Tablet POS: cheaper, until it is not

A tablet on a stand at the counter looks like the obvious till for a modern venue. It costs a fraction of a traditional terminal, it is familiar to every member of staff, it can be carried to the table, and if it breaks, a replacement is in the shop down the road. For many venues, a tablet POS is exactly the right choice.

But tablets were not designed for hospitality. They were designed for sofas, offices and commutes. In a kitchen doorway, behind a bar or in a server's apron on a busy Saturday, they meet heat, grease, spills, drops and twelve-hour days, and some of them do not last. A tablet POS is cheaper up front; whether it is cheaper over three years depends on how it is chosen, protected and replaced.

This guide covers what a tablet POS saves, what it really costs over its life, where tablets fail first, and how to make them last. Every figure in it is an example, and prices vary widely by market and model.

A tablet POS is a point of sale that runs on a general-purpose tablet, such as an iPad or an Android tablet, rather than on a dedicated terminal built for retail and hospitality. The software runs as an app or in a web browser, and the tablet connects to the venue's network, a card terminal and sometimes a printer or a cash drawer.

The same software can usually run on several kinds of device: a tablet on a stand at the counter, a smaller handheld for servers, a screen in the kitchen and a phone for the manager. That flexibility is one of the main attractions.

Wikipedia's overview of the tablet computer covers the devices themselves; this guide is about using them as tills.

The first saving is the hardware price. A good tablet costs far less than many dedicated POS terminals, and venues that already own tablets may not need to buy anything new. A small café can often start with a tablet, a stand and a card terminal for a modest outlay.

The second is flexibility. Tablets can be moved, added and replaced easily. A venue that opens a terrace for the summer can add a tablet for it; a server can carry one to the table for pay at table or taking orders.

The third is familiarity. Most staff already know how to use a tablet, so training is quicker, and the touch-screen layout of modern POS software feels natural to them. Those savings are real, and for many venues they are decisive.

The full cost of a tablet POS includes more than the tablet. Over three years, a typical setup might include:

Spread over three years, the hardware price is often a small part of the total. The surprises usually come from replacements, accessories and the cost of a tablet failing in the middle of a busy service.

A tablet used at home may last many years. A tablet used as a till in a busy venue lives a much harder life: on all day, charged and discharged constantly, handled by many people, exposed to steam, grease and spills, and dropped more often than anyone admits.

In that environment, device lifespan is often shorter than the manufacturer's estimate. Batteries degrade faster with constant charging and heat. Charging ports wear from repeated plugging in. Screens crack from drops. Software updates eventually stop for older models, and the POS software may stop supporting them.

Budget for it. Rather than assuming a tablet will last as long as a dedicated terminal, plan to replace some of your tablets every few years, and keep a spare so a failure never stops service.

Tablets tend to fail in the same places, in roughly the same order.

The battery and charging are usually first. A tablet that held a charge all day when new may struggle through a long service after a year or two, and a worn charging port can stop it charging at all. Screens come next: a single drop onto a tiled floor can crack one, and a cracked screen can stop responding to touch.

Handheld hardware carried by servers takes the most punishment, because it is dropped, knocked and left on wet surfaces. Tablets fixed to stands at the counter usually last longer, because they move less.

Software problems are the quieter failure: an update that changes something the POS relies on, or an older tablet that can no longer run the latest version of the app or browser.

The most expensive moment in a tablet POS's life is not the purchase but the failure. A tablet that freezes, will not charge or cracks at eight o'clock on a Saturday stops a server or a till from taking orders at the moment the venue is busiest.

The cost is not just the device. It is the orders delayed, the guests waiting, the server running to another till, and the minutes the manager spends finding a fix. A spare tablet, charged and ready, turns that crisis into a two-minute swap.

Plan for failure as if it is certain, because over three years it is. A spare device, a charger at every station and a simple paper fallback for the rare night when everything goes wrong cost far less than one bad service.

Most tablet failures can be prevented, or at least delayed, with the right protection. A case built for hospitality, with raised edges, a strong frame and protection for the ports, survives drops that would crack a consumer cover. A screen protector saves the screen from scratches and some impacts.

Stands that hold the tablet securely at the counter, out of the way of spills, protect it from the most common accidents. Handheld tablets benefit from a strap or a grip, so servers can hold them securely while carrying plates.

Keep tablets away from the hottest and wettest parts of the venue where possible. A tablet mounted beside the grill or above the dishwasher will fail sooner than one at the front of house.

Charging causes more tablet problems than almost anything else. Tablets that are not charged overnight run out during service. Chargers that are borrowed and not returned leave stations without power. Cables that are pulled at an angle wear out ports.

Give every tablet a fixed charging place, ideally one where it charges while it is in use at the counter. For handheld tablets, a charging station where they are returned at the end of each shift keeps them ready for the next. Buy chargers and cables in spares, because they will go missing.

Avoid letting batteries run completely flat or sit fully charged and hot for long periods, both of which shorten battery life. A little care with charging adds noticeably to device lifespan.

The iPad till is the best-known form of tablet POS, and it has real advantages: a well-known, reliable device, a long period of software support and staff who already know it. It also tends to cost more than many Android tablets, and its accessories and repairs can be expensive.

Android tablets offer more choice at more price points, including rugged models built for workplaces, with stronger cases, replaceable batteries and better resistance to drops and spills. Some cost more than consumer tablets but last longer in hard conditions.

Choose by your conditions, not by habit. A quiet café counter may suit a standard tablet well; a busy bar with constant spills may be worth a rugged model. Check that your POS software supports the devices you choose, and for how long.

Many venues use handheld hardware, a small tablet or a phone-sized device, so servers can take orders and payments at the table. Handhelds can save a great deal of walking, and they let servers send orders to the kitchen the moment the table orders.

They also take the most punishment. A handheld is carried all shift, set down on wet tables, dropped in the rush and occasionally left in an apron that goes to the laundry. Protect them more heavily than counter tablets, charge them between shifts and keep spares.

Think about size, too. A device that is too large is awkward to carry with plates; one that is too small is hard to use quickly. Let servers try a device during a real service before buying several.

Tablets are sometimes used as kitchen screens, showing tickets at each station. They can work well in a cooler part of the kitchen, but kitchens are hard on electronics: heat, steam, grease and splashes all shorten their life.

Mount kitchen tablets away from direct heat and steam, in a case that protects the screen and ports, at a height the cooks can read without leaning over the line. Consider larger screens for busy stations, because a small tablet is hard to read from across a station in the rush.

A bump bar, a small set of physical buttons for marking tickets done, can save the screen from greasy fingers and make the station faster to work. Check whether your kitchen software supports one.

A tablet POS depends on the venue's network. A tablet with a weak wifi signal at the far end of the room, or one that drops off the network every time the microwave runs, is a tablet that fails in service even when the device itself is fine.

Make sure every place a tablet is used has a strong signal, and keep the POS on its own network, separate from guest wifi. A good router, sometimes with an extra access point for a large room or a terrace, often fixes problems that look like device failures.

Plan for the internet failing too. Our guide to restaurant internet: two lines, one service covers backup connections, and our guide to POS hardware: what a venue actually needs covers the wider setup.

Tablets are portable, which means they can be lost, stolen or picked up by someone who should not use them. A tablet POS should require each member of staff to sign in, so actions are recorded against the right person, and should lock when not in use.

Keep the tablets for the POS only. A till tablet used for music, social media and personal browsing collects apps, notifications and distractions, and becomes slower and less secure. Some devices can be locked to a single app or a single web page, which keeps them focused on the job.

Know where every tablet is. A simple list of devices, where they live and who is responsible for them makes it obvious when one goes missing.

Dedicated POS terminals are built for hospitality: tougher, often with larger screens, built-in printers or card readers, and designed to run all day for years. They cost more up front, and they are less flexible, but they often last longer and fail less in hard conditions.

Tablets cost less up front, are more flexible and easier to replace, but may need replacing more often and need more protection. The right choice depends on the venue: its budget, its conditions and how much flexibility it needs.

Many venues use both: a sturdy terminal or a well-protected tablet on a stand at the main till, and lighter tablets or handhelds for servers. Our guide to how much a POS costs in the first year covers the full first-year costs of each approach.

Take an example bistro choosing between four tablets and four dedicated terminals. The tablets cost an example 400 each with rugged cases and stands, 1,600 in total; the terminals an example 1,200 each, 4,800 in total.

Over three years, the bistro expects to replace one tablet a year through drops and battery wear, at 400 each, and to spend an example 300 on chargers, cables and a screen repair. The tablets' three-year hardware cost is therefore about 3,100, against the terminals' 4,800 and perhaps a small repair.

On those figures, the tablets are still cheaper. But if the bistro had chosen cheaper tablets without proper cases, it might have replaced two or three a year, and the sum would look very different. The protection and the spare are what keep a tablet POS cheaper.

The device is only half of a tablet POS; the software is the other half. Software that runs in a web browser works on almost any modern tablet, which keeps hardware choices open. Software that needs a particular app may support only certain devices or operating system versions.

Check how the software is priced. Some charge per device, which makes adding a tablet for the terrace or a handheld for a server more expensive. Others charge per venue, so adding devices costs only the hardware.

Check, too, how long the software will support older devices. A tablet that the POS stops supporting after two years must be replaced, however well it still works.

An invented café runs its till on two consumer tablets in light covers. Within a year, one has a cracked screen after a drop and the other no longer holds a charge through a full day. The café borrows a phone for a fortnight while it waits for a replacement, and several busy mornings are slower than they should be.

When it replaces them, the café buys tablets in rugged cases with screen protectors, fixed to stands with built-in charging at the counter, plus a third tablet kept charged in the office as a spare. It keeps the tablets for the POS only, locked to the till, and adds a spare charger at each station.

Over the next two years, the café has one failure, a worn charging cable, and swaps the spare in within minutes. The tablets cost a little more up front, and far less in lost mornings.

servearound runs in a web browser, so the point of sale, the host stand, the kitchen display and digital menu boards can run on tablets and screens the venue already owns, on iPad, Android or a computer. Each screen is paired from Setup, Devices, by typing the code it shows, giving it a name and choosing what it is for, and it sets itself up within a few seconds. On the point of sale and the host stand, each member of staff signs in with their own name and PIN, so what a shared screen does is recorded as theirs.

Card payments are taken on your own card terminal and recorded against the check, because servearound does not process cards itself today. Pricing is per venue, per month, with no fees per screen or per user, so adding a tablet for the terrace costs only the tablet. The kitchen display can be worked by touch or with a bump bar. See Order Fulfillment and pricing.

Up front, usually. Over three years, it depends on protection, replacements and accessories. Well-protected tablets with a spare often stay cheaper.

Often less than the manufacturer's estimate, because of constant use, charging, heat and drops. Plan to replace some tablets every few years.

Usually the battery and charging port, then the screen. Handheld devices fail sooner than tablets fixed to stands.

It is reliable and familiar, but often more expensive. Rugged Android tablets can last longer in hard conditions. Choose for your conditions.

Yes. A charged spare turns a failure in service into a two-minute swap.

In cooler spots, mounted away from heat and steam, in protective cases. A bump bar helps keep greasy fingers off the screen.

Rugged cases, screen protectors, secure stands, straps for handhelds and fixed charging places away from spills.

Yes. Software that runs in a browser works on most tablets, and per-venue pricing means adding devices costs only the hardware.

Every tablet needs a strong signal, the POS needs its own network, and a backup internet connection protects against outages.

A tablet POS saves money up front and offers flexibility and familiarity, but tablets were not built for hospitality. Over three years, the full cost includes cases, stands, chargers, accessories, repairs, replacements and the occasional failure in the middle of service, and device lifespan in a busy venue is often shorter than expected, with batteries, charging ports and screens failing first.

Keep a tablet POS cheaper by protecting every device properly, giving each a fixed charging place, keeping a charged spare, mounting tablets away from heat and spills, choosing rugged handheld hardware for servers and locking tills to the POS. Check the network and the software's device support, compare the three-year cost honestly with dedicated terminals, and choose for your conditions rather than the price tag.