Payments and POS for your new restaurant or cafe in West Palm Beach

A plain guide to what you need before opening day: the equipment and software to plan for, the paperwork a merchant account application asks for, the usual order of steps, and the questions worth asking any processor before you sign.

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What to get right

Tips that settle correctly

Tipping drives a lot of restaurant revenue, and it is where payment setups most often cause trouble. Your system should let guests add a tip on a screen or a printed slip, let servers adjust tips before the batch closes, and give you a clean report for tip-outs and payroll. If you run a counter-service cafe, decide early whether you will prompt for tips at the register and how those tips get shared.

A POS built around how your room moves

A full-service restaurant needs table maps, coursing, split checks, and tickets that reach the kitchen without someone walking them back. A cafe needs a fast counter flow, modifiers for every milk and syrup, and quick reorders for regulars. Think through a busy shift from order to payment to table reset, and choose a POS that fits that path rather than one you have to work around.

More than one way to get paid

Plan for tap-to-pay, chip, and mobile wallets at the counter, and consider whether you want handheld devices for pay-at-table, plus online ordering for pickup or delivery. Each channel should land in the same reporting so you are not reconciling separate systems at the end of the night. With a TouchSuite merchant account, our ERP, CRM, and e-commerce integrations are included at no monthly fee.

Pricing you can actually read

Restaurants run on thin margins, so it helps to know exactly what each card transaction costs you. TouchSuite uses interchange-plus pricing: you pay the card networks' actual cost plus a fixed margin. If you want to eliminate processing cost, a cash discount program is also available. Whatever you choose, make sure you understand how it appears to guests on the check.

How it works

Get your business basics in place. Before you apply, have your business entity formed, your EIN from the IRS, a business bank account, and a government-issued ID for each owner. You will also want your business address, a description of what you sell, and an estimate of your expected card sales and average ticket. Licensing, health inspections, and sales tax registration for a restaurant in West Palm Beach depend on the city, Palm Beach County, and the state, so check with those offices directly for current requirements.
Talk through your setup. Call us and describe your restaurant or cafe: number of seats or counter stations, whether you take tips, whether you need pay-at-table or online ordering, and how the kitchen gets orders. We will recommend terminals and POS hardware to match. Qualifying merchants receive free terminals and POS hardware, no upfront cost. If you already process cards somewhere, send us your most recent processing statement and we will show you, line by line, what you are paying and beat it, or tell you honestly that we cannot.
Apply and get approved. You complete the merchant account application with the documents above. Approval timing varies with how complete the application is, so having everything ready ahead of time is the simplest way to avoid delays. Start this a few weeks before you plan to open, not the week of.
Set up, test, and open. Most merchants are processing within 24 to 48 hours of approval. Use that window to load your menu and modifiers, set up staff logins and tip settings, connect the kitchen printers or displays, and run test transactions. A practice service with friends or family is a good time to catch problems before real guests are waiting.

Questions to ask a processor

How exactly will I be charged for each card transaction?

Ask any processor to explain their pricing model in writing and to show you a sample statement. With TouchSuite, you get interchange-plus pricing, which means you pay the card networks' actual cost plus a fixed margin, so you can see what goes to the networks and what goes to us.

Am I locked into a contract?

Ask about contract length and what happens if you leave. TouchSuite accounts are month-to-month, and you can cancel anytime with no fees.

How does the system handle tips, tip adjustments, and split checks?

Ask to see it working, not just described. You want servers to adjust tips before the batch closes, guests to split a check by item or evenly, and end-of-shift reports that make tip-outs straightforward. Walk through a real scenario, such as a six-top splitting three ways with a tip on each card.

Will my online ordering and other software connect to the POS?

Ask which integrations are included and which carry an extra charge. With a TouchSuite merchant account, our ERP, CRM, and e-commerce integrations are included at no monthly fee, so online orders and your other tools can feed into the same records.

Can I offset my processing cost?

Some owners prefer to reduce or remove processing cost from their books. TouchSuite offers a cash discount program if you want to eliminate processing cost. Ask how it will be shown on receipts and menus so guests understand it, and confirm current rules with your own advisor.

How soon after approval can I start taking cards?

Most TouchSuite merchants are processing within 24 to 48 hours of approval. Build that into your opening plan, and leave time before it for the application itself and after it for setup and testing.

Planning a restaurant or cafe in West Palm Beach?

Tell us how your place will run, from the counter to the kitchen, and we will help you plan the payments and POS setup to match. If you are already processing cards, send your most recent statement and we will review it line by line and tell you honestly whether we can do better.

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TouchSuite · 800-793-3250 · Month-to-month, cancel anytime, no fees.