Restaurant Point of Sale Setup

Retail & Point of Sale
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Topic summary

A user is attempting to set up Shopify POS for a restaurant but cannot find essential restaurant features: table management and automatic service charge (tip) addition as a percentage on food items.

Core Issue:
Shopify POS is primarily designed for retail, not hospitality, and lacks native restaurant-specific functionality.

Table Management:

  • No built-in table management exists
  • Available third-party apps have poor reviews (1-star)
  • Workaround: Create table numbers as products/variants with custom order notes (suitable only for small operations)

Automatic Service Charges:

  • Not natively supported
  • Manual addition at checkout is possible but inefficient
  • Some apps exist (e.g., Surcharge & Checkout Fees) but are designed for online orders, not POS

Recommendation:
Shopify POS works well for quick-service restaurants, cafes, and takeout but is inadequate for full-service dining. For dine-in operations requiring table management and automatic service charges, restaurant-specific systems like Toast, Square for Restaurants, or Lightspeed POS are better suited. A hybrid approach is possible: use restaurant POS for in-house dining while maintaining Shopify for online orders and merchandise.

Status: The discussion remains open with no definitive solution within Shopify’s native capabilities.

Summarized with AI on November 1. AI used: claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929.
1

I’m setting up a shopify point of sales for a restaurant and I can’t find any of the basic core features a restaurant.

How can I?

  1. Manage Tables

  2. Automatically add Service charge (tip) as percentage to all food items sold through POS (say 5%)

I imagine there would be apps for this, but the only one for tables has 1 star review. There is no info on their documentation on this as far as I can see. Is Shopify POS not up to the task for these essential or I need a third POS system?

2

Hi @TheRawTemple

I understand you’re setting up Shopify POS for your restaurant and running into some key missing features, which makes total sense because Shopify POS is primarily built for retail, not hospitality. Managing tables and automatically adding a service charge are standard restaurant POS functions, but Shopify POS doesn’t have them built-in.

Solutions to Your Questions:#### 1. Managing Tables in Shopify POS

Shopify POS doesn’t have native table management, but there are workarounds:

  • Use a Third-Party App – Unfortunately, as you noticed, the only dedicated app for table management on the Shopify App Store has poor reviews. That’s because Shopify isn’t really designed for full-service restaurants.
  • Alternative Workaround: You can create “table numbers” as products or variants and use custom order notes to track table assignments. It’s not ideal but works if you’re running a small setup.
  • Best Alternative? If table management is a must-have, you might need a hybrid solution—Shopify for online orders and a separate restaurant POS for in-house dining.

2. Automatically Adding a Service Charge (Tip)

Shopify POS doesn’t support automatic service charges natively, but here’s how you can handle it:

  • Option 1: Use a Custom Product for Service Charges
  • Manually add a “Service Charge” product at checkout.
  • Set it as a percentage-based variant (e.g., 5% of the total).
  • This is manual but keeps things within Shopify.- Option 2: Use a POS-Specific App
  • Some apps allow for auto-added fees, but most are built for retail, not restaurants.
  • Apps like Surcharge & Checkout Fees can be used for online orders but aren’t seamless on POS.- Option 3: Use a Different POS System
  • If automatic service charge and table management are dealbreakers, consider using Toast, Square for Restaurants, or Lightspeed POS for your in-person transactions.
  • You can still sync sales data with Shopify for online orders.

Is Shopify POS Right for Restaurants?

If your business is primarily dine-in, Shopify POS might not be the best fit. It’s great for quick-service restaurants, cafes, and takeout orders, but lacks core restaurant functions like table mapping, automatic service charges, and split bills.

For full-service restaurants, a restaurant-specific POS like Square for Restaurants, Lightspeed, or Toast will serve you better. You can still use Shopify for online orders, gift cards, and merchandise.

If you need any other assistance, feel free to reply and I will try my best to help.
Best regards,
Daisy