Behind the bar
Plan a New Bar Around Service Points and Payments
A new bar can look beautifully considered from the customer side and feel completely wrong once three people start working behind it. One bartender is trying to reach the till, another needs the same stretch of counter to make drinks, and a customer is holding out a card at exactly the point finished orders need to be handed over. When planning a new bar, draw the service before fixing the technology in place. The till and payment point should support the journey from order to finished drink, not occupy whatever patch of counter happened to be left over.
Start with a busy order, not an empty floor plan
An empty bar is deceptive. There are no customers leaning on the counter, no glassware waiting to be cleared and no colleague standing exactly where somebody else needs to walk.
So begin with a believable service moment.
Picture Friday at 8.15pm
Hypothetical example: one group orders two pints, a glass of wine and two mixed drinks. While the bartender enters that order, another customer wants to pay. A colleague is returning with clean glasses and somebody else is collecting a completed drinks order.
Where is everyone standing?
If the answer puts three members of staff in the same square metre, change the plan while it is still a drawing.
“A bar layout should make sense when it is full of people and half-finished jobs, not only when the counter is empty.”
This service-flow exercise belongs alongside the wider premises, licensing, staffing, accessibility, financial and other professional work involved in opening a bar. It is not a substitute for specialist advice; it is a way of making sure the customer and staff journey has been thought through too.
Draw the customer’s journey and the bartender’s journey
Take a plan of the proposed bar and draw two routes in different colours.
The first is the customer journey: approach, wait, order, pay and receive drinks.
The second is the staff journey. Start where the order is taken, then trace the movements needed to reach the relevant glassware, products, preparation area, till or ordering device, payment point and handover position.
Look for repeated crossings
A bartender walking two steps is not a problem. Two bartenders repeatedly crossing each other to reach the same equipment can be.
Pay particular attention to shared resources. If everybody needs to reach the same till, fridge or preparation point, what happens when two orders are being handled at once?
| Point | Question to answer | What to test |
|---|---|---|
| Queue | How does the guest know where to wait? | Whether waiting customers block collection or payment. |
| Order | Who takes the order and where is it entered? | Two customers ordering at roughly the same time. |
| Prepare | Can staff reach what they need without unnecessary crossings? | Two colleagues making different orders together. |
| Pay | Where does the customer complete payment? | Customer and staff access at the busiest point. |
| Handover | Where are finished drinks given to the guest? | Whether collection clashes with new orders. |
| Exception | Where does a query or changed order get resolved? | Whether one problem blocks the whole service point. |
Decide where ordering and payment actually happen
“The bar” is not specific enough. Decide whether guests can order along its whole length or whether particular positions act as service points.
Then decide how many members of staff may need to enter orders at the same time.
The shared-till question
Hypothetical example: two bartenders are serving independently but both rely on one ordering point. Bartender A is entering a six-drink round while Bartender B has already heard the next customer’s order and is waiting to record it.
That does not automatically mean you need another device. It means you should test whether the shared point creates an unacceptable delay in the service model you are planning.
If you consider additional equipment, test its physical position too. Two devices placed side by side may still force staff into the same bottleneck.
Think about the customer at payment
Where appropriate to the payment setup you choose, the customer may need to see, reach or interact with a payment device. Test that moment at the proposed counter rather than assuming it will be comfortable because it worked on an office desk.
Also look at what is happening around them. A payment position directly beside the drinks handover can create confusion about whose turn it is and which drinks belong to whom.
Keep shared orders recognisable
Some bars operate with one bartender taking an order, making it and handing it to the customer. Others divide the work. Once several people contribute to the same order, identity becomes important.
Follow the order after it leaves the first bartender
Hypothetical example: one member of staff takes an order containing beer, wine and mixed drinks. A colleague prepares part of it. A third person reaches the handover point just as several completed drinks are waiting.
How do they know which drinks form one complete order and which waiting customer should receive them?
Use whatever order identification method suits the operation and is supported by the setup you choose, but test it with several similar orders waiting together. Do not assume a tray of drinks will remain self-explanatory.
Decide who owns a change
If a customer changes a drink before it is prepared, the person accepting that change needs to know how to update the live order and, where another colleague is preparing it, make sure they are working from the current instruction.
Similarly, staff need an agreed way to correct an accidental entry. Ask any prospective EPOS supplier to demonstrate the supported process rather than assuming every system handles amendments in the same way.
Design the till menu around real service
A bar’s ordering screen should make sense to the people using it under pressure. That starts with recognisable item names and choices that match the way the business actually sells drinks.
During setup, involve experienced staff rather than building the menu entirely from a spreadsheet in the office.
Test the things customers actually say
Ask a colleague to play the customer and order several realistic rounds. Can the bartender find the requested products without somebody pointing at the screen?
Include similar items, relevant serving sizes and the permitted choices your venue intends to offer. Then introduce a change halfway through.
If you intend to offer customer tabs or another deferred-payment process, ask the supplier to demonstrate the exact workflow supported by the proposed system and make sure staff understand how your chosen process begins, remains identifiable and is settled. Do not assume a particular behaviour simply because “tabs” appears on a feature list.
Keep unusual items findable
The best-known products may be easy to remember. The real test is the drink sold less frequently. If staff have to search through several unclear categories every time somebody orders it, review the organisation before launch.
Test the proposed equipment positions
Once you have a service plan, place temporary markers where the actual devices are proposed to go. Cardboard templates can be surprisingly useful before counters are finished.
Include the physical footprint of screens, stands, printers or other equipment relevant to your chosen setup. Think about where cables and connections would need to go without making assumptions about installation requirements.
Stand where the bartender will stand
Can the person entering an order see and use the device comfortably? Does another colleague need to squeeze behind them? Does opening storage or reaching for equipment interfere with the position?
Then stand where the customer will be. Does the service point make sense from their side?
Confirm power, mounting, network or other technical requirements with the relevant suppliers and qualified installers. Equipment should be installed and operated within the manufacturer’s requirements and appropriate professional guidance for the premises.
Rehearse the rush before opening
A single test transaction proves very little about a bar. The useful rehearsal is several orders arriving close together.
Run a ten-minute mock service
Give colleagues different roles and use the approved training or test process for any live technology. Have several people play customers.
Include a simple two-drink order, a larger round, two customers wanting to order almost simultaneously, one changed drink and one customer asking a question while another is trying to pay.
Watch rather than coach. Note where staff wait for equipment, cross behind each other, lose track of an order or accidentally create two queues.
Use this pre-opening service check
| Check | Ask the team |
|---|---|
| Customer flow | Can guests tell where to order, pay and collect without blocking each other? |
| Staff movement | Which journeys are repeated for almost every order? |
| Order entry | Can the expected number of staff record orders without unnecessary waiting? |
| Payment | Is the proposed payment position practical for staff and customers? |
| Shared preparation | Can colleagues tell which drinks belong to which live order? |
| Changes | Does the person preparing a drink receive the current instruction? |
| Handover | Can the right customer recognise and receive the complete order? |
| Technology | Have suppliers confirmed the requirements for the proposed positions and workflow? |
Afterwards, resist the temptation to solve every problem by adding equipment. If staff collide because the ordering point is badly positioned, another device in the same place may simply create a more expensive collision.
Change the workflow or layout first where appropriate, then decide what technology supports it.
Practical takeaway
When planning a new bar, trace an order from the customer’s first words to the finished drinks and confirmed payment. Mark where guests wait, where staff enter orders, how colleagues share preparation, where payment happens and how the right drinks reach the right customer. Test several orders at once before fixing equipment positions. Once the team can explain the service clearly, you have a much stronger basis for choosing and positioning the technology that supports it.
Put the idea into practice
Sketch each proposed service point and note what it must handle before buying equipment: ordering, payment, receipts or a mixture of all three. EPOS Bookings bar EPOS and POS terminals can then be placed around the actual service pattern rather than simply duplicating the existing bar setup.