Start with service and channels
Define how guests order: dine-in, counter, kiosk, online, delivery. A QSR has different needs than a fine-dining room. Listing your channels first narrows the field quickly and prevents paying for features you will never use. Do it in one sitting, and mark which of those you actually run this month, not the ones you might add next year. A counter shop that buys coursing is paying for a dining room it does not have. A full-service room that buys a combo grid will still need seat numbers on night one. If a channel you run today is called a later phase, it is not a fit.
Check the integrations that matter
Confirm the POS connects to your kitchen display, payment terminals, accounting, and delivery apps. Re-keying orders between systems is where errors and wasted labour live. See integrating Uber Eats, DoorDash and Skip. In the demo, send a modifier-heavy item to the kitchen screen and take a payment on the terminal you will use, without typing the total a second time. Then 86 the item and confirm the delivery apps stop selling it. If the books still need a Sunday export you rebuild by hand, the integration is a promise. The same check should land in the kitchen, on the card terminal, and in the books.
Reliability is non-negotiable
A restaurant cannot stop serving because the internet blips. Prioritize offline mode, fast hardware, and 24/7 support. Caviar by Armour Payments is built for the pace of hospitality, with Canadian support behind it. During the demo, drop the Wi-Fi and ask what still rings. Offline order-taking and a queued card are the test, not a slide that says the system is reliable. Ask who answers on a Saturday night and whether that person can see your store. A handheld that dies in the far corner is a service problem even when the cloud is fine. Confirm the spare, and how you swap it, before you sign.
Compare the real cost
Roll software, hardware, processing, and support into one monthly number. Watch processing rates especially, since they dwarf software fees over time. A low software quote with a high card rate costs more across a busy month than a clearer all-in figure. Add the labour you already spend re-entering voids and delivery tickets that never hit the expo. Then book a demo of restaurant POS to see it in action. Bring a real check from last weekend, not a sample item a rep can ring in a few clean taps. If processing is a separate conversation, put it back on the same page before you compare vendors.
A shortlist checklist before the second demo
Before you book a second demo, write the service down in one sitting. Note dine-in, counter, kiosk, online, and delivery, and mark which of those you actually run this month. Ask the vendor to place a modifier-heavy item, split a four-top, 86 a special, and take a payment while the kitchen screen is open. Then drop Wi-Fi and ask what still rings. Offline order-taking and a queued card are the reliability test, not a slide in the deck. Confirm the kitchen display, the in-person payments terminal, and your books each receive the same check. Ask who answers at 9 p.m. on a Saturday and whether that person is Canadian support. If the demo cannot finish those steps without "we would configure that later," it is not ready for a restaurant POS floor.
The burger demo that failed at close
A common miss is judging the system on an empty modifier screen. The rep rings a burger in four taps and the room nods. Then Saturday arrives: a split check with three tenders, a comp on one appetizer, a void after the kitchen already fired, and a delivery ticket that never hit the expo. The fast demo had no coursing, no shared printer, and no way to see which server closed which drawer. Ask for that ugly ticket during the demo, not after install. Compare software plus processing as one monthly number against the labour you already spend re-entering exceptions. The path in this buyer guide is simple: channels first, then the close. Book a demo and bring a real check from last weekend, not a sample burger.