Choosing billing software for a small restaurant: a practical checklist

Speed at the counter comes first

Time a real sale during the trial. Search for an item, change a quantity, take payment and print. If it takes too many taps, it will be slow in a queue.

• Find items by name, short code or barcode, with your best sellers easy to reach.
• Change quantities and apply a discount without leaving the bill.
• Take cash, card or mixed payments on one bill.
• Bill numbers that run in order, so missing or deleted bills are easy to spot.

It must keep working without internet

A queue does not wait for the internet. Ask whether the software can create bills when the connection drops, and test it with Wi-Fi switched off.

Good offline billing saves each bill on the device and sends it to the server when the connection returns, without creating duplicates. In Karobar, we made sending the same bill twice harmless, so a weak connection cannot double a sale.

Printing and sharing bills

• Check it works with your receipt printer. 80 mm paper is easier to read for longer bills, while 58 mm printers are compact for small counters.
• Make sure it can print your business name, address and tax details on every receipt.
• Offer digital receipts too. Many customers prefer a bill by email, SMS or WhatsApp.
• Check that A4 invoices are available for catering or business customers.

Part payments, refunds and returns

Real life is messier than a demo. A customer pays part now and the rest later. A catering order is partly returned. A staff member makes a mistake and must correct a bill.

Ask how the software handles each case. A return should take back only the returned items and correct stock, profit and the customer’s balance. Cancelling a whole bill to fix one item hides what really happened. If you sell on account to regular customers or businesses, check that each customer has a running balance.

Staff access and languages

• Give each staff member their own login, so every bill shows who made it.
• Limit what counter staff can do, such as deleting bills or changing prices.
• If your team works in more than one language, check that staff can switch language easily. Karobar switches between English and Urdu, including right-to-left layout.
• Make sure the owner can see everything from a phone.

End-of-day reports and your time zone

At closing, the owner needs sales, payments received, profit and anything to reorder, without building a report by hand.

Check that the day closes on your local time. Software built in another country can quietly use its own time zone, so late sales land on the wrong day. A restaurant in Melbourne should close its day on Melbourne time, not on the time where the software was written.

Tax invoices: notes for Australia

Tax rules differ by country, so confirm them with your accountant before you choose. In Australia, GST is 10%, and a GST-registered business must give a tax invoice within 28 days when a customer asks for one on a sale over $82.50 including GST.

According to the Australian Taxation Office, a tax invoice must show that it is a tax invoice, the seller’s identity and ABN, the date, what was sold with quantity and price, and the GST amount. For sales of $1,000 or more, it must also show the buyer’s identity or ABN. Check current ATO guidance, then make sure the software can print these details on receipts and invoices.

In the UK and the European Union, VAT and e-invoicing rules apply instead. Our guide to e-invoicing in Europe explains what changes for small businesses.

Your data must stay yours

• You can export sales, customers and stock at any time.
• Backups run automatically, and you know where the data is stored.
• The price is clear as you add staff, devices or locations.
• You can try it with your real menu before you commit.

The bottom line

Choose billing software by testing a real shift, not by reading a feature list. Time a sale, switch off the Wi-Fi, process a part refund, print a receipt and close the day. If it passes those tests without workarounds, your staff will use it, and your numbers will match.