CAKE POS Review: Top Features, Pricing & User Reviews

(Last Updated On: June 29, 2023)

If you’re looking for a simplified restaurant POS to engage guests, run fast transactions, and take orders from anywhere, CAKE is your perfect slice of technology. 

Built to meet the demands of both fast casual and full service establishments, the software was designed to help cut costs and keep tables turning.

Is a simple restaurant focused POS

CAKE POS is a POS system that helps you handle all the daily transactions of your business. It's designed to be user-friendly and easy, so you can focus on running your restaurant. Its main target market is fast-paced restaurants, including chains like Spaghetti Warehouse and Ike’s Love & Sandwiches. As a result, CAKE’s features may not be as extensive or tailored towards independent restaurant owners.

The CAKE POS system is fairly straightforward to use, but there are some limitations that could make it less than ideal for some restaurants. For one, it requires that you purchase both their hardware and iPads to run their POS software. This can be a big cost for new restaurants or smaller restaurants that don't have an existing POS infrastructure in place. Additionally, the system only allows you to process payments using their payment processors, so you may not have as many options when it comes to choosing a credit card processor.

Lastly, the system has a two-year contract, which may be a deal breaker for some restaurants that aren’t sure they want to commit to it long-term or need to know whether it's the right fit before investing their hard-earned money. Additionally, it has a yearly maintenance fee and one-time set-up fees for both its POS terminal and OrderPads, which can add up to significant upfront costs for some restaurants.

After an extensive CAKE POS review, we found that the system reduces margins with line-busting OrderPads, rich guest profiles, and automatic table updates. Customers can privately pay, tip, and sign with tableside equipment that facilitates mobile management and controls the flow of traffic. Real-time inventory and role-based employee permissions make this a well-rounded system for a restaurant of any size.

CAKE automates key processes that will eliminate the need for extra labor. In-depth reporting gives critical insight on item sales, top ingredients, and best-selling dishes. Take the guesswork out of inventory and stock replenishment and use that time to further engage guests and train staff.  

The guest management feature has been proven to increase table turns by 7% with automated status updates, predictive wait times, and detailed guest history. CAKE also offers an integrated online ordering program to leverage sales and promote contactless delivery.  

In this comprehensive CAKE review, we’ll look at everything the POS system has to offer from hardware to software, integrations, key features, support, and pricing.

How Much Does CAKE POS Cost?

The cost for the CAKE POS system starts at $69/month and each additional terminal is $49/month. The brand offers affordable pricing for even the smallest types of restaurants. 

To consider the total cost of ownership for the CAKE system, look at these factors:

• Monthly subscription fee
• Credit card processing rates
• Online ordering, reservations, and other add-ons
• Hardware and accessories 
• Maintenance and upgrades

Before committing to a plan, you can also book a free demo and speak to a CAKE professional. 

Pros/Cons 

The CAKE POS system generally has good reviews online, with a few cons.

CAKE Pricing

The Cost of Service

The CAKE pricing is a subscription-based model that requires a two-year contract. The cost for a monthly subscription starts at $69/month and $49/month for each additional terminal. 

It comes with the following:

• Point of sale dashboard
• Cloud-based reporting with automatic updates
• Secure monitoring 
• 24/7/365 professional support
• CAKE University training portal

The CAKE OrderPad app is priced differently. For the mobile version of the POS software, it will cost a business $49/month which includes the CAKE OrderPad app and ongoing support. 

The Cost of Add-ons

CAKE also charges for extra services monthly.

Online Ordering – $49/month – 5% processing per order

• No third-party fees
• Added to website and social media
• Contactless pickup and delivery

Guest Manager – $199 upfront or $79/month

• CAKE University
• Training courses
• 24/7/365 support
• Software license

The Guest Manager monthly price is protected with your 24-month agreement.

The Cost of Hardware

Here are some price points for CAKE hardware:

15” Touchscreen Terminal – $200

• Customer-facing display
• Touchscreen terminal

iMag Pro II Payment Reader – $99

• Comes with CAKE OrderPad app

If you want to fund your hardware over time, then a business pays a monthly recurring fee of $69/month and $49/month for each additional terminal.

Demo Video

Key Features  

CAKE offers a core set of simplified operations for the POS and additional features at an extra price. 

Comprehensive Point of Sale Features that Automate Processes

CAKE’s POS features will help your restaurant run like a well-oiled machine. Streamline workflow with quick menu edits that allow you to change the price or menu item on-the-fly. The system was designed to allow flexible order management no matter how complex the workflow.

The simple dashboard allows staff to fire menu items to multiple prep stations at once. It’s an intuitive dashboard that’s easy to use and train people on. Automatic stock counts can be set up for critical menu items so you never have to 86’ something or tell a customer “no”.

The system always works offline too. No internet? No problem. Every CAKE POS setup is designed to work when your wi-fi doesn’t and will update later when back online.

Employee Controls with Scheduling and Seating Algorithms

CAKE takes the guesswork out of staff management with a system that’s designed to work smarter, not harder. If you’ve ever been scratching your head on who to schedule and when, CAKE is the perfect tool. 

The system uses a “Next Up” seating algorithm that puts your best foot forward, aligning the top staff with the appropriate guests and tables. Hosts will never be overwhelmed about who to seat.

Multiple server sections means you can easily switch out floor plans between shifts and assign a variety of sections to your floor map. Basic timecard management allows employees to clock in and out, track breaks, and monitor overtime. 

Monitor Staff Performance

CAKE POS for restaurants also tracks parties seated to measure a server’s overall performance. Get a detailed breakdown of staff activities over time in reports that are emailed automatically throughout the week. This helps to not only improve guest satisfaction, but praise staff for a job well done.

Integrated Guest Management with Detailed Profiles and a Virtual Waitlist

One of CAKE’s top promoted features is their guest management tools. Instantly connect all visitors to the front and back of house in real-time to help turn tables faster and keep guests happy. 

Identify your best customers at the door and know their favorite meal before they sit down. Greet them by name and recommend favorites. Top ordered items, history, and food preferences are all available to servers in the palm of their hands. 

Guest management features also bring improved efficiency. Automatic table status updates give servers greater insight into tasks like:

• When the table was seated
• When the food was ordered
• When the menu items were delivered
• When the check was printed and dropped
• When the payment was run

These details help the dining floor run smoother, increase guest satisfaction, and keep servers on top of everything. The Guest Management feature helps to create a smooth and efficient experience that turns casual customers, into habitual ones.

Further guest management features include:

• Call ahead seating and virtual waitlist
• Table management and predictive wait times
• Real-time reporting with customer profiles
• Free reservations widget for your website

Table Management with a Custom Floor Map and Status Updates

CAKE provides table management software that enables a restaurant to seat diners quickly and efficiently. Manage your floor plan accurately and intelligently to cut wait times and optimize space. 

Instant table status updates mean you always know what’s going on in the front of the house. This allows a restaurant to give more accurate wait times to better meet customer expectations and increase sales from no-shows. You can even text patrons when their table is ready.

Optimize operations and pre-configure server sections to spread guests out evenly and keep staff happy. Use a custom table timer to share data across the FOH team and know exactly when the next table is ready.

Additional CAKE system features include:

• Custom floor map with multiple layouts and server sections
• Dynamic reporting and analytics on sales, wages, employees, hours, items, etc.
• Online ordering with pickup and contactless delivery
• iPad-based OrderPad with orders sent directly to the kitchen
• Loyalty program with guest check-in via phone or app

Industries Served 

The CAKE system was developed to work with small to medium-sized restaurants. However, the system can also handle enterprise-level ventures with a custom build.

CAKE has specific designs for the following types of restaurants:

• Full Service Restaurant 
• Fast casual
• Bar and pubs

It is specifically tailored for a business with foodservice and would not work well for retail or other types of brick and mortar establishments.

Deployment Type 

CAKE was designed to work in conjunction with its branded hardware. Although you have the option to run the system as an MPOS, even that tablet is designed by the company. This means, the CAKE offering is all-inclusive and if you want to use the platform, you will need to buy the hardware. 

The CAKE system leverages a cloud-based environment that doesn’t require wi-fi to run transactions. The software functions without an internet connection and updates when back online. 

Ease of Use  

CAKE POS has a dashboard that’s intuitive and easy to use. They put a lot of time into programs that help you train employees and resources to better understand the system. The hardware was built for the restaurant environment and the customer-facing display increases guest communications and brand trust.

The features for FOH management and menu engineering allow you to tailor your solution to custom needs. Automatic modifiers help staff upsell without the need to remember lengthy recipes or guest preferences. This simplifies the order-taking process for all parties involved.

Hardware 

CAKE features restaurant proof hardware with durability that gives you peace of mind. The splash-resistant terminal gives you the option to add customer-facing equipment for easy checkout, convenient tipping, and digital signatures. 

If you don’t have the money upfront, CAKE also offers easy-pay options that are added to your monthly subscription fee.

System hardware includes:

Terminals

The bevel-less screen terminals have a 15” (1024 x 768) touch display and come in black or white. It takes up 18” x 18” of countertop space, is 16(W) x 15(H) x 16(D), and weighs 16 lbs. The terminal has PA-DSS compliant payment cryptography and secure cloud storage. The current version also has a 32GB solid-state hard drive.

OrderPad

The CAKE OrderPad brings tableside ordering to your restaurant. Take orders, send directly to the kitchen, and accept payments using the handheld tablet that’s made from restaurant-grade material.

Printers

The CAKE point of sale station includes a thermal printer. It takes a (3 1/8 x 230) receipt roll and handles an average of 400+ orders per roll. It can also function as a kitchen printer. If you must, CAKE allows you to upgrade to an Epson Impact Printer.

Additional CAKE Hardware:

• Cash drawer with dimensions 13(W) x 13.2(H) x 4.1(D)
• CradlePoint MBR 1200B router

Integrations  

CAKE offers a variety of integrations to supercharge your business through CAKE Market. This includes key partners for:

Accounting

• Shogo for QuickBooks
• Xero

Kitchen Management

• ChefTab

Operations

• CheddrSuite

Table Management

• Guest Manager

Customer Loyalty

• SpendGo

Staff Scheduling

• 7Shifts

eCommerce/Online Ordering

• Checkmate

Inventory

• Orca

Credit Card and Payment Processing 

CAKE makes it easy to focus on running your business by simplifying the payment process. They offer transparent pricing with industry-low rates per swipe and no complicated paperwork. You can start accepting payments in just minutes. 

You only pay when you use CAKE payment processing. There are no hidden fees or monthly subscription costs. The system also comes with Smart Chargeback Assistance. This helps a business fight back against fraud and deters theft.

Save with every swipe and accept all credit card types, including:

• Visa
• MasterCard
• Discover
• American Express

The payments feature has safe and secure processing, even when the system is offline. The CAKE platform also processes PayPal and offers an average additional-net revenue of $2,980 annually.

Customer Service and Support

The CAKE system is highly secure and every transaction, swipe, and payment is monitored for safety. The platform is known for instilling automatic updates and new features that always keep a business on the cutting edge.

The POS package comes with 24/7 reliable support and an employee training portal. The resource center boasts CAKE University where staff can train on the system without disrupting service. The page is full of tips and tricks, FAQs, blogs, videos, and other material to ensure you understand everything about the CAKE POS platform. 

The Best Alternatives to CAKE POS

If CAKE isn’t a good fit, here are two other restaurant POS solutions to consider:

TouchBistro POS

TouchBistro is a restaurant POS solution that addresses many challenges in the industry with menu management and real-time inventory that cuts costs and saves time. In-depth reporting gives a business key insights to top-performing employees, best-selling dishes, and your busiest shifts.

Key features include:

• Menu management with a custom floorplan and quick controls
• Tableside ordering to speed up transactions, turn tables, and engage customers
• Guest loyalty program to increase engagement and customer retention
• Reporting and analytics to drive sales and improve performance
• Staff controls to schedule, track, measure, and inform employees

The cost of TouchBistro is subscription-based and starts at $69/month. This makes it one of the more affordable POS systems on the market for the foodservice industry. 

Toast POS 

Toast is a popular POS brand for restaurants with good reason. The cloud-based system works offline and is suitable for a business of any size, whether it’s fast casual, a bar, café, or fine dining. Fast payment processing and robust customer service make this a top choice for a restaurant point of sale system.

Key features include:

• Extensive third-party integrations for everything from accounting to delivery
• Inventory management with instant messaging and auto-replenishment
• Tableside ordering with instant notifications and pop-up modifiers to upsell
• Menu engineering with instant 86* updates and real-time item countdowns
• Detailed analytics and metrics with sales summary and product mix reports

The Toast software is free to use. You only pay taxes for the Starter kit. The Essentials plan is $99/month and the enterprise Growth package starts at $189/month.

Toast Now digital ordering is $50/month. The hardware ranges from $450 for a mobile device and $1,350 for a POS bundle.

Should you Purchase the CAKE Restaurant POS System?

With CAKE, you’re going to get a very straightforward system. The platform lacks a lot of features that other restaurant POS solutions will push on you. However, using CAKE makes you realize all those bells and whistles aren’t necessary. In fact, they can complicate things. Especially if your restaurant workflow is already streamlined.

Why you should purchase CAKE POS

Simplified system
If you’re looking for a more stripped down POS that’s easy to set up and use, CAKE may be the right fit. CAKE focuses on the hospitality industry and offers unique features that make it stand out from other POS systems. Their hardware and software are designed for restaurants, including a touchscreen terminal that’s built to handle water spills and regular wear and tear. Their guest management, tableside ordering, and reservation management features also run on Apple iPads. However, these add-on apps do require an additional cost.

The menu admin dashboard in Cake POS is clean and easy to navigate. It allows you to manage customer data, staff members, and menu items. It’s also where you can create and edit your restaurant settings. Additionally, you can view, download, or email reports from the dash.

Tableside ordering is one of the biggest advantages that CAKE POS has over other systems. The service lets your waiters take orders on tablets that are then sent directly to the kitchen. This eliminates the need for waiters to hand out pieces of paper and can save your back of house team time.

Besides online reservations, CAKE’s guest manager feature is another way to connect all guests with the front and back of house. This helps to turn tables, reduce wait times, and improve overall customer satisfaction.

The CAKE POS software and hardware work seamlessly together. Sales data from the POS syncs with 7shifts every 60 minutes and is available to view in the Dashboard, Manager Log Book, and Actuals Report. You can then use these values to build schedules in the Labor Budget Tool.

The CAKE point of sale solution suits small and medium restaurants without a payment infrastructure in place. That’s because the platform comes as a package deal with all hardware and equipment designed to specifically integrate with the software. The same goes for payment processing. It’s all included.

This only poses an issue if you already have a POS platform in place. Especially if you have a lot of hardware. In this case, CAKE may not be a good fit.

If you are looking to modernize your payment system and need smoother transactions, increased sales, and improved customer engagement, then CAKE is a good start. The system offers everything you need in a nutshell from menu engineering to employee management, inventory controls, BOH/FOH communication tools, and mobile equipment. 

The CAKE solution helps to address foodservice challenges and is constantly innovating to meet new industry needs. Sign up for a free trial today to see if the system is right for you.