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Restaurant Tech15 min read

Building a Modern Restaurant POS System from Scratch

Complete guide to developing a restaurant point-of-sale system with table management, inventory, and analytics.

January 29, 2024
#Restaurant#POS#Full-stack

Core Features


Order Management

  • Table layout visualization
  • Menu item selection with modifiers
  • Split bills and order splitting
  • Order status tracking (pending, cooking, ready)
  • Payment Processing

  • Multiple payment methods (cash, card, digital wallets)
  • Tip handling
  • Receipt generation
  • Refund processing
  • Inventory Management

  • Real-time stock tracking
  • Low stock alerts
  • Ingredient-level tracking
  • Supplier management
  • Tech Stack Recommendation


    // Frontend: React Native for cross-platform mobile

    // Backend: Node.js with Express or Next.js API

    // Database: PostgreSQL for relational data

    // Real-time: Socket.io for live updates

    // Payments: Stripe API

    Database Schema


    -- Tables schema

    CREATE TABLE tables (

    id SERIAL PRIMARY KEY,

    number INTEGER NOT NULL,

    capacity INTEGER,

    status TEXT DEFAULT 'available'

    );


    CREATE TABLE orders (

    id SERIAL PRIMARY KEY,

    table_id INTEGER REFERENCES tables(id),

    status TEXT DEFAULT 'pending',

    created_at TIMESTAMP DEFAULT NOW()

    );


    CREATE TABLE order_items (

    id SERIAL PRIMARY KEY,

    order_id INTEGER REFERENCES orders(id),

    menu_item_id INTEGER REFERENCES menu_items(id),

    quantity INTEGER,

    price DECIMAL(10,2),

    status TEXT DEFAULT 'pending'

    );

    Key Implementation Tips


  • **Offline Mode**: Restaurants need functioning POS during internet outages
  • **Speed**: Every second counts - optimize for sub-second transactions
  • **Kitchen Display**: Sync orders to kitchen in real-time
  • **Reporting**: Daily, weekly, monthly sales and inventory reports
  • Conclusion


    Building a restaurant POS requires understanding both technical and domain-specific challenges. Start with core ordering and expand from there.

    // Frontend: React Native for cross-platform mobile // Backend: Node.js with Express or Next.js API // Database: PostgreSQL for relational data // Real-time: Socket.io for live updates // Payments: Stripe API
    -- Tables schema CREATE TABLE tables ( id SERIAL PRIMARY KEY, number INTEGER NOT NULL, capacity INTEGER, status TEXT DEFAULT 'available' ); CREATE TABLE orders ( id SERIAL PRIMARY KEY, table_id INTEGER REFERENCES tables(id), status TEXT DEFAULT 'pending', created_at TIMESTAMP DEFAULT NOW() ); CREATE TABLE order_items ( id SERIAL PRIMARY KEY, order_id INTEGER REFERENCES orders(id), menu_item_id INTEGER REFERENCES menu_items(id), quantity INTEGER, price DECIMAL(10,2), status TEXT DEFAULT 'pending' );

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