Restaurant Billing Software: 12 Things to Check Before You Choose (2026)

1. Tables and running orders

You should see every table at a glance: free, running, billed, with the amount so far and how long it has been open. Moving a party to another table, merging two tables and splitting a bill should take seconds, not a manager’s override.

2. KOT per kitchen station

A kitchen order ticket (KOT) tells the kitchen what to cook. If you have a tandoor, a Chinese counter and a bar, each item should print or display only at its own station. Re-sending a KOT should never double the order in the kitchen’s eyes.

3. A kitchen display

A screen in the kitchen replaces paper tickets that get lost or splashed. Look for tickets that change colour as they age, a total of each dish across all open tickets, and one tap to mark items ready.

4. QR ordering from the table

Guests scan a QR on the table, see the menu with photos and order from their phone. The order should land on the right table in the POS, and you should choose whether staff confirm it first or it goes straight to the kitchen.

Ask how staff find out a QR order has arrived. A screen that only changes colour is easy to miss on a busy floor; a sound and a spoken announcement — “New order from Table 5” — are not.

5. Sizes, add-ons and combos

• Half and full plates, small and large drinks.
• Add-ons with prices: extra cheese, double shot.
• Combos that price as one item but send each dish to its station.
• Happy-hour prices by time and category.

6. Staff logins and accountability

Waiters, captains and cashiers should sign in with a short PIN on a shared tablet, clock in for the day and see only what their role allows. Voids should need a reason and show in a report with the name of the person who did it.

7. Takeaway, delivery and aggregator orders

Counter tokens for takeaway, addresses for your own delivery, and a quick way to key in Swiggy and Zomato orders with the commission tracked so you know what each channel really earns. Live integrations need the aggregators’ partner approval; ask what is connected today and what is keyed in.

8. Payments and the counter

• Cash, UPI, card and split payments on one bill.
• A UPI QR on the bill for exactly the amount due.
• Counter open with a float and close with a count, so cash over and short is visible every day.

9. GST on food, done right

Standalone restaurants generally charge 5% GST and cannot claim input tax credit. Restaurants in certain hotels follow a different rate and credit rule, and outdoor catering has its own treatment. Your software should apply the rate you set per item and produce GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B figures from the bills.

If you are a small restaurant on the composition scheme, you issue a bill of supply and pay a flat 5% on turnover; the bill must not show GST.

10. Works when the internet does not

A restaurant cannot stop billing because the router restarted. Check what happens offline: does the counter keep billing and sync later? Does the waiter’s phone keep taking orders?

11. Inventory and menu costing

Even if you do not track every gram, you should see which dishes sell, which do not, and what your top items earn. Stock for bottled drinks and packaged items should go down as you bill.

12. Reports and the books

• Sales by item, category, waiter, table and channel.
• Day-end summary on WhatsApp.
• Real accounting underneath — ledger, P&L, GST — so your accountant does not rebuild it from bill printouts.