> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.elnidopos.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# POS for cafés

> Point of sale built for real café operations in Mexico: drink variants and modifiers, tips, barista KDS and a digital points card in Apple Wallet.

A café sells more complex than it looks. A latte is not one product, it is 15: small, medium, large, whole milk, light, almond, oat, with or without sugar, hot or cold, extra shot, decaf. If your POS forces you to create 15 separate products for that, you will take longer ringing up than brewing.

## What your POS needs to do if you sell coffee

| Feature                 | Why it matters                                           |
| ----------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Variants**            | Small, medium, large latte from one base product         |
| **Modifiers**           | Milk type, sugar, extra shots as add-ons                 |
| **Built-in tips**       | Customer picks 10%, 15% or 20% on screen, no friction    |
| **Barista KDS**         | Order goes straight to the bar display, no paper tickets |
| **To-go vs dine-in**    | Distinguish takeaway tickets from sit-down               |
| **Digital points card** | Regulars accumulate and come back more often             |

## How a typical café uses El Nido

Morning rush:

* Cashier builds the ticket: large latte, almond milk, no sugar, extra shot. Applies 15% tip. Charges by card.
* Order shows automatically on the barista's screen.
* Customer gets ticket by WhatsApp or printed.
* If they are a regular, points accumulate to their Apple Wallet without the cashier doing anything extra.

## Recipes with real cost

Every drink deducts what it uses:

* Latte = 7g coffee + 200ml milk + 1 paper cup + 1 lid + 1 straw = real cost in pesos per drink.

With that number you know each product's margin without guessing. If almond milk adds \$8 to your cost, you decide whether to absorb or charge extra.

## Digital points card for cafés

Your regulars (the ones who come 3-5 times a week) accumulate points in Apple Wallet or Google Pay. No paper card that wears out. No app to install. Configurable as redeemable points, stamps (buy 10, get 1 free) or tiers.

Real case: Café Berlín in León reports regulars who stopped switching to nearby cafés because they did not want to abandon their accumulated points.

## When you do NOT need a POS for your café

* You sell fewer than 20 coffees a day and you are alone.
* You do not care which product brings the most margin.
* You do not want to reward regulars.
* You only take cash and no one asks for invoices.

For that size, a tablet with a spreadsheet works. The POS starts paying when there are baristas, several shifts, frequent modifiers or recurring customers.

## What it costs at your size

* **Free:** \$0/month. To get started with 1 small café.
* **Lite:** MXN \$349/month. Variants, modifiers, tips, basic digital card.
* **Business:** MXN \$999/month. Barista KDS, recipes with cost, AI assistant, multi-tier loyalty.

<Card title="Try El Nido free for 14 days for your café" icon="arrow-right" href="https://elnidopos.com">
  2-minute setup. No contract. No credit card.
</Card>
