Annual revenue from cafés, restaurants, and takeaway food services in Australia in 2024 was more than $65 billion. Yet, many venues are still running operations with POS systems designed for retail stores (not hospitality venues).
What this means:
- During busy weekend service, orders start backing up because your POS can’t handle the volume.
- Kitchen staff can’t see which orders are a priority.
- Your inventory system doesn’t know you’ve run out of your signature dish until customers start complaining.
- Staff are manually writing down orders because the system has crashed.
Many hospitality businesses discover (too late) that the wrong POS system can cost them money, customers (and their sanity!).
Why Retail POS Systems Fail in Hospitality
There’s nothing wrong with retail POS systems, they’re simply built for a different kind of business, with its own set of processes and needs.
They are good at scanning items, processing payments, and then on to the next customer.
But hospitality involves complex, ongoing interactions that retail systems simply aren’t designed to handle.
For example, take table management.
Retail customers browse, decide, pay, and leave. But in hospitality, you need to track who’s seated where, how long they’ve been waiting, what stage their meal is at, any dietary requirements, and whether they’ve ordered drinks or dessert. Retail systems have no framework for that kind of flow.
Now consider the kitchen environment.
Retail systems handle one transaction at a time. Hospitality kitchens juggle multiple tables, staggered orders, and course pacing. When table 6 orders entrées, mains, and dessert, the kitchen needs to know when each course goes out (and how that syncs with other tables). Retail POS simply can’t manage that level of orchestration.
Then there’s inventory.
Retail tracks products: sell one item, subtract one unit. Hospitality needs to track ingredients. Sell a pasta dish and you reduce flour, eggs, tomatoes, and cheese (each by a specific portion). You also need that change to reflect instantly in your menu availability. Without ingredient-level tracking, you risk running out mid-service.
Essential POS Features That Will Keep Your Hospitality Venue Running
The features that matter most for hospitality operations are ones that prevent issues from occurring.
Here’s what actually matters:
- Real-time kitchen integration (no more misread tickets or missed modifiers). Orders should appear instantly on kitchen displays with clear timing and instructions.
- Ingredient-level inventory tracking (so you never have to tell a guest, “Sorry, we’re out of that” after they order).
- Smart table and service management (so servers always know who needs what, and when).
- Intuitive staff tools, because with high turnover, new team members need to be productive fast.
And then there’s payment processing, which can actually cost your business thousands of extra dollars per year if you aren’t careful.
Integration: Making Everything Work Together
Your hospitality point of sale system shouldn’t operate in isolation – it needs to seamlessly connect every part of your venue to drive efficiency in your daily operations.
When systems don’t talk to each other, you’re stuck manually re-entering data, fixing errors, and chasing your tail (which is time and energy you don’t have).
Here’s where proper integration pays off:
- Accounting: Auto-send sales data for GST and BAS reporting, with correct tax and category breakdowns.
- Online ordering: When Uber Eats or DoorDash aren’t integrated, they create kitchen chaos. Integration keeps all orders in one flow, with inventory updating across channels.
Staff scheduling: Connect sales data to rostering tools, so you schedule based on demand (not assumptions).
Why Reliability Matters (More Than Features)
The flashiest system means nothing if it fails during peak service. And for Australian hospitality venues managing complex, high-pressure operations, failure has a cost:
- 200–300% slower transaction speeds when switching to manual.
- Spike in order errors and food waste.
- Dropped customer satisfaction and staff productivity.
Research shows hospitality venues can lose $427 to $9,000 per minute during POS outages. The effects ripple too, including delayed service, staff improvising, and customers leaving.
The Hospitality Support Problem Most Vendors Overlook
Most vendors operate 9-5.
But what happens when your POS crashes during Saturday dinner?
As an Australian establishment, support needs to be:
- Available when you need it (nights, weekends, holidays).
- Run by people who understand hospitality.
- Capable of helping new staff onboard quickly, since turnover is high.
If your provider routes you to a scripted overseas call center, you’re not getting the help you need (which can cause major operational issues when POS issues arise). The H&L support team is 100% based in Australia and is available 24/7 to support urgent issues that affect trade.
H&L POS: Built for Hospitality, For Hospitality
After 34 years supporting Australian hospitality venues, H&L POS knows what really matters when it comes to Australian hospitality venues:
- 24/7 national support desk, staffed by hospitality professionals.
- Local presence in every capital city, with on-site and remote help.
- Offline mode, so even during internet outages you can keep processing orders and payments.
- 150+ certified integrations, so you’re not locked into proprietary tools.
- Comprehensive training resources, designed for fast onboarding without overwhelming your team.
This is the kind of POS built for restaurants, cafes and other hospitality venues – not retrofitted from retail.
Making the Right Choice for Your Venue
Here’s how to evaluate your next POS system:
- Ask for uptime guarantees with financial accountability.
- Test support responsiveness during off-hours.
- Check total cost of ownership: integrations, upgrades, hidden fees.
- Make sure it scales with your venue’s growth.
- Talk to venues like yours to hear what actually works.
Ready to experience POS technology built for hospitality reliability? Book a demo today and see how H&L POS helps hospitality venues (just like yours) run smoother, smarter, and stronger.