POS With Online Ordering Built In vs an Integration: What's the Difference?

There are two ways to add online ordering to a restaurant or store. You can buy an ordering platform that connects to the POS you already have, or use a POS that includes online ordering itself. Both work. They just fail in different ways.

Option 1: an ordering platform plus an integration

Platforms like ChowNow and Owner.com connect to many POS systems. ChowNow lists 20+ POS integrations on its pricing page; Owner.com connects to Toast, Square, Clover, Lightspeed and others. The appeal is obvious: you keep the POS your staff already know.

What to watch:

• Two menus. Depending on the integration, items, prices and modifiers may live in two places. A price change has to reach both.
• Stock. Some integrations send orders to the POS but don't read stock back, so the website keeps selling sold-out items.
• Two vendors. When an order doesn't come through, you have two support lines and one hungry customer.
• Two bills. A POS subscription plus an ordering subscription.

Option 2: a POS with online ordering built in

Here the website is part of the POS. Online orders arrive on the same screen as walk-ins, from the same menu, stock and prices.

• One menu and one stock count. Change a price or 86 an item once.
• One customer list. Online and in-store customers share loyalty points and history.
• One vendor and one bill.

The trade-off: you're switching POS, which means training staff and moving your menu or catalog. Ask the vendor who does the menu setup and what it costs.

When an integration is the right call

If you're happy with your POS, locked into a contract or hardware, or depend on features only your POS has, an ordering platform that integrates is the sensible choice. The integration problems above are manageable when you know to test them.

When one system is worth the switch

• You're opening or replacing your POS anyway
• Your menu or stock changes often, so double entry hurts
• You run a grocery or convenience store, where live stock online is essential
• You want one customer list for loyalty and marketing

Questions to ask either way

1. Where do I change a price, and how fast does it reach the website?
2. Does a sale at the counter remove the item from the website?
3. Where do online orders appear, and do they print kitchen tickets?
4. Who do I call when an order doesn't arrive?
5. What is the total monthly cost, POS and ordering together?

NEAPES takes the one-system route: your online ordering website is part of the restaurant POS plan. For a side-by-side with the integration route, see the ChowNow alternative and Owner.com alternative pages.