Restaurant POS migration checklist

By Matt Barrett · Updated October 2026

Every POS switch I have run went wrong in the same three places: the old processor contract, the gift card balances, and the network. This checklist puts those first. Tick items off here (your browser remembers them) or print it for the office wall.

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8 weeks out: decide and sign

Pull your current POS, card processing and online ordering contracts. Note end dates, auto-renew terms and termination fees.
Get written quotes per location: software, add-ons, hardware, install, processing effective rate.
Run the demo with your own menu, including modifiers, combos and price levels.
Confirm every integration you rely on (online ordering, delivery, loyalty, gift cards, scheduling, inventory, accounting) is supported, and by whom.
Agree a go-live date on a slow day, and a hardware ship date at least two weeks before it.
Name one owner for the project and one manager per location.

6 weeks out: export everything

Export the full item list with prices, modifiers, tax rates and sales categories.
Export a 12-month product mix report. Flag items with no sales for deletion.
Export employees, job codes, pay rates and permissions.
Request a gift card liability report from your current provider: full card numbers, balances, active and inactive lists.
Export loyalty members, points and any house accounts.
Export the reports your accountant needs for past years: sales by day, taxes, labor, voids, comps.
Walk each location and list every terminal, printer, kitchen screen, drawer and card reader, with its network drop.

4 weeks out: build and fix

Clean the menu: delete dead items, merge duplicate modifier groups, standardize names with the online menu.
Build the menu in the new system. Map every item to a sales category and tax rate.
Set up price levels (happy hour, events) and store-level price exceptions.
Configure kitchen routing: which items print or display where.
Hire a low-voltage tech for missing drops. Replace any switch older than seven years.
Confirm internet speed and a backup connection (LTE failover) at each location.
Sign up for the new online ordering, loyalty and delivery integrations, and schedule their menu mapping.
Tell your old processor and software vendors the termination date in writing.

2 weeks out: hardware and people

Receive and count the hardware against the order. Report shortages now.
Add every employee with the right job code and permissions before training.
Train managers first, then staff, on real terminals with the real menu.
Run a test gift card import with a small file. Reconcile totals to the cent.
Ring test orders end to end: order, kitchen print, card payment, tip, void, refund, split check, tab pre-auth.
Print a one-page cheat sheet per role and tape it at the station.
Order spare receipt paper and printer ribbons. Hardware ships with one of each.

Go-live week

Final gift card export from the old provider after close the night before, then import and reconcile.
Close the old system's last day cleanly: batch cards, run end-of-day, export final reports.
Keep one manager per station for the first two shifts.
Post the vendor support number at every station and in the manager group chat.
Check online ordering and delivery menus are live on the new system and the old ones are turned off.
Verify the first card batch settled to the right bank account.

After go-live

Week 1: compare sales, tax and labor reports with the old system's last week. Chase every gap.
Reconcile gift card liability between old and new systems; keep the old provider's final report.
Confirm the old processor, software and bolt-on billing has stopped. Check the next two statements.
Archive the old system's reports and database backup where your accountant can reach them.
Return or wipe old hardware. Terminals hold card data and employee records.
Week 4: review voids, comps and discounts by employee. New systems hide old habits for a month.

For the full story of one switch, read Switching from Aloha to Toast: what it really takes. If you are still choosing between systems, start with the Aloha alternatives comparison.