Looking for a self-ordering kiosk for your cafe, QSR or multi-venue group? The right kiosk becomes the support system your team needs to help reduce queues, increase spends and streamline operations.

But not all kiosks are built equal.

Unfortunately, many kiosks on the market are glorified iPads or they lock you into one payments provider, crash when the network drops and require your team to bear the burden of menu management, often requiring IT intervention for even the simplest of changes. 

This guide explains why your choice of kiosk matters and outlines must-have features that self-ordering kiosks for restaurants should have, so you can easily compare systems and spot red flags.

Why Your Kiosk Choice Matters

While a right kiosk can help you drive up order values and make a real impact on your bottom line, the wrong kiosk can slow you down, frustrate your customers, and increase your costs. Common concerns we hear about self-ordering kiosks in the restaurant industry include:

• Disruptions to trading when network drops

• Complex interfaces that cause abandoned orders or longer queues

• Errors & strain due to teams having to manage multiple menus

• Delays and issues with order fulfillment due to lack of coordination with the BOH

• Limitations to how much the kiosk menu design can be changed

• Not being enabled to use their preferred payment providers

• Not integrating with their loyalty program and customer profiles

A great kiosk, on the other hand, can be a revenue engine. You just need to choose right.

10 Must-Have Features in a Self-Ordering Kiosk

True offline ordering, fulfillment & payment capabilities

Why It Matters:
Network outages and patchy Wifi shouldn’t halt trading. A robust kiosk, like Liven’s offering, keeps taking orders and payments when the internet drops, then syncs everything back to your POS and kitchen display systems so you can continue with business as usual to ensure uninterrupted guest service.

Questions to ask:

• Does the kiosk take orders, payments and process it without an internet connection?

• Does the kiosk support cash and offline card payments so you never have to close the queue?

Seamless Menu and Promo updates with customised branding

Why It Matters:
Last-minute price change? New item? Seasonal promo? You shouldn’t have to update multiple menus or call in your IT team or reboot your hardware to take the changes live. Likewise, branding shouldn’t just be about changing a background colour or adding logo. With Abacus Kiosks, you can edit menus in minutes, schedule different menus for different sites or time of the day, set up promos and much more from the same backend with a single click. You can also move beyond superficial colour swaps and customise everything from button shapes to entire themes.

Questions to ask?

• How quickly can you publish menu or price changes across all venues?

• Can you create site‑specific or time‑based menus and promotions?

• How deeply can you customise the kiosk design to match your brand?

Multi-lingual, hospitality-first interface

Why It Matters:
Guests will not spend time trying to figure out how your kiosk menu works. If the interface is confusing, or they can’t understand the language, they will either leave their orders midway or seek help, leading to lost revenue or stress on your staff. Our kiosks also support multiple languages, and are designed to make ordering easy and intuitive for your guests.

Questions to ask?

• Would a first-time customer know how to order without asking for help?

• Are there options to show the menu in multiple languages?

Payment provider choice & seamless checkout

Why It Matters:
Many kiosk vendors don’t allow you to to use your preferred payment providers without completely breaking the checkout experience. On the other hand, Abacus lets you use your payment provider, while offering a seamless checkout experience that accepts multiple payment methods including card, wallet, cash and even rewards from your loyalty program. You can deploy fully integrated payment terminals or attach a standalone device, and you can even process payments offline.

Questions to ask?

• Does the kiosk vendor allow you to choose your own payment provider?

• Can guests pay using their preferred method, and redeem their loyalty rewards without downloading an app?

Platform choice & flexible standalone or integrated deployments

Why It Matters:
Your kiosk should work with your existing technology and adapt as your business grows. Abacus offers a flexible range of kiosk solutions compatible with Android, Windows and iOS hardware, giving you the freedom to choose the platform that best fits your budget, operations and long-term plans. It can also operate in standalone mode (without a POS, sending orders straight to your kitchen) or integrated mode for full POS and inventory sync. This flexibility in deployment reduces dependency on your tech stack and simplifies onboarding.

Questions to ask?

• Can you change platforms in the future or work with your current set up?

• Can your kiosk work without a POS if needed and route to your kitchen?

Fully integrated with your kitchen and inventory

Why It Matters:
Overselling an item or delaying prep hurts the guest experience. But with the deep integration of the POS and Kiosk, like with Abacus, items sold out on your POS also are marked as such on your Kiosk. Abacus also syncs kiosks orders to your KDS workflows and inventory in real-time, syncing your front-of-house with kitchen and inventory to keep things moving smoothly.

Questions to ask?

• Does the kiosk update item availability automatically based on real‑time stock levels?

• Will orders flow straight to the correct prep station without manual intervention?

Intelligent upselling and combos

Why It Matters:
Think of your touch screen ordering system as a silent salesperson. Intelligent prompts for sides, upsizing and set meals can lift your average order value without any hard-selling. With Liven Abacus Kiosks, you can configure automated upsells, nudges and combos that make sense for your menu.

Questions to ask?

• Does the kiosk automatically suggest appropriate upsells and combos at the right time?

• Can you customise the prompts based on menu items and promotions?

Data integrated into Loyalty & CRM

Why It Matters:
Repeat visits are the lifeblood of hospitality. Your kiosks should recognise loyalty members, automatically surface their loyalty benefits and make reward redemptions a part of the natural flow. Abacus Kiosks automatically surface loyalty rewards after every transaction without forcing customers to download an app or scan a separate card, through Brandollar Connect. Abacus Kiosks also capture purchase behaviour, feeding it into customer profiles on Liven Engage so you can personalise your marketing and offers accordingly.

Questions to ask?

• Can guests automatically see and claim rewards without needing to download an app?

• Is their activity tracked in your own CRM or loyalty system?

Enterprise-Ready Management

Why It Matters:
Managing multiple sites manually is a recipe for inconsistency. Abacus includes an Enterprise Management System that lets you control menus, pricing, themes and reporting from a single dashboard while still tailoring experiences by site. You can also integrate with your existing EMS for end‑to‑end venue management

Questions to ask?

• Can you manage every kiosk across your venues from one backend, including menus, promos and printing workflows?

• Can you access and compare kiosk sales data?

Modular hardware and compliance

Why It Matters:
Every venue layout is different. Kiosks should be available in countertop, wall‑mounted and free‑standing configurations, with optional peripherals such as scanners and printers. Hardware also needs to meet local safety, electrical and weatherproofing standards. Abacus Kiosks are built to hospitality specifications and can be purchased as part of a complete solution that includes POS, payments and loyalty software.

Questions to ask?

• Can you choose between countertop, freestanding or wall-mounted, and add peripherals without replacing the whole unit?

• Is the hardware compliant with relevant safety and electrical standards?

Red Flags to Watch Out For

As you compare solutions, be wary of systems or vendors that:

• Claim to work offline, but need internet to accept payments

• Make it hard to choose payment providers of your preference

• Offer limited language support or interfaces that are designed for retail usage

• Only allow for superficial colour/logo changes in the name of customisation

• Don’t sync inventory or sales lists in real-time

• Don’t offer a way to manage multiple kiosk menus and backend settings from the same backend

• Treat loyalty as an afterthought, or completely miss out on it

• No on-site or in-person support

Thinking About Kiosks? Talk to Liven.

If you’re exploring self‑ordering kiosks, Liven can help you go beyond hardware. Our Abacus Kiosk is part of an end‑to‑end hospitality platform that includes POS, loyalty, payments, delivery integrations and enterprise‑grade management. With true offline mode, choice of payments provider, deep POS integration and multi‑venue management, we help leading venues lift revenue, shorten wait times and build stronger customer relationships.

Whether you're starting with one location or scaling across a franchise network, Liven’s Abacus Kiosks are built to grow with you.

Want to see how it could work for your venue?

Leave your details here and our team will reach out with a tailored demo.