pos software company Archives - BillBerry POS

Whether you’re a newly opened cafe in Ahmedabad, a food truck in Bangalore, or a multi-outlet franchise in Mumbai, one thing is certain: you need restaurant billing software. But here’s the million-rupee question:

Should you go with a free POS system or invest in a paid billing software?

This decision isn’t just about budget. It’s about the kind of experience you want to deliver, the type of control you seek over operations, and how ready you are to scale your food business. This blog goes deep into both options, explores real software names, and helps you choose what actually works for your stage of growth. We’ll walk through technical differences, real-world examples, price breakdowns, and strategic advice based on business size, goals, and expansion plans.

What Is Free Restaurant Billing Software?

Free restaurant POS software is often marketed as a “starter tool” that covers the basics. These systems usually include:

~ Basic billing (KOT, invoice printing)

~ Order taking (mostly single terminal)

~ Minimal inventory support

~ Basic tax configuration

~ Limited reporting

They can be cloud-based or downloadable, with restrictions like limited outlets or devices. Often, these tools are designed as freemium gateways to get users into a paid ecosystem or supported by ads and data limitations.

Who Typically Uses Free Software?

~ Food trucks and kiosks

~ Small local cafes

~ Seasonal food stalls

~ Businesses testing the market or operating on tight margins

For example, a food stall in Surat using Loyverse POS on a tablet may just need simple billing and daily sales tracking. For them, this works perfectly until they start scaling, hire staff, or add delivery services.

Top Free Restaurant POS Software Examples

1. Loyverse POS

~ Cloud-based and user-friendly

~ Offers basic billing, inventory tracking, and limited sales reports

~ Great for cafes and small quick-service restaurants

~ Free for basic usage with paid add-ons for multi-user, kitchen displays, and advanced reports

Website: loyverse.com

2. Nextar POS

~ Small retail shops, electronics, grocery stores

~ Free offline POS system with simple setup

~ Ideal For: Small businesses looking for a lightweight desktop-based POS

Website: nextar.com

3. Logic POS

~ Retail chains, supermarkets, fashion stores, electronics

~ Complete ERP + POS system for large-scale retail operations

~ Ideal For: Enterprises needing billing + inventory + multi-location control

Website: logicerp.com

4. Invoay

~ Offers free POS with basic modules

~ Mobile compatible and usable in multiple sectors including salons and food businesses

~ Useful for those looking to test software before paying

Website: invoay.com

5. Square POS

~ Great UI/UX, but India support is limited

~ Best for US/UK-based restaurants

~ Handles digital payments, tipping, and simple reporting

Website: squareup.com

What Does Paid Restaurant Billing Software Offer?

Paid restaurant billing software is not just about billing, it’s about transforming your food business into a scalable, well-managed operation. These systems are built to handle complexity and provide:

~ Comprehensive inventory and raw material tracking

~ Recipe-level costing

~ Real-time GST compliance and automatic tax filing support

~ Staff management, shift logs, and user roles

~ Centralized reporting across locations

~ CRM, loyalty programs, SMS/email marketing

~ Integration with Swiggy, Zomato, UberEats, Dunzo

~ Cloud dashboards and mobile accessibility

~ Offline support

Who Should Consider Paid Billing Software?

~ Restaurants planning multi-outlet expansion

~ Cloud kitchens dealing with high order volume and multiple brands

~ Franchise models needing centralized control

~ Restaurant chains with central kitchen and warehouse logistics

~ Business owners who want analytics-driven growth

Paid Restaurant POS Software Examples

1. Billberry POS

~ Scalable for single outlets, franchises, and central kitchens

~ Real-time reporting, inventory tracking, multi-location management

~ Loyalty, CRM, integrations with online ordering and aggregator platforms

Website: billberrypos.com

2. Petpooja

~ Simple interface, extensive 3rd-party integrations

~ Very popular among QSRs, casual diners, and bakeries

Website: petpooja.com

3. GoFrugal POS

~ Strong in inventory, accounting, and enterprise controls

~ Also used in grocery and retail chains

Website: gofrugal.com

4. POSist (Restroworks)

~ Geared toward large restaurant chains

~ Role-based access, enterprise data controls, custom dashboards

Website: posist.com

5. Royal POS

~ India-focused POS with features for restaurants, cafes, and dessert shops

~ Easy billing, KOT, inventory tracking, and mobile dashboard

~ Good for growing businesses needing affordable paid software

Website: royalpos.in

Hidden Costs of Free POS: What Nobody Tells You

Free POS solutions aren’t really free when you start scaling. Here’s where many businesses get caught off guard:

1. Add-ons become mandatory: Want more than 1 device? Pay extra.

2. Data backup limitations: Some free plans don’t offer proper cloud backup.

3. Lack of support: Email-only or community-based troubleshooting.

4. Compliance issues: GST reporting or FSSAI recordkeeping may not be accurate.

5. Security concerns: Open-source tools without frequent updates are risky.

Eventually, the time you lose fixing these issues or moving to a new system becomes more expensive than simply investing in a good system from Day 1.

Real Business Use-Cases: From Free to Paid

1. Startup Cafe in Rajkot

They began with Loyverse, but within 4 months:

~ Added new staff

~ Joined Swiggy + Zomato

~ Needed kitchen display and loyalty programs

Switched to: Billberry POS for unified control, KOT & CRM

2. Cloud Kitchen in Ahmedabad

Initially chose Chromis POS because it was free and customizable. But:

~ No aggregator integration

~ Poor kitchen-level reporting

~ Zero mobile access

Switched to: GoFrugal for online + offline sync, recipe costing, and mobile dashboards

3. Biryani Franchise Chain

With 10+ outlets, free software failed to manage real-time stock and loyalty across outlets. Menu updates were chaotic.

Solution: Billberry’s Biryani POS with franchise-level control, parent-child brand hierarchy, real-time reporting

Budget Breakdown: Cost of Paid Software in India

Most paid POS software offers:

Monthly pricing: ₹1,000 to ₹3,000 per outlet

Annual pricing: ₹12,000 to ₹25,000 (with discounts)

Add-ons like CRM, integrations: extra ₹1,000-₹5,000/year depending on features

Compare that with lost revenue from errors, theft, mismanagement, or poor analytics, the ROI becomes obvious.

Make a Smart, Scalable Decision

Free software is a great starting point for ultra-small businesses. But if you’re:

~ A restaurant that runs daily

~ Planning to add staff, services, or outlets

~ Looking to grow your brand professionally

Then it’s time to go beyond free. Paid POS systems don’t just automate billing; they help you build a smarter, data-driven business.

Still undecided? Get a free demo of Billberry POS today. See how you can:

~ Manage all outlets in one place

~ Track staff, stock, and customers

~ Automate daily operations

~ Franchise Management System, KDS and centralized control

👉 Click here to book your free consultation

Safety measures at restaurants or any other business in the food industry has become mandatory after the Covid-19 pandemic.

Following social distancing guidelines and keeping people’s health in mind has become necessary for food businesses to survive in the industry.

You will be surprised to learn how the right restaurant POS software can help restaurant businesses to keep up with the new norms and provide a contactless dining experience to their customers.

Restaurant Management System – Free Demo

Contactless Dining Made Possible with Restaurant POS Software

With the coronavirus outbreak, customers started to fear touching any surface that comes in constant contact with several people.

Any surface that is often touched by a person carries more chances to spread the virus.

Dining spaces are places where people like to take extra precautions because they are more vulnerable to catching the virus in such establishments.

However, features like contactless dining with the help of a contactless ordering system or a QR code menu ordering can be considered the best solution for conquering such scenarios.

A feature-loaded restaurant management system like Billberry can help you provide the safest dining experience to your customers.

With QR code based restaurant ordering, your customers have the ability to select and order their favourite item from the digital menu.

The best part is, that customers, do not have to install any third-party application on their device.

They can simply scan the QR code available on the table and order their desired food item. The orders will be available instantly on the centralized POS system.

Benefits of a QR Code Ordering System at Restaurants

a. Less Human Intervention

Customers always prefer less human intervention when they visit a restaurant or any food business establishment.

The less human intervention also means extra spare time for your staff, which they can utilize with other activities that can grow the restaurant business like upselling and cross-selling of products.

They can also explore the POS software or a restaurant billing software used at the business to find features that they can utilize to operate more efficiently.

b. Eliminate Menu Cards

A contactless payment and ordering system that comes with the point of sale software at your restaurant not only keeps your customers safe but is also beneficial for your business.

With the help of e-menu, you have the ability to change the menu prices and edit menu items with a snap of fingers across any number of outlets of your food franchise business.

Restaurant franchise management system like Billberry is the ultimate option for the same.

c. Maintain Hygiene Standards

Personal hygiene is one of the most important factors when it comes to dining at a restaurant establishment.

Point of sale system that offers QR code food ordering system let the customers maintain hygiene standards while also enjoying their favourite food items, making them visit your restaurant more often.

Restaurant Management System – Free Demo

d. Ease of Mind Experience

With the entire digitized experience provided by the best POS software company, right from ordering the food to paying the bills, customers can obtain an ease of mind experience without worrying about getting contaminated by any deadly virus.

Providing customers with the best experience will surely increase footfall at your food business.

e. Eliminate the need to shout

With the Billberry captain app, anyone from the restaurant staff can easily take orders at any table.

The need to remember the orders and to write them down on paper is completely eliminated.

The accuracy of delivering the right order to the right table also increases by a significant margin.

Billberry restaurant management system offers QR based food ordering, fast billing, managing online orders, and several other amazing features that eventually brings growth to a restaurant business.

Tag: pos software company

Free vs Paid: Which Restaurant Billing Software Is Actually Better for Your Business?