SpotOn is an incredibly functional full-featured restaurant point-of-sale (POS) system, offering excellent employee management and loyalty functions alongside affordable payment processing and robust industry-grade hardware.
SpotOn develops its tools with the guidance of a Restaurant Advisory Council of successful restaurant operators. SpotOn’s clever software updates and insightful support reflect this influence.
SpotOn recent addition of a free baseline software subscription and an upgraded employee management tools helped the provider score a 4.26 out of 5 in my review. SpotOn users love this system’s customizability and fully integrated online ordering system. And while you’ll be locked into SpotOn for payment processing, there are no long-term contracts.
SpotOn POS system review at a glance
Pros
Cons
SpotOn alternatives
 |  |  | |
| Best for | Similar pricing & functionality, plus strong catering management | An iPad restaurant POS with no long-term contracts | Bringing your own processor |
| Monthly starting price | $0 | $0 | $99 |
| Learn more | Visit Toast | Visit Square for Restaurants | Visit Revel Systems |
SpotOn user reviews
Users Like
Users dislike
SpotOn averages a 4.2 out of 5 on popular software review sites. When you look at the most recent reviews on G2, you’ll see they skew largely positive. Capterra reviewers tell a different story, with more recent users awarding three-, two-, and one-star ratings across criteria.
Capterra: 4.3 out of 5 based on 341 user reviews
- Positive sentiment: “Customer service is good. Very responsive. I like the product that we use.”
- Negative sentiment: “No guidance, no support, no training as promised. They literally installed the hardware and left us wondering how to use it.”
G2: 4.2 out of 5 based on 148 user reviews
- Positive sentiment: “I find the SpotOn back-of-house to be the most detailed, straightforward, and user-friendly. I also appreciate a rep being assigned to our accounts — not every company provides representatives.”
- Negative sentiment: “Online ordering as you can’t add a discount or BOGO to one food item as it will take a discount of all items.”
Overall, positive reviews mention the ability to apply for and manage small business loans through SpotOn, and several rave about the affordable payment processing fees. Many also call the system user-friendly. In the detailed demo I received, I found it to be user-friendly as well, but that could be because I have experience with lots of restaurant POS systems.
Some critical reviewers feel like SpotOn has a learning curve, and I could see how the sheer number of functions could be overwhelming. Others mention system crashes, especially when closing checks at the end of a shift. Personally, I have never experienced a restaurant POS that never crashed, even locally installed ones.
SpotOn pricing: 3/5
SpotOn earned points in my review for offering a free baseline POS subscription. Like other systems, SpotOn also ties you to their built-in payment processing (which cost it some points in this category). SpotOn also advertises its lack of a long-term contract. This is true for the POS software.
However, if you use SpotOn’s financing program to purchase your hardware, you’ll still be on the hook for those fees. In that case, the lack of a long-term contract might feel like a mere technicality. After all, why would you cancel a system when you are still paying for the hardware?
Overall, though, SpotOn’s pricing for software and payments are some of the lowest I’ve seen in a restaurant POS. The hardware is excellent, flexible, and industry-grade, but the price is custom-quoted.
SpotOn offers its POS software at four distinct tiers, with prices ranging from $0 to more than $135 per month. Unlike many competitors, SpotOn also charges a per-employee fee for a couple of its subscriptions, so larger restaurants will pay more.
Monthly software fees:
- Quick Start: $0; both software and hardware fees are covered by payment processing fees
- Counter-service: $99, plus $3 per employee
- Full-service: $135, plus $3 per employee
- Customize Your Own: Custom-quoted
Hardware for a 15” station POS bundle is included for Quick Start subscribers. For Counter-service and above, SpotOn offers upfront pricing or financing options.
| Station POS | Counter POS | Kitchen Display System Screen |
|---|---|---|
 |  |  |
| $750 | $850 | $600 |
| Flexible countertop terminal with built-in card reader and optional customer-facing display | Low profile countertop terminal with satellite customer facing touch screen | Touch-screen KDS screen |
SpotOn Payments is built into the SpotOn POS. Rates vary based on subscription level. The rates for Quick Start subscribers are higher than for higher-level users, as the rates cover both the software and hardware fees.
| Subscription level | In-person processing rate |
|---|---|
| Quick Start | 2.89% + 25 cents |
| Counter-service, Full-service, Customize Your Own | 1.99% + 25 cents |
SpotOn features: 3.75/5
SpotOn earns a solid score for its general features. However, we award the highest points to POS systems that include functions for no additional fees. SpotOn couldn’t get a perfect 5 out of 5 here because, while it offers virtually every bit of restaurant technology you can think of — course and seat management, KDS functionality, employee scheduling, etc. — many of them are only available at the higher-priced tiers.
SpotOn also lost some points here because ingredient-level inventory and vendor management require a third-party integration. That said, SpotOn’s general POS features are functionally powerful.
SpotOn’s latest features include those for faster payouts, schedule and labor management tools, and a free plan.
- Morning funding: Batch out by 9 pm ET to get funds in your account the next business day at 9:30 am ET (excluding holidays & weekends).
- SpotOn Teamwork: SpotOn acquired the popular restaurant staff management app Dolce and converted it to SpotOn Teams, a best-in-class schedule and labor management system.
- Quick Start subscription: SpotOn now offers a free baseline POS subscription for small restaurants that need to get started with software and hardware for no upfront cost.
Staff management
The baseline Quick Start POS includes employee time tracking and custom user permissions. SpotOn Teamwork is an additional team management module with advanced features like tip pool management, ADP payroll integration, and tracking and alerts to ensure compliance with California break laws. Via a Dolce integration, you get drag-and-drop staff scheduling, automated shift swapping, and in-app staff messaging.
Customizability
The SpotOn team will custom-configure your POS system to fit your restaurant concept. This saves you time setting up your baseline menus and tying together all your moving parts. Once you’re up and running, SpotOn provides excellent user support to further streamline your POS configuration.
Menu management
SpotOn users can manage their menus in bulk, import items, customize menu screens, and add complex modifiers. Tightly designed menu buttons and scrolling order screens keep a large number of items on a single screen, reducing button pushes.
SpotOn niche POS features: 4.79/5
SpotOn offers several built-in modules for functions that most other POS competitors only support through third-party integrations. Its niche features are where the influence of SpotOn’s Restaurant Advisory Council really shows. SpotOn offers similar tools to competing restaurant POS system Toast, though I find SpotOn’s mobile and online ordering solutions to be slightly more user-friendly.
Review management
SpotOn users can track their online reputation directly in their back-office dashboard. Real-time reports show your reviews across multiple review sites like Google, Yelp, and Tripadvisor, so you can respond to customer experiences immediately.
When you respond, you can do so directly from your SpotOn dashboard, with a direct offer for a complimentary meal or discount to bounce those customers back into your restaurant for a do-over.
Loyalty & marketing
With SpotOn’s built-in loyalty tools, you can run a points or dollar-based loyalty program. You can also create custom one-off rewards to welcome customers or send offers directly to a filtered list of customers to promote upcoming events and specials.
Reservations & waitlist
SpotOn has a built-in reservation and waitlist system called SpotOn Reserve. The module is fully integrated with the POS, so your front desk staff can see table status in real time.
The Reserve module is full of insightful tools that ensure your hosts seat your servers in an even rotation and even prompts waitlisted customers to place their orders in advance on their smartphones.
The system tracks detailed customer profiles with information about allergies, special occasions, or children in the party. It allows you to flag tables for a manager drop-in, and automatically sends reservation confirmation text messages 24 hours in advance.
Many restaurant POS brands say they are designed “by restaurateurs for restaurants,” but SpotOn shows you exactly who is behind the curtain. You can see all the restaurant industry leaders involved in their Restaurant Advisory Council.
SpotOn ease of use: 5/5
It may take a few minutes to navigate the SpotOn back-office dashboard. But most users I have heard from get the system down in a single day. The sheer number of icons on the management dashboard made my head spin at first glance, but it didn’t take me long to get used to it.
The customizability of the order screens combined with the one-on-one support of the SpotOn team means that your POS is tailored precisely to your needs before it arrives at your restaurant. If you run into problems or have questions, SpotOn offers 24/7 customer support with some of the most knowledgeable and friendly staff I have encountered from a POS brand.
SpotOn expert score: 4.38/5
SpotOn is affordable, user-friendly, full-featured, and its industry bona fides are well established. The customer support representatives are some of the most knowledgeable I have interacted with. And I could see this system working well in many of the high-volume quick- and full-service restaurants I’ve managed.
I love seeing highly functional POS brands carve out free POS subscription levels for the smallest restaurants. But generally, I think SpotOn is better suited to larger operations because they will use more of the excellent built-in tools.
Methodology
Pricing: 15% of overall score
Independent restaurants operate with tight budgets. We first considered whether each system offers a free plan, free trial, and entry-level software subscription under $75 per month. To help ensure restaurants can get the lowest possible prices, we gave high marks to POS systems that support multiple payment processing options.
Finally, we considered hardware costs and subscription length. Systems that allow restaurants to bring their own hardware or avoid long-term service contracts earned the highest marks.
General POS features: 25% of overall score
Every restaurant needs to track employee hours, process contactless payments and gift cards, and quickly access sales and labor reports. Because many restaurants process tips for employees, we looked for systems that have robust tip-tracking functions. We also considered advanced workforce management features like built-in employee scheduling and enforced clock-ins to keep costs in line.
Niche POS features: 15% of overall Score
To determine the best overall restaurant POS, we compared the number of restaurant-specific functions that are relevant to various restaurant types. Since many restaurants operate with some type of bar, we looked for functions like cash management and credit card preauthorization.
We also rewarded POS systems with customizable reports, ingredient-level inventory tracking with physical counting tools, integrated online ordering, and dynamic loyalty and marketing tools.
Ease of use: 30% of overall score
Because various restaurants operate during early mornings, late nights, and weekends, we prioritized restaurant POS systems that offer 24/7 customer support. We also awarded points to POS systems with hybrid installation or an offline mode, so it is still operational if your internet goes out.
We also considered how much installation support each system offers and whether it is cloud-based, enabling mobile access to management and reporting dashboards.
Expert score: 15% of overall score
Lastly, we evaluated any standout features that individual systems may have. We also considered whether the system offers good overall value for its price and judged each system’s popularity among restaurant businesses. Then, we awarded points based on our personal experience interacting with the software and the company’s customer support representatives.
Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
These are some of the most common questions I hear about SpotOn POS.
The last bite
SpotOn is expansive, affordable, and user-friendly. It offers targeted solutions for small restaurants and comprehensive tools for high-volume and multi-location restaurants.
With an excellent range of industry-grade hardware, you can customize SpotOn to fit virtually any restaurant type. If you want a fully integrated POS with excellent employee management and online ordering functionality and you like the ease of built-in payment processing, SpotOn could be a great fit for you.
