What does a POS system really cost each month once card processing is included?
Summary
For a two-station restaurant taking $40,000 a month on cards, published SpotOn pricing works out to roughly $1,240 to $1,316 a month, and almost all of that is processing. The software fee is the small line on the bill. A plan with no software or hardware charge collects that money through a higher rate, and a POS that does not publish its rate cannot be totaled at all.
Free hardware is paid for in the rate
SpotOn publishes two ways to pay for the same restaurant system. The All-In plan is $0 per station per month with hardware included, at 2.79% + $0.20 for card-present sales. It carries processing minimums and a two-year minimum term, and SpotOn's FAQ says the customer pays for hardware and software over time through the higher rate. The processing minimum itself is not stated on the page.
POS Essentials costs $55 per station per month on month-to-month terms, at 2.45% + $0.15 (Amex is 3.19% + $0.15). Its Station 15 is listed at $750, down from $995, plus implementation costs.
Take two stations and 1,000 non-Amex sales a month averaging $40:
Over the two-year minimum, All-In costs $1,824 more in fees. Subtract the $1,500 in hardware and POS Essentials is $324 ahead, before an implementation charge that SpotOn confirms exists and does not price. At lower sales volume the gap in fees shrinks and All-In looks better.
On Square, the subscription buys a lower rate
Square's POS plans are priced per location: $0 for Free, $49 for Plus, $149 for Premium. The in-person rate drops from 2.6% + 15¢ to 2.5% + 15¢ on Plus and 2.4% + 15¢ on Premium. A 0.1% cut covers a $49 fee only once in-person card sales reach $49,000 a month. Restaurants that want a kitchen display pay more on top: $30 a month per KDS device on Plus, $20 on Premium, and the feature is not available on Free.
Software-only POS leaves the rate to you
KORONA POS charges per terminal per month ($59 Core, $79 Retail, $99 Plus) and calls every plan processing agnostic. It says it never takes a percentage of sales. Two terminals on Retail come to $158 a month, and processing from whichever provider you choose is added on top.
SkyTab shows a $29.99 monthly price but describes its processing only as "competitive credit card processing rates," with no figure. With no rate on the page, there is no monthly total to calculate.
Sources
- spoton.com/pricing
- squareup.com/us/en/point-of-sale/restaurants/pricing
- squareup.com/us/en/point-of-sale/retail/pricing
- koronapos.com/pricing
- skytab.com/pricing
Related on this site
- Does a small shop need a card reader, a payment terminal, or a full POS system?
- Why does the same card rate cost a gift shop more than a furniture store?
- Should a restaurant pay a higher rate to get POS hardware included?
- How to read the effective rate on this site
- Is there one card processor that is cheapest for every shop?
- Every provider we hold, and which publish a rate
Written by Kaz (pen name). Figures are copied from providers' published pricing pages on the dates shown. We have not used these products. Corrections: contact form.