A full-service restaurant needed a POS system that matched how they actually operate. Square didn't.
A 140-seat full-service restaurant was running on Square, fighting its limitations every service. Fixed table numbers, multi-course timing coordination, split bills by seat, and the kitchen display workflow they needed — none of it supported correctly by the off-the-shelf POS. A custom system replaced Square for table service, with Square retained for their to-go counter.
A full-service restaurant was manually working around a POS that wasn't designed for their service model — using paper chits for multi-course timing and handling split checks with staff workarounds that slowed service.
The restaurant was a 140-seat Italian dining room with a prix fixe format — customers chose from a 4-course menu, with courses sent from the kitchen in sequence. The timing coordination between front-of-house and the kitchen was the core operational challenge: a table's second course shouldn't leave the kitchen until the entire table had finished the first course, and tables with dietary modifications needed their modifications tracked through all four courses.
Square's POS was designed for transactional retail and casual dining. The failure modes in this restaurant's context: no floor plan view (servers needed to see the full dining room status to coordinate section coverage and course timing); no course sequencing in the order entry (courses were entered as line items with no timing relationship); no table-level status tracking (there was no way to see at a glance which tables were on which course); and split billing was a manual override that required manager involvement.
The paper chit system they were using alongside Square: each table had a paper order ticket on the kitchen pass with the courses marked off as they were sent. Workable for 80 seats; chaotic for 140 seats with 3 sections and 6 servers.
A custom web-based POS for table service — floor plan view, course-by-course ordering, kitchen display integration, and split-by-seat billing — integrated with Square's payment terminal hardware.
Interactive floor plan
A configurable floor plan view with table numbers, seating capacity, current table status (open, seated, course 1, course 2, course 3, course 4, billing), and time-at-table indicators. The server's view of the entire dining room on an iPad.
Course-sequencing order entry
Order entry by course, with each course as a separate order object. Course progression logic: course 2 is not shown on the kitchen display until the server marks course 1 as finished. Dietary modifications tracked per guest per course.
Kitchen display system
A kitchen-facing display (a wall-mounted tablet at the kitchen pass) showing orders by table and course. New course orders appear when the server triggers them. Modification highlighting for the modifications that require kitchen attention.
Split billing by seat
The bill at any table can be split by seat — each guest's items and the shared items are allocated by the server, and each split produces a separate Square payment transaction (using the Square Terminal API for hardware payment processing).
Square Terminal integration
Square Terminal hardware for card payments at the table. The custom POS sends payment requests to the Square Terminal via the Square Terminal API; Square handles the actual payment processing and returns the transaction confirmation to the POS.
One honest number to start.
Fixed-scope, fixed-price. The number below is the starting point — final scope is built from your brief.
A custom web-based POS for table service — floor plan view, course-by-course ordering, kitchen display integration, and split-by-seat billing — integrated with Square's payment terminal hardware.
Three steps, every time.
The same repeatable engagement on every project. No surprises, no mystery, no billable ambiguity.
Brief & discovery.
We send you questions, then get on a call. Output: a written scope with every step, feature, and integration listed.
Build & ship.
Fixed schedule, weekly reviews. No scope creep unless you change the scope — and if you do, we reprice it transparently.
Warranty & retainer.
30-day warranty on every launch. Most clients stay on a monthly retainer for ongoing features and maintenance.
Why Fixed-Price Matters Here
The scope was defined by the existing paper workflow. Fixed price.
Related engagements.
Third-party delivery apps take 30%. A custom ordering system takes zero.
Read more02Small businesses that have outgrown off-the-shelf software deserve custom solutions too.
Read more03Spreadsheets are the universal business process tool. They're also the first sign of a process that needs software.
Read moreQuestions, answered.
Square Terminal hardware (the card reader) is reliable, widely supported, and handles PCI compliance for card processing. The problem wasn't the payment terminal — it was the order management software. The architecture separates the two: the custom POS for order management, Square Terminal API for payment processing. Square's payment infrastructure is retained; Square's inadequate restaurant POS is replaced.
The restaurant has a standard floor plan and 3 alternative configurations for private events, bar service nights, and patio service. Each configuration is saved and can be activated by the manager before service. No developer involvement needed to switch floor plans.
The POS runs as a web application on iPad (primary server device) and a larger tablet at the kitchen pass. Web-based deployment means any device with a modern browser can be added to the floor — no app store installs required for new tablets.
$36,000 for the full table-service POS with floor plan, course sequencing, kitchen display, split billing, and Square Terminal integration. 11 weeks.
In the first full month post-launch: course timing errors (a course sent to the wrong table, or a course sent before the table was ready) reduced from 14/month to 1. Split check processing time reduced from 8 minutes average to 2 minutes. Server overtime during close (previously spent reconciling chits) eliminated.
Tell Ryel about your project.
Describe what you’re building and what outcome you need. You’ll have a written, fixed-price scope within the week.