Toast is a good system with a captive rate.
Toast built a genuinely strong restaurant platform. It also requires you to process through Toast, at Toast's pricing, forever. That bundling is the business model, and it's worth understanding before you sign.
Compare against my real numbersWhere Toast shines
Restaurant feature depth
Online ordering, KDS, payroll add-ons: the platform is broad and polished.
Slick hardware
The handhelds and guest-facing screens are well designed.
Where the broker wins
Processing you can bid
Our restaurant systems are processor-agnostic, which means the rate is negotiated, re-negotiated and honest. Toast's rate is take-it-or-leave-the-platform.
Dual pricing actually available
Fee-elimination programs need processing flexibility that captive platforms don't offer. On our systems, the 3% can leave your P&L entirely.
Lower exit costs
Leaving Toast means replacing everything at once. Our setups separate the POS from the processing, so neither holds the other hostage.
Local humans
Installation, training and support from Federal Way, not a national queue.
Comparable restaurant features exist without the captive processing. Bid the rate; that's where the money is.
Fair questions
Is Toast's software better than what you carry?
It's competitive, and so are KwickPOS and Paradise on the features restaurants use daily: KDS, handhelds, online ordering, QR pay. The gap that matters is the processing model.
What does Toast's processing actually cost?
Rates are quoted per merchant and not published, which tells you who holds the leverage. Bring a Toast quote or statement and we'll put it side by side with a bid.
Can I run dual pricing on Toast?
Toast controls its processing stack, so fee-elimination programs are limited to what Toast permits. On processor-agnostic systems, the program is fully available.
I'm mid-contract with Toast. Options?
Bring the contract to the consult. Sometimes the math says wait it out; sometimes the savings clear the exit cost quickly. We'll run it straight.