Which Software is Best For Food Truck Business?

Experts in the field advise that food trucks need a POS solution that can take and process food orders, ring up customers, and accept payments on the go.

When shopping one for the best offer, you want to buy a system that is affordable, can take payments offline, and is user friendly at the same time.

Image Source: Pixabay

POS reviewers like me seem to agree that the hottest offers this year come from Square, ShopKeep, Toast, Lavu and TouchBistro.

Get Your Food Truck Business Fair and Square with SQUARE!

We researched and researched, and the deeper we dug the more convinced we became that the ultimate POS solution for your food truck business is Square.

Why? Well, first and foremost it is free to use. In addition, it operates on iPhones, iPads, and Android devices, and has a built-in payment processor that accepts offline payments.

On top of that, the interface is extremely intuitive, so you can easily set it up and start taking orders right away.

No Monthly Fee, Can You Believe It?!

As far as we could establish, Square is the only food-truck-suitable POS solution that comes without any monthly fees whatsoever.

In the startup package you can expect to find a free magstripe card reader, so the only thing you need to start taking orders is an iPad, iPhone, or an Android device of similar nature.

Currently, it is the least expensive option on the US market, and is also the easiest to setup. This is the perfect POS system for your small food truck business.

Simple and Straightforward Pricing

Square has a very simple and affordable pricing, and namely:

• No monthly fee plus free software.
• 2.75% flat-rate payment processing with no minimums. you only pay for what they use.
• Free magstripe card reader so you can start accepting payments right away.
• Additional readers are $10.

Minimal hardware requirements: an iPhone, Android smartphone, or ideally an iPad.

Optionally, you can buy chip readers at $49 each, several types of receipt printers that $300 or $400. The list goes on with different iPad stands for $119 or $129.

I personally would go for a full POS hardware kit including an iPad mini, stand, receipt printer, and contactless card reader for $1,055.

Important Features

Square includes all the major features a food truck business may need. It allows you to take orders and payments at your window, in-line, or online.

The system is also flexible enough to create custom menu items, set taxing and tipping options, and customize receipts.

If your deli truck ever loses connection to the almighty Internet, you should worry not, because Square can also take payments offline.

By using Square POS, you also have access to a wide variety of extra features and add-on like loyalty programs, email marketing, and payroll management.

1. Mobility and Payment Processing

As your food truck can and should move from place to place, Square is a completely mobile POS Solution. In general, you need an internet connection to operate the POS but, like I said above, Square can still process card swipe payments with no internet connection.

You can also connect receipt and ticket printers via Bluetooth which is a huge plus given the limited space in the truck.

2. Square Can Manage Menu Items and Inventory with Astounding Ease

Speaking of order management, I must mention here that Square is a basic POS that is not food truck or restaurant-specific, so you should manually enter each menu item and any modifiers as individual products.

Reports show how much of each item has been sold, but there is no connection between what products have been sold and inventory stock levels. This is one of the few limitations that this POS has.

Unsurpassed Analytics

Square has a great analytics dashboard that records detailed sales data and presents it in the form of easy-to-digest graphs and charts.

In real-time, you can see what menu items are selling best, get some valuable customers insights, and much more. In this way the system can really help your food truck business take off.

Square Is So Likable!

Overall, Square has generated hundreds of thousands of positive reviews across the vast online space. Some of those that I could read were truly endearing.

The majority of Square users seem to agree that this is a really practical and easy to use point-of-sale system for small and medium food truck businesses.

Users just love the fact that it is free to use, and you can add additional features like payroll and marketing when you need them.  

Getting Started with Square Is As Easy As Pie

To wrap it up, Square is our top choice for food truck point-of-sale software because it is free, easy to use, and comes with a free magstripe card reader.

As soon as you install it, you can start taking orders and processing payments with minimal setup or upfront investments. In this way you can focus on how you can best serve your hungry customers.

As You Grow, You May Want To Get Out of The Square

Like I said, Square is a great all-in-one solution for small and medium food truck businesses. However, as your business grows from a single food truck to a whole fleet of them across the USA, you may start frowning at Square’s slightly higher payment processing rates, especially if compared to that of third-party providers such as Cayan.

What I mean is that larger food truck businesses that have very high sales volumes might want to consider an option with a monthly software fee but more agreeable transaction processing rates.

Final Words on Square As The Best Software For Your Food Truck Business

As a food establishment on wheels, you have a unique set of POS needs related to taking payments, collecting tax, and connecting with your customers.

If you’re a food truck operator, and you aren’t using Square yet, I can safely predict that your life is about to get much easier once you have it installed!