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The 5 Best POS Systems for Restaurants in the UAE

In a fast-paced hospitality market like the UAE, your POS (Point of Sale) system is not just a tool for taking payments. It’s the backbone of operations—inventory, reporting, staff management, customer experience, and even compliance. Choosing the right POS can save you headaches (and money) in operations, legal issues, and scaling. Choose wrong, and you’ll be paying in extra work, inefficiency, or lost opportunities.

Why the POS Matters

– Operations efficiency: Faster billing, accurate inventory tracking, less errors.
– Real-time data & reporting: Helps you see what’s selling, what’s not, where costs are leaking.
– Multiple revenue channels: Dine-in, takeaway, delivery, preorders. Unified tracking helps avoid confusion.
– Regulatory compliance & tax / VAT: Invoices, VAT reporting, keeping logs, etc.
– Staff / Table management: Shift scheduling, waiter assignments, table tracking—especially for dine-in.
– Customer experience: Digital receipts, split bills, loyalty programs, faster order modifications.
– Scalability: Being able to use one POS in multiple branches, central kitchen etc.
– AI / Smart innovations: Future-proofing with a vendor that is on the forefront of technology.

What to Look for When Choosing one of the Best POS Systems

Feature Why It’s Important
Cloud vs Offline Mode UAE has excellent internet in many places but outages, offline resilience avoids losses.
Local Support & Service Being local means faster service, quicker resolution of issues.
Multilingual & Localisation Arabic + English support, local tax laws, local invoice/legal formats.
Hardware Flexibility Tablets / iPads, mobile POS, kitchen display screens etc.
Inventory & Food Cost Control To monitor waste, manage food-versus-sales margins.
Reporting / Analytics KPI dashboards, trend analysis, performance by item or shift.
Integration with Delivery / Ordering Apps Key given delivery growth.
Add-ons & Modules Loyalty, reservations, CRM, loyalty programs, loyalty integrations.
Total Cost of Ownership Monthly subscription + hardware + support + transaction fees + upgrades.

Best POS Systems for Restaurants in UAE

Best POS Systems in the UAE: The Top 5 Shortlist, Pros & Cons, Pricing

Foodics

  • One of the most popular, local cloud-based POS & management systems.
  • Pros: Local support, modular add-ons, real-time dashboards, scalable.
  • Cons: Costly add-ons, features locked to tiers, network dependency.
  • Pricing: Starts at AED 229/month; Advanced up to AED 765+/month.

Lightspeed POS

  • International POS used by restaurants & cafés with strong integrations.
  • Pros: Inventory control, flexible hardware, offline mode.
  • Cons: Higher cost, advanced features in upper tiers.
  • Pricing: Starts ~$89/month; higher tiers ~$149-289+.

TouchBistro

  • Restaurant-specific POS with excellent table and guest management.
  • Pros: Strong dine-in flows, loyalty tools, restaurant-focused reports.
  • Cons: Weaker delivery features, support costs may vary.
  • Pricing: Custom quotes based on devices and usage.

SISGAIN POS

  • Intuitive, customisable POS entering the UAE market.
  • Pros: Feature-rich, user-friendly.
  • Cons: Less known, training may be needed.
  • Pricing: Custom; likely mid-tier.

SAPAAD

  • Dubai-born, strong local presence, tailored to the UAE market
  • Pros: Cloud-based, affordable for small to medium-sized restaurants, real-time inventory tracking, delivery integration, user-friendly interface.
  • Cons: Limited customization for large enterprise use, support may be slower during peak times
  • Pricing: Starts around AED 250/month depending on features and outlet size.

What’s Best Depends on Your Type of Restaurant

Restaurant Type Best POS Fit Things to Watch Out For
Small café / single outlet Foodics Starter, Lightspeed basic Hardware cost, make sure features included
Multi-location QSR / delivery Foodics Advanced / Sapaad / Lightspeed Support fees, integrations
Fine Dining TouchBistro, Lightspeed Plus Guest experience & kitchen display
Cloud Kitchen SDS POS with delivery support Offline mode, dashboards, cost tools

Typical Costs & Hidden Fees to Watch

– Monthly subscription vs annual payment
– Hardware (printers, tablets, screens)
– Card payment transaction fees
– VAT compliance
– Training / support charges
– Upgrade or feature expansion fees

Final Takeaways

– Always request a demo using your real menu & volumes.
– Pick systems that grow with your business.
– Local support is key in UAE for compliance & speed.
– The right POS helps operations and improves profit.

Need Help to find the best POS systems for your Restaurant?

At Zeora Hospitality, we’ve helped launch and scale over a dozen successful restaurants. We know the system inside-out and can guide you from concept to compliance – without guesswork.

👉 Click here to Book a free consultation with our team to review your setup, menu, and operations.

 

Zeora Hospitality

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