The short answer
A good cafe POS system in Uganda does five jobs well: it rings up a sale in a few taps, handles the milk, size and extra shot choices that change every cup, sends the order to the barista or kitchen, records cash and Mobile Money in one place, and gives you a clean daily close. Growth Informer Business does these jobs on a phone, tablet or computer, with Android and iOS apps, and it is used by 6,500+ businesses.
For cafes it uses the same restaurant features as our restaurant POS: modifiers, tables and kitchen order tickets. If you are still comparing systems, read our guide to choosing a restaurant POS first, and see how Mobile Money is recorded in a POS. We do not quote a figure on this page because the right setup depends on your outlets and staff. Ask for a demo on WhatsApp and we will show it with your own menu.
The morning rush at the counter
In the morning rush, a coffee shop wins or loses on speed. A queue of people on their way to work will not wait while someone hunts for a price or rewrites an order. The counter screen should let a cashier tap the drink, tap the options, take payment and move to the next person.
Modifiers: milk, size and extra shot
A flat white is not one product. It is a size, a milk choice and sometimes an extra shot. Set these up once as variations and modifiers, so the cashier taps the drink and then the options, instead of typing notes the barista cannot read. The same choices then appear on the order, so what the customer asked for is what gets made.
- Sizes such as small and large kept as variations of one drink, not as separate products.
- Modifiers for milk type, extra shot or syrup, added to the order in one tap.
- Kitchen order tickets, so the barista and whoever is on the oven or the pastry display see what to make.
- Tables for sit-in customers, and plain counter sales for takeaway.
- Drafts and quotations, so you can hold an order or quote an office tea and snacks order before it is paid.
Keep your menu short when you start. Ten drinks and ten food items set up properly beat a hundred items nobody has checked.
Bakeries: units, variations and stock
A bakery counter sells loaves by the piece, cakes by the slice or whole, and samosas by the dozen. Growth Informer Business lets a product have units and variations, so a cake can be sold whole or by the slice, and a bun can be sold singly or in a box. Barcode labels help for packed items such as bags of biscuits or bottled drinks.
- Stock per location. A central bakery and two shop counters can each have their own stock, with transfers between them. See POS and inventory in Uganda for how that works, and multi-branch inventory if you run several outlets.
- Recipes and ingredient stock. Write a recipe with its ingredients through the Manufacturing module. A cafe or bakery then sees ingredient stock go down as it records each production run, and the finished loaves, cakes or snacks are added to stock.
- Purchases and suppliers. Flour, sugar, milk and packaging bought from suppliers are recorded as purchases, so you can see what you spent and with whom.
- Credit sales. A hotel or office that takes bread and cakes on account can be set up as a customer, and what they owe is recorded.
- Price groups. Use selling price groups when retail and wholesale customers pay different prices for the same item.
- Expenses and reports. Record gas, wages paid and other costs, then use reports to see what sold well and what stayed on the shelf.
One honest point: stock is tracked per product. Decide at setup whether you count finished items, such as muffins and loaves, or bulk ingredients, or both. If you make cakes, bread or drinks from recipes, the Manufacturing module holds each recipe with its ingredients. When you record a production run, the ingredients are used up from stock and the finished items are added, so you see flour, milk and sugar go down as you produce. Ask us to show it with one of your own recipes.
Mobile Money, cash and the daily close
Most Ugandan cafes take cash, Mobile Money and sometimes card, often in the same day and sometimes in the same sale. In Growth Informer Business the cashier opens the Multiple Pay window and records each method against the sale, so a customer who pays part in cash and part by Mobile Money is handled cleanly.
Be clear on one thing. The system does not send a payment prompt to the customer's phone. The customer pays your business Mobile Money number as they do now, the cashier confirms the message has arrived, and then records it as a Mobile Money payment. The Payments (MoMo) tray lists the payments recorded as confirmed, so the owner can check them later against the phone statement.
Open the register, close the register
Open the register with the float in the morning. At night, close it and compare the cash counted with what the system expects. Differences show up the same day, while people still remember the shift, not at month end.
- Users and roles with permissions: a barista can sell without being able to change prices or see every report.
- Expenses recorded as they happen, such as milk bought from a vendor on the way in.
- Reports for the owner who is not at the counter, viewable from a phone.
If your cafe is VAT registered, EFRIS e-receipts can be switched on or off in the system. Check what applies to your business with URA or your tax adviser.
Notebook or a full POS system
You do not need software on day one. But as the queue grows, the notebook starts to cost you money. Here is how the counter jobs compare.
| Counter job | Growth Informer Business | Notebook and calculator |
|---|---|---|
| Drink with milk, size and extra shot | Chosen with taps as variations and modifiers, and shown on the order | Written by hand and easy to misread |
| Order to the barista or kitchen | Kitchen order tickets | Shouted across the room or a paper slip |
| Cash and Mobile Money | Recorded as methods in one sale, including split payments | Matched at night from a drawer and phone messages |
| Bakery stock | Per product and per location, with transfers | Counted by eye and guessed |
| Daily close | Register open and close with reports | Totals added at the end, errors found days later |
| Staff control | Users and roles with permissions | Everyone can change everything |
When this is not the right fit, and how to start
We would rather tell you now than sell you the wrong thing.
- If you sell from a cart with one person, no stock and a handful of items, a notebook may serve you well for a while.
- It is a cloud system, so plan for a steady internet connection at the counter. A phone hotspot is a sensible backup.
- If you need detailed costing for every recipe from day one, ask us to show you the Manufacturing module on your own recipes before you commit.
Growth Informer Software Services is a US-based company with remote teams around the world, including a team in Kampala, and a US team member joins client video calls when needed. If you also want a website or online ordering, we have built food ordering for Silverback Coffee House and can talk you through what suits a cafe.
How to start
Message us on WhatsApp at +256 702 946 946, or use the form on this page. Tell us how many outlets you run, what you sell (drinks, bakery items or both) and how customers pay. We will show a demo using your own menu, then give you a quote.
Frequently asked questions
What does a cafe POS system cost in Uganda?
It depends on how many outlets, users and devices you run, so we do not put a figure on this page. Message us on WhatsApp or use the form, tell us about your cafe or bakery, and we will show a demo and give you a quote.
Can the system handle milk, size and extra shot choices?
Yes. Sizes are set up as variations of one drink, and choices like milk type, extra shot or syrup are set up as modifiers. The cashier taps them on the sale and they show on the order ticket.
Does it send a Mobile Money prompt to my customer's phone?
No. The customer pays your business Mobile Money number as usual. The cashier confirms the payment has arrived and records Mobile Money as a payment method in the Multiple Pay window. The Payments (MoMo) tray lists the confirmed payments.
Can a bakery with more than one shop use it?
Yes. Stock is kept per location, with transfers between locations, and the system supports multiple branches. Decide at setup whether you count finished items, ingredients or both.
Do I need EFRIS e-receipts in my cafe?
If your business is VAT registered, EFRIS e-receipts can be switched on or off in Growth Informer Business. Whether they apply to you depends on your registration, so confirm with URA or your tax adviser.
Can the system work out ingredient cost for each cake or coffee from a recipe?
Recipes live in the Manufacturing module of Growth Informer Business. You list the ingredients and amounts for each cake or drink, and when you record a production run (a batch being made), those ingredients are used up from stock and the finished items are added. Your purchases of flour, milk and sugar are recorded too, so you can see what you paid for them. Ask us for a demo and we will show it with one of your own recipes.