To the customer
Order A-318 is confirmed.
Thank you, James. We will deliver to Riverside Court, unit 12. Use the link below to see your order.
Takeaways
EPOS software for takeaways: counter, phone and online orders in one (POS)
GetMenu is EPOS software for takeaway shops. Counter sales, phone orders and online orders show on one POS screen, on an iPad, iPhone or Android device with a cash drawer and printers. Customers order delivery or collection on your own page, with no commission. From the POS, you send each delivery to your drivers on WhatsApp.
Why takeaways are different
A takeaway EPOS system has to do more than a restaurant one
An EPOS system for takeaway shops has to keep the queue moving, answer the phone, send each order to the kitchen and handle delivery and collection, all at the same time. In a sit-down restaurant a table can wait a minute, but a takeaway counter on a Friday night cannot.
On a busy night, the person at the counter is taking money, the phone keeps ringing and online orders keep arriving. If the counter, the phone orders and the online orders each live in a different place, someone copies orders by hand. Prices stop matching, a dish sells out on one screen but not the other, and the day's sales never quite add up.
GetMenu keeps it in one place. Counter sales, phone orders and orders from your own page show on one POS screen and reach the kitchen as one ticket. Every order takes its number from one list, and your dashboard adds up all your sales together.
The counter
Takeaway POS system for the counter: quick sales for a queue
GetMenu's POS is built for a counter with a queue. The cashier taps the dishes, picks any choice the dish asks for, such as a size or "no mayo", and takes the payment in cash or on your card machine.
You can drag your busiest dishes onto the first tab, so the cashier does not have to search for them. If a customer is not ready to pay, the cashier can put the sale aside and serve the next person. Every cashier has a four-digit PIN of their own.
When the phone rings, the cashier types the order in at the same POS, for collection or delivery. A phone order goes to the kitchen like any other sale.
The POS prints a ticket for each kitchen station, and you choose whether it prints before or after the receipt, so the cooks can start while the customer pays. Special requests are printed in bold on the kitchen ticket. If the customer gives their phone number, the receipt can go to their WhatsApp.
KITCHEN
A-57
Counter18:52
1 × Chicken burger
No mayo
2 × ChipsLarge
1 × Chicken wrap
Extra garlic sauce
Printed before the receipt, so the kitchen starts while the customer pays.
Online ordering
Online takeaway ordering with no commission
GetMenu's online takeaway ordering system is your own ordering page, and you pay no commission on the orders it takes. It opens at your own web address, such as yourtakeaway.getmenu.ae, and customers need no app.
At checkout, customers choose delivery or collection. For delivery, they choose their building or area from your list, type a unit number and, if they want, share their location. Every building or area carries its own delivery fee, and you can add a minimum order and free delivery over an amount you choose. For collection, there is no address and no delivery fee. Customers pay in cash or on the card machine when they get the food.
Every online order shows on the POS screen beside your counter sales, and the kitchen gets the same ticket. Every price is checked again on the server, so nobody can change a price from their phone. Your receipt can carry a QR code that opens the page, so a walk-in customer can order online next time.
Delivery and collection
Delivery and collection: the driver gets the address on WhatsApp
An EPOS system for takeaway delivery has to get the address to the driver without a phone call. With GetMenu, your drivers get it in your riders' WhatsApp group the moment a delivery order is placed. The ticket shows the building, the unit number, the customer's phone number and whether to collect cash or take the card machine, with the amount. A map link is added when the customer shares their location.
The cashier sends each delivery to a driver from the POS, and the driver gets the job on WhatsApp. A phone order for delivery is typed in at the POS, with the building picked from your list, and goes to your drivers the same way. After the handover, one tap on the link in the ticket marks the order delivered.
A collection order goes to the customer and the kitchen, but not to your drivers. The ticket says collection, so your team has it ready at the counter. Your managers' group gets every order, and the customer gets a confirmation from your takeaway's own WhatsApp number.
Managers' group
NEW ORDER A-318
1 × Chicken wrap (no onions) · 2 × Chips · 1 × Cola · Riverside Court, unit 12 · map link
Riders' group
DELIVERY A-318
Riverside Court, unit 12. Map link and customer phone on the ticket. Collect cash on delivery.
Sent from your own WhatsApp number
Hardware
Takeaway POS hardware: tablets, drawers, printers
The GetMenu POS runs on an iPad or iPhone, from the App Store, and on Android phones, tablets and POS terminals such as Sunmi and iMin. The tablet you need may already be in the shop.
The cash drawer is wired to the receipt printer, and it opens when a customer pays in cash. Printers can be USB (on the LAN), network, Bluetooth or built-in. Each kitchen station can have its own printer, so the grill and the drinks each get their own ticket.
If the internet drops, the POS keeps selling. Each sale is kept on the device and sent once, never twice, when the connection comes back. A tablet or phone in the kitchen becomes the kitchen screen, with a colour on each order for how long it has waited. There is no limit on devices, because the POS is a yearly add-on with one price for the whole takeaway.
Stock
Takeaway stock control: one menu and one stock list for counter and online
GetMenu keeps one stock count for counter sales, phone orders and your ordering page. If you count a dish, every sale takes it down, wherever it was sold, and at zero nobody can order it anywhere.
The online checkout refuses a sold-out dish at once, and the menu shows it as sold out. A cancelled order puts its portions back. The counter and the page also share one menu. Edit a price in your dashboard and the ordering page has it straight away, while every POS picks it up within a minute.
On the orders board, counter sales appear beside online orders with a note that they were paid at the POS. At closing, the cashier counts the drawer note by note, and the screen compares the count with what the drawer should hold. If you type in your card machine's end-of-day total, the Z report shows it beside the card sales the POS took. Then the Z report is sent to your managers' WhatsApp group and the owner's email.
Setting it up
What you set up to run your takeaway on GetMenu
Add the POS
Save a card, then switch on the yearly POS add-on. While your free trial runs, every POS screen is already open, so you can set it all up before you pay.
Settings, then Plan & billing
Pair the counter and the kitchen
Add the counter device as a POS that sells and the kitchen tablet as a screen in the kitchen. Each gets a six-character code, which you type into the app on that device. Give each cashier a four-digit PIN.
Settings, then The POS
Put your best sellers first
Drag your busiest dishes onto the first tab, so the cashier finds them without searching.
Settings, then Arranging the POS
List your delivery areas
Add each building or area you deliver to, with its own delivery fee. Set your minimum order and free delivery amount under Ordering rules.
Settings, then Condominiums & delivery fees
Add your drivers
Add each driver's name and phone number, so the cashier can pick the driver for each delivery on the POS.
Settings, then Riders & dispatch groups
Connect WhatsApp
Scan the QR code from your WhatsApp phone, then pick your managers' group and your riders' group.
Settings, then WhatsApp connection & groups
Questions
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between EPOS and POS?
There is no real difference. EPOS stands for electronic point of sale, the name many UK takeaways use for the system at the counter. POS means the same thing, and it is the word GetMenu uses in its app and in your dashboard. On this page, EPOS means the GetMenu POS app on an iPad, iPhone or Android device.
What is the best POS system for a takeaway?
The best POS for takeaway work keeps the queue moving and keeps your day on one system. Look for quick counter sales, phone orders typed in on the same screen, kitchen tickets, a cash drawer that opens on cash sales, delivery and collection orders from your own page, and one stock list for all of it. GetMenu does each of these, and you can start with 15 free days.
Do I need a separate tablet for my own online orders?
No. Orders from your ordering page show on the POS screen beside your counter sales, and the kitchen gets the same ticket. They also go to your managers' WhatsApp group the moment they are placed, and they sit on the orders board in your dashboard, which opens on any phone or computer. There is no extra tablet to watch for your own web orders.
How do I take phone orders on a takeaway EPOS?
The cashier types the phone order in at the POS, with the dishes and any choices, and marks it for collection or delivery. The kitchen gets the same ticket as every other order. For delivery, the cashier picks the building from your list, adds the unit number and the customer's phone number, and sends the order to a driver on WhatsApp.
Can I charge a different delivery fee for each area?
Yes. Add each building or area you deliver to, and give each one its own flat fee. The customer picks from your list at checkout and sees the fee before they order. You can also set a minimum order, and free delivery once an order reaches an amount you choose. Fees come from your list, not from the distance.
Can my drivers see if the customer is paying cash or card?
Yes. Every delivery ticket in your riders' WhatsApp group says whether to collect cash or take the card machine, with the amount. It also shows the building, the unit number, the customer's phone number and the dishes, plus a map link if the customer shared their location. When the food is handed over, the driver marks the order delivered with one tap on the ticket's link.
Can walk-in customers collect loyalty stamps?
Yes, if you run a stamp card. The cashier adds the customer's phone number to the counter sale, and the stamp lands just as it would for an online order. The customer can keep the card in Apple Wallet or Google Wallet, where it updates itself when a stamp is added. Loyalty is part of some plans only, and the pricing page shows which.
How much does EPOS software for a takeaway cost?
Your GetMenu plan pays for the ordering page, the WhatsApp order messages and your dashboard. On top of that, the POS is a yearly add-on, priced once for the whole takeaway no matter how many devices you pair. Orders from your own page carry no commission. The pricing page shows every price in your own currency.
Keep reading
POS hardwareThe tablets, cash drawer and printers that run your counter.WhatsApp orderingWhat the customer, your managers and your drivers each get on WhatsApp.The POS guideStep-by-step answers on selling, shifts, receipts and the cash drawer.See the plans and pricesYour plan and the yearly POS add-on, shown in your own currency.
Run your counter, phone and online orders from one system
Start with 15 free days and no card. Your ordering page works from the first day, and every POS screen is open for setup. Selling at the counter needs the yearly POS add-on.