Portable and handheld terminals
Pay at the table, pay at the gate, pay at the tailgate of a work truck. Portable terminals move the payment to wherever the customer already is, and in table service they carry a bonus that shows up in staff take home pay.
- Tap, insert and swipe
- Fitted to your counter's workflow
- Deployed around your operating hours
What pay at table changes in a dining room
Bringing the terminal to the table shortens the close out loop: no card walked to the till, no second trip for the slip. Tables turn faster on busy nights. Tip prompting at the table, presented well, is also the industry's most reliably documented lift, and it lands in your staff's pockets, which shows up in retention.
The card also never leaves the guest's sight, which quietly retires the oldest trust objection in hospitality.
Coverage is the whole game
A portable terminal is only as good as its connection at the far end of the patio. WiFi coverage in the real space, LTE fallback where WiFi is honest about its limits, and battery rotation for a full service: these are the deployment details that decide whether portables delight or infuriate. We test coverage where the terminals will actually roam, before go live, not after the first dead zone complaint.
Beyond restaurants
Gate lines and events use portables to turn a queue into a moving queue. Trades and delivery businesses close jobs on site instead of invoicing and waiting. Farm stands and market stalls run a whole business on one handheld. The common thread is the same: take the payment at the moment of agreement, wherever that moment happens.
Common questions
Do portable terminals genuinely increase tips?
Presenting tip options at the table on a clear screen reliably lifts tip capture versus counter or cash flows. We configure the presentation to fit your room's style, and one of our own multi location clients has documented a double digit lift.
How many portables does a dining room need?
Roughly one per active section during peak service, plus a charging rotation. We size the count from your table map and service pattern rather than a rule of thumb.
What if the WiFi dies mid service?
LTE fallback units keep taking payments through a WiFi outage. Whether you need that insurance depends on your building and your tolerance, and we test the actual space before recommending.
Can a portable be my only terminal?
For mobile businesses, market stalls and small rooms, absolutely. One handheld with solid connectivity is a complete payment setup, and it is often the right sized deployment we recommend for a business at that stage.
A recommended payments partner of the BC Chamber of Commerce
Find out what you are actually paying
Send us a recent statement. We read it line by line and come back within 1 to 2 business days with exactly what you are paying and whether the structure matches how you run. No obligation, just numbers.
Built for businesses that expect more from their payment systems.