Choose around a real service
A small café can have several different workflows: takeaway coffees at the counter, food sent to the kitchen and guests who order again at their table. Write down what happens in your venue before comparing feature lists. A useful demo should show those everyday tasks, including the moments when an order changes.
This guide uses POSMENTOR workflows as examples. It is a practical checklist, not a claim that one system suits every café. For software prices and a budget worksheet, use our UK café POS cost guide.
1. Map the way you take orders
List whether you need takeaway, table service, delivery or a combination. Note who takes the order, when the customer pays and who prepares the food. For table service, check how staff return to an open table and add another round. For takeaway, check how an unpaid order is found again.
In POSMENTOR, table sessions keep service together, while unpaid takeaway and delivery orders remain available in the operations hub. Ask to see the flow that matches your café rather than assuming that every service mode works the same way.
2. Try your actual drinks and food options
Bring a short sample menu to the demo. Include a drink with sizes, milk choices and an extra shot, plus a food item with an optional extra. Check how those choices appear on each order line and how easily a staff member can correct a selection before sending it.
Also ask how menu changes are maintained. The aim is to understand the setup your team will use, including any work needed to configure extras and modifiers. A polished demonstration with only plain items will not answer those questions.
See ordering and product options
3. Follow the order into the kitchen
Trace a food order from entry to preparation and then to collection or table service. Can the kitchen see the selected extras and preparation notes? How does the front-of-house team know the order is ready? Decide whether a kitchen screen, printer or a combination fits your space.
POSMENTOR connects kitchen preparation to a service / dispatch view. Ask the demonstrator to move a sample ticket through that flow so you can assess the handover, not just the appearance of the screen.
Explore kitchen and dispatch displays
4. Confirm your equipment and connection needs
Write down the models of your existing computer or tablet, receipt printer and card terminal. Ask for compatibility confirmation before budgeting on reusing them. Browser access alone does not confirm that a particular printer or payment terminal will work.
POSMENTOR runs in a web browser; compatible network ESC/POS printing uses Ax Bridge. Card-terminal availability depends on your configuration. Live web ordering and kitchen workflows require connectivity. The separate desktop version’s cached-reading capabilities are not a promise of offline ordering or payments.
Ask what your team should do during a connection or terminal problem, and which support channels and hours are included in your agreement. Confirm these arrangements before opening day.
5. Separate essential features from later additions
Choose the lowest plan that meets your confirmed requirements, then check the complete cost and limits. These POSMENTOR starting points reflect the feature groups verified for the current site; they are not a substitute for confirming your setup.
| Your requirement | Plan to review | What to verify |
|---|---|---|
| Orders, kitchen and reporting | Core | Service modes, devices, printers and payment setup. |
| Also a website and QR menu | Restaurant | Domain costs, website configuration and any online payment gateway. |
| Also stock, recipes or member rewards | POS Pro | Ingredient units and prices, recipe setup and loyalty rules. |
| Also branches, campaigns or aXi | Pro Enterprise | Which capabilities you need and the applicable account limits. |
Inventory only becomes useful when recipes and ingredient data are configured. For example, a latte recipe can link coffee beans and milk to stock consumption, but incomplete recipes or prices cannot give a reliable full cost. Include that setup effort in your decision.
List separate subscriptions you already pay for, such as a website, QR menu or loyalty tool. Compare their functions with your chosen plan before cancelling anything. Payment processing and domain charges remain separate considerations.
Use the plan finder and budget calculator · Compare all plans
6. Use this short demo script
- Enter a takeaway drink with a size, milk choice and an extra shot.
- Add food with a preparation note and follow it to the kitchen.
- Hold an unpaid order, then find and resume it.
- If you offer table service, add another item to an existing table and review the available bill-splitting options.
- Show a ready order in the service / dispatch view.
- Review a completed sample order and its payment information in reporting.
- Confirm which staff roles may discount, cancel or refund, and how the team handles mistakes.
Use a demonstration account and simulated payments when exploring these steps. Ask the team to explain any action that needs a specific device or configuration rather than testing it against live customer orders.
Before you make the decision
Record what was demonstrated, what still needs confirmation and the complete cost. Include VAT treatment, hardware, setup, payment fees, venue/device limits, support and cancellation terms. Unanswered questions should remain open items, not assumptions that a service is included or free.
Bring your sample menu and equipment list to a POSMENTOR demo. For the next step, review the café workflows alongside the cost guide.