Business.com aims to help business owners make informed decisions to support and grow their companies. We research and recommend products and services suitable for various business types, investing thousands of hours each year in this process.
As a business, we need to generate revenue to sustain our content. We have financial relationships with some companies we cover, earning commissions when readers purchase from our partners or share information about their needs. These relationships do not dictate our advice and recommendations. Our editorial team independently evaluates and recommends products and services based on their research and expertise. Learn more about our process and partners here.
Best Uses for Tablets at Your Restaurant
Using a tablet at your restaurant can improve the customer experience and your restaurant's efficiency.
Table of Contents
A tablet can be a powerful tool that transforms your restaurant’s operations and customer experience. While they were once seen mainly at food trucks and farmers’ markets, restaurant technology has evolved. Today, tablets are indispensable for tasks like tableside ordering, menu updates and real-time inventory tracking. Modern restaurant tablets can streamline your workflow, reduce costs and help your team deliver faster, more accurate service — all of which makes your restaurant more competitive in an increasingly digital marketplace.
Editor’s note: Looking for the right POS system for your restaurant? Fill out the below questionnaire to have our vendor partners contact you about your needs.
Why restaurants are switching to tablets
Restaurants are increasingly turning to in-store tablets to keep up with changing customer expectations and rising operational demands. For example, digital ordering is becoming a major priority: 42 percent of restaurant leaders plan to add new ordering options in the next year, according to Square’s Future of Restaurants 2025 report. Many of these new options, from tableside ordering to self-service stations, rely on tablet-based tools and mobile POS systems that speed up service and reduce errors.
The shift is part of a bigger industry trend toward automation and efficiency. Square found that one-third of restaurants already use automated tools like self-service kiosks and mobile ordering, both of which commonly run on tablet hardware.
With technology investment rising across the industry, tablets have quickly become one of the most practical ways for restaurants to modernize day-to-day operations. Below are some of the most common reasons restaurants are bringing tablets into their workflow.
Efficiency and inclusivity
In most sit-down restaurants, servers make several trips to the table, dropping off menus, coming back to take the order and checking in again if guests need more time. Tablets simplify the whole routine. With tableside ordering, guests can browse the menu, make customizations and send their order to the kitchen the moment they’re ready, reducing both back-and-forth and common ordering mistakes.
Operators are also increasingly embracing these tools. According to the National Restaurant Association’s State of the Industry 2025 report, 69 percent of operators who incorporated more technology, like tablets, in the past two to three years say it made their restaurant more efficient and productive. Many are planning to go further: three in 10 restaurants say they intend to invest in self-ordering or payment technology such as tablets or kiosks, underscoring how valuable these tools have become for speeding up service and improving accuracy.
Tablets also make ordering more accessible for a wider range of diners. Digital menus can switch between languages, display visual aids for guests with reading difficulties and provide up-to-date allergen details. For customers with social anxiety or communication challenges, tablets create a low-pressure way to review the menu and place an order at their own pace.
Reduced human error
Order mistakes cost restaurants time, money and customer goodwill. Tablets help cut down on these errors by removing the extra step between the server and the kitchen. When guests enter their own orders — including customizations and allergy notes — the details go straight to the kitchen display system with no interpretation or handwriting issues. The result is fewer mix-ups, more accurate meals and a smoother experience for everyone.
Operational savings
Even as hiring conditions improve, hiring and staffing remain persistent challenges for restaurants. According to the National Restaurant Association report cited above, 77 percent of operators say recruiting and retaining employees is still a significant challenge. Many restaurants are also running lean: nearly one-third of operators (32 percent) report they still don’t have enough staff to meet customer demand, despite year-over-year improvements.
Tablets help restaurants bridge those gaps by allowing servers to manage more tables and reducing the time required to take orders and process payments. When customers can self-order or self-pay, teams can stay efficient even with fewer staff members.
Digital menus also help reduce operational costs directly. Restaurants that frequently update their offerings can spend thousands each year on printing. Tablets eliminate those recurring expenses and allow operators to adjust pricing, ingredients or specials instantly instead of waiting for redesigned menus to be printed.
Unique customer experience
A tablet might not attract customers to your restaurant on its own, but what you do with it certainly can. Today’s tablet setups can share ingredient stories, offer nutrition tools and make AI-driven wine recommendations. Some restaurants even use tablets to show quick kitchen videos or chef spotlights that add personality to the meal.
Tablets can also gamify the dining experience with trivia, polls or interactive entertainment that keeps families engaged while they wait. And because 69 percent of consumers say they value personalized loyalty experiences (according to the Square report cited above), tablets are a natural fit for customized rewards, tailored suggestions and on-the-spot enrollment prompts that feel more engaging than traditional loyalty program approaches.
Cross-selling and upselling
Digital ordering naturally encourages customers to explore more of the menu. When diners browse on a tablet, they see add-ons, premium ingredients and upgrades presented visually, not as a rushed upselling or cross-selling suggestion. That alone can nudge customers toward a larger order.
You can also build in smart prompts that recommend sides, drinks or popular pairings based on what a guest is already selecting. This mirrors what restaurants are seeing with kiosk ordering: in the Square Future of Restaurants 2025 report (cited earlier), one operator noted an increase in average order size because customers found it so fast and easy to add extra items.
Photos and visual cues can make these prompts even more compelling. A tablet image of loaded fries may entice more diners than a simple verbal mention, and it keeps upsell suggestions consistent across every table and shift.
Potential financial impact
Tablets can meaningfully influence a restaurant’s financial performance, even if the results vary by concept and execution. Digital ordering tools can help increase check averages, speed up table turns and reduce waste by improving order accuracy. Combined with smoother operations and more consistent upselling opportunities, these efficiencies can create measurable financial benefits over time.
Of course, tablets do require an upfront investment — typically $300 to $800 per device plus monthly software fees — but many restaurants offset these costs quickly through operational efficiencies and reduced waste.
Still, profitability gains aren’t automatic. According to the National Restaurant Association report, only 28 percent of operators say their tech investments have directly improved their bottom line, making it especially important to choose tablet tools that align with your workflow, menu and service style.
Tablet-based payment screens can also help boost server tips thanks to preset, visible tip options. According to a LendingTree analysis of Toast data, the average tip at full-service restaurants using card or digital payments is nearly 20 percent, helping staff earn more while keeping the checkout process fast and consistent.
The best ways to use tablets in restaurants
If your restaurant is looking for the best ways to use tablets, we recommend seizing the following opportunities.
1. Replace your menus.
Tablet menus have come a long way. What started as simple digital displays has evolved into dynamic, interactive tools that update in real time. Modern platforms, like Toast’s digital menus and specialized apps such as Menufy, can adjust pricing automatically, sync with inventory so items disappear when they sell out, and offer multilingual support that updates based on a guest’s language preference.
Here are a few specific examples of digital tablet menu capabilities:
- Tablet menus at your entrance: Placing tablets at your entrance does more than let guests preview the menu. They can function as digital hosts, allowing customers to join waitlists, make reservations or even pre-order so they’re seated and served faster. Quick-service restaurants can also use entrance tablets to take simple orders immediately, easing bottlenecks at the counter during busy times.
- Tablets as wine menus: Tablets shine in wine-focused restaurants, too. Instead of flipping through a long printed list, guests can scroll through a searchable digital wine menu that connects directly to your inventory system. These tools can show what’s available in real time, recommend pairings based on the guest’s meal and even remember past preferences. Some systems use AI to suggest wines based on flavor profiles diners have enjoyed before.
- Advanced tablet menu features: Many digital menu systems now go well beyond display. They offer features such as dietary filters that automatically hide dishes containing certain allergens, carbon footprint information for eco-minded diners and integration with kitchen display systems to show real-time prep times.
Together, these upgrades turn your menu into a living part of the dining experience — not just a static list of items.
2. Replace your registers.
Tablets can easily replace bulky cash registers that take up valuable counter space. Modern Android tablet and iPad POS systems give restaurants far more flexibility by offering mobile checkout, streamlined payment workflows and real-time access to sales data that traditional registers simply can’t match. When you replace your registers with tablet-based POS systems, you gain:
- A more affordable POS setup: Tablet-based registers require minimal hardware compared to traditional terminals. Beyond the tablet and card reader, restaurants may add: Receipt printers ($150-$300), cash drawers ($100-$200) and kitchen printers ($200-$400) for routing order tickets. Even with accessories, most restaurants can set up a complete tablet POS station for under $1,500, compared to $3,000 to $5,000 for many traditional POS terminals.
- Faster, more flexible checkout: Portability is one of the biggest advantages of tablet registers. Servers using handheld tablets can process payments tableside, speed up lines during rushes and prevent the usual pileup around one fixed register. This extra flexibility smooths out service and helps restaurants turn tables faster when it matters most.
- Better visibility into your business: Tablet-based systems also put real-time data at your fingertips. Managers can view sales insights, inventory levels and customer history from anywhere in the restaurant — or off-site — making it easier to monitor performance and make quick decisions during service.
3. Run your business software.
Cloud-based restaurant management platforms have made tablets a key part of back-office work. Systems like Restaurant365, MarginEdge and Plate IQ have tablet-friendly apps that handle everything from invoicing to recipe costing without requiring a full desktop setup. Here’s what you can do with them:
- Streamline financial and inventory tasks: These platforms use optical character recognition (OCR) to scan and digitize paper invoices, automatically update inventory counts and flag price variances — all from a tablet. This cuts down on manual data entry and gives managers real-time visibility into food costs and vendor spending.
- Manage accounting and payroll on the go: You can also download one of the best accounting software platforms to track expenses, approve bills and run payroll directly from your tablet. For multi-unit operators or managers working between locations, this mobile access keeps essential financial tasks from piling up.
- Track delivery drivers in real time: If your restaurant handles in-house delivery, tablets can support the best fleet management services that let you monitor driver locations, manage routes and confirm deliveries as they happen.
4. Reduce wait times.
Tablets can significantly speed up the flow of service, especially when they integrate directly with a kitchen display system (KDS). Orders placed on a tablet reach the kitchen instantly, eliminating the lag that happens when servers have to walk tickets back or wait at a crowded terminal.
Restaurants are also leaning on automation to make ordering faster. According to Square’s Future of Restaurants 2025 report, about one-third of restaurant leaders say automation tools like self-service kiosks, mobile ordering and KDS save time during the ordering process. These tools reduce bottlenecks during busy shifts and keep the front and back of house operating in sync.
Self-service kiosks — essentially large-format tablets — continue to evolve as well. Modern models from companies like GRUBBRR and Bite offer AI-powered recommendations based on time of day, weather and trending items. They also handle complex customizations and automatically route components of an order to the right kitchen stations, helping food arrive faster and more consistently.
The best POS tablet systems for restaurants
Most of the best POS systems offer tablet options. Here are three excellent POS providers to look into:
- TouchBistro: TouchBistro’s iPad-based POS starts at $69 per month and includes features built specifically for restaurants, such as table management, menu modifiers and split billing. The system works offline, so service continues even if your internet goes down. TouchBistro also offers AI-powered sales forecasting and automated purchasing suggestions based on historical data. Our TouchBistro review breaks down features, pricing and ideal use cases.
- Toast: Toast’s Android-based POS ecosystem offers a free starter tier for new or single-location restaurants, with more advanced plans starting at $69 per month for growing establishments. It includes tools like Toast Tables, Toast Delivery Services and Toast Payroll. Toast’s kitchen display screens even offer AI-powered cook-time predictions that analyze historical prep data to improve accuracy. Our Toast review explains how its tools support fast-paced, full-service operations.
- Square: Square offers food and beverage features on all its plans, including a free tier, a $49 per month plan and a $149 per month option. The Square POS app runs on both iOS and Android tablets and supports advanced floor plan customization, ingredient-level inventory tracking and integration with top delivery and ordering platforms. See our Square review for a full breakdown.
