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5 Best Toast Alternatives & Competitors

Looking to leave Toast and find a new POS system for your small business? Check out these Toast alternatives to decide which would be the best fit for you.

    Kymberlin Bush
  • Last updated onUpdated

  • Matt Sherman
  • REVIEWED BY

    Matt Sherman

    Lead Staff Writer

Advertiser Disclosure: Our unbiased reviews and content are supported in part by affiliate partnerships, and we adhere to strict guidelines to preserve editorial integrity.
Toast alternatives

Toast’s point of sale software is hands-down one of the most popular and best POS systems for restaurants of all sizes.

However, after the most recent 99-cent online ordering fee that Toast implemented without warning and then removed amid backlash, you might be looking for some Toast alternatives. You also might not be a fan of the platform’s change to quote-based pricing, long-term contracts, or expensive add-ons.

Regardless of the reason, we’re here to walk you through the features of some of the best Toast competitors so you can decide what POS system is best for your restaurant.

Learn More About Our Top Picks

CompanyBest ForNext StepsBest For
Square For Restaurants POS

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  • Best all-in-one alternative
  • Restaurant-specific POS system, easy-to-use hardware and interface, access to integrations through the Square App Store
  • Plans start at $0 per month
  • Best all-in-one alternative
  • Restaurant-specific POS system, easy-to-use hardware and interface, access to integrations through the Square App Store
  • Plans start at $0 per month

Visit Site

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Lightspeed Restaurant POS

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  • Best for additional features
  • Easy-to-use front end, scalable depending on the size of your restaurant/number of locations, in-house payment processor
  • Plans start at $69 per month
  • Best for additional features
  • Easy-to-use front end, scalable depending on the size of your restaurant/number of locations, in-house payment processor
  • Plans start at $69 per month

Visit Site

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TouchBistro

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  • Best for non-cloud based software
  • Easy to use UI, tons of helpful integrations, and a simple and upfront cost paid on a month-to-month basis
  • Plans start at $69 per month
  • Best for non-cloud based software
  • Easy to use UI, tons of helpful integrations, and a simple and upfront cost paid on a month-to-month basis
  • Plans start at $69 per month

Visit Site

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POSist

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  • Best for restaurants for multiple locations
  • Robust and useful reporting features, great customer support, and an easy-to-use academy to help users learn more
  • Prices are quote-based
  • Best for restaurants for multiple locations
  • Robust and useful reporting features, great customer support, and an easy-to-use academy to help users learn more
  • Prices are quote-based

Visit Site

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Clover POS

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  • Best for online ordering
  • Easy to use and quick to set up
  • Plans start at $0 per month
  • Best for online ordering
  • Easy to use and quick to set up
  • Plans start at $0 per month

Visit Site

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Read more below to learn why we chose these options.

Table of Contents

5 Best Toast Alternatives For Small Businesses

Are you looking for a Toast alternative for your restaurant? There are a number of different Toast competitors you may want to consider in your search. We’ll walk through the best companies like Toast so you can decide which one might be best for your small business.

Why Should You Consider Toast Competitors?

Some benefits of Toast alternatives may include:

  • Shorter contracts or no contracts/early termination fees at all
  • Better payment processing options
  • Less bugs in the software
  • Lower monthly pricing
  • More stable fees
  • More features
  • Better customer support

1. Square: Best All-In-One Alternative

Square For Restaurants POS


Visit Site

Pricing

$0-$60/month/location + custom option

Online Ordering

Yes

Equipment Cost

$0-$799

Get a free card swiper from Square at no cost when you create a free account. Claim your card reader.

Pros

  • Free plan option
  • Month-to-month plans
  • Strong user community

Cons

  • Limited inventory management

Why We Chose Square POS For Businesses Looking For Toast Alternatives

It's hard to find an industry in which Square POS or one of its many other products is not a main competitor. Users benefit from a large platform of unique services and products that solve just about any problem a business owner can run into.

A lot of restaurant owners who are just starting out or have a small restaurant might not need the full scope (and full payment) of Toast's features. Even if you think you might want to use Toast in the future, Square is a great all-in-one, low-cost POS system to get you started.

Square for Restaurants is a cloud-based restaurant POS system that includes online ordering capabilities and an iPad kitchen display system. Other notable features include an online ordering website, menu management, and employee time tracking. All of these features are included on the free plan.

As a restaurant business owner, you'll benefit from the simplicity, ease of use, and functionality of Square's robust restaurant POS system. If you've ever used an iPad or another Square product (even as a customer/consumer) you'll have little difficulty mastering the interface.

Square POS Pricing

Square For Restaurants POS Plans Price  When To Use
Free $0/month Use if you need the basics in restaurant POS software plus simple processing
Plus $60/month/location Use if you need advanced inventory and 24/7 customer service
Premium Custom Use if you process more than $250,000 a year

Square offers three different restaurant POS plans.

  • Free: This plan starts at $0 a month. This is the best option if you simply need the basics and some simple processing abilities.
  • Plus: This plan starts at $60 a month per location. This plan will add advanced inventory management and 24/7 customer service.
  • Premium: This plan option comes with custom pricing and is only for restaurant owners that process more than $250,000 per year.

Square Features For Businesses Looking For Toast Alternatives

Here are just some of the Square for Restaurant features for businesses looking for toast alternatives:

  • Multi-store support
  • Contactless payments
  • Gift cards
  • Inventory management
  • Menu management
  • Reporting
  • Online ordering
  • Delivery management
  • EBT acceptance
  • Employee management
  • Text messaging

Features like the customer loyalty, integrated marketing, payroll, and kitchen display system (KDS) can be added to any plan for additional costs.

Hardware Cost & Options

Square hardware costs are standard across all of their products. You can get your first Square Reader for magstripe cards for free but the other options range from $49 contactless card readers to $799 dual-display touch screen registers.

Payment Processing Costs

On the Free and Plus Square for Restaurant plans, Square charges a 2.6% + $0.10 fee per tap, dip, or swipe payment. Online payments (QR code payments and orders placed on your Square website) are charged a 2.9% + $0.30 transaction fee.

Premium plans come with custom processing rates.

Contract Requirements/Warnings

The main benefit of Square when compared to Toast is that there are no long-term commitments or fees if you end your service early. You pay month-to-month and there are no incentives to sign any contracts.

Get Started With Square For Restaurants POS

Read our in-depth review

Jump back to comparison chart

2. Lightspeed: Best For Additional Features

Lightspeed Restaurant POS


Visit Site

Pricing

$69-$399/month

Online Ordering

Yes

Equipment Cost

Contact Lightspeed to receive a quote

Pros

  • Easy-to-use interface
  • Fully customizable
  • Raw ingredient tracking

Cons

  • Slight learning curve

Why We Chose Lightspeed Restaurant POS For Businesses Looking For Toast Alternatives

Lightspeed Restaurant, like Toast, is a POS system that is tailored specifically for the restaurant industry and offers 24/7 customer support. Lightspeed Restaurant was designed with restaurant workers specifically in mind.

Lightspeed Restaurant is a comprehensive, but also higher cost, alternative to Toast. Notable features include specialty orders, table management, restaurant management, and customer management. Lightspeed Restaurant also works with Lightspeed Delivery (powered by Deliverect) which allows you to sync your menu with major food delivery apps like Ubereats, DoorDash, and Skip The Dishes.

This cloud-based restaurant iPad POS combines a back end stuffed with useful features with an easy-to-use intuitive interface. Because of the mobile capabilities, servers can send orders directly from the table or bar, customers can place their orders directly from an iPad at their table, or a QR code can be provided allowing customers to place orders and pay from their own phones.

Lightspeed Restaurant provides all of the benefits of the basic features of a POS system including some extras. Raw ingredient tracking, modifiers, timed events, kitchen name printing, menu building, and a floor planner tool are just a few of the features that make Lightspeed Restaurant alternative to Toast.

Lightspeed Restaurant POS Pricing

Lightspeed Restaurant POS Plans Price  When To Use
Starter $69/month Single-location restaurants looking to start a loyalty program
Essential $189/month Restaurants with one or more locations looking for online ordering capabilities
Premium $399/month Larger restaurants & hotels looking for custom payment processing rates

Similar to Toast, but missing a free plan, Lightspeed Restaurant has one of the more expensive plan options on this list.

  • Starter: This plan begins at $69 a month and is best for restaurants with only one location who only need one terminal.
  • Essential: This plan begins at $189 a month and is best for full-service restaurants with one or more locations who want to take advantage of online ordering capabilities.
  • Premium: This plan begins at $399 a month and is really only necessary for large restaurants and hotels that are looking for custom payment processing rates.

Lightspeed Restaurant Features For Businesses Looking For Toast Alternatives

Here are just some of the Lightspeed Restaurant features for businesses looking for Toast alternatives:

  • Multi-store support
  • Contactless payments
  • Customer loyalty
  • Marketing tools
  • Online ordering
  • Inventory management
  • Reporting
  • Menu management
  • Delivery management
  • Employee management
  • Text messaging

Some features that are available at an extra cost include customer-facing displays, kitchen display systems, advanced reporting, accounting, and ordering ahead.

Hardware Cost & Options

Lightspeed Restaurant offers quotes on fully customized hardware options for your business. You can choose an iPad hardware kit or purchase individual hardware like mobile tap card readers, mobile payment terminals, and receipt printers.

\There are no prices listed on their website and restaurant owners will need to contact Lightspeed directly to learn more.

Payment Processing Costs

Lightspeed Restaurant offers multiple options for payment processing with their POS system. These include Dejavoo with Worldpay, Cayan, and Bridgepay.

If you choose to use the integrated payment processor Lightspeed Payments, card-present transactions will be charged a 2.6% + $0.10 fee. Keyed-in transactions have a 2.6% + $0.30 fee.

The Pro plan offers custom payment processing rates that are typically lower than the standard rates for the Essentials and Plus plans.

Contract Requirements/Warnings

Unlike Toast, Lightspeed Restaurant offers month-to-month and annual pricing. You will get the best pricing with annual and long-term contracts but Lightspeed does charge an early termination fee.

This fee can be pretty costly depending on the length of your subscription and how early you decide to terminate your contract. You have to send a cancellation notice before the next billing period to avoid being charged for another month.

Lightspeed doesn’t accept hardware returns after 30 days (14 days for Apple products) and you must validate that you have received your hardware within five days or it won’t be covered under their warranty.

Get Started With Lightspeed Restaurant POS

Read our in-depth review

Jump back to comparison chart

3. TouchBistro: Best For Locally Installed Software

TouchBistro


Visit Site

Pricing

$69/month

Online Ordering

Add-on

Equipment Cost

Call for quote

Pros

  • Easy to use
  • Numerous integrations
  • Simple and upfront pricing
  • iOs-based

Cons

  • Not all-in-one
  • Add-ons can get pricey

Why We Chose TouchBistro POS For Businesses Looking For Toast Alternatives

Unlike the other POS systems on this list, TouchBistro is locally-installed. If you don't want a cloud-based system for handling your POS operations, TouchBistro is going to be the best choice for you.

TouchBistro offers all of the important features you're looking for in a restaurant POS system. Through floor plan and table management, you're able to customize and edit your floor plan using stats like the distance between tables, time spent seated, and money spent per table. TouchBistro also offers menu management, reporting and analytics, tableside ordering, staff management, and various integrations.

TouchBistro is affordable and best for small to mid-sized restaurants with one location. Online ordering and delivery integrations and add-ons help customize this POS system for your specific needs.

TouchBistro will save you money compared to Toast and Lightspeed, offers great online and offline capabilities, dedicates the time for 1:1 onboarding, and has robust back office and inventory management.

TouchBistro POS Pricing

TouchBistro Plans Price  When To Use
TouchBistro Plan $69/month If you have basic restaurant needs and are interested in purchasing add-ons

TouchBistro POS offers one plan for one price. For $69/month you receive the basic features you need in a restaurant POS system.

There are additional features that can be included as add-ons to your basic TouchBistro POS system like profit management, a kitchen display system, online ordering, loyalty, marketing, etc.

This is where TouchBistro has some disadvantages. While the base price is fairly reasonable when compared to the other Toast alternatives on this list, the add-ons can get expensive fast. Online ordering alone will run you an extra $50 per month.

TouchBistro POS Features For Businesses Looking For Toast Alternatives

Here are just some of the TouchBistro POS features for businesses looking for Toast alternatives:

  • Floor plan and table management
  • Menu management
  • Reporting and analytics
  • Tableside ordering
  • Staff management
  • Integrations
  • Kitchen display system
  • Profit management
  • Loyalty program
  • Marketing
  • Online ordering
  • Reservations
  • Customer facing display

Hardware Cost & Options

TouchBistro’s Restaurant POS Hardware is iOS based and integrates seamlessly with the POS software.

The required piece of hardware is the newest iPad. From there, you can mix and match additional POS equipment like cash drawers, receipt printers, and handheld card readers.

There are no costs available on the website, so TouchBistro is another restaurant POS system that will base the price of your hardware off of your needs and the size of your business.

It’s important to note that while Apple products might be the top of their class, they are also going to be at the top of their price range.

Payment Processing Costs

TouchBistro offers TouchBistro Payments powered by Chase that gives you hardware, software, and support.

The pricing for TouchBistro Payments is listed as “transparent” but is, like almost everything else, quote-based and not listed on their website.

Their built-in payment processor integrates seamlessly with the POS, allows owners to accept almost every kind of payment, and keeps your business running and taking payments even when the system is offline.

Contract Requirements/Warnings

TouchBistro operates on a month-to-month payment systems. Be warned that some reviews mention sales reps who convince them to sign up for a one-year contract. Do your research and ask plenty of questions to avoid having to work against a contract that is difficult to get out of.

Get Started With TouchBistro

Read our in-depth review

Jump back to comparison chart

4. POSist: Best For Restaurants With Multiple Locations

POSist


Visit Site


Pros

  • Excellent reporting features
  • Great customer support
  • Built-in academy for new users

Cons

  • Clunky integrations

Why We Chose POSist Restaurant POS For Businesses Looking For Toast Alternatives

POSist Restaurant POS is a cloud-based platform used by over 15,000 restaurants around the world. Chains like Taco Bell, Nando's, Subway, etc. use POSist to manage their internal processes, employees, and physical locations. POSist prides itself on the scalability of the software and the constant updates/adaptations implemented to continue to revolutionize the restaurant industry.

Notable features of POSist include the ability to accept orders from multiple channels directly through the POS system, multiple payment methods accepted, real-time delivery status tracking, multi-lingual support, and a robust set of reports via the cockpit app.

POSist is more cost-effective for restaurant owners when compared to Toast or Lightspeed, offers advanced customer reporting with guest profiles, physical or digital auto-generated kitchen tickets, and insights into restaurant trends to compare against user's restaurant data.

In many reviews, current users explain multiple problems POSist has been able to solve for their restaurant. Benefits that users report include the ability to take orders and generate checks via tablets tableside, secure and efficient billing operations, front of house and back of house reporting, and quick responses to problems from the support team.

It's important to note that POSist is most popular in India and as such, some of the integrations and apps you can use with this POS system might not be available in other countries.

POSist Restaurant POS Pricing

POSist is a quote-based platform. Restaurant owners will need to contact POSist to schedule a demo in order to receive a personalized quote for their business needs.

Reviews list the cost-effective pricing of POSist’s Restaurant POS system as a benefit/reason for continuing to use the platform.

POSist Restaurant POS Features For Businesses Looking For Toast Alternatives

Here are just some of the POSist Restaurant POS features for businesses looking for Toast alternatives:

  • Online ordering
  • Loyalty program
  • Order management
  • Wait list management
  • Marketing automation
  • Reporting and statistics
  • Customer database
  • Employee management
  • Menu builder
  • Online reservations
  • Third party integrations
  • Partnership with delivery services like Doordash, Postmates, deliverect, GrubHub, etc.

Hardware Cost & Options

POSist can run on any device (iOS, Android, etc.) so there’s no need to pay large expenses for hardware that will need to be updated at some point. The best part about this is that you’re able to have a desktop register POS system, tablets for your servers, and your own smartphone application for managing your business on the go.

This could save your business money in the long run because there’s no need to take on a monthly/yearly lease.

Payment Processing Costs

POSist does not currently offer their own built-in payment processor. Through the POSist Marketplace users are able to take advantage of integrations with Razorpay, Paytm, and PhonePe.

New integrations are being added all the time and fees are going to vary based on your customized plan. You’ll need to contact POSist for more information.

Contract Requirements/Warnings

Because POSist is a quote-based, highly-personalized system, there isn’t any information available on their website about contracts or early termination fees. It can be assumed that the contract terms available are similar to Lightspeed or Toast.

Get Started With POSist

Jump back to comparison chart

5. Clover: Best For Online Ordering

Clover POS


Visit Site

Pricing

Starts at $0/month

Contract

Depends on merchant services provider

Equipment Cost

$49-$1,799 per device

Pros

  • Easy to set up
  • Large app store
  • Loyalty program

Cons

  • Potential for scams and bad contracts

Why We Chose Clover POS For Businesses Looking For Toast Alternatives

Clover is another well-known name in the POS industry. Clover POS software allows small to mid-sized restaurants to take in-person payments and make online sales. Keep in mind that Clover POS software is only compatible with Clover POS hardware.

Clover's POS features that work well for restaurant owners include floor planning, QR code ordering, menu management, remote order firing, open tabs, third-party delivery integrations, online ordering for pickup/delivery, and order/item-level discounts.

Unlike TouchBistro and Lightspeed, Clover includes online ordering and does not require users to purchase an additional add-on.

Clover's POS system is known amongst users as easy-to-use, quick to set up, offering a wide variety of apps, and including everything needed to run their restaurant.

Clover POS Pricing

Clover POS Plans Price  When To Use
Clover Payments $0/month If you only need to process payments and don’t need any POS hardware
Clover Essentials $14.95/month If you have a small retail/service-based business and don’t take returns
Clover Register $49.95/month If you have a small to mid-size retail/service-based business and need more POS features
Clover Counter Service Restaurant $54.95/month If you have a quick-serve restaurant, cafeteria, or mobile food service business
Clover Table Service Restaurant $84.95/month If you have a full-service restaurant or bar

Clover’s payment plans can get a little complicated, but are as follows:

  • Clover Payments: Starts at $0 per month. This plan will only be useful for business owners who only need to process payments and don’t need any POS hardware.
  • Clover Essentials: Starts at $14.95 per month. This option is best fit for small restaurants/service-based businesses that don’t take returns.
  • Clover Register: Starts at $49.95 per month when paid annually. This plan is best for owners who find themselves needing more features than the Essentials plan offers.
  • Clover Counter Service Restaurant: Starts at $54.95 per month when paid annually. This plan is best if you have a quick-serve restaurant, cafeteria, or mobile food service business.
  • Clover Table Service Restaurant: Starts at $84.95 per month when paid annually. This plan is going to work best for full-service restaurants or bars.

Clover Features For Businesses Looking For Toast Alternatives

Here are just some of the Clover POS features for businesses looking for Toast alternatives:

  • Floor plan management
  • Kitchen pace management
  • Menu management
  • Modifiers linked to guests
  • Bill splitting
  • Offline payments
  • Online ordering
  • Reporting and analytics
  • Employee management
  • Website builder
  • 24/7 support

Hardware Cost & Options

You have to purchase Clover hardware in order to use Clover POS software. You are able to purchase this hardware from Clover resellers, but we would caution and encourage you to do a good amount of research before taking this route.

Hardware options start with Clover Go (card reader that accepts mobile payments) at $49 and expand to include more features and larger equipment with the Clover Station Duo (fully integrated POS hardware plus customer-facing display) for $1,799.

Payment Processing Costs

Another problem with using a Clover reseller is that you might end up with a higher payment processing rate.

If you go with Clover as your hardware provider your in-person transaction fees will be 2.3% – 2.6% + $0.10 and card-not-present transactions will run you a 3.5% + $0.10 transaction fee.

Contract Requirements/Warnings

The biggest complaint for almost all users of Clover products is the contract lengths and early termination fees. These can vary dramatically because of the potential for merchant service providers taking advantage of business owners looking for a deal.

These contracts can span months or years, renew automatically, and be difficult to back out of. Make sure you know how to choose a merchant service provider.

Get Started With Clover POS

Read our in-depth review

Jump back to comparison chart

4 Things To Look For In Toast Competitors

We suggest the following when you’re considering Toast alternatives. Whichever competitor you choose should have all of the following attributes, but keep in mind any additional features or qualities on your wish list that are specific to your restaurant.

Great Contract Terms

In order to use Toast, you’ll be using Toast’s built-in payment processor. The contract terms for this is two to three years. You may feel stuck in contracts you aren’t happy with, terms that are different than what you were promised, and increasing processing fees over the contract’s life.

Many Toast alternatives offer shorter contracts if they even require them at all. This makes it easier to commit to their POS system and change your mind if you’re unhappy.

Transparent Monthly Pricing

With the Toast CEO’s decision to pull the poorly executed mandatory $0.99 fee for “software improvements”, there was also a caveat given that fees will most likely increase in the future.

This incident most likely acted as a cautionary tale for other restaurant POS systems about imposing mandatory and unannounced fees. Toast competitors will be more likely than ever to keep their prices transparent and unchanging for the near future.

Strong Customer Support

Toast’s customer support is often described as hit-or-miss. For some customers, they will receive great support when they need it. For those same customers, they may contact support again later on and receive generic and unhelpful support or not be able to get in contact with the team at all.

Personalized training is included with many Toast alternatives including 1:1 onboarding.

Offline Capabilities

One of the major downfalls of Toast is the lack of ability to continue taking orders if your internet goes down. With all of the Toast competitors we listed above, you have the ability to continue using every feature as usual even if you are offline.

Which Toast Alternative Is Right For Me?

Toast alternatives are a good idea for businesses that don’t want to use Toast as their restaurant POS system.

Toast is a great POS system for most restaurants as long as you’re ok with potential unexpected, mandatory fees in the future.

If Toast seems pricey or too restrictive, check out one or more of the restaurant POS systems on this list. Most of them offer a free trial or free demo that you can use to test out the system before committing. A lot of these Toast competitors offer month-to-month contracts (or no contracts at all) making it easier for you to move between systems if needed to find your perfect fit.

Not convinced? No worries! Check out our review of Toast Restaurant POS to learn more about one of the most-loved POS systems in the industry.

To sum everything up one last time:

  • Choose Square If… You are looking for free restaurant POS software that does not come with long-term contracts or hidden fees
  • Choose Lightspeed If… You are looking for an all-in-one restaurant POS system with integrations and the ability to scale up
  • Choose POSist If… You are a restaurant that needs multi-location selling or may expand in the near future
  • Choose TouchBistro If… You are looking for industry-specific software that comes with unique features you won’t find other places
  • Choose Clover If… You want a highly customizable system that’s great for online ordering and has intuitive hardware options

Toast Alternatives FAQs

What companies are like Toast?

Toast alternatives and Toast competitors include Square, Lightspeed, Clover, TouchBistro, and POSist.

Who are Toast's competitors?

Toast competitors are Square, Lightspeed, Clover, TouchBistro, and POSist.

What are alternatives to Toast?

Alternatives to Toast are Square, Lightspeed, Clover, TouchBistro, and POSist.

In Summary: Why Should You Consider Toast Competitors?

  1. Square For Restaurants POS:
    • Best all-in-one alternative
    • Restaurant-specific POS system, easy-to-use hardware and interface, access to integrations through the Square App Store
    • Plans start at $0 per month
  2. Lightspeed Restaurant POS:
    • Best for additional features
    • Easy-to-use front end, scalable depending on the size of your restaurant/number of locations, in-house payment processor
    • Plans start at $69 per month
  3. TouchBistro:
    • Best for non-cloud based software
    • Easy to use UI, tons of helpful integrations, and a simple and upfront cost paid on a month-to-month basis
    • Plans start at $69 per month
  4. POSist:
    • Best for restaurants for multiple locations
    • Robust and useful reporting features, great customer support, and an easy-to-use academy to help users learn more
    • Prices are quote-based
  5. Clover POS:
    • Best for online ordering
    • Easy to use and quick to set up
    • Plans start at $0 per month
Kymberlin Bush

Kymberlin Bush

Staff Writer
Kymberlin started contributing to Merchant Maverick as a freelancer in 2022 and joined the team as the full-time small business health insurance expert in 2023. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Creative Writing from Pacific University in 2020 and continues to reside in Portland, Oregon.
Kymberlin Bush
View Kymberlin Bush's professional experience on LinkedIn.