Toast

Toast POS has a number of features which make it one of the fastest growing restaurant POS solutions in the United States. You’re able to manage multiple stores, access best in class reports from anywhere using your customer login, integrate your kitchen display system, and set up online ordering.

In addition to the core features, they have a number of add-ons available for a fixed monthly fee. These add-ons allow you to extend the functionality of Toast to make running your business even easier.

Payroll & team management

Integrate payroll with your POS to save time and streamline your operations procedures. This helpful add-on allows you to make the hiring process smoother, speeds up timesheet approval, and syncs between hours and payroll. This add-on acts as a fantastic HR tool that also gives you meaningful workforce insight. Additionally, it will also help simplify taxes, time-tracking, benefits administration, and more. When selecting to add this product alongside Toast POS, you get a strong program that covers more aspects of your business from one clear and accessible point.

Ecommerce functionality

With Toast, you can build customized and responsive websites to facilitate online ordering. Your customer can navigate to your website, place an order, and pay for it online. The menu online is automatically synced with the menu in your restaurant so you won’t get orders for items no longer in stock.

You can set the open time for your online portal and add modifiers, special requests, and automatic prompts to increase your average order value. Finally, completed orders are sent directly to your kitchen which cuts down on lost orders and speeds up order completion times.

Gift cards

The ability to create digital or physical gift cards which can be used in your restaurant is available as an add-on. Gift cards can be bought online or in your store and easily redeemed by scanning the card or keying in the code. The only drawback is that they can’t be used through your online portal.

Loyalty program

Toast offers a point-based loyalty program for your diners. They can opt-in during the checkout process and every time they come back their entire purchase history is available. The loyalty program reporting lets you know how it’s affecting your revenue.

Toast has multiple hardware options to choose from but not all of them are necessary to get up and running with the system. The most important are the monitor and magnetic card reader which are available in the starter package.

You’re able to include additional hardware such as a terminal, cash drawer, receipt printer, kitchen monitor, and more. These items can be bought separately or in bundles depending on your needs.

The Toast system is built on Android because, as they say, the devices are more durable and easier to upgrade.

The Toast POS system has a wide range of add-ons and integrations with over 60 partners to extend its functionality. We’ve discussed some of the add-ons such as gift cards, online ordering, and the loyalty program.

Toast Order with Google integration- Toast’s Order with Google Integration allows restaurants to take control of their takeout and delivery services by offering new ordering channels. With this integration, restaurants can now sell to guests through Toast Online Ordering, Toast Takeout App, and Order with Google. Restaurants can manage all these channels easily with seamless integrations as Order with Google uses the same menus, hours, and quote times as Toast Online Ordering. This means restaurants can customize their settings in one place, and updates automatically flow through to Order with Google in real time.

Toast Go® 2 – This is the update to the Toast Go® and has been built to stand up to the demanding environment found in restaurants. It supports card payments, contactless payments, and is integrated with the entire Toast ecosystem. It’s a separate purchase and subscription but it’ll be worth it for you if you want to add an extra layer of convenience for customers and enhanced efficiency for your staff.

Financing – Get approved for a line of credit within 24 hours. The repayments increase or decrease based on business cash flow.

7Shifts – Toast integrates directly with 7Shifts to handle your employee scheduling, labor management, and payroll.

Grubhub – Push your menus directly to the Grubhub marketplace and allow people to order online. The orders come directly to your restaurant and remove the need for extra hardware.

The software itself is easy to understand and use. It’s similar to other POS software systems so if you’re migrating from another solution you can learn the basics quickly. If it’s your first time using a system like this then it may take a little time to get used to it.

The hardware is a different story. Customer reviews have mentioned the need for specialized technical help to get everything working properly. There are two options available.

You can choose a remote setup option where you communicate with technicians over the phone. There’s also an option for onsite installation where a Toast team member or contractor will work with you to properly set up the system.