Cloud POS vs Traditional POS: Which Is Better for Restaurants?
Cloud POS vs traditional POS: the short answer
If you're buying a new system now, go with cloud. For most restaurants it's cheaper to maintain, adding a second or third site is easy, and you can check your numbers from anywhere.
A traditional on-premise POS still makes sense if you can't get reliable internet. Not many restaurants are stuck with that any more.
What is a cloud POS system?
A cloud POS keeps your data on the provider's servers, not on a box in the back office. Transactions, menus, staff records and reports sync in real time, and you can get at them from any device with a browser or the provider's app.
Flipdish POS is a cloud system. It puts in-person orders, online ordering and self-service kiosks on one platform.
What is a traditional (on-premise) POS?
A traditional POS keeps its data on a server in your restaurant. The software runs on dedicated hardware and doesn't need an internet connection. When there's an update, a technician usually has to install it.
Legacy systems from Oracle MICROS, NCR and older versions of Zonal work this way.
Side-by-side comparison
| Feature | Cloud POS | Traditional POS |
|---|---|---|
| Setup cost | Lower | Higher (server, licences, installation) |
| Monthly cost | Subscription | Often lower, plus maintenance costs that don't show up on the quote |
| Updates | Automatic | Manual, often charged for |
| Remote access | Yes | Limited or none |
| Multi-site management | From one place | Site by site |
| Works offline | Limited (depends on the provider) | Yes |
| Adding sites | Easy | Slower and more expensive |
| Online orders | Usually built in | Often needs middleware |
| Support | Usually included | Varies, often engineer callouts |
| Data ownership | Held by provider | Held locally |
Cost comparison
Traditional POS has a reputation for being cheaper in the long run. That leaves out what you pay for maintenance, updates and replacing hardware when it dies.
Cloud POS costs usually look like this:
- £50-£200 per terminal per month
- No server to buy
- Updates included
- Support usually included
A traditional POS usually means:
- £5,000-£20,000+ upfront for hardware
- An annual maintenance contract
- Paying for software updates
- Engineer callout fees when something breaks
Over five years the total often comes out about the same. The cloud system will usually do more for the money.
Reliability
Internet dependency is the main argument against cloud POS. If the connection drops, some cloud systems can't take payments or send orders to the kitchen.
Better providers have an offline mode that queues transactions on the device and syncs them once the connection is back. Ask any provider you're talking to exactly what happens when the internet goes down, and don't settle for a vague answer.
A traditional POS doesn't care whether the internet is up. If your connection really is that bad, this matters a lot.
Multi-site management
Cloud wins this one easily. With a cloud system you can:
- Push a menu change to every site at once
- See sales for the whole group without logging into each site
- Set staff permissions from one place
- Run a promotion across all sites in one go
With a traditional POS, changes get made at each site, usually by a technician.
Integration with online ordering and delivery
Orders come in at the counter, through your website and app, from kiosks and from delivery platforms. Cloud POS systems are built to connect all of these. Traditional systems were designed before most of these channels existed, and hooking them up usually means paying for middleware.
Without that connection you get a separate tablet for every channel, orders someone has to get to the kitchen by hand, and reports that only show part of your revenue.
Which should you choose?
Go with cloud POS if you have reliable internet, run more than one site or plan to, want online ordering going straight into the POS, want to see reports from anywhere, or are replacing a legacy system.
Stick with traditional POS if your internet is unreliable and there's no way to fix it. The other case is a very high-volume operation where the existing traditional system is working well. If it isn't broken, there's less reason to rip it out.
How Flipdish fits in
Flipdish is a cloud restaurant POS system that brings counter, table, kiosk, website and app orders onto one platform. Change the menu once and it updates on every channel. Reports pull together across all your sites automatically.
It's built for restaurants that want to get off a patchwork of old systems without making the day-to-day running any harder.