurant expansion because it’s not able to grow to meet the needs of the industry.

• Contrary to the modern POS system that can connect all the functions of a system and decrease the work of the employees, however, it is not capable of integrating business functions and can only be used for the storage of information and billing.
• It will be difficult to locate a replacement if your old system is malfunctions or breaks due to the technology and features of the older systems are not compatible with the latest technology. Your business operations are limited by these restrictions which is why it’s not worth it.

Important Article: Sunmi POS V2 Machine: A Point of Sale Device for Billing System

Get Your Success Guaranteed by Partnering with iTechnolabs 

Cloud-based systems are your best choice to purchase a point-of-sale system in your eatery. It comes with a variety of advantages over an older POS system. If you’re seeking the top restaurants’ app development services then consider iTechnolabs.

We take care of everything, from creating POS systems and inventory management software to food ordering software and much more. Our staff of experts is dedicated to improving the efficiency of daily restaurant operations. We are proficient in the requirements of technology in the industry of food services. Our solutions make it easier to manage back-end procedures for your staff and can improve how restaurant services are offered.

We’ve been providing cutting-edge solutions to meet the diverse demands of our customers in the industry of restaurants which includes Pizza Hut, Domino’s as well as KFC. It’s a bit biased We highly endorse the cloud POS.

Closing up!

The difficulty of managing one restaurant in the competitive sector of hospitality is daunting. Due to this, more and more restaurant owners are opting for cloud-based point-of-sale solutions to simplify operations while earning income and managing customer relations. This cost-effective, flexible and long-lasting solution will ensure the ongoing growth of your business for a long time.

We hope that this article on cloud POS and legacy POS can assist you in finding the answers to your questions regarding traditional and modern POS systems.