topic Re: FOOD TRUCK P.O.S in Restaurant Operations

FOOD TRUCK P.O.S

JSOTO — Tue, 04 Nov 2025 23:01:07 GMT

TO SET UP AN OFFSITE FOOD TRUCK, WHAT DO I NEED TO OPERATE? I ASSUME A HANDHELD, BUT DO I NEED A KDS? DOES THE HANDHELD COME WITH A PRINTER? THE SETUP WOULD BE A CASHIER TAKING ORDERS INSIDE OF THE SITE, SENDING ORDERS TO AN OUTSIDE FOOD TRUCK. IS THIS OPTIMAL?

Re: FOOD TRUCK P.O.S

Rob — Wed, 05 Nov 2025 03:37:04 GMT

Great question!

Like you've mentioned, a Toast Go 3 is helpful for taking orders, but whether you also need a KDS or printer depends on how you plan to manage order communication and ticketing. A lot of people use a cellular hotspot, such as an AT&T Nighthawk, that supports Ethernet out. You can plug that into a small router, then connect your devices (printer, KDS, handhelds) through that local network.
If you prefer to see orders on-screen, a KDS in the truck is a great option. If you prefer paper tickets, add an M30 printer connected to the same router or switch.

Important note: Handhelds don’t have built-in printers, so if you need printed receipts or kitchen tickets, you’ll need to pair them with a printer.
Hope this helps! I have also found some community posts and Toast Central articles that may be helpful. If I'm wrong about anything here, please help me out, community members!

https://community.toasttab.com/t5/fast-casual/food-truck-hotspot/m-p/9977
https://community.toasttab.com/t5/back-office-team/using-handheld-device-at-offsite-festival/m-p/5411/page/2

Use Toast at Farmers Markets, Outdoor Areas, and Food Trucks
Follow Toast's Off Premise Payments Guide

Re: FOOD TRUCK P.O.S

HearthpizzeriaB — Wed, 05 Nov 2025 21:50:36 GMT

Great advice Rob. Ive been thinking about the Toast Go 3 for when I do outside events with liquor sales!

Re: FOOD TRUCK P.O.S

rcmck — Wed, 05 Nov 2025 22:39:34 GMT

Do you already have an existing business and this is just for events or is this separate? You might be able to just use two Go 3's with cellular connection, KDS mode on a handheld is definitely usable, especially for smaller orders. You could have one inside taking the orders, and one in the foodtruck in KDS mode.

Re: FOOD TRUCK P.O.S

Rob — Tue, 11 Nov 2025 19:33:56 GMT

Maybe you can have Toast IQ look at your sales to see if the cost is worth it? I'm not sure what the limits of Toast IQ are yet but I was able to play with it a bit when I went to Toast on Tour Atlanta. Excited to learn more about its capabilities!