Toast POS Pricing, Features, Reviews & Comparison of Alternatives

Pros
Compared to POS systems I've used in the past, Toast is a lifesaver! It has tremendously improved efficiency and flow of our Taproom. We now have the ability to swipe a card and store credit card information; which is a huge benefit for those of us in co-op spaces. Although they look bulky, their handhelds fit into your back pocket and allow us to close tabs out table side. They are shock and water resistant, plus you can log into more than one device at the same time so if you're working alone, you can close out multiple parties at once. As a GM, I'm grateful that Toast is not only cloud-based, but allows me to access the back end from my laptop or smart phone so I don't have to be onsite to make system changes. Updates are incredibly quick so there's not a ton of down time. There is also Toast Central, where you can troubleshoot issues yourself rather rather than immediately calling Support. They are helpful instructions with screenshots and videos.

Cons
Customer Support is hit or miss. I always get an answer, it's just a matter of when I get it. After hours and on weekends, I feel like their staffing is very limited which leads to delays in getting immediate help. Thankfully it's only happened once where I needed a quick answer and wasn't able to get it.

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 10/10

Pros
Nice features and ways to set up the menu for ease of use by employees. User-friendly up to a certain extent.

Cons
Most of the features promised by the sales rep were all available at an extra cost, after paying a lot of money already for the system and the hardware, you have to pay extra for EVERYTHING. Their customer support is very unreliable, sometimes you have someone great who knows exactly what you are talking about, sometimes it seems like the person has never even used the POS before... They put you on hold for 10+ minutes at a time too.

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 5/10

Pros
I can access it anywhere with my Android based phone. Check sales or help solve an issue. Editing buttons takes seconds and over all had a very easy layout. Online ordering is synced with the tablets so when I 86 an item it is out everywhere. I like that I can email or text receipts and do e-cards quickly at the terminal. There is now a new feature that if a server needs assistance immediately they can send a text to the manager on shift and it tells the manager what terminal to go to.

Cons
Learning the cash register system was very confusing.

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 10/10

Pros
I signed on to Toast because they touted themselves as software specifically for restaurants so I thought it would be an easy transition. It was not. As a POS system the functionality is fine. Servers can ring in food and it prints where we tell it but good luck pulling even basic, typical reports any restaurant would need. A lot of the reports I would want are listed as possible but then they don't populate with actual numbers. Support has no clue. I can wait to talk to a support person for 20 minutes sometimes or even get a "we'll call you back" which comes 24 hours or more later which is such a bummer when I have a guest waiting for a check and I need support to do it. When I do get them on the line they know about as much as I do about how to work the software.

Cons
Toast talks big and presents a front like they know what they are doing but they don't seem to grasp even simple financial or restaurant concepts. Do your servers split tips with a bartender or other support staff? Too bad because you are going to need to create your own spreadsheet outside the system to do that and then tediously go day by day to get the tip info for payroll. It is significantly more expensive than what I was doing before and they forced me to buy all their hardware, like printers and tablets which is dumb. Any old tablet would work better than theirs because they have it locked so we can't play music through it or manage our Instagram account. The list of problem s is too long to even go into here. DO NOT GET SUCKERED INTO RUNNING PAYROLL THROUGH THEM. The payroll program is a complete and utter joke. They have no clue.

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 0/10

Pros
I was hired to help customize, train, and implement this new software at a friends restaurant. I have worked with a few different POS systems and this was by far the most user friendly. Easy to customize their menus and check preferences. Easy to update if we figured out how we originally entered in an item needed to be changed. Cloud based so when not on sight I was able to fix remotely when not at the restaurant. Also the handheld option is great for taking orders and splitting checks on the fly. Also were able to implement gift cards with the new system.

Cons
No real cons. The only downside was the initial few days after switching for the staff to get used to it.

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 10/10