Free for Windows · v1.0.0 · Offline
Free restaurant POS for Windows.
One 96 MB installer. Runs offline on a single PC. We don't take a cut on cards.
Five questions, five answers
What is it?
A free Windows POS for restaurants. v1.0.0. One 96 MB installer. Runs offline on one PC.
Is it really free?
Yes. No monthly fee. No card-fee cut. You keep whatever merchant account you already use.
Does it work offline?
Yes. The whole thing runs from a local SQLite file. Internet drops, service keeps going.
What hardware do I need?
A Windows 10 or 11 PC with 4 GB RAM. Receipt printer, cash drawer and scanner are optional.
Who built it?
Timeline Digital. We build custom POS, ERP and CRM software since 2013. The free version stays free.
Live in under 10 minutes
Five steps. No accounts. No training calls.
Step 1
Step 1 — business details
Step 2
Step 2 — country, currency and tax
Step 3
Step 3 — load sample menu and tables
- 1
Run the installer
TimelineRestaurantsPOS-Setup-1.0.0.exe on any Windows 10 or 11 PC. 96 MB. No accounts.
- 2
Add your business
Name, logo, phone, address. All optional except the name. Data stays on the device.
- 3
Set country and tax
Pick the USA and your sales tax rate. New York 8.875%. Texas 8.25%. California 7.25%. Override anytime.
- 4
Load sample menu
Optional. 25 items, 11 tables. Try it for 30 seconds, then clear it and add your real menu.
- 5
Ring up the first order
Open the order screen. Dine-in, takeout or delivery. Done.
Six modules, no upsells
Order screen. Tables. Menu. Recipes. Reports. EOD.
Order screen
One screen for dine-in, takeout and delivery. Search, filter, attach to a table, send to the kitchen.
- Dine-in, takeout and delivery toggles
- Category filters and item search
- Hold, split, merge — all in the order screen
- Sub-second response on a mid-range PC
Floor plan
Lay out tables and bar seats. Tap an occupied seat to reopen its order. Edit the layout when the floor changes.
- Per-table capacity (T1 cap 2, T2 cap 4)
- Green = free, red = occupied
- Edit-layout mode for shift changes
- Bar seats and dining tables together
Menu and modifiers
Build the menu in minutes. Categories, prices, modifier groups, 86 toggle. Search stays instant past 500 items.
- Categories you control
- Prices in your local currency
- Modifier groups for size, sides, add-ons
- One-tap 86 button when an item runs out
Recipe inventory
Track ingredients, not just dishes. Recipes deduct stock when the order closes. Food cost shows up the next morning.
- Stock, min, unit and cost per ingredient
- Low-stock alerts on the dashboard
- Menu items mapped to ingredients
- Stock auto-deducts on closed orders
Reports
How much, when, what sold, what got comped. Today / 7 / 30 days or custom range. CSV export.
- Orders, gross, net, average ticket
- Sales tax, tips, discounts
- Hourly heatmap, top categories, top items
- Voids, payment mix, CSV export
EOD and printer setup
Drawer count at end of shift. Receipt template you control. ESC/POS printer over USB or network.
- End-of-day drawer count
- Custom receipt header, footer, tax line
- Promos: percent or flat, date windows
- USB or network receipt printer
Backup, settings, about
The three screens owners actually check on day one.
Backup & restore — local zip files
Settings — business profile and country
About panel — ownership and offline guarantees
Who uses it
Quick-service
Burger spots, taco counters, bowl shops. Fast checkout, modifier menus, takeout-first.
Cafés
Drink modifiers for size and milk. One touchscreen at the bar. Drawer count in 60 seconds.
Pizza shops
Half-and-half toppings, slice vs whole pricing, kitchen ticket to a USB printer.
Full-service
Tables and bar seats out of the box. Split checks, reopen tabs, hourly shift reports.
Ghost kitchens
Delivery-only mode. Categorize orders by virtual brand. See which one earns rent.
Bakeries and counters
Counter takeout flow. Promos, discounts, instant receipts. Live in 10 minutes.
Set your rate, done
Pre-built for every state. Examples below.
| City / State | Rate | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| New York City, NY | 8.875% | Combined state + city + MCTD |
| Los Angeles, CA | 9.50% | State 7.25% + LA County 2.25% |
| Chicago, IL | 10.25% | Highest big-city restaurant tax |
| Houston, TX | 8.25% | State 6.25% + Houston 2.00% |
| Miami, FL | 7.00% | State 6% + Miami-Dade 1% |
| Atlanta, GA | 8.90% | State 4% + Fulton/Atlanta 4.9% |
| Seattle, WA | 10.35% | State 6.5% + King County 3.85% |
| Phoenix, AZ | 8.60% | State 5.6% + city 3% |
Receipts show a "Sales Tax" line. Override the rate per state, county, or city anytime from Settings → Tax.
The real monthly bill
Software fee plus card cut at $15,000/month in card sales.
| POS | Software fee | Card cut | Offline | Free forever? | Operator notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Timeline Restaurants POSPick | $0 | $0 (use your own merchant account) | Yes | Yes | Free Windows install. Tables, recipes, EOD, local backup. Bring your own card processor. |
| Square for Restaurants | $0 free / $69+ paid | 2.6% + 10¢ per swipe | Partial | Free tier | $15k/month in card sales = ~$400/month in processing fees. That's the real bill. |
| Toast Starter | $0 starter / paid tiers | ~2.49% + 15¢ blended | Partial | Free tier | Multi-year processor and hardware contracts. Hard to walk away once you're in. |
| Clover Dining | $14.95 – $84.95 | ~2.3% + 10¢ | Partial | No | Hardware bundle plus a multi-year processor lock-in. Total cost adds up fast. |
| TouchBistro | $69+ | Separate processor | Partial | No | Strong table-service features. Monthly fee plus processor cost rules out small spots. |
| Loyverse | $0 base / paid add-ons | Depends on partner | Yes | Free tier | Good free tablet POS. Recipes, EOD and table layouts are paid add-ons. |
Three reasons
The card-fee trap
$15k a month in card sales costs you ~$400/month at 2.6%. We don't process cards, so we don't take that cut.
Why offline
Cloud POS freezes the second your router blinks. A local SQLite file keeps service running.
You own your data
Menu, prices, sales history, customers — all on your PC. Nothing to migrate when you switch.
What's in the box
Version
v1.0.0
Installer size
~96 MB
Platform
Windows 10 / 11
Database
Local SQLite
Internet
Not required
Cloud account
None
Subscription
$0 forever
Card-fee cut
0%
Common questions
What is Timeline Restaurants POS v1.0.0?+
A free Windows POS for restaurants. Tables, dine-in, takeout, delivery, recipe inventory, EOD, local backup. One 96 MB installer. No cloud, no accounts, no subscription.
Is it free forever?+
Yes. Single-device version stays free. No monthly fee, no per-swipe cut. You pay the merchant account you already use for cards.
Does it work offline?+
Yes. Local SQLite file on the POS machine. Internet outage doesn't stop service — orders, payments, receipts, reports keep working.
Which states and tax rates are supported?+
All 50 US states. Set your sales tax rate at setup and override it anytime. NYC 8.875%, LA 9.5%, Chicago 10.25%, Houston 8.25% — whatever applies.
Can it handle tables and bar seats?+
Yes. Starter floor plan: 8 dining tables (T1–T8) plus 3 bar seats (B1–B3). Edit the layout, reopen occupied tables, split checks during service.
Does recipe inventory work?+
Yes. Map menu items to ingredients. Stock deducts when an order closes. Food cost and waste show up in reports without end-of-shift counts.
What's in Reports?+
Summary, Hourly, Categories, Items, Payments, Voids, Discounts. Today / 7 / 30 days or custom range. CSV export on every view.
How do backups work?+
Settings → Backup makes a zip of the database plus images. Restore from any zip later. Daily backup to a USB drive is the recommended habit.
What hardware do I need?+
A Windows 10 or 11 PC with 4 GB RAM. ESC/POS receipt printer and cash drawer are optional. Touchscreens are supported but not required.
Can you customize it for my restaurant?+
Yes. Timeline Digital builds custom modules — kitchen display, multi-location sync, online ordering — at a fixed quote. The free version stays free.
Run service tonight.
One 96 MB Windows installer. Free, forever.
Need multi-location or kitchen-display? We build those as paid custom modules. The free version stays free.