Coffee Shop

POS setup and configuration for a coffee shop. From an empty account to the morning rush: a fast counter, regulars, and just enough table service.

What it does

A coffee shop sits between a coffee point and a café: people order at the counter, but many of them stay. The morning is a queue, the afternoon is laptops and refills, and the same faces come back several times a week. This guide sets POSolid up for both halves — a counter fast enough for the rush, and enough table awareness to serve people who sat down.

The short version: build for the morning queue first, then add just enough table handling for the people who stay.

What you need

Thing	Why you need it	Notes
Till device	your counter — takes the order and the payment	A tablet by the till. Mains power, fixed internet, so nothing exotic is needed.
Internet + Wi-Fi router	POSolid is a cloud app and needs a connection during service	If you offer guest Wi-Fi — and a coffee shop usually does — keep the till and any printers on the staff network.
Fiscal printer — depends on your country	required by law in some countries to record sales	In Poland: Posnet, Novitus or Elzab. See Supported Fiscal Printers, or Fiscal Printers in Other Countries if you trade elsewhere.
Card terminal	most coffee is paid by card or phone	From your payment provider, works on its own. You record which method was used so takings reconcile.
Optional: a screen for the pickup board	so guests who sat down know their drink is ready	Any TV or monitor with a browser — see Customer Display Board.
Optional: a second device	a second person at the machine during the rush	Any device with a browser and a staff PIN. Both see the same orders.
Optional: a kitchen printer or screen	if you do toasties, cakes or brunch to order	Not needed if everything is pre-made and handed over at the counter.

"Optional" means your choice — not an upsell. Every optional line above is hardware you may or may not want; none of it unlocks anything in POSolid. Every feature named in this guide is included in your subscription from day one, with no per-device or per-feature charge. The only thing you would ever spend money on is the physical equipment itself — and only if you decide you want it.

How everything connects

One router, with the guest network kept separate:

Router (broadband + Wi-Fi) --( internet )------> POSolid
Till, pickup screen        --( staff Wi-Fi )---> Router
Guest Wi-Fi                --( isolated )-----> guests only

Every device reaches POSolid over the internet. The till and the pickup screen run POSolid in a browser.
The Print Agent runs on the till, and only if you print. It makes outgoing connections only, so the router needs no configuration.
Never put the till or a printer on the guest Wi-Fi. Guest networks isolate devices, which silently breaks printing.

Getting started

Create your organization — see Create Your Account. Set your country, currency and, in Poland, your tax settings.
Build the menu in Menu → Catalog: drinks with variants for size, a modifier group for milk with a default marked, and your food as plain items — see Modifiers.
Decide your service model — counter hand-over, or food run to tables. Set table assignment and require payment before accepting order to match, as described above.
Install the Print Agent on the till if you print, and add the fiscal printer where required — see Printing.
Set up a loyalty card before you open — see Discounts.
Add your staff with PINs so whoever is on the machine can ring up without logging out — see Quick Access with a PIN.
Put the pickup board on a screen if guests wait away from the counter.
Do a dry run: a large oat latte and a cake, paid by card, with a loyalty card applied. Then check Reports.

Regulars: the feature that pays for itself

A coffee shop's economics are unusual — a large share of your revenue comes from a small number of people who visit several times a week. That makes two features worth more here than in any other format.

Loyalty cards. A card is included in your subscription, so the only decision is what you give away: every tenth coffee, a percentage off, a discount that only applies to drinks. Cards can be limited by category, so "10% off drinks" does not quietly discount the cake as well. See Discounts.

Knowing your own rush. The hour-by-hour sales report almost always shows a sharper peak than owners expect — often forty minutes rather than the whole morning. Staff that window properly and the rest of the day looks after itself.

Then add the sit-in half. If guests order at the counter and sit down, you have a choice. Leave table assignment off and hand everything over at the counter, using the pickup board to call people back — simplest, and right for most coffee shops. Or turn table assignment on if you run food to tables, in which case also turn payment-first off so a tab can stay open. Do not do both halfway: pick the model that matches how your staff actually work.

Recommended setup

Minimum — counter only

Till, card terminal, fiscal printer where required. Size as variants, milk as one modifier group, everything handed over at the counter.

Recommended — regulars and the rush

Add a loyalty card, staff PINs, and the pickup board so people who sat down are not watching the counter. A second device if two of you work the peak.

Full — food and table service

Turn on table assignment and payment-first off so tabs stay open, add a kitchen screen or printer for made-to-order food, Work Shifts for the early starts, and a QR Menu if guests browse before ordering.

Key things to know

Size is a variant; milk is a modifier. Getting this backwards is the usual reason a coffee menu feels slow.
Mark a default milk. It removes a tap from most orders.
Pick one service model and commit. Counter hand-over or table service — half of each is what confuses staff.
If tabs stay open, payment-first must be off. Otherwise an order cannot be accepted until it is paid.
Loyalty is worth more here than anywhere except a coffee point. Your customers are repeat customers by definition.
Keep the till off the guest Wi-Fi. It is the most common self-inflicted printing fault in a coffee shop.
Poland: the fiscal printer is not optional, and the daily report has to be printed to close the fiscal day.

FAQ

Q: Should I turn table assignment on?
A: Only if you run food or drinks out to tables. If everything is collected at the counter, leave it off — it is one more tap per order for no benefit.

Q: Guests sit down and want to add a second coffee to the same bill.
A: That needs table assignment on and payment-first off, so the tab stays open until they leave.

Q: Can a loyalty discount apply to drinks but not cake?
A: Yes — a loyalty card can be limited to specific categories. See Discounts.

Q: Do I need a kitchen screen?
A: Only if food is made to order. Pre-made cake handed over at the counter needs no prep station at all.

Q: Why did printing stop working after we changed the Wi-Fi?
A: Almost certainly the till or printer ended up on the guest network, which isolates devices. Put both back on the staff network.

Q: Two baristas at peak — does that cost more?
A: No. Extra users and devices are included; add the second person in Staff & Roles with a PIN.