Digitalising a restaurant, café, bar, or small hotel costs from €2,000 for a basic fiscal POS to €50,000+ for a full platform with online ordering, loyalty, and delivery integration. A typical 50-200 seat restaurant invests €5,000-€20,000 and pays back in 6-18 months through time savings, fewer errors, and higher average order value.
Main hospitality tools
- POS with fiscalisation. Mandatory under Croatian fiscal rules. Storyous, Adminko, Profis, Pantheon Cafe - €30-€200/month + €500-€3,000 hardware.
- Reservations. ResDiary, Quandoo, OpenTable - €50-€300/month.
- Online ordering and delivery. Wolt and Glovo take 25-30%; your own shop via Shopify or custom (€5,000-€20,000) - see our web shop cost guide.
- Loyalty. Loyverse, SumUp - €20-€100/month.
- Stock management. €30-€150/month, often inside the POS.
When SaaS pays off
For 80% of venues, off-the-shelf combinations work:
- Café/bistro: Storyous POS + Wolt + Instagram
- Mid-sized restaurant: Storyous or Profis POS + ResDiary + Wolt/Glovo + basic loyalty
- Chain: Pantheon Cafe + custom bookings and marketing
Typical setup: €80-€250/month + €1,000-€3,000 hardware. Fast to launch, low upfront.
When custom pays off
Custom is rational for chains with 5+ locations (SaaS per-location fees pile up), unique concepts (VIP booths, tasting menus, food trucks), or deep integrations (kitchen, warehouse, own loyalty app). Cost: €15,000-€60,000+. See custom software vs. SaaS. ROI: 18-36 months.
Top 5 mistakes
- Cheapest POS. Five extra seconds per order in rush hour = ~4 lost hours/month.
- No Wolt/Glovo-POS integration. Waiters retype orders; errors follow. See how API integrations work.
- Loyalty programme nobody uses. Plastic cards fail; use phone-number or app-based programmes.
- Site not optimised for bookings. A “Book now” CTA must sit above the fold.
- No SEO or Core Web Vitals tracking. 5+ second loads lose bookings.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can we use only Wolt/Glovo and skip our own system? You can, but you pay 25-30% commission. For a €30,000/month restaurant, that is €7,500-€9,000/month. Your own webshop pays back in two to three months.
What if we have a café and a restaurant in one venue? Most modern POS systems support multiple “profiles” (café, restaurant, terrace) on the same register with separate reports.
Do we need a guest mobile app? For a single restaurant - no. For a 5+ location chain - usually yes; the app becomes a marketing channel.
Can we use EU funds for digitalisation? Yes, via NPOO and similar programmes. See our EU funds article.
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Thinking about digitalisation?
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