1. What makes coffee shop software different from store software
A store sells products with barcodes. Scan, charge, done. A coffee shop sells combinations: the same cappuccino can be made with regular milk, soy milk, almond milk or oat milk; with or without syrup; with a double shot or decaf. If your software treats every combination as a separate menu item, the barista is scrolling through a 40-variant list on every order. That's a direct drain on time.
Software designed for coffee shops solves this with three mechanisms:
- One-tap grid of favorite products. Espresso, americano, cappuccino, latte, tea — the high-runners sit on the main screen, not in sub-menus.
- Modifiers (variants). Tap "cappuccino" → the modifier list appears: plant milk (+€1), vanilla syrup (+€0.60), extra shot (+€0.80). Two ticks and the order is ready in 3 seconds.
- Product groups + shortcuts. Hot drinks, cold drinks, pastries, sandwiches — organized visually by color and category, not in alphabetical lists.
On top of that, the typical coffee shop flow is "order at the counter, pay now, served at the table in 2 minutes" — not "open the table, charge at the end like a restaurant". The software has to be built around that pattern, otherwise it forces the barista to hit "close table" and "new table" a hundred times a day.
Conexa HoReCa is designed for exactly this flow: fast order, immediate payment, tax receipt issued automatically, and an optional barista ticket printed separately.
2. Critical features for a coffee shop that runs well
These are the features you must test at a demo, no matter the vendor. If a single tick is missing, ask how it's solved — and don't settle for "we'll add it on the roadmap".
- Tablet POS (Android / iPad) A 10–11 inch tablet replaces the bulky PC under the counter and saves precious bar space. It costs €140–€300 and is robust enough for 8 hours of taps a day. Conexa runs natively on Android and iPad, plus in the browser on any device.
- Per-product modifiers with automatic pricing Latte = €3. Latte with almond milk = €3 + €1 = €4. The system does the math without the barista touching the price. Modifications show on the receipt (so the customer sees what was charged) and on the bar ticket (so the barista sees what to make).
- Separate printing: tax receipt vs barista ticket The tax receipt prints at the till for the customer; the prep ticket prints to a thermal printer at the espresso machine, with product name + modifiers, so the barista doesn't have to read over your shoulder. Conexa lets you route by product group (hot drinks → barista printer, pastries → counter).
- Reports by hour / by category At the end of the day you see how many espressos you sold between 08:00 and 10:00, how many between 12:00 and 14:00, which category drove revenue (coffees vs pastries vs sandwiches). You use that to plan staffing and stock for next week.
- Barista shifts with open/close Each barista opens their shift on their own account, sales are recorded against them. At close, the report shows cash collected, card collected, any open tabs. Essential if you have 2–3 baristas rotating shifts.
3. Inventory — beans, milk, syrup, packaging
Many coffee shop owners think "stock control" means counting bean bags at inventory. That's just 20% of the picture. The real hidden costs sit in actual consumption per drink sold:
- One espresso = 7g of beans. 1kg theoretically gives 142 shots — in practice 130–135 after calibration.
- One cappuccino = 7g beans + 150ml milk + ~1g optional sugar.
- One latte = 7g beans + 220ml milk.
- One added syrup = 15–20ml from a 700ml bottle (35–46 doses per bottle).
If you set up automatic stock deductions from recipes, the system tells you at any time how many kg of beans you should have, vs. what's actually in the bin. A big gap = waste, badly calibrated machine, possibly undeclared personal consumption. For a coffee shop doing 200 cups a day, a 3–4% gap is 1–1.5 kg of beans thrown away every month — at €16/kg, ~€24/month in losses you weren't even seeing.
What Conexa does specifically
- Recipes with per-product quantities. Define "espresso = 7g beans, origin X" once. On every sale, bean stock drops automatically.
- Minimum stock alerts. Set a 2kg minimum for milk and 1.5kg for Brazil beans. When you drop below the threshold, you get a notification so you can reorder before running out on a Saturday night.
- FIFO for perishables. Milk and short-shelf-life items (sandwiches, desserts) sell in the order they entered stock — you won't find an expired bottle at the back of the fridge on a Friday.
- Fast supplier receipts. Importing the e-Invoice from ANAF SPV lands directly in stock with prices and quantities, no typing 30 lines by hand.
4. Tax receipts + B2B e-Invoicing (when you sell coffee to offices)
In Romania, any sale to an end consumer requires a tax receipt issued by an ANAF-approved fiscal printer reporting to ANAF. Card payment changes nothing — the receipt is still required. Conexa connects to the most common models:
| Manufacturer | Common models | Connection | Conexa |
|---|---|---|---|
| Datecs | DP-25, DP-50, FMP-10, WP-50 | Bluetooth, LAN, USB | Yes |
| Tremol | M20, S20, ZM, FP30 | Bluetooth, LAN, USB | Yes |
| Custom | Kube II, K3, Q3X | USB, LAN | Yes |
| Daisy | Compact M, Perfect M | Bluetooth, USB | Yes |
| Eltrade | A3, A1, B1 | Bluetooth, LAN | Yes |
When you sell coffee to offices (B2B), e-Invoice kicks in
Many corporate customers buy coffee during the lunch break and ask for an invoice for accounting. Since 2024, B2B invoices in Romania must be sent through ANAF SPV (the e-Factura system). Conexa generates the invoice from the sale, sends it to SPV in the ANAF-compliant XML format, and your corporate customer receives a validated copy. No separate tool, no manual export, no risk of forgetting.
Conexa applies the correct VAT rate on every sale, and monthly VAT reports are generated in one click. For the exact rate that applies to your coffee shop (dine-in vs takeaway), confirm with your accountant — the HoReCa regime has details worth validating.
5. What it costs — minimum setup (1 cashier) vs full setup (2 cashiers + terrace)
Two concrete scenarios with real numbers. Hardware is one-off; the Conexa subscription is monthly, no long-term contract.
5.1. Minimum setup — small coffee shop, 1 barista per shift
| 10" Android tablet (Samsung Tab A9+ or equivalent) | €180 |
| 80mm thermal printer for the barista ticket | €90 |
| Fiscal printer (Datecs DP-25 or Tremol M20) | €240 |
| Cash drawer (optional, if you take cash) | €50 |
| Conexa HoReCa subscription (monthly, no contract) | Custom quote |
| Total hardware one-off: | ~€560 |
5.2. Full setup — coffee shop with 2 baristas per shift + terrace
| 2 × 10" tablet (1 at the till + 1 for the terrace) | €360 |
| 2 × 80mm thermal printer (bar ticket + receipts) | €180 |
| Fiscal printer (Datecs DP-25) | €240 |
| Cash drawer | €50 |
| Bluetooth scanner (optional, for gift cards) | €50 |
| Conexa HoReCa multi-station subscription | Custom quote |
| Total hardware one-off: | ~€880 |
6. Frequently asked questions
If I only take cards, do I still need a fiscal printer?
Yes. In Romania, regardless of the payment method (card or cash), every sale to an end consumer must produce a tax receipt from an ANAF-approved fiscal printer. The card only simplifies the money flow — it doesn't exempt you from the receipt. Conexa connects to the fiscal printer via Bluetooth, USB or LAN and issues the receipt automatically on every order.
How do I manage bean stock across two different origins?
Each bean origin is a separate product in the catalog (e.g. "Brazil beans 1kg" and "Ethiopia beans 1kg"). In the espresso recipe, you tie 7g per shot to the relevant origin, so on sale stock drops from the correct kilo. You see at any time how many kg you have of each and get an alert when it drops below the threshold you set.
Can a gift card be sold from the POS?
Yes. Conexa accepts several payment methods on the same receipt — cash, card, voucher / gift card, meal tickets (Up, Sodexo, Edenred), an internal digital wallet for loyal customers. The gift card is sold as a "voucher" product and is used in a later sale as a payment method — the system tracks balances automatically.
Can I print separately to the barista and produce a receipt at the till?
Yes. Conexa routes products to different printers: coffees and hot drinks go to the barista prep ticket (thermal printer at the espresso machine), while the tax receipt from the fiscal printer prints at the till for the customer. The routing is set up per product group, once — then it runs automatically.
How long does initial setup take for a new coffee shop?
For a coffee shop with 30–60 menu items and 1 tablet: 2–3 hours on-site or remotely, plus 1 hour of training with the lead barista. For larger coffee shops (2+ stations, terrace, extended menu): 1 day. Importing recipes with per-product quantities takes the longest — worth doing carefully.
Want to see Conexa on a tablet in a real coffee shop?
20 minutes, online or on-site, no pressure. We'll walk you through the full flow: fast tap on cappuccino, plant-milk modifier, tax receipt, hourly report — on the tablet of a Conexa coffee shop running right now.
Book a demoRead next
- HoReCa page — all Conexa features for coffee shops and restaurants
- Guide: How to choose POS software for a restaurant
- Pizzeria software — orders, delivery and toppings
- Tablet POS — hardware, fiscal-printer connection, costs
Conexa is POS and business management software developed since 2014, with 1,200+ active businesses in Romania, including coffee shops that sell hundreds of cups a day on a tablet.