When a kiosk makes sense
Kiosks pay off where the queue is the bottleneck: quick-service and fast-casual restaurants, cafes with a rush, food courts and stadium stands. Each kiosk takes orders in parallel with the till, so at peak a counter with one cashier and two kiosks can take three orders at once. Kiosks also show every option and add-on every time, which staff in a rush tend to skip.
They make less sense where guests need help choosing, where most customers pay cash, or where the menu changes every day. Keep at least one staffed till for cash, complex orders and anyone who would rather talk to a person.
Hardware: screen, stand, terminal, printer
A 10-inch or larger tablet, or a touchscreen PC, gives enough room for photos and a cart. Mount it in a stand that locks, covers the home button or power button and routes cables out of sight; a kiosk that can be unplugged or walked off with will be. Put the card terminal on the same stand or right beside it, with the tap area facing the customer.
Add a receipt printer, or plan another way to show the order number. Customers who walk away without a number end up crowding the counter.
A menu built for strangers
Staff know the menu; customers do not. Use good photos, short names and five to eight categories. Make choices that the kitchen needs, such as size or doneness, required, so the order cannot be sent without them. Keep optional add-ons visible but not in the way. Remove items that need explanation, and put the best sellers first.
Set the screen to reset itself when someone walks away mid-order, so the next customer does not inherit a half-built cart.
Placement and the first week
Put kiosks where the line forms, facing the entrance, with a clear path from the kiosk to the pickup point. For the first few days, have a staff member stand nearby to help and to watch where people hesitate. Common fixes are renaming a confusing category, adding a photo, or moving a popular item to the top.
Doing it in SeroPOS
Kiosk Mode is built into the SeroPOS app and included on both the Standard and Pro plans. It runs on a tablet or desktop, not a phone, and is not available in Retail Mode or at the same time as KDS Mode.
- Connect an integrated card terminal first; the kiosk takes Debit or Credit only, with no cash option.
- Settings, then Kiosk Mode: enter an Admin or Manager Login ID and Password to turn it on. On desktop it goes full-screen.
- Customers see an attract screen ('Touch anywhere to start'), a category rail and a My Order panel with Review & Pay.
- Item sheets show 'SELECT YOUR VARIATION' and modifier groups marked Required or Free, then Add to My Order.
- The Order Summary lets customers edit or remove lines, then choose Debit or Credit and Pay Now. 'Payment Approved' tells them to take their receipt.
- 'Are you still there?' resets an idle order.
- To exit, double-tap the logo on the menu or the lock icon on the cart, then Exit Kiosk Mode with Admin or Manager credentials.