Flexible solutions for food and drink

Finding the best payment setup for you would depend on what type of food and drink business you have. For food trucks and mobile catering businesses, an on-the-go solution would be ideal. For example, the selection of card readers offered by SumUp work with either your mobile phone’s internet connection, or a built-in SIM card to make sure you never lose signal and miss a sale. Alternatively, offering remote payment options might be a great way to offer your customers more ways to pay. QR codes and payment links are easy ways to let your customers pay you without having to tap or insert their card directly.

If you have a static location like a small cafe or counter-service restaurant, it would be best to choose an out-of-the-box point of sale system, like SumUp’s POS Lite. With this device you could manage your items, add variations, create and monitor simple sales reports and set up your counter with a stylish display.

Restaurants offering table service are well suited to a more extensive point of sale setup. With the POS Pro, you can integrate SumUp’s products with software that you’re already using like delivery and accounting providers. You can also do everything from making reservations, checking stock, managing employee shifts, taking orders and communicating with your kitchen.

Businesses that run a chain restaurant or a larger venue may benefit by reducing queues and freeing up staff by installing a customisable, self-service kiosk. Your customers could then browse the products you offer, select the ones they wish to purchase, and pay directly on-screen.

Restaurant payments have advanced and cashless payments have become the norm. There are many ways to implement contactless payments at your restaurant, but investing in card readers you can rely on is a great start. Payment providers like SumUp offer a range of card readers to suit every kind of food and drink business.

With a card reader, you can accept card payments as well as contactless payments via Apple Pay, Google Pay and more. Card readers are compact and fit in your pocket, so you can accept payments at the counter, at the table or on the go. You can set up as many card readers as you like to fit your business layout and team size, too. Card readers often integrate with other restaurant technology like point of sale systems, to further simplify your checkout experience.

We believe that an industry as diverse as food and drink (also referred to as food and beverage) should have pricing structures to match. At SumUp, we offer a range of pricing plans so you can choose how you pay based on what you need. 

Smaller or seasonal businesses may opt to use our products on a no-contract, pay-as-you-go basis. Simply choose any of the products you’d like to purchase, (where necessary) pay an upfront cost for the hardware, and then only pay a small transaction fee on any payments you take with your product. No monthly costs, and no contractual obligations. 

Alternatively, businesses can save money by opting to use our subscription plan, SumUp One. By paying a monthly fee of just £29, you’ll have access to discounts on hardware, exclusive perks like faster payouts (by 7am the next day), and transaction fees of only 0.99%.

If an extensive point-of-sale system is right for you and you’d like to choose SumUp’s POS Pro, our sales team is on hand to discuss a custom deal for you based on what you need. With prices starting from £49.99 a month, we can help you create a tailored package with hardware and integrations suited to you. Plus, if you process more than £60,000 in card payments a year, we’d be happy to discuss discounted transaction fees with you.

POS or ‘point of sale’ refers to the combination of technology businesses use at their checkout, as well as to streamline and manage their processes. A POS system, usually a combination of dedicated software and hardware, can be used to process orders, accept payments and organise everyday tasks. A food and drink business would usually use a POS system like Point of Sale Lite by SumUp to speed up sales by simplifying their checkout with easy orders and fast payments. Restaurants might use an extensive POS solution like Point of Sale Pro by SumUp to manage reservations, check stock, streamline kitchen comms and generate valuable reports for business analysis.

When choosing the best point of sale (POS) system for your business, you should consider which POS software and hardware will speed up your service, streamline your everyday operations and simplify your essential tasks. 

The best POS system for your business can depend on your size and setup, whether you’re operating a counter or a full dining room. No matter the type of POS system you decide on, it should always enable contactless payments in your restaurant. If you’re simply taking orders and payments at a stall or counter and want a POS system that allows you to integrate your menu, a more scaled-down POS solution—like Point of Sale Lite by SumUp—might be the best option for you.

With a simplified tool like POS Lite, you can speed up sales with software that allows you to take orders by tapping the food and drink in your neat item catalogue before accepting flexible payments in just a few clicks. You can build a tidy hardware setup of a POS tablet connected to your card reader. You can also use your POS system to track your order and sales history. 

If you’re operating a table-service restaurant, you might require some more advanced POS features that are designed to make restaurant processes more efficient, like those of Point of Sale Pro by SumUp. 

With a more extensive solution like POS Pro, you can use features designed to boost your business before, during and after service. Manage reservations, check your stock, edit your menu and plan staff shifts all on one screen. You can also mirror your table plan on-screen for seamless table management. You can find this POS software in the relevant restaurant pos app on whatever device you are using to manage your restaurant. Your hardware setup can be made up of an iPad, card reader, printer, cash drawer and barcode scanner.

Accepting payments using QR codes has become a more popular way to get paid for food and drink services in recent years. This can be a great idea for your food and drink business, especially when it comes to queue management and the speed of your service. 

QR code restaurant payments are contactless, meaning your customer can complete the entire payment process using their phone. They will not need to provide any cash or card for the payment of their order. 

The QR codes used for this type of payment can simply be placed in different spots across your business, whether it be at your counter, in waiting areas or on tabletops—so your customer can even pay at the table themselves. 

Some QR code payment providers, like SumUp, do not require the customer to download any app or create any account before paying. They will always complete the payment using a secure website.