Guide
POS Hardware for a Café, Restaurant or Shop in Qatar: What You Actually Need
Which POS hardware a café, restaurant or shop in Qatar really needs, what each piece costs, and the few things worth checking before you buy — so you don't pay for a bundle you won't use.
Start from the software, not the hardware
Many owners buy a POS bundle first and then discover it only runs one company's software. If the system is ever replaced, the hardware goes with it. Choose the software first, then buy only the hardware it needs.
Outale runs in a web browser, so it works on hardware you can buy anywhere in Doha: an Android tablet, an iPad, a laptop or a Windows touchscreen. There is no proprietary terminal to buy, and nothing to throw away if you ever leave.
What each piece costs
| Hardware | Estimated price (QAR) |
|---|---|
| Android tablet, 10 inch | 600 – 1,500 |
| iPad | 1,300 – 2,500 |
| All-in-one POS terminal or Windows touchscreen | 1,500 – 4,000 |
| Tablet stand for the counter | 100 – 300 |
| 80mm thermal receipt printer | 400 – 900 |
| Kitchen printer | 500 – 1,200 |
| Cash drawer | 250 – 500 |
| Barcode scanner | 100 – 500 |
| Kitchen screen (tablet plus wall mount) | 700 – 1,700 |
| Small UPS for the router and printer | 250 – 600 |
Estimates for planning, based on typical retail prices in Doha. Actual prices vary by brand and shop. The card machine is not on this list: it comes from your bank or payment provider, usually on a monthly rental.
What a typical setup looks like
- Café or takeaway counter: one tablet with a stand, a receipt printer and a cash drawer. Roughly 1,400 – 3,200 QAR
- Restaurant with a kitchen: add a kitchen printer or a kitchen screen, and a second tablet if there is table service. Roughly 3,000 – 6,500 QAR
- Shop or minimarket: a tablet or touchscreen, receipt printer, cash drawer and barcode scanner. Roughly 1,500 – 3,800 QAR
Start smaller than the shop tells you
A shop selling hardware will usually suggest the full bundle. Start with one till and one printer, run it for a month, and add the second screen or the kitchen printer once you can see where orders actually slow down.
Printers: the one piece worth choosing carefully
- Buy 80mm thermal, not 58mm. Receipts and kitchen tickets are laid out for 80mm paper, and the rolls are easy to find in Doha
- Prefer a printer with a network (LAN) port. Several tills can share it, a kitchen printer on the network can sit anywhere, and it is the setup that prints without a print dialog
- Plug the cash drawer into the receipt printer, not into the tablet. The printer is what opens the drawer on a cash sale, so ask us to set this up with you rather than guessing
- If you put a printer in the kitchen, keep it away from the fryer and the sink. Heat and steam shorten the life of thermal printers
Print one test order before you pay
Ask the shop to connect the printer to your tablet and print a test page in the shop. A printer that works with a laptop does not always work the same way with a tablet, and it is much easier to swap it on the spot than a week later.
What you can skip
- A kitchen screen, if your menu is short and orders have one or two items. A printed ticket is enough
- A barcode scanner in a café or restaurant. Tapping a product tile is faster
- A customer-facing display. Nice to have, but it rarely changes how fast the queue moves
- An expensive all-in-one terminal, if a good tablet on a stand does the same job for the counter
One thing not to skip is a small UPS for the router and the receipt printer. Short power cuts are what knock most tills offline. Outale keeps selling without internet either way, but a UPS means the printer keeps printing too.
Common questions
How much does POS hardware cost in Qatar?
Can I use an iPad or Android tablet as a POS?
Does the POS company supply the card machine?
Do barcode scanners work offline?
Terms used in this guide
- KOT (Kitchen Order Ticket)A KOT is the ticket that tells the kitchen what to cook. When an order is taken, the POS prints or displays a Kitchen Order Ticket listing the items, quantities and any special instructions, so the kitchen works from the order rather than from memory or a shouted request.
- KDS (Kitchen Display System)A KDS is a screen in the kitchen that replaces printed tickets. Orders appear live as they are taken, staff mark them done as they go out, and nothing depends on paper that can be lost, smudged or stuck to a rail out of order.
- Offline modeOffline mode lets a POS keep taking orders and printing receipts when the internet is down, storing everything on the device and syncing it to the cloud once the connection returns.
Read next
- How to Open a Restaurant in Qatar: The Full ProcessEvery step to open a restaurant or cafe in Qatar — company setup, trade licence, municipality approval, health cards, staff visas, and what it realistically costs.
- How to Switch POS Systems Without Losing Data or a Day of SalesA practical plan for moving from one POS to another: what to export before you cancel, what moves across and what doesn't, which day to switch, and how to run both systems for a week so nothing is lost.
Opening soon?
We help new restaurants in Qatar get set up — menu loaded, recipes costed, staff trained before you open. And it keeps selling when the internet doesn't.
This guide is general information, not legal or financial advice. Government requirements and fees change — confirm current details with the relevant Qatari authority before making decisions.