Point of sale
25 articles from the Katalyst team.
The card brands never fine you. Your acquirer does
SAQ P2PE runs about 32 requirements; the standard integrated-POS path runs about 165 — and a second location on one network pushes you off it entirely.
Voids and refunds are 6% of restaurant fraud cases
Automated monitoring catches 3% of cases; tips catch 43%. Surprise audits halve how long a scheme runs — and only 44% of organizations use them.
The restaurant technology stack: what you need, what should be native, and what integration really costs
Which systems a restaurant actually runs, the honest all-in-one vs best-of-breed trade-off, and the integration fees most operators never see.
Do you need a kitchen display system? KDS vs kitchen printers, honestly
What a KDS actually does, where a paper printer still wins, the real cost ranges, and the honest math on whether a kitchen display pays off for your concept.
Do self-order kiosks actually pay off? An operator's ROI breakdown
The real numbers behind kiosk check lift, labor reallocation, and payback — separating the vendor-reported claims from the conservative measured figures.
15 questions to ask in every POS demo (and the answers that should worry you)
A POS demo is the vendor's home turf. These 15 questions — on pricing, contracts, offline behavior, and exit terms — take it off script.
What happens to your POS when the internet goes down — vendor by vendor
Offline mode differs wildly between POS systems: what keeps ringing, what breaks, who eats declined stored payments, and the setup that saves a Friday night.
The restaurant POS hardware guide: what you actually need — and what it really costs
Terminals, handhelds, KDS screens, printers, and the 'free hardware' trap — real 2026 price ranges for every component, and three full build budgets.
How to choose a POS system for your business type: bars, pizzerias, coffee shops, food trucks, and more
A bar, a pizzeria, and a food truck don't need the same POS. Here's what each concept actually punishes you for getting wrong — and what to demand instead.
How to switch POS systems without losing data
A 6-step migration playbook for operators changing POS vendors. What transfers cleanly, what doesn't, and how to run two systems in parallel without breaking service.
Restaurant POS pricing in 2026: real costs from every major vendor
A line-by-line breakdown of what Toast, Square, Aloha, Clover, Lightspeed, and TouchBistro actually cost a restaurant — software, hardware, processing, and the add-ons vendors quietly add later.
The great POS migration: why 44% of restaurants are switching by 2026 (and what it means for you)
44% of restaurants are ditching legacy POS by 2026. Don’t get left behind. See why Katalyst is the OS of choice for the industry’s great migration.
The integration of artificial intelligence with point-of-sale systems: transforming retail efficiency and customer experience
How AI-driven POS systems are reshaping retail — from personalised checkout and dynamic pricing to inventory forecasting, fraud detection, and predictive maintenance.
History and evolution of point-of-sale systems in the restaurant industry
From 19th-century mechanical cash registers to today’s AI-powered cloud POS — how restaurant point-of-sale systems evolved over 140+ years.
Why restaurant owners are switching to all-in-one POS systems in 2025
Ten reasons operators are consolidating disconnected restaurant tools into a single all-in-one POS — from cost savings to real-time reporting and AI-powered automation.
Why cloud-based POS systems are the future of restaurant operations
Why cloud-based POS systems offer real-time access, automatic updates, scalability, and a better guest experience — and have become the industry standard in 2025.
The hidden costs of outdated POS systems — why it’s time to upgrade
Outdated POS systems quietly cost restaurants thousands a year in slow transactions, license fees, broken integrations, and security risk. Here’s the real total cost of holding on.
How AI-driven POS systems are redefining restaurant efficiency
From auto-routing orders and predictive staffing to AI upselling and waste-cutting inventory, AI-powered POS systems are reshaping how restaurants run.
Choosing the right POS system for your restaurant: Katalyst vs. Aloha, Toast, and Square — Boston, MA
How Katalyst stacks up against Aloha, Toast, and Square in the Boston restaurant POS market — features, pricing, and which system fits your operation.
Why Katalyst POS is better than its competitors
What sets Katalyst POS apart: a restaurant-focused, all-in-one platform with native self-order kiosks, mobile pay, loyalty, deep analytics, and multi-location scalability.
Comparison of POS systems for restaurants: Katalyst, Aloha, Toast, and Square
Side-by-side comparison of the top restaurant POS systems — Katalyst, Aloha, Toast, and Square — across features, hardware, loyalty, reporting, and cost.
POS systems: technology stack and code age
How the age and architecture of a POS codebase affects features, scalability, security, and integration — and why a modern stack matters for the next decade.
The value of payment processing embedded within Katalyst’s restaurant POS
How integrated payment processing inside Katalyst’s POS streamlines operations, enhances security with P2PE, and improves the guest experience.
Boosting revenue and efficiency: the power of a point of sale (POS) system
How a modern POS system streamlines processes, enables data-driven decisions, surfaces upselling opportunities, and improves the customer experience — all in one platform.
Handheld season: unleash efficiency and customer spend
How server handheld devices boost average check sizes, eliminate kitchen-to-table runaround, and put loyalty, reservations, and reporting in your team’s palm.