For most NZ food trucks, Lazygrid is the pick: it's a Kiwi system with a food-truck hardware kit, a portable card reader you can buy or rent by the week, and online ordering on every plan. Bustle is the pick if you want a full hospo POS with integrated EFTPOS, and its help centre is the clearest about what works offline. Tabin suits trucks that want pre-orders and local support, and Shopify POS works if you'd rather take cards on an Android phone or a Shopify card reader.
This is our own desk research from vendor pages, help centres and the EFTPOS providers, checked on 5 October 2026. We haven't run these systems from a truck ourselves. To compare all seven systems we cover, use the comparison table.
What a food truck needs
Offline: what each system keeps doing with no signal
Markets, beaches and A&P shows don't always have a signal, so this matters more than any feature list. Here's what each pick says:
- Bustle is the most specific. If your internet drops but your local wifi is up, orders are recorded, printing works, and your EFTPOS may be unavailable or switch to its own offline mode. If the wifi is down too, the app still records orders, but printers stop.
- Tabin says it "keeps taking orders and payments in offline mode and syncs the moment you're back online".
- Lazygrid describes a local network mode in its blog, where iPads keep talking to kitchen printers without internet, and recommends a 4G EFTPOS terminal. Its pricing page doesn't mention offline.
- Shopify POS is shown as offline-capable across this site (below). Ask Shopify which card readers take payments offline in NZ before you rely on it.
Offline status as shown across this site: Lazygrid Partial; Bustle Yes; Tabin Yes; Shopify POS Yes.
Mobile EFTPOS: 4G terminal, Bluetooth reader or tap to pay
You have three ways to take cards on the move:
- A 4G EFTPOS terminal from Windcave, Shift4 (formerly Smartpay) or Eftpos NZ, ideally integrated with your POS so the amount is sent across. It has its own offline mode (limits below). See our EFTPOS terminal guide.
- A Bluetooth card reader paired with an iPad or phone, like the Stripe WisePad 3 Lazygrid sells and rents, or Shopify's readers.
- Tap to Pay on your phone. No extra hardware, but it needs a connection. Shopify's changelog lists New Zealand for Tap to Pay on Android. Don't plan on Tap to Pay on iPhone with Shopify here: in an April 2025 Shopify Community thread, Shopify support told an NZ merchant it wasn't available in New Zealand.
Integrated EFTPOS for our picks: Lazygrid: Windcave, Eftpos NZ (Verifone), Shift4 (formerly Smartpay). Bustle: Eftpos NZ (Verifone), Windcave, Shift4 (formerly Smartpay). Tabin: Eftpos NZ (Verifone), Windcave, Shift4 (formerly Smartpay). Shopify POS: No built-in NZ EFTPOS integration (available via the paid OrderMate app). More on portable kit in our mobile POS guide.
Pre-orders and online ordering
Pre-orders smooth out the lunch rush. Lazygrid includes online ordering on every plan. Tabin's food-truck page lists online pre-orders for pickup. Bustle's plans include online menu and ordering.
One small screen, one person
In a truck, one person often takes orders and payment on one iPad. Keep the menu short, put your best sellers on the first screen, and check the system lets you take payment without leaving the order screen. A trial with your real menu shows this faster than any feature list.
What a terminal can't do offline in NZ
When an EFTPOS terminal on the Eftpos NZ (Verifone) or Paymark network loses its connection, it can still take payments, with limits:
- only card-present purchases with NZ-issued debit, Visa and Mastercard cards
- no contactless: customers have to insert or swipe
- no refunds, cash out, pre-auth or phone orders
- a cap of $300 per transaction
- a limit on stored transactions per offline session (200 on the Verifone network, 99 on Paymark)
- signed receipts to keep for 12 months
So a 4G terminal with good coverage is worth more than offline mode.
What it costs
Software, as shown across this site: Lazygrid NZ$27.60/mo incl. GST; Bustle NZ$74.75/mo incl. GST; Tabin NZ$56.35/mo incl. GST (a limited-time starter pack with hardware); Shopify POS ≈ NZ$80/mo incl. GST.
Payments, from the providers' own published figures:
- Eftpos NZ: a leased mobile terminal is usually $30 to $40 + GST a month, and its smaller mPOS devices (no charging cradle or receipt printer) are $29 to $38 + GST. Add a network fee of $15.00 + GST (Verifone) or $18.90 + GST (Paymark) per terminal, and a SIM at $12.95 + GST a month unless included.
- Shift4's cost guide: leasing a terminal from most providers typically costs $30 to $60 + GST a month, and a 4G SIM usually $5 to $13 + GST a month. Shift4's own Low Cost Tap & Pay has free Android terminal rental (subject to a minimum monthly turnover) with a SIM included, and a merchant fee of about 1% per transaction.
- Stripe (used by Lazygrid's reader): from 2.6% + NZ$0.05 per domestic card transaction, plus NZ$0.15 per Tap to Pay authorisation. We couldn't confirm whether Lazygrid adds anything on top.
- Shopify Payments: 1.8% in person on the Basic plan.
Only need a terminal for the summer season? Our EFTPOS rental guide covers hire and short-term options. Put it all together in our true cost calculator.
Budget option: Loyverse
Loyverse is free for the core POS, which is tempting for a new truck. The catch for mobile trading: its only integrated NZ EFTPOS is Shift4 on iOS, and "integrated card processing terminals do not work offline". Offline status: Partial. Read our Loyverse review.
Registration note
Food trucks (mobile food premises) need a current food registration certificate under the Food Act 2014. Check the process with your council; Central Hawke's Bay District Council's food truck page is one example of what's involved.
Also selling at weekend markets? See our market stall picks. Opening a bricks-and-mortar spot? See restaurants and cafés.
Read our Lazygrid review. Read our Bustle review. Read our Tabin review. Read our Shopify POS review.