Losing $405K on Restaurant Chaos? Master Bar/Restaurant POS in Odoo 18

Saturday night, 7:30 PM. Restaurant has 42 tables, all booked. Waiter takes order at Table 14—writes on paper pad. Walks to kitchen, hands paper to chef. Chef squints, can't read "no onions." Makes dish with onions. Customer allergic. Dish remade—12 minutes lost. Table 14 now behind. Meanwhile, Table 9 finished, wants to split bill 4 ways. Waiter manually calculates each portion—takes 8 minutes. Line of waiting customers grows. Table 18 ready to order, but waiter still doing Table 9's math. Table 18 waits 11 minutes, gets frustrated, leaves. Lost $127 sale. Happens 3 times nightly on weekends.

Your restaurant POS disaster: Paper orders to kitchen (illegible handwriting = wrong dishes, wasted food). No floor plan visibility (host can't see which tables available, seats wrong number). Bill splitting manual (waiter calculates on calculator = 8 min per split, line grows). Table transfers impossible (party moves tables, order stuck on old table). Kitchen chaos (all orders on paper, chef loses ticket in rush). No dine-in vs takeaway tracking (wrong tax applied, packaging errors). Can't print bill before payment (customer asks for expense receipt, waiter says "pay first"). Tips not tracked (cash only, no digital record). Multi-station confusion (bar drink order goes to kitchen printer). Table status unknown (manager can't see occupied vs available remotely).

Cost: Wrong orders (illegible notes) = 8 daily × $23 avg × 365 = $67,160 food waste. Slow bill splits = 8 min × 12 daily × $17 waiter time × 365 = $59,568. Lost customers (long waits) = 3 daily × $127 avg × 365 = $138,915. Kitchen delays (paper ticket chaos) = 18 min avg × 487 daily covers × $3.20 customer time × 365 = $102,293. Incorrect tax (no dine-in tracking) = $8,700 compliance issues. Manual table management = 2.7 hours daily × $27/hr × 365 = $26,622. No tip tracking = $14,200 cash discrepancies yearly.

Odoo 18 Bar/Restaurant POS fixes this: Enable "Is a Bar/Restaurant" setting → Unlock floor plans, table management, seat tracking. Digital orders to kitchen (clear, instant, no handwriting). Bill splitting built-in (by guest, by item, by amount—takes 30 seconds). Table transfers with one tap (order follows party). Kitchen printer routing (drinks → bar, food → kitchen). Dine-in vs takeaway toggle (correct tax, packaging). Early receipt printing (customer gets bill before paying). Tip capture at checkout. Floor plan shows table status real-time (green = free, red = occupied). Here's how to configure Bar/Restaurant POS so you stop losing $417K annually to operational chaos.

What Bar/Restaurant POS Configuration Does

Complete restaurant operations management: Floor plans → Table/seat tracking → Digital kitchen orders → Bill splitting → Table transfers → Printer routing → Tip capture → Real-time status.

Step 1: Enable Bar/Restaurant Mode

Activate restaurant-specific features in POS configuration.

1. Open Point of Sale app
2. Go to Configuration → Point of Sale
3. Select your POS configuration (or create new)
4. Scroll to Restaurant & Bar section
5. Enable "Is a Bar/Restaurant" checkbox
6. Click Save

Step 2: Create Floor Plans

Define restaurant layout with multiple floors (dining room, patio, bar area, etc.).

Create New Floor

1. Go to Point of Sale → Configuration → Floor Plans
2. Click New
3. Enter floor details:
   • Floor Name: e.g., "Main Dining Room", "Patio", "Bar Area"
   • Point of Sale: Select which POS uses this floor
   • Background Color: Visual distinction (optional)
4. Click Save

Add Tables to Floor

1. In floor record, go to Tables tab
2. Click Add a line
3. Configure table:
   • Table Name: e.g., "Table 1", "T-14", "Booth A"
   • Seats: Number of seats (used for split billing)
   • Shape: Square or Round
   • Color: Visual identification
   • Width/Height: Size on floor plan (pixels)
   • Position X/Y: Location on floor plan
4. Repeat for all tables
5. Click Save

Step 3: Edit Floor Plan in POS Interface

Fine-tune layout directly from POS frontend (easier for visual design).

1. Open POS session
2. View floor plan screen
3. Click ☰ (menu icon) → Select "Edit Plan"
4. Edit mode opens with options:
   • Add Floor: Create new floor instantly
   • Rename Floor: Change floor name
   • Background Color: Adjust floor color
   • Delete Floor: Remove floor

Edit Tables

1. In Edit Plan mode, click on any table
2. Edit options appear:
   • Seats: Adjust number
   • Shape: Square or Round
   • Color: Change visual
   • Duplicate: Clone table with same settings
   • Delete: Remove table
3. Drag table: Click and drag to reposition
4. Resize: Drag corners to adjust size
5. Click Save to apply changes

Step 4: Taking Orders on Tables

Select Table

1. Open POS session → Floor plan displays
2. Option 1: Tap table directly on floor plan
3. Option 2: Enter table number in search (faster during rush)
4. Option 3: Tap + icon → System assigns next available table

Add Orders with Seats

1. Table opens → Order interface displays
2. Click seat icons at top (1, 2, 3, 4...)
3. Select seat → Add items for that guest
4. Switch seat → Add items for next guest
5. Result: Each item assigned to specific seat (critical for bill splitting)

Step 5: Kitchen and Bar Features

Add Kitchen/Bar Notes

1. Add product to order
2. Click product line in cart
3. Click "Internal Note" field
4. Type note: "No onions", "Extra spicy", "Gluten-free", "Well done"
5. Note appears on kitchen ticket (not customer receipt)

Configure Kitchen Printers

Route orders to correct stations (food → kitchen, drinks → bar).

1. Go to Point of Sale → Configuration → Orders → Preparation Printers
2. Click New
3. Configure printer:
   • Printer Name: e.g., "Kitchen Printer", "Bar Printer"
   • Printer Type: IoT Box or Network Printer (Epson/ESC-POS)
   • IoT Box: Select connected IoT Box
   • IP Address: (Network printer) Enter printer IP
   • Product Categories: Select which categories print here
     • Kitchen Printer: Food, Appetizers, Entrees
     • Bar Printer: Drinks, Cocktails, Beer, Wine
4. Click Save
5. Repeat for each printer station

Step 6: Advanced Restaurant Features

1. Split Bills

Critical feature—40% of tables split bills.

1. Open table order
2. Click Actions → Split
3. Choose split method:
   • By Guest: Split based on seat assignments (most common)
   • By Item: Manually assign items to different payers
   • By Amount: Split total evenly (e.g., $100 ÷ 4 = $25 each)
4. System creates separate payment screens for each portion
5. Process each payment (different methods allowed: Person 1 cash, Person 2 card)

2. Print Bill Before Payment

1. Customer asks: "Can I see the bill?"
2. Click Actions → Bill
3. Receipt prints (shows items, amounts, total)
4. Customer reviews
5. When ready to pay, process payment normally

3. Dine-In vs Takeaway

1. Open order
2. Click Actions
3. Toggle Dine In or Take Away
4. System applies:
   • Correct tax rate (dine-in vs takeout may differ)
   • Packaging instructions (takeaway gets containers)
   • Kitchen routing (takeaway priority flagged)

4. Table Transfer

1. Customer: "Can we move to the patio?"
2. Open current table (e.g., Table 14)
3. Click Actions → Transfer / Merge
4. Select destination table (e.g., Patio Table 3)
5. Order moves → Original table now free (green)

5. Merge Tables

1. Scenario: Table 14 friends arrive, sitting at Table 18
2. Open Table 14
3. Click Actions → Transfer / Merge
4. Select Table 18 (which already has orders)
5. System asks: "Merge orders?"
6. Confirm → Both orders combined into one table
7. Original table (14) now free

6. Tip Capture

1. At payment screen
2. Tip button displays (if enabled in POS config)
3. Customer enters tip amount or percentage
4. Total updates
5. Payment processed with tip included
6. Tip tracked in reporting (distributed to staff)

Real-World Impact

Best Practices

FAQs