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Frequently Asked Questions
Toast POS
Q: What's the real monthly cost of Toast POS?
A: While Toast advertises plans from $69/month, the real cost usually lands between $200–$500/month once you add processing, hardware, and necessary add-ons like online ordering, KDS, and loyalty modules.
Q: Can I use my own payment processor with Toast?
A: No. Toast bundles POS and processing together. You're locked into Toast Payments for the life of your agreement.
Q: What happens if I want to leave Toast early?
A: Early termination fees depend on your contract. If you got "free" hardware or subsidized pricing, expect termination costs that can reach thousands of dollars.
Lightspeed
Q: Is Lightspeed good for single-location restaurants?
A: Lightspeed shines for multi-location groups with complex inventory needs. For single-unit operators who just need tickets and payments, it can feel over-engineered and overpriced.
Q: Do I have to use Lightspeed Payments?
A: Lightspeed heavily bundles payments with the software. While technically you can use external processors in some legacy setups, most pricing assumes you're processing through them.
SkyTab (Shift4)
Q: Is SkyTab really $29.99/month?
A: That's the base hardware lease in many offers. You'll pay separately for processing, and the economics really depend on your merchant services agreement with Shift4.
Q: What's the catch with "free" SkyTab hardware?
A: Free or subsidized hardware is typically offset by processing minimums and term commitments. If you don't hit volume targets, you'll pay monthly minimums instead.
SpotOn
Q: How does SpotOn's per-employee pricing work?
A: SpotOn charges per employee per month on most plans. If you have a large staff, those fees add up fast—sometimes making a $0/month base plan cost more than competitors.
Q: Can I get out of a SpotOn contract early?
A: Like most POS contracts, early termination language matters. Implementation fees and hardware financing can effectively lock you in for the full term.
Clover
Q: Is Clover good for full-service restaurants?
A: Clover works fine for simple ordering, but restaurant-specific workflows (coursing, modifiers, table management) often require extra apps that add monthly costs. It's more common in fast-casual or counter service.
Q: Why does Clover pricing vary so much?
A: Clover is sold through resellers and ISOs who set their own rates. Two restaurants can have wildly different processing costs and hardware lease terms depending on who sold them the system.
TouchBistro
Q: Do I need to buy iPads for TouchBistro?
A: Yes. TouchBistro runs on iPads, so you'll need to budget for hardware purchases, cases, and ongoing replacement/battery management.
Q: What's the total cost once I add all the modules?
A: Base POS starts around $69/month per terminal, but once you add online ordering, reservations, loyalty, and advanced reporting, you're often in the $200–$400/month range—similar to other full-feature stacks.
Otter POS
Q: Can I use my own payment processor with Otter?
A: No. Otter requires Stripe for payment processing. You cannot bring your own processor or negotiate rates separately.
Q: Is Otter good for full-service restaurants?
A: Otter is built for delivery-heavy, QSR, and ghost kitchen operations. It lacks table management and advanced FOH features that full-service restaurants typically need.
Q: What's the real advantage of Otter?
A: Otter's strength is delivery aggregation—it consolidates 100+ delivery platforms into one tablet. If you're drowning in DoorDash, UberEats, and Grubhub tablets, Otter solves that problem better than anyone.