Point of sale (POS)

The system that takes orders and payments in a revenue outlet: a restaurant, bar, spa, shop, kiosk or activity desk.

A POS handles menus and products, order entry, modifiers and discounts, kitchen and bar tickets, payment, and outlet reporting. In hospitality the thing that matters is not the POS itself but how it talks to the PMS.

Integrated POS. A charge taken in the restaurant posts to the guest's folio or to a house account in the PMS, so it appears on the room bill and in one revenue report. Staff do not re-key anything and reception can see what was charged to a room before check-out.

Standalone POS. Outlet sales live in a separate system. Room charges are reconciled by hand, revenue has to be combined from two sources, and missed postings are a routine loss.

Historically hotels bought POS separately from the PMS. That is changing: Mews, Shiji, Agilysys, Oracle and now Cloudbeds all sell POS alongside the PMS, on the argument that one vendor removes the integration problem. The trade-off is the usual one. A native POS posts cleanly to the folio; a specialist POS usually handles a complex kitchen better.

When evaluating either, ask how charges post, whether the POS works with no connection, and whether your card terminals are supported in your country.