For bars, taprooms and wine bars
A bar POS that keeps up when the rail is three deep
A good bar POS opens a tab by name in a couple of taps, rings the next round without a hunt through menus, and puts tips on the screen. You can run that on a free plan. Holding a card on every tab, splitting checks and tip pooling are where paid plans usually start.
Neighborhood bars, taprooms, wine bars, the brewery with a food truck out back. Here's what the POS has to handle on a busy night, and an honest look at which bar features cost extra.
The short list
What does a bar need from a POS?
Speed first, then money that adds up at close. Everything below is what bartenders actually touch on a Friday.
Tabs
Open by name or seat, add to them all night, close them in any order.
Quick reorders
The second round should take less time than the first. Big buttons for your top sellers help most.
Modifiers
Neat, rocks, up, well or call, a double, no salt. Tapped, not typed.
Tips
Suggested amounts on the screen and a clean tip report at close.
Age checks
Still your staff's job at the door or the rail. More on that below.
A bar printer or screen
Drinks go to the bar, food goes to the kitchen, nobody yells across the room.
Running tabs
How should tabs work at a bar?
There are two ways, and most bars use both. A named tab is just an open check with a name on it. It's fast, and it's fine when you know the regulars. A tab with a card held is safer. The guest taps or dips when the tab opens, and if they walk out, you can still close it.
Here's the thing: holding cards is often a paid feature, even on POS apps with a free plan. If walkouts cost you real money, it's worth paying for. If your bar is mostly regulars, a named tab is usually enough.
- Name the tab the way your bartenders think (seat, first name, shirt color)
- Keep every open tab in one list so nothing gets left open at close
- Split the payment at close when a group pays together
The next round
How do you ring the next round fast?
Put your twenty best sellers on the first screen and make the buttons big. That does more for speed than any feature list. Modifiers should pop up on the drink that needs them (a margarita asks about salt, a beer doesn't), so the bartender never digs through a menu.
Some systems also have a repeat button that copies a round back onto the tab. If yours does, try it during setup with a few modified drinks, because how it handles modifiers varies from app to app.
Happy hour shouldn't be a button anyone has to remember. Set it up as a scheduled discount that turns on and off by itself.
Two early questions
ID checks and bar screens, straight answers
Will the POS check IDs for me?
At a bar, not really. Age check prompts in most POS apps are built for retail, where a cashier scans a bottle and the register stops the sale. Behind a bar, carding happens before the order, at the door or the rail. Train for it the same way you always have.
Square documents its age check prompt for retail mode, not bar mode. If you sell bottles to go, see our liquor store page.
Do I need a bar display screen?
Most bars don't. Bartenders make the drinks they ring up. A display, or a ticket printer, earns its keep once servers are sending drinks from the floor or the kitchen is cooking real food. A ticket printer is the cheaper place to start, and it works fine at most bars.
Serving a full food menu? Our restaurant POS page covers tables, coursing and kitchen tickets.
On Square Free
What a bar can run on Square Free
When you'd want to upgrade
Where a busy bar starts paying
Here's the honest part. A few things bartenders expect are on paid plans, and holding a card on a tab is the big one.
- Square PlusTabs held on a cardSwipe or dip when the tab opens, so a walkout doesn't cost you. Square's plan table puts preauthorized tabs on Plus.
- Square PlusSplit or reopen checksSplit one tab by item or by guest, or reopen a closed check to fix it.
- Square PlusOpen tabs from a QR codeGuests scan, start a tab and order from their phones.
- Square PlusGlass and bottle countsSell by the glass and by the bottle from one inventory count.
- Square PlusTip pooling and timecards
- Square PlusShift and close of day reports
- Paid add-onKitchen display screenSquare's KDS app, for bars with a real food menu. Not available on Free.
Offline payments work on Square Reader (2nd generation), Stand, Terminal, Handheld and Register. On readers and Stand an offline session lasts up to 24 hours, and on every device pending payments expire 72 hours after the session starts, so reconnect within a day to be safe. Tap to Pay and keyed-in cards need a connection, and if an offline card declines later, that sale is on you.
Plan prices and card rates change, so we keep them in one place instead of on every page. See current pricing or Square rates and hardware.
Getting started
What should you set up before the first busy night?
Do it on a slow afternoon with your head bartender. An hour now saves a lot of fumbling later.
- Build the drink menuGroup it the way your back bar is laid out, and put the top sellers first.
- Add modifiers to the drinks that need themPours, sizes, garnishes, salt or no salt.
- Set tips and happy hourSuggested tip amounts on the screen, and a scheduled discount for happy hour.
- Route the ticketsDrinks to the bar printer, food to the kitchen.
- Run a fake nightOpen five tabs, add rounds, split one, close them all. Then check that the tip report matches.
Not sure which hardware you need? Our POS hardware guide covers tablets, readers and printers, and the features page lists what comes free. Running pop-up bars at events? Read our mobile POS guide. Comparing apps? See our best free POS systems roundup.
Questions
Bar owners and bar managers ask us
What is the best POS system for a small bar?
The one your bartenders can run without looking down. That means tabs you can open by name, a drink you can repeat in a tap or two, modifiers for neat, rocks and up, and tips on the screen. A small bar rarely needs table maps or coursing. Spend your setup time on fast buttons instead.
Is there a free bar POS system?
Yes. Several free POS apps include open tabs, modifiers, tips and ticket printing on a free plan. You pay a processing fee when guests pay by card. The features that usually cost extra are holding a card on a tab, splitting checks, tip pooling and tracking pours.
Should I hold a card for every tab?
For a busy bar with walk-up traffic, yes. Holding a card means a guest who wanders off doesn't leave you with an unpaid tab. A neighborhood bar where you know everyone by name can often skip it and just close tabs out at the end.
Can I hold a card on a bar tab with Square Free?
Not according to Square's plan table, which lists preauthorized bar tabs under Square Plus and Premium. On Free you can still open tabs by name, add rounds and take payment when the guest closes out. If walkouts are a real problem at your bar, that one feature can justify the upgrade by itself. Check our pricing page for the current plan cost.
Does Square's bar mode work on a phone or an Android tablet?
No. Square's bar, full service and quick service modes need an iPad or Square's own hardware. They aren't available on iPhone or on Android phones and tablets. Our hardware guide walks through the setups.
Does Square prompt for ID at the bar?
Square documents its age check prompt for retail mode, not bar mode. So card guests the way you always have. If you also sell bottles to go, our liquor store page covers how the retail prompt works.
Still deciding? See which POS hardware fits your business and whether a free POS is enough, or browse all our free POS guides. Current rates are on our pricing page, and every reader and terminal is on the Square rates and hardware page. More answers on the FAQ page, or call (888) 243-3831.
Open the first tab tonight. Start free.
Square Free has no monthly software fee and no long-term contract. You pay a processing fee when a customer pays by card, and nothing on cash. Current numbers are on our pricing page.
No monthly fee on the free plan. No long-term contract. Cancel anytime. See current pricing.
Free POS System is operated by POSUSA, an authorized Square reseller. POSUSA may earn compensation when you sign up through our link. It doesn't cost you a cent more. Read our disclosure.