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How to run a great POS demo for a merchant

Ask about their business first, then walk them through a real shift.

Before you startYou'll need a charged demo device with a small sample menu, and time booked with the merchant.

Steps

  1. Start with their business, not the software

    Before you open the POS, spend a few minutes on discovery. Confirm how much time the merchant has, then ask them to describe a normal day:

    • What kind of service do they run — counter, bar, table service, or a mix?
    • How many locations, registers and handhelds?
    • Do they track seats, use runners, or serve in courses?
    • What do they use today, and what do they expect to keep?

    Every answer tells you what to show and what to skip. A merchant who says "two bars and a small food menu" has just handed you the outline of your demo. The last question matters for go-live too: anything their current system holds that cannot come across has to be rebuilt by hand, so surface it now rather than at install.

  2. Walk through a shift, not a feature list

    The most convincing demo is a story the merchant can picture themselves in. Instead of touring menus and settings, play a staff member working a real shift:

    1. Clock in.
    2. Open a table or a tab and take an order.
    3. Fire it to the kitchen and bar.
    4. Take a card payment and a cash payment.
    5. Close out and look at the end-of-day numbers.

    That sequence covers almost everything a front-of-house team does every day, so once you have shown it, the merchant has seen their business running on the system. Back-office tools come after, not before.

  3. Prepare your setup before the call

    A demo goes wrong in small, avoidable ways. Before you start:

    • Tell them what hardware you are using and that it is not the only option — a tablet on your desk is not the whole lineup.
    • Keep the device powered. Screen sharing a tablet usually needs a wired connection, and a dead cable mid-demo costs you minutes.
    • Name every tap out loud on a virtual demo ("I'm tapping Pay, bottom right") — viewers often cannot see where your finger lands.
    • Have a light line ready for when something glitches. A calm joke and a quick recovery reads as confidence; scrambling in silence does not.
  4. Configure it live, to their answers

    Use what you learned in discovery to change settings in front of them. If they serve in courses, switch coursing on; if most of their volume is quick bar service, set the home screen up for speed. Then switch it back to fit how they work most of the time.

    Two things happen when you do this. The merchant sees that they can adjust the system themselves without waiting on anyone, and they see that you understand how a restaurant actually runs. Asking a sharp follow-up — "does the kitchen decide when the next course goes, or the server?" — builds more trust than any feature you could list.

  5. Build a small, realistic demo menu

    You do not need a huge catalog. A believable demo menu needs a few drinks, a few dishes and a handful of modifiers that show real behavior:

    • An item with required choices, like a cooking temperature and a side, so you can show that the kitchen gets complete orders.
    • An item with size or price variations, like a glass versus a bottle.
    • A fast item with no prompts, to show how quickly a bartender can ring a rush.
    • A free-text note for the request no button covers.

    Start the order the way guests do — drinks first — and keep it on a named seat or table so the story holds together.

  6. Show the moments that make or break a shift

    Merchants judge a POS on the busy, messy moments. Pick the ones that match their operation and show them in context:

    • Repeating a round of drinks without re-entering everything.
    • Splitting a check by seat, by item, or evenly.
    • Moving or merging tables when a party grows.
    • Opening a bar tab and closing it later.
    • Card and cash payments, and what the guest sees at the end.

    If they mentioned happy hours, tabs or large groups during discovery, this is where you bring that back: "You said Fridays get busy — here's what that looks like."

  7. Finish with the end of the day and the back office

    Fast-forward to closing time. Show what a server or manager checks before they leave, then step into the back office: sales by day and hour, top items, labor against sales, and how menu changes are made.

    If you can, edit an item in the back office and let them watch it appear on the device. Seeing a change made in seconds, without calling anyone, often does more than any slide. Keep this section short if their attention is fading — the floor workflow is what they will use every day.

  8. Read the room as you go

    Stop every few minutes and ask how it is landing: "Is this how your team would do it?" Their answer tells you whether to go deeper or move on.

    Adjust to the person in front of you. Some owners want the big picture and the numbers; others want to see exactly how printers are routed. If they tell you they are already sold on the register and want to see menus, skip ahead and spend the time on what they care about. And if they ask about something you planned to cover later, go there now.

  9. Be honest about what it does not do

    Every system has gaps, and merchants respect a straight answer. If something is not available, say so plainly and, if there is a workaround, show it. If you do not know, say "I'll find out and get back to you" — then do.

    Never promise a feature that is not live, and never quote pricing you have not confirmed. A demo that overpromises closes a deal you will have to unwind later.

Checklist

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