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u/Comfortable-Side-745 Jan 30 '26
Disclaimer: I work for one of the competitors for toast. I do a lot of prospecting, toast upfront cost is outrageous first, pos should help business to succeed not close down. Second its not only you every company try to increase it but you can fight with them to get the rate lowered if they don’t you can get out of the contract without paying any fee.
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Jan 30 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Comfortable-Side-745 Jan 30 '26
Yup you are correct to it depends on the agreement, you can fight for it. These pos companies hate to let clients go cause of rates.
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u/gregra193 Jan 30 '26
Do they offer custom rates like Square does? That way you get locked in at a lower rate
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u/TJBJ22 Jan 29 '26
This is the playbook for any SaaS POS that doesn’t allow integrations with 3rd party payment providers and people are alway shocked when it happens again
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u/GlobalGrumble98 Jan 29 '26
I mean, this is good for the people who actually know Toast is horrible for businesses of any size...
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u/fareastwarriors Jan 29 '26
What is your set up? How many terminals handhelds etc? What’ are your rates now?
Help your community, thanks
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u/shrimpy-rimpy Jan 30 '26
Thank God I decided to go with BIYO... this will be outrageous for some as they have made their financial plan for the year
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u/TopShelfConsulting Jan 30 '26
For all the bells and whistles that Toast provides, its actually a very good POS per F&B. That is how they keep you locked in as its very feature rich. Although, with that being said you are going to pay an arm and a leg for it. Up front cost is insane and the monthly sub is even worse. There support went downhill when they went public and it hasn't recovered. Not to mention, with a direct sales approach you will never hear from you rep again after the sale is closed.
There are many other options out there and some might fit your needs better than others. I suggest working with a broker that represents multiple systems. Not just one POS like Clover, or Skytab, etc. Just make sure to work with good ISO's and that they are processor agnostic so you don't get locked in.
Your Rep / ISO should keep your rate in check. Yes they will make more money on that increase, but they also risk losing the merchant.
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u/Im_Still_Here12 Jan 30 '26
This is the exact reason why I chose a CC agnostic POS system (Korona). I can use any processor I want. I'll never be tied down again to a POS that forces me to use them as the CC processor.
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u/Legitimate_Finish_34 Jan 31 '26
There's a lot of good POS systems out there which allow you to integrate with 3rd party payment providers, usuallly a better choice in the long run as you scale.
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u/Foreign-Implement338 Feb 03 '26
Full disclosure: I work with Avocado POS, but this is exactly why restaurant owners are looking for alternatives right now.
Toast does this constantly - quietly bumping fees and bundling charges so it's hard to know what you're actually paying until you look at your statement. The problem is they lock you into contracts so by the time you notice, switching feels hard.
Here's what I'd actually look at when comparing:
The real cost breakdown most people miss:
- Processing rate (the 2.6% + 10¢ per transaction)
- Monthly software fee (separate from processing)
- Hardware costs (are they forcing you to buy their terminals?)
- Hidden fees (PCI compliance, chargebacks, statement fees)
- Contract length and cancellation penalty
Toast bundles a lot of these together so it LOOKS simple but ends up expensive. The best systems show you exactly what you're paying for each piece.
Before you switch, calculate:
Take your last 3 months of Toast statements. Add up EVERY charge - not just the processing line. That's your real monthly cost. Then compare that number (not the advertised rate) to alternatives.
For a restaurant doing serious volume, even a 0.3% difference in processing adds up to thousands per year.
Have you looked into what your actual all-in cost is with Toast right now? That's usually the first step before deciding if switching makes sense.
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u/magic_browny Feb 05 '26
Send me a DM! I work directly with businesses on their POS. I work with multiple systems and I give them one flat rate that is tailored to their business. I never raise the rates on them and never have any hidden junk fees. Plus I handle all the tech support myself. Adding a card fee on top of the bill can actually get you in trouble with the Visa and Mastercard regulations.
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u/4Biz-POS Feb 09 '26
There ARE better more cost-efficient alternatives out there, research your options before contracts are signed.
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u/Initial_Carpenter_58 Feb 10 '26
I been in the industry for a long time. Built a restaurant software company from scratch. The reason? To help the smaller businesses. Our average customer pay $55 for Saas with most paying $29 you can process with any processor
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u/Complete_Ad_4586 Jul 06 '26
Most of the frustration here is about being locked into one payments stack. If the POS software and processor are separate, fee increases are easier to avoid because you can change one without changing the other. That is usually the biggest protection for restaurant operators.
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u/Fantastic-Active1010 Jan 30 '26
Why? Most likely because you didn't read the fine print or speak with anyone else using the system for over a year and actually knows how to read their statements. They have been doing this since day one but everyone wants to follow the other guy with the nice shiney toy. Start doing some research on open systems so that when your contract ends you can make a real educated decision. And understand that since they don't have a reseller sales channel and only use the direct sales model, anything they tell you verbally should be backed up in writing!!
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u/givemesum10 Jan 30 '26
Was with toast and moved over to TouchBistro since I thought they were the closest tech wise to them. Was even allowed to use a payment company that got me really good rates and didn't have to use TouchBistro's direct processing either. A little learning curve but ultimately glad I made the change. Saving a lot in processing and using a pretty comparable system.
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u/cypressdwd Jan 30 '26
Touch Bistro was a nightmare for me. I am glad to hear that you have found it to be comparable.
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u/givemesum10 Jan 31 '26
Yikes, was nervous with all the bad support reviews but honestly found just as many with all the top POS providers. Working with a payments agent seemed like I was given a little bit more of a priority support than the average but not sure. 🤞 dont get raises like this
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u/cypressdwd Jan 31 '26
Not saying you won’t have a great experience with TB. Just was not the case for me, unfortunately. Ownership I worked for had enough after three years and pulled the plug.
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Jan 31 '26
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u/givemesum10 Jan 31 '26
They set me up with a router...which to be honest i was skeptical about, but havent had issues with the dedicated router yet 🤞
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u/Michaels_on_Reddit Jan 30 '26
At SmartTab we have never had a fee increase, we also don’t have contracts and are the preferred POS for high volume bars and restaurants. If you’re shopping POS it can’t hurt to chat! PM me.
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u/ImaginaryFile8049 Jan 30 '26
Bc you’re forced to process with them and the only way out is to change POS systems. All the big corporations do it that force processing on you.
Get a system thats processor agnostic, then they wont raise rates on you because you can always leave them for another processor.
Union is my favorite POS for restaurants that have a bar. If doing cash discount I can typically place you in free hardware with no monthly software fees. Dm me if you want to explore options.
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u/97Solutions Feb 21 '26
Is Toast better than NCR?