Hardware is where overseas restaurants overspend, usually by buying a bundle designed for a format they do not run.
The floor: one machine
A Windows computer or an Android tablet with the software on it. That is a working till. Nothing else on this list is mandatory.
The software runs on ordinary Windows machines and Android tablets rather than a proprietary all-in-one terminal, and that is deliberate for shops trading far from their supplier. When a generic machine dies you buy another one locally on Saturday, install, carry on. When a proprietary terminal dies you wait for a part to clear customs. That is the single most expensive hardware decision an overseas restaurant makes, and it is made at purchase.
Added by format
Receipt printer, 58mm or 80mm thermal. Almost everyone. Non-Latin scripts print correctly because text is rendered as an image first — see why receipts print boxes.
Cash drawer. Anywhere taking cash. Opens automatically on a cash tender.
Kitchen printer or KDS screen. Any kitchen with its own production stations. Which of the two, and whether you need it at all, is covered in does a small kitchen need a KDS.
Floor tablets. Table-service dining rooms where servers take orders at the table rather than walking back to a terminal.
Label printer, 40×30 or 50×30 labels. Drinks shops and anywhere the order gets stuck to a cup or a bag. This is genuinely a different machine from the receipt printer — different paper, different template. One device will not do both jobs well.
Card terminal. Whatever your acquirer provides. Whether it can integrate with the till is worth confirming before you sign the acquiring contract, not after — an unintegrated terminal means daily manual reconciliation, and tips taken on the terminal disappear from your books.
Scale. Delis, bakeries and anywhere selling by weight. Seven common protocols are supported as presets, so most retail scales connect without custom work. Weight can also be typed manually; the two do not fight each other.
Customer display. Counter shops. It removes the “how much?” exchange, which is ten seconds per order at a morning rush.
Table QR stickers. For guest self-ordering. These cost almost nothing.
Reusing what you have
Most standard equipment carries over — that is the normal outcome, not the exception. But “most” is not “all”, and the way to find out is not to guess: send the exact model numbers of your printers, scale and drawer before you commit, and we will confirm. Finding out on the Friday you go live is the expensive way to learn.
Two pieces of advice from shipping a lot of these
Buy the computer locally rather than freighting one. And prefer separate components over an all-in-one till: when one part of an all-in-one fails, the entire counter stops and you are waiting on a specific spare.
