Resources

The two products sharing the name, where QR ordering backfires, what each POS charges, and why table payment decides the whole thing.

Per-device kiosk fees across the major systems, the rooms where kiosks are a mistake, and what to test before signing.

What Toast, Square, Clover and SpotOn charge per handheld, when handhelds are not worth it, and whether a phone you own will do.

What a KDS changes, the case against it, what every major POS charges per screen, and whether an iPad will do the job.

Grill capacity, parties of twelve, splitting one grill between two tables, and keeping the auto-gratuity through a split. Plus AI phone booking and what it all costs.

Per-person pricing rules, documented scale support on Square and Toast, where buffets leak money at the register, and costs. Verified Sept 2026.

Which systems document a Spanish interface (Toast yes, Square Terminal only, Clover unconfirmed, Ginger no), plus modifier tests and costs. Verified Sept 2026.

How long Square and Toast take cards offline, quoted from their docs; truck-sized hardware prices; base costs for Square, Toast, Clover and Ginger. Verified Sept 2026.

Pre-authorized tabs on Square and Toast, documented; split checks; offline behavior; and what each system costs. Verified Sept 2026.

Kiosk and KDS add-on prices, processing, hardware and contracts for Square, Toast, Clover and Ginger. What a $0 plan costs once the line gets long. Verified Sept 2026.

A $5 latte makes fixed fees matter: Square, Toast, Clover and Ginger compared on a real coffee ticket, plus base costs. Verified Sept 2026.

Square, Toast, Clover, Slice and Ginger on a $25 pie: per-order fees, processing, half-and-half modifiers, phone orders. Verified Sept 2026.

Top 5 POS systems compared on bilingual support, pricing, contracts, online ordering, and voice AI.

5 free restaurant POS systems compared. What "free" really means — processing rates, hardware lock-in, and feature limits.

How AI phone ordering works, what to look for, and why it matters. Covers menu matching, modifier intelligence, and POS integration.

Cart-based ordering, per-piece pricing, bilingual tickets, and split checks — what dim sum restaurants need from a POS.

Modifier-heavy ordering, online-first operations, and fast throughput — POS systems compared for boba and bubble tea shops.

Noodle firmness modifiers, kitchen station routing, and high table turnover — POS systems compared for ramen restaurants.

Per-person pricing, continuous ordering, bilingual support, and split checks — POS systems compared for hot pot restaurants.

Piece-count ordering, sushi bar routing, daily specials, and omakase modes — POS systems compared for sushi restaurants.

Build-your-own bowl modifiers, combo pricing, and online ordering dominance — POS systems compared for poke shops.

Agent vs automation, what actually ships in 2026 vs demoware, and what it means for QSR, takeout, casual and fine dining.

Cloud-cached vs local-first architectures: what keeps working — orders, tickets, cards — and the router-unplug test.

Variants vs modifiers, the No/Extra/Add pattern, pricing rules — and why structure decides whether AI phone ordering works.

The button on your own listing may route your highest-intent customers through a 15-30% commission.

Twelve categories, what each costs, which four are essential, which to skip, and the order to buy in.

Four jobs, three build routes, what a year costs, and why a PDF menu quietly costs you search traffic.

Dispatch, own drivers or pickup only — what each costs on a $40 order, and why dispatch can cost you nothing.

Eleven providers on one $40 order — monthly fee, per-order fee, card rate and contract, side by side.

$249-$449 a month and no commission — what that works out to per order at 50, 200 and 800 orders a month.

Domain, menu, payments, a path into the kitchen, and telling people — in the order you need them.

Free is real, but the cost moves — into a monthly fee, the processing rate, the diner's checkout, or a shutdown.

Ginger Direct: direct orders that print to your existing printers, beside the POS you already have.

What Owner.com charges, what the 5% diner fee costs on a big order, and where Ginger Direct differs.

$149/month on a 12-month agreement or $179 month-to-month — what a year adds up to, and the no-fee option.

What is confirmed, what is only rumoured, what to export before you lose it, and what replacements cost.

Four strategies to cut third-party delivery commissions from 15–30% to single digits. Cost comparison and hybrid approach.

Five tactics, in order, with the math: $10 on a $40 order at 25% versus about $0.85 direct. Keep the marketplace for discovery; take the repeat order yourself.

Free POS with bilingual support vs $69/mo with 2-year contracts. A detailed comparison for independent restaurants.

Both bilingual, but Ginger is free and modern — without the multi-year contracts and proprietary terminals.

Both are no-contract POS systems. Ginger adds bilingual support, Voice AI, and lower processing rates. A detailed comparison.

Browser-based with no contracts vs proprietary hardware with reseller agreements. What to know before choosing.

Should you use a POS with AI built in, or bolt on a separate service? Menu sync, costs, and what goes wrong with integrations.

The export checklist to work through before you cancel, what to get from your vendor in writing, and what Ginger moves free, including staff PINs and sales history.

Step-by-step guide to POS migration: menu setup, staff training, parallel runs, and zero-downtime cutover.

What transfers, what stays behind, and the export checklist to run before you cancel anything.

Bilingual menu migration, gift card balances, staff retraining, and a parallel-run cutover plan.

Contracts and ETFs, proprietary hardware, menu export, and a zero-downtime cutover plan.

Exporting your menu and history, keeping your hardware useful, and a parallel-run cutover.

What happens to Clover hardware, contracts and ETFs, and a zero-downtime migration plan.

Every component priced twice: on the open market and branded. Plus which parts are locked to a vendor and which carry over when you switch.

Loyalty, reservations and gift cards priced across every major system, and why the plan price is under half the real software bill.

What each system includes, what actually pays for it, and the five questions to ask before signing. Plus running a POS on devices you already own.

Permanent since June 2021, amended July 2022: a 15% core tier must be offered, and restaurants may opt into more. Effective January 31, 2023. What a $40 order costs.

Ordinance 126639 caps delivery commissions at 15%, permanent since November 30, 2022; the state cap was rescinded in 2021. What a $40 order costs.

The Fair Meals Delivery Act caps core delivery service at 15%, but higher tiers with more visibility are allowed. What each costs on a $40 order.

15% delivery + 5% other + 3% processing, and the 2025 enhanced-services tier that lifts the ceiling to 43%. What a $40 order costs under each.

3.5% + 10¢ on online orders on plans from $89.95 to $129.85; no standalone ordering fee published; BentoBox now points to Clover. What a $40 order costs.

3.50% + 15¢ on online orders, software by quote inside Digital Storefront (reported ~$75/mo), on a $69 plan with a multi-year term. What a $40 order costs.

Three tiers, $0-upfront hardware worth $826 for qualified restaurants, no contracts, and no published monthly price. What the page says, exactly.

Heartland publishes nothing; reviews report ~$89/mo, ~2.6% + 10¢, a 3-year term and a $125/mo PCI fee. Labeled reported.

NCR publishes nothing; reviews report Aloha Cloud ~$175/terminal with required processing ~2.6% + 10¢, Essentials by quote. Labeled reported.

$29.99 a month per terminal with free hardware, tied to 36 months of Shift4 processing; reported annual fees push fixed cost near $67. All figures labeled reported.

Popmenu publishes nothing; reviews report $179 to $499 a month plus a ~$50 ordering add-on and $1 per order to the customer. Labeled as reported.

Lavu publishes nothing; reviews report ~$99, $149, $279 and a 36-month hardware term. Every figure labeled as reported.

Free ordering page on every plan; 3.3% + 30¢ on Free, 2.9% + 30¢ on Plus and Premium. What a $40 online order costs and when upgrading pays.

0% commission, 2.9% + 30¢ processing, no monthly fee, from DoorDash's own pages. What it costs beside the Marketplace and a fully owned site.

$69, $189 or $399 a month; KDS $30 a screen; online ordering an add-on; processing unpublished. Verified Sept 2026.

Web ordering $49, $89 or $169 by volume; app $49; add-ons $1 to $40; no contracts. Every module priced, verified Sept 2026.

$79, $178 or $278 per location; unpublished processing with a $100 monthly minimum under $25k volume; 24-month hardware lease.

$99/month for up to three stations plus $19 per station for hardware; implementation billed separately; processing unpublished.

All-In $0/station at 2.79% + 20¢ on a 2-year term, or $55/station at 2.45% + 15¢ month-to-month. What the free plan costs in the spread.

$69 software or $119 with hardware; add-ons quote-only; no processing rate published. What is and isn't on the page.

15% commission plus a 2.99% payment fee on accepted orders, neither on tips. No monthly fee. What a $500 catering order costs, verified Sept 2026.

Online $39/mo + $3 per order; Family $399/mo + $2 per order + $1,000 setup; both 2.90% + 30¢. What a $25 pie costs, verified Sept 2026.

Marketing commission 5%, 15% or 20% by plan, plus a 10% delivery fee when Grubhub delivers, plus processing. Why the headline understates the total.

Lite 20%, Plus 25%, Premium 30% on delivery; 15% self-delivery; 7% pickup with validated pricing. No monthly fee. What you keep on a $40 order.

Complete breakdown of POS costs: free, mid-range, and premium tiers. Hidden fees, processing rates, and total cost of ownership.

Processing, side fees, hardware, add-ons, and exit costs — every place POS money hides.

A quoted 2.99% can be an effective 4.95% on a $25 ticket. How to calculate what you actually pay.

Basic 15%, Plus 25%, Premier 30% on delivery; 6% pickup on every plan. What you keep on a $40 order, verified from DoorDash pricing.

Standard 2.99% + 49c vs Zettle 2.29% + 9c — what each costs on restaurant tickets, and when to move.

Terms, ETFs, auto-renewal windows, required processing — and the exit math when you want out.

The whole business model, in public — the $1 customer-paid ordering fee, the optional voice AI, no VC, reused hardware, and free equipment for switchers.

Sales history, customers, gift cards, AI call recordings: what vendors control, what exports, and five lines to demand in writing.

Send three months of processing statements, get a one-page breakdown of your true effective rate within 24 hours. Free, no obligation.

Enter volume and average ticket to see your true card processing rate — and the same numbers at Ginger rates.

What DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub commissions cost you per month — computed from your numbers.

What Owner.com, ChowNow or Menufy costs you a year at your own order volume — against Ginger Direct.

Google listing, reviews, orderability, local roots, and retention — in the order that works.

The one Search campaign most restaurants need, the break-even math, and the budget-eating mistakes.

Direct ordering, a phone that always answers, app-to-direct conversion, and smooth pickup.

Average ticket, visit frequency, new customers, margin — how to pull each lever, cheapest first.