With no long-term contracts and excellent mobile hardware, this growing cloud POS has great features, but may overwhelm some users.
SpotOn POS Review 2023: Pricing & Features
This article is part of a larger series on POS Systems.
SpotOn is a full-featured restaurant point-of-sale (POS) system that earned a 3.73 out of a possible 5 on our ranking of the best restaurant POS systems, coming in eighth overall. SpotOn is incredibly functional, offering excellent mobile POS devices for food trucks and brick-and-mortar restaurants that provide curbside service. Special event venues and stadiums that provide in-seat service will also find all the tools they need in SpotOn.
SpotOn Overview
Overall Score:
3.73 / 5
Pros
- Highly customizable
- Supports automatic cash discounting
- Robust handheld terminals for curbside and mobile service
- Excellent delivery management and reservation tools
Cons
- Locked into SpotOn Payments
- Most pricing is custom-quoted
- Setup can take a couple weeks
Supported Business Types | Restaurants, bars, food trucks cafes, concessionaires, retailers, automotive, professional services, and multi-location businesses |
Standout Features |
|
Monthly Software Fees | Custom-quoted |
Setup and Installation Fees | Custom-quoted based on hardware type and restaurant needs |
Contract Length | Month-to-month* *If you cancel before your hardware is paid in full, you will still owe those fees. |
Payment Processing Options | SpotOn Payments; there is an option to switch to a third-party processor for a fee (see details in the Pricing section below) |
Payment Processing Fees | From 1.99% + 25 cents; custom rate quotes are available on request |
Customer Support |
|
Provider | Best for | Monthly Software Fees | In-person Processing Fees | Learn More |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Small restaurants that need an affordable, full-featured POS | $0 to $165+ | From 2.49% + 15 cents | |
 | Short-term contracts and those with existing hardware | $0 to $60-plus | 2.6% plus 10 cents | |
 | A user-friendly iPad POS that supports multiple payment processors | $69 to $399-plus | Lightspeed Payments 2.6% plus 10 cents; other payment processors available | |
When to Use SpotOn
- Food trucks will get great use from SpotOn’s fully mobile Sidekick POS terminal. SpotOn earned a 3.94 out of 5 on our ranking of food truck POS systems.
- Delivery-heavy operations will find multiple tools to support staff-powered delivery (with a drivers’ smartphone app) or third-party partners. SpotOn scored a 4.10 out of 5 on our scoring criteria for delivery POS systems.
- If you have complex needs, SpotOn’s customizability and multiple built-in modules for curbside service, self-service kiosks, reservations, loyalty, and online ordering will be a great fit for your business.
When to Use SpotOn Alternatives
- If you want to shop for payment processors, SpotOn requires pretty steep fees. Look at Lightspeed Restaurant instead.
- SpotOn requires some lead time to configure your system fully. If you need fast self-setup, a system like Square for Restaurants is faster.
- Small restaurants that want a simpler, plug-and-play solution and don’t need a lot of customization may prefer a more streamlined POS like TouchBistro.
Pricing for SpotOn’s hardware and software is custom-quoted. I prefer to see systems that publicly list at least a ballpark price so small restaurants can tell if they are getting a good deal. With a system as customizable as SpotOn, it can be challenging to create a one-size-fits-all price. Though plenty of their competitors have found a way to do this, so SpotOn lost some points on pricing.
This category is also where we score payment processing options, giving the highest marks to systems that support multiple processors. SpotOn POS comes with SpotOn Payments built in, and while the payments subscription is month-to-month, switching to a new processor could cost you. SpotOn charges a one-time fee of $995 to switch your system to a third-party processor. If you switch, your monthly software fees will also double.
SpotOn Fees
Monthly Software Fees | Custom-quoted |
Installation Fee | Custom-quoted |
In-person Payment Processing |
|
SpotOn Hardware
In addition to software fees, SpotOn’s POS hardware is also custom-quoted. Like competitor Toast, SpotOn’s hardware is industry-grade and designed to withstand busy restaurant environments. SpotOn is especially good for self-service kiosks and handheld POS hardware. You’ll need to contact SpotOn for a custom quote.
Popular SpotOn Hardware Options
Stationary Terminal | Handheld Terminal | Self-service Kiosk | KDS |
|---|---|---|---|
 |  |  |  |
Small footprint countertop touch-screen terminal | Handheld order and payment device | Countertop mounted self-service kiosk | Touch-screen kitchen display system |
This custom-quote requirement also cost SpotOn some points in hardware. Hardware pricing is a highly competitive category. Competitors like Square and Lightspeed operate on iPads—whose pricing is readily available. Toast publicly lists its hardware pricing on its website and includes pay-as-you-go options, enabling the smallest restaurants to get started for $0 upfront. Even legacy systems like Oracle MICROS Simphony regularly promote offers for $1 POS stations for new customers.
SpotOn regains some ground when it comes to features. However, we award the highest points to POS systems that include functions for no additional fees. So, SpotOn’s custom-quote format muted its performance here. While it offers virtually every function you can think of—from course and seat management, KDS functionality, employee time tracking, and easy check and tab management—it is unclear which of these functions incur higher monthly fees.
SpotOn’s icon-based manager dashboard fits a lot of options on a single screen. (Source: SpotOn)
That said, SpotOn’s baseline POS features are functionally powerful. They include:
- Table and tab management: SpotOn can easily start tabs and tables from a start screen or floorplan. Tabs can be transferred to tables, and checks can be easily split by dollar amount or item.
- 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.
- Reporting: SpotOn has all the reports you’d expect to see, from staff shift reports to close of day, sales recaps, and payroll reports.
- Staff management: The baseline 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.
- Custom configuration: 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.
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.
Many restaurant POS brands say they are designed “by restauranteurs 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 on the SpotOn website.
Mobile & Curbside Ordering & Payments
SpotOn supports multiple industry-grade handheld devices for mobile and curbside service. (Source: SpotOn)
SpotOn has been an industry leader in developing mobile and curbside POS tools over the past few years. Their POS hardware and underlying software provide excellent coverage for food trucks that need cellular and Wi-Fi-compatible connectivity, brick-and-mortar restaurants extending their service curbside, or even event stadiums that want to offer in-seat service. You can offer mobile ordering and payment on a slew of handheld SpotOn devices or leverage customer smartphones to accept orders and payments.
The strength of SpotOn’s mobile POS is a real standout. Few restaurant POS brands offer such a robust POS for fully mobile businesses like food trucks and concessionaires.
Online Ordering
SpotOn’s online ordering system communicates directly with your Google listing to capture online orders from internet searches. (Source: SpotOn)
SpotOn’s online ordering tools are similarly excellent. You can accept orders from Google search results via a fully integrated ecommerce site that syncs directly with your POS. Online customers can place group orders with split or single payments. This online ordering system also supports QR code orders and payments for a contactless customer experience. Your SpotOn online ordering tools are designed to be mobile-first so that customers can order as easily from their smartphones as from their computers. Automated upsell suggestions can increase sales, and automated text alerts let customers know their order status.
These online ordering tools are becoming de rigeur for modern restaurant POS systems. SpotOn doesn’t offer much that is truly groundbreaking here, but their tools communicate well with one another, and the overall online ordering experience is elegant and streamlined. And few POS brands currently offer the group ordering option with split payments.
Delivery Management
You can assign deliveries to drivers directly from the SpotOn POS screen. (Source: SpotOn)
With SpotOn, you can accept third-party platform orders directly in the POS or route delivery requests from your website to on-demand third-party drivers. You can also self-manage delivery and assign orders to a team of in-house delivery drivers. Self-managed delivery tools allow you to manage your drivers with the same precision as you manage your front-of-house staff. You assign orders in the POS, track tips, and track sales by driver. The system does not currently have maps-based driver dispatch, though. For that, you’ll need a third-party integration.
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.
SpotOn Reserve reservation and waitlist information can feed detailed customer profiles. (Source: SpotOn)
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 occasion dates, 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.
SpotOn’s Seat and Send feature prompts waitlisted customers to pre-order their food, giving them a reason to commit to the wait and speeding your overall service. (Source: SpotOn)
The reservation module also includes an excellent waitlist tool with a unique option that prompts waitlisted customers to place their orders in advance from their smartphones. SpotOn calls this “Seat and Send” since the POS will send the order to the kitchen when your front desk staff marks the party as seated. The Seat and Send feature is a true game changer for restaurants with small dining rooms. Taking orders from waitlisted customers in advance speeds your overall service, making it easier to turn tables and increase your daily sales.
Loyalty & Marketing
You can build custom loyalty campaigns to welcome new customers or celebrate milestones with existing customers. (source: SpotOn)
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.
Review Management
Track your reviews and ratings across multiple online sites from a single dashboard, where you can also respond directly to customers with bounce back offers. (Source: SpotOn)
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.
SpotOn Connect
SpotOn offers a unique way to capture customer emails and encourage sign-ups for your email marketing efforts. Via SpotOn Connect, a customer Wi-Fi tool, you can grow your email list while providing a service that customers crave. There are no additional monthly software fees for SpotOn Connect. The only cost is a one-time fee for the SpotOn-provided router plus installation; you’ll need to contact SpotOn for pricing.
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. The only thing that kept SpotOn from earning a perfect score here is that installation requires up to two weeks of lead time and a custom quote.
SpotOn is undoubtedly 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; I could see this system working well in many of the high-volume restaurants and food trucks I’ve managed.
But the custom pricing and the sheer magnitude of features won’t be a fit for the smallest restaurants. This is a great system if you have the money to spend and will use all the available tools.
What Users Say in SpotOn Reviews
SpotOn users have a lot of praise for this highly customizable system. On major review sites like G2 and Software Advice, SpotOn averages a customer review score of 4.5 out of 5. Users also frequently call out their helpful SpotOn sales and customer service representatives by name (well done, Jerry and Drew).
SpotOn users say the built-in payments are easy to use, rarely have glitches, and (in many cases) cost them less than their previous payment processors. Many also mention that SpotOn is user-friendly for both their staff and customers.
And though pricing that requires a custom quote is not my personal favorite, I have not come across any customer reviews complaining of SpotOn’s price. A handful of reviews, in fact, mention the affordable software and hardware fees. The only cons I’ve seen are either minimal or par for the POS course. Negative SpotOn user reviews mention difficulties getting their card readers back online after power outages and some difficulty reprinting checks. Some users think the back office dashboard takes time to learn.
How We Evaluated SpotOn
We scored SpotOn on the criteria we use to rank all restaurant POS systems. Click through the slides below for a look at our full evaluation criteria:
20%
Pricing
20%
General Features
15%
Niche POS Features
30%
Ease of Use
15%
Expert Score
20% of Overall Score
20% of Overall Score
15% of Overall Score
30% of Overall Score
15% of Overall Score
*Percentages of overall score
Bottom Line
SpotOn is both expansive and user-friendly. It offers targeted solutions for food trucks, with excellent mobile POS tools and comprehensive tools for high-volume and multi-location restaurants. Small, independent restaurants simply may not use all the features SpotOn offers and can likely find a less expensive system.
It can be difficult for small indies to commit to SpotOn’s custom quotes for hardware and software—plus built-in processing—when competing POS brands offer transparent pricing, free baseline subscriptions, and pay-as-you-go hardware. If you want a fully integrated POS with excellent mobile and tableside functionality, though (and you don’t mind relying on a custom quote), SpotOn could be a great fit.
