TouchBistro has been granted a patent for a feature that enables restaurants to easily and quickly split bills between customers. The United States patent number 9514427—entitled “Graphical Interface and Input Method for Allocating an Invoice Amongst a Plurality of Accounts”—was issued on December 6.
The patented feature provides restaurant staff with a powerful tool to correctly allocate whole (or partial) ordered items to individuals, or to be shared by everyone at the table. The feature leverages the tablet’s touch and swipe capabilities to designate which diner is to pay for items ordered, or how individuals are to be grouped on a bill. By simply swiping between two seats on a graphical interface showing seats around the table, the software instantly splits the bill among customers and calculates all related taxes and tips.
As splitting bills between customers is one of the more time-consuming and challenging functions regularly requested of waiters, TouchBistro focused on designing a feature to accelerate and simplify the process. The patented graphical interface with simple swipe input and automated calculation eliminates a primary stressor for serving staff, reduces billing errors, and helps increase table turns.
“This patent, along with our recent New York Design Award, demonstrates that we are design and thought leaders in our space. Unlike a generic register App, TouchBistro has been designed specifically for restaurants, enabling them to automate or simplify processes that ultimately increase revenue and improve the user and customer experience alike,” says Alex Barrotti, CEO and founder of TouchBistro. “We are committed to continually investing in technology development to address the unique challenges restaurants face. We are honored to be recognized for our invention and innovation in the market.”
TouchBistro provides an innovative mobile iPad POS for full service restaurants, quick service restaurants, food trucks, and coffee shops and bars. Waiters use the TouchBistro iPad app to take tableside customer orders and instantly transmit them to the kitchen and bar, eliminating much of the time-consuming running back and forth that slows service and table turns. The feature-rich solution helps restaurants manage and improve operational efficiency and their bottom line.
This quarter, TouchBistro announced a new $17 million Series B round of funding, bringing TouchBistro’s total funding to date to $30 million. TouchBistro is the top grossing iPad restaurant point-of-sale (POS) app in 37 countries. The company has experienced significant month-over-month growth over the past year, and now has deployed approximately 19,000 terminals across 7,000 restaurants around the world. Its POS solutions process Gross Merchandise Volumes in excess of $4 billion annually. In the last quarter, TouchBistro launched in Spanish and French, and integrated with QuickBooks and Square.
