# helloTESS! — POS & Checkout Systems

helloTESS! by TESSERO GmbH holds a panel rating of 2/5 from 6 AI judges (category median 2.5/5), as of 2026-10-30. Provenance: EU-Made; sovereignty: not determined.

- Vendor: TESSERO GmbH (https://www.hellotess.com/)
- Category: [POS & Checkout Systems](https://whats-best.ai/software/pos.md)
- Provenance (editorial classification): EU-Made
- Canonical page: https://whats-best.ai/software/pos/hellotess
- Alternatives: https://whats-best.ai/software/pos/hellotess/alternatives ([markdown](https://whats-best.ai/software/pos/hellotess/alternatives.md))
- Data as of: 2026-11-04 · evaluated 2026-10-30 · oldest source captured 2026-10-29

**AI-generated.** Every score, rationale and verdict here is written by a panel of AI judges from public evidence — an analysis, not a hands-on test. Every fact quotes the vendor page it was read from. No score can be bought. How scores are made: https://whats-best.ai/methodology

## At a glance

- Vendor: TESSERO GmbH
- Headquarters: Not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 29 Oct 2026
- Data hosting: Not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 29 Oct 2026
- Free plan: Not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 29 Oct 2026

## The panel's verdict

helloTESS! is a cloud-based iPad till for German hospitality from TESSERO GmbH of Munich. It scores highest on checkout and hardware and on accounting and portability, both ranging from 4 to 6, where judges credited the till operations, digital receipts by QR code, email and customer display, guest self-ordering on the FloorPad, the integrated DATEV interface and a documented API in version 2.0. Payments and fees and fiscal compliance sit at a flat 4: payments connect through three named terminals and Tap to Pay on the iPhone, but no acquirer, transaction fee or payout timing appears on the pages, and no TSE provider or BSI certificate is named. The checkout spread reflects what judges weighed — those crediting the documented floor functions scored 6, those weighing the absent hardware-compatibility list and offline detail scored 4. Sovereignty reaches 5 on the strength of the German entity and website hosting at Mittwald in Espelkamp; the only published price is the digital ECO-Bon at ab 9,99 € im Monat.

**Speaks for it:**
- iPad till documented with ordering, cancellations, splitting, transfers and discounts, plus digital receipts by QR code, email and customer display
- Integrated DATEV interface on the cash book, plus an open documented API in version 2.0 with a staging back office available on request
- Terminals AMS1, P630 and SF01 connect to the till by direct interface, with a tip prompt on the device and Tap to Pay on the iPhone via the helloMINI! app including PIN entry
- Visual table plan with parties split and joint or separate payment, guest self-ordering with upselling on the FloorPad, and revenue-per-waiter reporting with free graphical time tracking
- Contracting entity TESSERO GmbH, registered at Amtsgericht München under HRB 205899, hosts its website at Mittwald in Espelkamp under a signed data processing agreement with a data protection officer appointed

**Held against it:**
- We found no public information naming the acquirer behind helloTESS! Payment or its transaction fees, terminal costs and payout timing, and activation runs through an individual offer
- The pages name no TSE provider or BSI certificate, and we found no public information on a DSFinV-K export, procedure documentation or help with the registration duty
- Inventory runs through interfaces to external systems, and we found no public information on kitchen displays or printers, staff logins with roles, or managing several branches from one back office
- The privacy statements cover the website; we found no public information on where the till's sales, staff and guest data, the TSE and payment processing are hosted
- We found no public information on a compatibility list for receipt printers, cash drawers and scanners, or on how long the till keeps selling when the internet is down

**Best for:**
- You run a restaurant, hotel, club or canteen in Germany and want table service, split bills and guest self-ordering on an iPad
- You keep your books in DATEV and want one documented interface connecting accounting, personnel, inventory and hotel systems
- You want receipts handled digitally by default — QR code, email or customer display — with a free printable short version
- You operate a single house rather than a group of venues needing central management

**Avoid if:**
- You must know your card transaction fees and payout timing before you can budget for card sales
- You need the TSE provider, its BSI certificate and a DSFinV-K export documented ahead of a German tax audit
- You manage several venues and need central menu, price and stock control from one back office
- You must be able to state where your till's business data and the payment and TSE chain are hosted

## Scores by judge and criterion

Scores out of 5, each judge scoring independently against the published rubric (v1). "n/r" = not rated: the vendor publishes no price, or the judge found no public information on that criterion.

| Criterion | The Café Owner | The Retail Shop Owner | The Tax Adviser | The Hospitality Operations Manager | The Fee-Conscious Merchant | The Skeptic |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Checkout, receipts & hardware | 3/5 | 2/5 | 2.5/5 | 2.5/5 | 3/5 | 2/5 |
| Card payments & fees | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 |
| Fiscal compliance (TSE, DSFinV-K, RKSV) | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 |
| Inventory, tables, staff & locations | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2.5/5 | 2/5 |
| Accounting handoff, DATEV & data export | 2/5 | 2.5/5 | 2.5/5 | 2.5/5 | 3/5 | 2.5/5 |
| European sovereignty | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2.5/5 | 2/5 |
| Pricing transparency | n/r | n/r | n/r | n/r | n/r | n/r |
| **Weighted verdict** | **2/5** | **2/5** | **2/5** | **2/5** | **2.5/5** | **2/5** |

### The judges

- **The Café Owner** (v1.0): Runs a café with twelve tables, a counter and a terrace in summer, and closes the till herself at eleven at night. Wants an iPad till the student staff learn in one shift, orders that reach the kitchen printer, split bills and tips without arithmetic, a till that keeps selling when the Wi-Fi drops, a TSE she does not have to think about, and a monthly cost she can still read in the second year.
- **The Retail Shop Owner** (v1.0): Owns a stationery and gift shop with a second branch across town and about four thousand articles, many in several colours. Wants barcodes scanned at the till, stock that shows what the other branch still has, transfers between the two shops, suppliers and reorders in the same back office, vouchers that work in both branches, and the month's sales handed to the tax adviser without a USB stick.
- **The Tax Adviser** (v1.0): Looks after the books of sixty restaurants, bakeries and shops and has sat in on more than one unannounced Kassennachschau. Wants the TSE named with its certificate, a DSFinV-K export that opens in the auditor's software, the § 146a registration done, a procedure documentation that exists before it is asked for, a DATEV export with the right revenue accounts, and ten years of records still readable after the client changes tills.
- **The Hospitality Operations Manager** (v1.0): Runs operations for a group of eight restaurants in three cities with two hundred staff. Wants one menu and price list pushed to every site with local exceptions, staff rights that stop a waiter voiding his own bills, reports that compare sites by the hour, and a works council and data protection officer who can sign off what the till records about employees and loyalty guests, and where it is hosted.
- **The Fee-Conscious Merchant** (v1.0): Sells ice cream from a shop in spring and summer and from a market stall at Christmas, mostly in amounts under five euros, and more of them by card every year. Wants the fee per girocard and credit card payment on the price page, a terminal he can choose rather than the one the till insists on, hardware that runs off a battery, no monthly fee in the closed months, and the real cost of "free".
- **The Skeptic** (v1.0): Has seen a "free" till paid for twice over in card fees, printers that work with one vendor's software only, a TSE charged by the year on top of the licence, and a cancelled contract that left ten years of fiscal journals behind a login. Reads "100 % finanzamtkonform" with no TSE provider named and "DATEV-ready" with no export format — and asks what leaving would cost.

## European sovereignty — proven facts

Built only from facts on the vendor's own pages; a dimension we could not prove is left open, never scored as zero. Headline: not determined.

| Dimension | Finding | Points | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Legal entity | Not determined | — | — |
| Hosting location | Not determined | — | — |
| Hosting options | Not determined | — | — |
| Open source | Not determined | — | — |
| Data processing agreement | Not determined | — | — |
| Transfer impact assessment | Not determined | — | — |

## Key facts

Each fact is the vendor's own statement, cited to the source page it was read from ([S*n*] → Sources).

**Compliance**
- Apple trademark note: iPad und iPod Touch Marken von Apple Inc., erwähnt im Footer [S1]
- DPA signed: yes [S8]
- Encryption backup: yes · yes [S13]
- Google fonts local: yes · no [S8]
- Matomo ip anonymization: yes [S8]
- Ssl tls: yes [S8]
- Tap to pay availability regions: developer.apple.com/tap-to-pay/regions · no [S11]
- Tap to pay encryption: Store and Forward · yes [S11]

**Data**
- Retention default: data retained until purpose ceases; deletion upon request or consent withdrawal unless legal retention periods apply [S8]

**Hosting**
- Provider: Espelkamp, Germany · Mittwald CM Service GmbH & Co. KG [S8]

**Integrations**
- API: yes [S10]
- API: yes [S8]
- API: yes [S9]
- API offered: yes [S1]
- API offered: yes [S11]
- Authentication: hellotess-api-key · 403 [S6]
- Connectable software categories: inventory management, ordering/payment systems, personnel management, digital food recognition, hotel management (PMS), and more [S5]
- Datev: Integrated DATEV interface [S2]
- Datev and others: Interfaces to DATEV and other providers for personnel organisation and accounting [S13]
- Delete behavior: yes [S6]
- Existing devices: yes [S5]
- Hilfecenter app: yes · yes [S1]
- Inventory systems: Integrated interface to inventory management systems increases functionality and reporting scope [S13]
- Open documented API: open, standard-based, documented interface [S5]
- Update behavior: yes [S6]

**Legal**
- Company: TESSERO GmbH [S2]
- Company: TESSERO GmbH [S13]
- Company name: TESSERO GmbH [S4]
- Company name: TESSERO GmbH · 2026 [S11]
- Dispute resolution: "} [S7]
- Entity: TESSERO GmbH [S1]
- Entity: 2026 · TESSERO GmbH [S5]
- Entity: TESSERO GmbH [S10]
- Entity: TESSERO GmbH · 2026 [S8]
- Entity: TESSERO GmbH [S9]
- Entity: TESSERO GmbH [S12]
- Entity name: TESSERO GmbH · Dachauer Straße 15a, 80335 München, Deutschland [S7]
- Register court: HRB 205899 · Amtgericht München [S7]
- VAT id: DE289648148 [S7]

**Pricing**
- Eco bon monthly price: 9.99 · EUR [S9]
- Free tax updates: Tax-law adjustments delivered as free updates [S2]
- Integration may charge: yes [S6]
- Staging may charge: yes [S6]

**Product**
- Ams1 terminal: AMS1: mobiles Terminal für Einsatz direkt am Gast [S4]
- API version: helloTESS! API v2.0, coexisting with v1.0 [S6]
- Audit readiness: Kassenbuch zur Vorbereitung auf Betriebsprüfungen [S12]
- Cashbook tamperproof: yes · yes [S13]
- Cloud based pos: cloudbasiertes Kassensystem für Gastronomie [S1]
- Customer display support: Receipts can be shown on a customer display instead of printed [S9]
- Eco bon cost saving: Digital receipts eliminate purchase and disposal of receipt rolls [S9]
- Eco bon printed free: Free printable ECO-Bon with much shorter receipt, details via QR code [S9]
- Eco receipt qr: ECO-Bon: customer scans receipt via QR code on smartphone, can display it or have it sent automatically by email [S9]
- Einzelaufzeichnung: Extended recording obligations (individual recording) supported [S2]
- Feature areas: Grundfunktionen · Berichtwesen · Verwaltung · CRM & Support [S1]
- Features no extra cost: yes [S1]
- Floorpad: FloorPad für mobiles Bestellen & Bezahlen [S10]
- Floorpad guest self ordering: yes [S10]
- Floorpad upselling: yes [S10]
- Gdpdu gobd compliance: POS system compliant with GDPdU, GoBD and Kassensicherungsverordnung [S2]
- Industries: Industries: Betriebsgastronomie, Restaurant, Systemgastronomie, Hotels, Clubs [S2]
- Industries: Betriebsgastronomie, Restaurant, Systemgastronomie, Hotels, Clubs [S10]
- Industries: Betriebsgastronomie · Restaurant · Systemgastronomie · Hotels · Clubs [S8]
- Industries: Betriebsgastronomie, Restaurant, Systemgastronomie, Hotels, Clubs [S9]
- Industries: Betriebsgastronomie · Restaurant · Systemgastronomie · Hotels · Clubs [S12]
- Industries: Betriebsgastronomie · Restaurant · Systemgastronomie · Hotels · Clubs [S13]
- Industries served: Betriebsgastronomie · Restaurant · Systemgastronomie · Hotels · Clubs [S11]
- Ipad based: Kassensystem basiert auf iPad [S12]
- Kassenbuch: helloTESS! bietet ein professionelles (digitales) Kassenbuch [S12]
- Kassenbuch features: automatische Wechselgeld-Funktion · Ausgabenerfassung mit MwSt. · Kassenzählfunktion am Ende der Schicht · DATEV-Schnittstelle [S12]
- Kassensystem: Kassensystem (POS) · helloTESS! Payment [S8]
- Manipulation security: Tamper protection; changes must be traceable [S2]
- Market position claim: Nr. 1 Kassensystem in der Gemeinschaftsgastronomie in Deutschland [S1]
- Matomo self hosted: no · yes [S8]
- Mobile ordering customer display: yes · yes [S1]
- Open architecture realtime: yes · yes · yes [S1]
- P630 terminal: P630: Countertop-Terminal [S4]
- Payment direct integration: Direktschnittstelle verbindet Zahlungsterminals mit dem Kassensystem [S4]
- Payment module: helloTESS! Payment [S1]
- Pos functions: Bonieren · Stornieren · Splitten · Umbuchen · Rabatte [S1]
- Receipt printing scanning: yes · yes [S1]
- Receipt requirement law: German receipt obligation in force since 2020 [S9]
- Reports gross net: Standard reports include total gross and net revenue KPIs [S13]
- Retention 10 years: 10 [S2]
- Revenue per waiter: yes [S13]
- Sf01 display terminal: SF01: Kundendisplay mit integriertem Bezahlterminal [S4]
- Staff cost reporting: yes · yes · yes [S13]
- Table management: Visueller Tischplan · Parteien einzeln aufgliedern · Zusammen oder getrennt bezahlen · Check-Out Funktion [S1]
- Tap to pay cta required: yes [S11]
- Tap to pay hello mini: helloMINI! · yes [S11]
- Tap to pay iphone available: yes [S11]
- Tap to pay limits: yes · yes [S11]
- Tap to pay no extra hardware: iPhone · no [S11]
- Tap to pay onboarding steps: Angebot anfordern · Freischaltung · Anmeldung in helloMINI!-App · kontaktlose Zahlungen akzeptieren [S11]
- Tap to pay pin transactions: yes [S11]
- Tap to pay privacy: no [S11]
- Tap to pay requirements: unterstützte Zahlungsapp · neueste iOS-Version · iPhone 16e oder neuer [S11]
- Tap to pay screenshot blocking: yes [S11]
- Target industries: Betriebsgastronomie · Restaurant · Systemgastronomie · Hotels · Clubs [S4]
- Target segments: Betriebsgastronomie · Restaurants · Systemgastronomie · Hotels · Clubs [S1]
- Time tracking free: Graphical calendar time tracking integrated at no cost [S13]
- Tip prompt on terminal: Flexible Trinkgeldabfrage direkt am EC-Gerät aktivierbar [S4]
- Tops flops report: Reporting includes tops & flops product analysis [S13]
- Tse support: Supports TSE (Technische Sicherheitseinrichtung) [S2]
- Z report gdpdu: yes [S13]

**Subprocessors**
- Matomo: Matomo · web analytics [S8]

**Support**
- API credentials contact: support@hellotess.com [S6]
- API docs: yes [S5]
- Channels: Help center and API offered under Service [S2]
- Help center: yes [S9]
- Helpcenter: yes [S5]
- Nighttime availability claim: yes [S1]
- Personal care claim: yes · yes [S1]
- Resources: Download App · Hilfecenter · API · Presse · Garantieabwicklung · yes [S13]
- Staging request contact: info@hellotess.com [S6]
- Support email: support@hellotess.com [S9]
- Support email: support@hellotess.com [S11]

## Questions

### Is helloTESS! European?

Yes. whats-best.ai classifies helloTESS! as EU-Made.

### Where does helloTESS! store data?

Not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 29 Oct 2026.

### Does helloTESS! have a free plan?

Not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 29 Oct 2026.

### What are the best alternatives to helloTESS!?

As of 3 Nov 2026, the panel rates [ready2order (3.5/5)](https://whats-best.ai/software/pos/ready2order), [Square (3/5)](https://whats-best.ai/software/pos/square) and [Gastronovi (3/5)](https://whats-best.ai/software/pos/gastronovi) highest among the other 18 POS & Checkout Systems products evaluated. Ratings that look equal are rounded to half stars; the order uses the unrounded rating, then the name. The highest-rated European alternative is [ready2order](https://whats-best.ai/software/pos/ready2order) (EU-Made). Ratings are the AI panel’s opinion, formed from public evidence: [how scores are made](https://whats-best.ai/methodology#ordering). The full list, with European products first: [helloTESS! alternatives](https://whats-best.ai/software/pos/hellotess/alternatives).

## What this page leaves out

- 12 product facts could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and were left out of this page and of the panel’s material.
- 4 integrations facts could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and were left out of this page and of the panel’s material.
- 4 support facts could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and were left out of this page and of the panel’s material.
- 1 legal fact could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and was left out of this page and of the panel’s material.
- 1 sovereignty dimension could not be confirmed on the vendor’s own pages and is shown as unknown.
- 6 of the readings below were written against an earlier fact sheet — a fact has been corrected, added or pulled since. Until the panel next runs on this product you are reading the older judgement.

## Sources

- [S1] Vendor homepage: https://www.hellotess.com/ (checked 2026-10-29)
- [S2] Features page (fiscal compliance): https://www.hellotess.com/kassensystem/features/finanzkonformitaet/ (checked 2026-10-29)
- [S3] Features page (offline mode): https://www.hellotess.com/kassensystem/features/offlinefaehigkeit/ (checked 2026-10-29)
- [S4] Features page (payments): https://www.hellotess.com/kassensystem/features/hellotess-payment/ (checked 2026-10-29)
- [S5] Integrations page: https://www.hellotess.com/kassensystem/schnittstellen/ (checked 2026-10-29)
- [S6] API documentation: https://hellotess.readme.io/reference/getting-started-with-your-api (checked 2026-10-29)
- [S7] Legal notice: https://www.hellotess.com/kontakt/impressum/ (checked 2026-10-29)
- [S8] Privacy policy: https://www.hellotess.com/kontakt/datenschutz/ (checked 2026-10-29)
- [S9] Checkout, receipts & hardware — found from sitemap: https://www.hellotess.com/kassensystem/features/digitaler-bon/ (checked 2026-10-29)
- [S10] Checkout, receipts & hardware — found from sitemap: https://www.hellotess.com/kassensystem/features/mobiles-kassieren/ (checked 2026-10-29)
- [S11] Card payments & fees — found from sitemap: https://www.hellotess.com/kassensystem/features/tap-to-pay/ (checked 2026-10-29)
- [S12] Fiscal compliance (TSE, DSFinV-K, RKSV) — found from sitemap: https://www.hellotess.com/kassensystem/features/kassenbuch/ (checked 2026-10-29)
- [S13] Inventory, tables, staff & locations — found from sitemap: https://www.hellotess.com/kassensystem/features/reporting/ (checked 2026-10-29)

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Cite as: whats-best.ai, "helloTESS! — POS & Checkout Systems", AI panel analysis, as of 2026-11-04. https://whats-best.ai/software/pos/hellotess

Corrections: https://whats-best.ai/correct/1186?target=page