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Restaurant opening POS checklist

The POS touches every part of opening night: the menu, the kitchen, the card terminal and the staff. Work through it in this order, two to three weeks before you open, and finish with a full test service.

October 20, 2026·8 min read
  1. Choose hardware and check the network Decide how many tills, kitchen printers or screens and card terminals you need, then make sure the Wi-Fi and wired network reach every station. Reserve fixed IP addresses for printers and terminals.
  2. Set up the business, taxes and service types Enter the business name, address and tax numbers that print on receipts, add your sales tax rates, and create the ways you serve: dine-in, takeout and delivery.
  3. Build the menu Create categories, items, sizes and modifiers in the order guests see them on the printed menu, with the right tax on each item.
  4. Lay out tables Add every table with its number and seat count, and draw the floor plan so servers can find tables at a glance.
  5. Connect printers and route tickets Install the receipt printer, cash drawer and kitchen printers or kitchen screens, then route each category to the right station.
  6. Connect and test the card terminal Pair the terminal with the POS, run a small sale, a tip, a void and a refund, and close a test batch.
  7. Create staff accounts and permissions Give each person their own login and a role that matches the job. Lock refunds, voids and large discounts behind a manager.
  8. Run a full test service Seat friends and family, take real orders through every station, split bills, close the register and read the end-of-day report before opening night.

Start with hardware and the network

Count stations before you buy anything. Most small restaurants need one till at the host stand or bar, a kitchen printer or screen for each cooking station, a receipt printer with a cash drawer, and one card terminal per till, or a portable one for pay-at-table. A tablet is enough for a till; a PC or larger tablet suits the bar and the kitchen display.

The network is where opening nights fail. Run a wired connection to anything that does not move: the main till, kitchen printers and fixed terminals. Use Wi-Fi only for tablets and handhelds. Reserve a fixed IP address for every printer and terminal in the router, so they do not change address after a power cut and stop printing in the middle of service.

Business details, taxes and types of service

Receipts are legal documents in most places, so enter the legal business name, address and sales tax registration numbers first. Then add your tax rates. In Canada that is GST or HST and, in some provinces, PST or QST; in the US, your combined state and local rate. Decide whether menu prices include tax or have it added, and keep that consistent.

Types of service (dine-in, takeout, delivery, catering) affect more than you might expect. They decide whether the POS asks for a table or a customer address, whether a packing charge applies, and how sales split on the end-of-day report. Set them up before the menu so you can test each one.

Menu, tables and kitchen routing

Build the menu in the same order as the printed menu, so staff find items where guests point. Use variations for sizes and modifiers for options and instructions. Then add tables with numbers that match the physical room, and draw them on a floor plan in roughly the right positions.

Kitchen routing comes next. Decide which station makes each category, connect a printer or screen at each station, and route categories to them. Test by ringing one item from every category and checking that each ticket lands at the right place. Fix it now, because a misrouted ticket on opening night means a missing dish.

Payments, staff and the test service

Run every payment you will see: cash with change, debit, credit with a tip, a split bill, a void, a refund and a batch close. Check that the totals on the POS match the terminal's batch report. Then create each staff login with the right role. Servers rarely need refunds; managers do.

A test service is the only way to find the gaps. Invite friends and family, seat every section, order across the menu, split cheques, comp a dish and close out as you would on a real night. Read the end-of-day report and make sure cash, card and tax all reconcile before you open the doors.

Doing it in SeroPOS

When you first sign in as the owner, the SeroPOS app opens Admin with a Getting Started guide that follows much of this checklist. Add Demo Data loads a sample menu if you want to practise before building your own, and Remove Demo Data clears it.

  • Admin, then Edit Restaurant: business name, address, tax label and number, logo and receipt header.
  • Admin, then Taxes: rates and tax groups, such as GST 5% + PST 7%.
  • Admin, then Types of Service: dine-in, takeout and delivery, with any packing or service charge.
  • Admin: Categories, Variation Groups, Modifier Groups and Products, or import products from Excel.
  • Floor Plan Designer in the side drawer (Pro plan), or tables in the back office.
  • Add/Edit Printer, then KOT Mapping in the side drawer to route each category to a kitchen printer, or turn on KDS Mode on a kitchen screen.
  • Settings: switch on your card terminal (Global Payments, Global Pay Cloud, Moneris or Gravity Payments) and run a test sale.
  • Admin, then Users & Roles: one login per person, with POS Access set per role.

Common opening mistakes

The most common are a shared login for all staff (so no one is accountable for voids), printers on Wi-Fi with addresses that change, prices entered with tax when the menu shows them without, and no test of the batch close until the first real night. Each takes minutes to fix in advance and hours to sort out after the fact.

Frequently asked questions

How long before opening should I set up the POS?

Two to three weeks is comfortable. That gives a week to build the menu and connect hardware, a few days to train staff, and time for a full test service with friends and family. Card terminal accounts can take several days to approve, so apply for merchant processing first.

Do I need a kitchen display or kitchen printers?

Either works. Printers are cheaper and familiar to most cooks. A kitchen display shows timers and an all-day count, and saves paper. Many restaurants start with printers and add a screen on the busiest station later. In SeroPOS, KDS Mode turns a tablet or PC running the app into a kitchen display.

Can I try the POS before I buy hardware?

Yes. SeroPOS has a 14-day free trial with no card required, and Add Demo Data builds a sample menu so you can practise orders, holds and payments on a tablet or PC you already own before choosing printers and terminals.

What should a test service include?

Every type of service you offer, every kitchen station, at least one split bill, a void, a refund, a comped item, a tip on a card and a full close with the end-of-day report. If cash, card and tax reconcile on the test night, you are ready.

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