Free POS System for Restaurants and Cafes: What You Get

What a free POS means in Ritapos

When you open a cafe or a lokanta, or you are unhappy with the system you already use, the search is often "free POS". That phrase points to two products: the fiscal cash register that takes the payment, and the software that runs the order. Ritapos is the second. It is cloud software that lets you run orders, kitchen, tables and close-out from one place in a cafe, bar, lokanta or restaurant. We explain why the POS device and the POS software are separate topics in what a POS system is. If you want to go deeper, that article is worth reading.

You could say free use in Ritapos has two steps. For the first 14 days after you sign up, you can try every Ritapos feature on your own menu with no order cap. We do not ask for a credit card at this stage, so you try Ritapos at your own pace with no commitment. When those 14 days end, you continue free at up to 20 orders a day. Follow the links to see our prices if you want a license, or to see how you can earn license time without paying.

How the 14-day trial works

Sign up on the web at app.ritapos.com, or through our iOS or Android app. We do not ask for a credit card at this stage, and there is no limit during the trial. You open a table, add products and the orders go to the kitchen. You can put your free QR menu on the table. If you have a cash register, you can connect it and send orders straight to the device. Our technical support team will help you through the whole setup.

When the 14 days end, your account is not deleted. You drop to the free plan; the menu, tables and order history stay as they are. Whenever you want, you can pay and run without a limit. A seasonal venue can use a Pro license in peak months and return to the free plan in winter. If a sudden rush hits, you can tap buy in the app and load a license at once. None of these steps asks for a commitment.

Who 20 orders a day is enough for

We think twenty sounds small, but it is enough for a small venue. Twenty is guest checks, not items. A cafe that serves three coffees in the morning and five plates at lunch may not reach twenty orders in a day. Especially in a new opening, a quiet winter cafe or the closed months of a beach venue, that number will be enough on most days.

Of course, if you go past 20 every Friday and Saturday, Pro is the right move. Twenty orders can be enough in a small coffee shop, but in a large lokanta with evening service that limit will of course be a problem.

On the free plan you keep order and kitchen, stock, basic reports, QR menu, delivery integrations and cash-register integrations. Users and tables are not capped. Waiter and owner apps download free from the App Store and Google Play. You do not need a separate QR-menu product, and you do not pay extra for it. Once Ritapos is set up, your free QR menu is ready too. You only choose the theme, colors and styles you want.

Basic reporting, courier management and metered e-invoice/e-receipt are also included in the free plan. Compare plans on the free plan and pricing pages.

Cash-register integration stays on the free plan

Sending the order from Ritapos to the cash register over the integration, so the fiscal slip can be issued, is a legal requirement. That feature is included on Ritapos's free plan, so you can take payment through any POS device Ritapos integrates with. Integration stays on the free plan; you do not pay an extra license fee.

A waiter opens the check in Ritapos, the amount goes to the device over the integration, the slip prints there, the order closes in Ritapos, and you do not pay extra for that. If you want to know how the POS device is used, the daily steps are in how to use a POS device. If you want to read about the integration required by the rules, see what cash-register integration is.

Ritapos integrates with POS devices such as Inpos, PAX, Ingenico, Pavo and Paycell. You can talk to Ritapos support to pick the device and integration type that fits. The difference between tableside payment and a fixed counter device, using the Inpos m530 as an example, is on the Inpos integrated POS page. If you do not have a device yet you can order online from our shop. If you already have another POS brand, you probably do not have to replace it. The brands we integrate with are on the cash-register integrations page.

Setup of the first device that will integrate with Ritapos is free. Later devices have a one-time setup fee. You do not pay Ritapos a monthly integration license for this. The device brands' own integration charges sit outside that pricing.

If 20 orders are not enough

If 20 orders are not enough, you need to extend the license at the rates on the pricing page. For the software and hardware you will need, we suggest the POS solutions page.

On top of that, if a friend also buys a license, you receive the same duration as a gift. You can find the detail on the free plan page and on why not use Ritapos for free. For the step-by-step, see the earn license time by referring lesson.

To start, sign up.