Ask one question first: is the processing locked?
Some point-of-sale platforms only work with their own payment processing. That means the day you outgrow their rates, your only options are to keep overpaying or to replace your entire operational system, retrain your staff and migrate your data.
Other platforms are processor-agnostic. You can change who handles the money without changing how you run the business. Everything else on this page matters less than this.
Ask it directly, get the answer in writing, and read the contract term. A locked platform is not automatically wrong — sometimes the software is worth it — but you should choose it knowingly rather than discover it in year two.
Total cost of ownership, not the monthly price
Add up all of it before comparing anything:
- Hardware — purchased outright, financed, or placed at no cost
- Software subscription per terminal or per location, and what it costs to add a station
- Payment processing, expressed as an effective rate rather than a headline rate
- Add-on modules: online ordering, loyalty, inventory, payroll, reporting
- Third-party delivery integration fees
- Support — included, tiered, or an upcharge for after-hours help
- Contract length and the cost of leaving early
Match the system to the workflow, not the demo
Restaurants need coursing, modifiers, seat-level ordering, tip pooling and a kitchen display that survives a Friday rush. Retail needs variant-level inventory, purchase orders and receiving. Convenience stores need age verification, scan-based inventory and fuel or lottery integration. Service businesses need scheduling and invoicing more than they need a cash drawer.
A demo run by a salesperson always looks smooth. Ask instead: show me a mid-shift void with a manager override, show me an item that is out of stock, show me what the screen looks like with forty open tickets.
The offline question
Internet goes down. Ask what the system does when it happens. Can you keep ringing sales? Can you take cards in a stored-and-forward mode? Does the kitchen printer still fire?
A cloud POS with no offline mode is a business-continuity risk in any location with unreliable connectivity, and it is the failure owners are least prepared for.
Questions to ask before you sign
- Can I use my own payment processor, now and later?
- What is the contract term, and what does it cost to cancel?
- Do I own this hardware or am I leasing it?
- Who answers the phone at 8pm on a Saturday, and is that included?
- Can I export my full sales and customer data if I leave?
- What happens to the hardware if I switch software?
- What is the real total for month one and for month thirteen?