GoTab: The Handheld POS Built for Staff on the Move
GoTab's Handheld POS puts your full point of sale in a server's pocket — order-taking, payments, and kitchen updates, all from the floor.
What is GoTab's Handheld POS?
GoTab's Handheld POS puts the exact same point of sale your counter runs on into a device that fits in a server's pocket. It's not a stripped-down companion app — it's the full system, just smaller. GoTab's Handheld POS is built for staff who don't stand still. Whether it's a server working a packed dining room, a bartender working a brewery floor, or a runner moving between prep stations, orders and payments happen wherever the guest is — not back at a fixed terminal.
One Device, the Same Full POS
At the heart of GoTab's Handheld POS is functional parity: everything available at the counter terminal — menu items, modifiers, discounts, refunds, stock 86'ing, sales reporting — is available on the handheld too. Staff don't have to learn a second, lighter system, and managers don't have to walk back to a terminal to do something the handheld can't.
How GoTab's Handheld POS Works
It's the full POS, not a companion app
verything available at the counter terminal — menu, modifiers, discounts, refunds, 86'ing, reporting — works the same way on the handheld.
Staff take orders and payment anywhere on the floor
No walking back to a fixed terminal between every order — the handheld goes wherever the guest is.
No connected payment device needed
Card and mobile wallet payments (Apple Pay, Google Pay) both run right on the handheld — nothing extra to plug in, charge, or carry.
It reads RFID passes, too
Tap a guest's RFID card or wristband to pull up their tab and place orders straight to it — the tab already has a card preauthorized, so it closes out to that card whenever the guest is ready. Neither Toast nor Square support RFID card or wristband transactions.
Most operators start with fewer handhelds than they expect to need. Add more as you grow — GoTab's leasing model accrues credit toward additional devices, so scaling up doesn't mean a new negotiation.
Want the full story behind the device? See GoTab Introduces the Pocket POS to Streamline Tableside Service and Enhance Operations →
Modern, Flexible Hardware for Every Service Environment
GoTab's hardware is built to be flexible. You're not locked into one brand or one device.
Point of Sale POS
Connect ordering, payments, kitchen operations, and guest tabs in one flexible platform.
Self-Ordering Kiosks
Guests build their order, pay, and send it straight to the kitchen.
QR Ordering & Payment
Guests order and pay in their own phone's browser, with no app to download.
The GoTab Difference
You're not locked into unfamiliar, proprietary hardware. GoTab's handheld is an everyday Android phone running GoTab's full POS — easy to hand a new hire, and easy to replace.
Kitchen Display System (KDS)
See every order the moment it's placed whether from the counter, handheld, kiosk, QR, or online.
Simple and Transparent Pricing
Our pricing is simple: we make money when you do. With our transaction-based processing fees, GoTab is your all-in-one POS and much more.
Open APIs To Connect Your Entire Tech Stack
GoTab is an open platform. Its API connects to the tools you already use — loyalty programs, accounting software, and reservation systems — so you can build the exact setup your business needs, instead of settling for whatever one vendor happens to offer.
Bring Your Systems Together
Connect reservations, events, accounting, loyalty, inventory, self-pour, gaming, property management, and more.
Work With Leading Hospitality Platforms
Including Tripleseat, Intercard, Amusement Connect, PourMyBev, CourtReserve, Mews, and other specialized technology providers.
Keep Data Moving Across Your Operation
Reduce disconnected systems and manual work by sharing critical information between GoTab and the tools your teams rely on.
Build for What Comes Next
Open APIs give operators and technology partners more flexibility to support new experiences and evolving business needs.
One device, the whole POS
No lighter, limited "mobile mode" — everything staff can do at the counter, they can do in their hand.
Guests close out at their own pace
A server can authorize the card and walk away — the bill goes to the guest's phone via Easy Tab, so they review, tip, and pay without anyone standing over the table.
Kitchen updates come to you
Food-runner and kitchen alerts can land directly on the handheld — no separate screen to check.
Scale at your own pace
Start with one handheld per shift and add more as you grow, without renegotiating a contract.
See How GoTab's Handheld POS Compares to Traditional POS Platforms
No hovering at checkout — a server can auth the card and walk away, and the guest closes out and tips privately on their own phone.
Guests can close their own check through Easy Tab, instead of picking a tip on the spot while the server waits at the table.
Transparent pricing, no per-device add-on fees.
Explore GoTab by Business Type
Every venue runs differently. See how GoTab fits your type of business.
See all business types
Trusted by Hospitality Leaders
“Now we're selling more food. All the vendors are noticing more food sales based on our numbers and the guest experience.”
“One of the great things about the QR codes and how well that system functions is that it has enabled us to save on labor because we don't need to have waitstaff in the traditional sense.”
“People used to spend 40 minutes of their visit waiting in line. Now they're just sitting with their family and their beer arrives. Before, they'd walk out. Now they stay.”
“Before, we were doing $2,000 to $3,000 a day in reservations. When we switched to this simplified all-inclusive model, we started booking more than $30,000 a day.”
“We tried another QR code ordering system in another store and it fell flat. But with GoTab, we're seeing triple or quadruple the sales compared to that other store, and that's with less attendance. Guests love it.”
“Attendance for some events can soar from 5,000–7,000 on an average day, to an astonishing 110,000 guests for our annual Breeders Cup event. GoTab helps the team achieve exceptional agility”
View case study
Watch the story
2,100
ordering interactions moved out of food lines on a 7,000-visitors
A handheld POS is a small, portable device that hospitality staff can use to take orders, process payments, and manage other tasks on the go. These devices are typically compact and connected to the main POS system, offering flexibility and efficiency in service.
Here are some key features and benefits of handheld POS systems:
- Efficiency: Streamline order-taking and payment processing at the table, reducing wait times.
- Portability: Lightweight and easy to carry, allowing staff to move freely throughout a hospitality venue, cover more tables with fewer steps and serve customers better.
- Tap- or Flip-to-Pay: Take payments through a single tap or dip.
Learn more about the GoTab Handheld POS.
The GoTab handheld POS works the same as a stationery POS system. Servers using the GoTab handheld POS can 86 items, rush and delay orders, adjust stock levels, process credit card and debit payments and more. And because the handheld POS is sized to be carried easily to any location on venue, your staff get the ultimate flexibility to address guests’ needs in the moment, without having to jot down orders, take notes or adjust orders at a POS station.
Handheld POS systems move the two numbers that matter most for restaurant operators: labor and table turns. Because servers can take orders and process payment right at the table instead of walking back to a stationary terminal, restaurants running GoTab’s connected platform see 25% faster table turns and 35%+ higher check averages, with sales per labor hour running about 1.5X above industry benchmarks. Order accuracy also improves, since items are entered directly at the table instead of relayed from memory, and every order syncs instantly with GoTab’s Kitchen Display System for real-time back-of-house communication.
Learn more about GoTab’s restaurant POS.
A handheld POS system enables resort staff to provide faster and more personalized service to guests by taking orders, processing payments, and accessing guest information from anywhere on the property. This results in shorter wait times, improved accuracy, and enhanced guest satisfaction.
Here are some key features and benefits you should look for in a handheld POS at your hotel or resort:
- Enhanced Service: Enable staff to serve guests more efficiently and accurately.
- Portability: Allow staff to move freely and serve guests throughout the property.
- Integration: Seamlessly connect with the main POS system, providing real-time updates and guest information.
The best handheld POS systems also integrate with the hotel or resort property management system (PMS). Learn more about handheld POS systems for hotels and resorts.
GoTab's Pocket POS revolutionizes fine dining restaurant operations. This portable device allows your staff to take orders, process payments, and manage tables from anywhere in the establishment. What’s more, because of its size and versatility, it’s as if the server is taking their orders by hand. The handheld POS enhances efficiency, reducing the time it takes for servers to input orders and improving overall service speed, all while fitting in your pocket.
Yes. GoTab offers a handheld POS that integrates with our restaurant commerce platform. Merchants at your food hall can use our handheld POS to place orders and take payment. And because our handheld POS integrates seamlessly With GoTab’s seamlessy integrated handheld POS, merchants of Multi-Vendor locations get the flexibility to operate independently. Meanwhile, the parent vendor has the value of speed and efficiency needed to manage revenue sharing, roll-up reporting, house fees and payout holdbacks.
Yes. GoTab's handheld POS is built for venues like arcades, bowling centers, and multi-zone entertainment complexes where guests move between game areas, lanes, and seating. Staff can take orders and process payments anywhere on the property instead of returning to a stationary terminal, keeping service fast even across a large or spread-out footprint. The handheld also supports GoTab's Easy Tab feature, so a guest can start a tab in one zone of the venue and keep ordering as they move to another, without staff having to open a new check each time.
Yes. The GoTab Pocket POS is the ultimate handheld point of sale ordering and payment device. The Pocket POS works seamlessly with the GoTab mobile ordering & payment solution and all our stationary POS displays.
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