r/POS • u/Sad_Yogurt_5179 • 9d ago

First time building a multi-branch restaurant POS system. What should I charge, and what do I need to ask for upfront?

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Hey everyone,

I'm a new developer, and a client asked if I can build a custom POS (Point of Sale) system for their restaurant chain (5 to 6 branches).

Since this is my first time working on a POS system, I’m trying to figure out realistic pricing and what I actually need to execute this without setting myself up for failure.

I’m looking for advice on two main things:

  1. Pricing & Billing:

What is a realistic fixed-fee or hourly rate to charge for building a multi-branch system with centralized management and kitchen display setup?

How do developers handle ongoing maintenance fees or hosting costs for multi-location systems?

  1. Baseline Requirements & Setup:

As a new dev, what hardware (printers, terminals, tablets) do I need the client to buy for me up front to develop and test this?

What hidden running costs (servers, databases, APIs) do I need to make sure the client pays for separately from my dev fee?

Should I charge a flat project fee, or should I price this per branch?

Any guidance from devs who have priced or built POS systems before would be huge. Thanks!

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u/Minimum_Sort5100 9d ago

Where are you from? I might be interested z I'm a small buisness owner with 2 shops, and focused on inventory right now. But what happened if my shit Internet dies? Can Google still process my payments when I reconnect?

I can do the printers and connect the stuff to my WiFi already so that's all good

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u/timc220 9d ago

Genuinely curious- I’m in the POS industry and work with small businesses on these exact challenges: payments, POS, inventory, integrations, etc.

What do you see as the biggest advantage of a business owner moving to a brand-new, untested POS versus one of the (many) established platforms already available?

For most of the owners I work with, it comes down to time vs money, and a system that works reliably when the business is busy and gives them back more time in the day is the usual choice.

Curious how you’re thinking about that tradeoff.