Based in the United States, Ireland, United Kingdom, and Canada, Toast is an international POS provider that sells tailored software solutions and management systems for kitchen and payment transactions for hospitality businesses. Toast’s POS solutions can be a great addition to coffee shops, bakeries, restaurants, nightclubs, and bars.
Read on to learn more about the POS solutions Toast offers in the UK market.
Sections
POS Hardware and Software
Toast specialises in both hardware and software POS solutions.
Their POS is fully customisable to meet the needs of your business, but what’s best about this software is that it was built by individuals who’ve worked in the hospitality industry, primarily the restaurant industry. This ensures that your POS will be tailored by people who know what your business needs, so let’s take a look at some of the features.
Software Features
Cloud-based: The cloud-based software is modern and easy to navigate, and requires internet access to operate. Since it’s cloud-based, you’ll have access to your personal account anywhere you are. You can use any type of device to enter your account, such as a laptop, desktop computer, tablet, or smartphone (iOS, Android, etc.).
User-friendly interface: The UI design of the software is intuitive and very simple to learn, so you and your staff won’t need more than a couple of days to get the hang of things. All the tools and features are easily accessible, and using the software doesn’t require prior knowledge of POS software solutions.
Add-on integrations: The software allows you to add add-ons and extra tools to improve your kitchen and staff management, payment processes, accounting and transactions, etc.
Tableside orders: You can use Toast’s POS solution for taking tableside orders. The software can be installed on specific devices for taking tableside orders that are easy to use and an excellent asset for your waiters. Your staff won’t need to go to the counter to type orders in the main display till. They’ll be able to take and process orders wherever the guests are at the moment – in front and inside the business premises.
Automatic card payment: With the manual device for tableside orders, your staff can handle all types of credit and debit cards and contactless payments via digital wallets wherever they are.
Automatic digital receipts: If your guests need an invoice or proof of their receipt, your staff can text or email it straight from their manual device for tableside ordering.
Offline mode: If you lose your Wi-Fi connection, there’s no need to panic – Toast has an offline mode. The offline mode allows you to use the ToastGo and ToastFlex devices even without access to the Internet. Also, all the data is saved in real-time, so you won’t need to worry in case there’s an electricity shortage.
Integrated Payment Feature
Toast POS software comes equipped with integrated payment add-ons. The rate you’ll need to pay for them is entirely based on the specific needs and wants of your business, which is why Toast’s technical support team makes a unique payment rate for each client. There are no extra fees you’ll need to pay to use this feature.
Anytime you need troubleshooting help, you can call the technical support team that’s available 24/7.
Also, there’s no need to worry in case you suddenly lose connection to the Internet. The payment add-ons will store all the data created while the POS is offline.
In addition to being flexible, reliable and user-friendly, the payment feature is also very secure.
Here’s the type of security you’ll get:
- Real-time malware and fraud monitoring
- Tracking and blocking unknown or unusual transactions
- Payment devices with secure near-field communication (NFC) or EMV technology for contactless or chip & pin transactions
- POS solutions that are compliable and integrated with Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS).
- Encryption of your customers’ data so no one can access their card information once the transaction is processed
POS System for Kitchen Display
Toast’s POS system for kitchen display is a great choice for restaurants of all types and sizes. It is durable, easy to use, and works perfectly even when the temperature in the kitchen gets higher than usual. And, guess what – Toast’s kitchen displays are also known for being more long-lasting than Apple’s iPads.
Toast sells displays of different sizes, so you can choose the perfect size screens for your kitchen. All of them come with pre-integrated mobile POS software Toast Go. They also have an integration that lets you track and manage all your takeaway orders.
The system supports several languages, so your kitchen staff can set up software in whichever language they prefer. It also provides regular reports on your staff’s productivity so you can always track their work progress and determine if there are irregularities during work hours. You can also send alerts to your team whenever an order is ready to be served or delivered.
Hardware
Toast sells various types of POS hardware devices.
In the United Kingdom, they sell Toast Flex display tills for the kitchen staff and front-office employees and two-side monitors for guests. The Toast Flex monitor can be placed wherever you want in your business – it’s an excellent addition for the kitchen staff and your employees who work with customers.
The Toast Flex two-side monitors are specifically designed for your customers. They’re easy to use since the interface design is minimal and straightforward, so your customers won’t have any issues handling them.
The main purpose of these displays is to keep the queues shorter by letting customers order and pay on the monitor. Once they pay for their order, they can keep track of it on the smaller display. Another reason why these types of displays are slowly becoming a necessity in restaurants is their automatic handling of payments, which essentially means 100% accuracy and reliability.
Also, Toast points out that it is better to use their hardware with their POS software solution. Although some devices are fully compatible with their software, it is easier to secure the software if it’s entirely optimised and integrated within their devices.
Pricing
Toast offers three packages for their UK-based customers. Here’s the cost of each package and what it contains.
Starter
The Starter package costs £80 per month. It’s an excellent option for small-sized businesses that feel like moving up the scale and adding an innovative POS solution to improve their staff and customers’ experience.
With the Starter, you’ll get one or two POS devices.
The package contains the following:
- Toast’s cloud-based POS software solution
- Hardware devices (optional)
- Reports and analytics in real-time
- Integrated payment add-ons and features in the software
- Installation of both the software and the hardware
- Live technical support
- Additional tools and features (by choice), such as handheld devices, vouchers/gift cards, kitchen tills, and extra software integrations.
You can ask for a demo of the Starter package to test it out and find out if it meets your expectations before buying it.
Essential
The Essential package costs £150 per month, and you can integrate the software in one to 15 different locations. This package is an excellent solution for local restaurants and coffee chains.
If your business is still fresh, or you’re just about to develop it, Essential is a great option for you. With this package, you’ll be able to scale all your management operations and services from the beginning.
In addition to having the same features as the Starter package, the Essential also contains:
- A display till for the kitchen staff
- A handheld POS device (Toast GoTM)
With this upgraded package, you can also choose which integrations you’d like to add to your software. There’s an option to ask to test this package out by asking for a demo.
Custom
As the name suggests, the custom package can be tailored to meet any unique needs your business might have. This solution is meant for larger companies, such as regional or international chain restaurants and coffee shops, since you’ll need to use it on 16 locations minimum. There’s no specific limit on how many places you can use the custom package, but you can even use it for more than 1000. To get a quote, you’ll need to contact Toast’s customer support team and discuss the options.
You can also contact Toast’s customer support on the following numbers:
- Customer support: +44 204 571 3302
- Sales: +44 204 586 7710
Company Background
Toast is an internationally renowned POS provider with a central office in Boston, Massachusetts. In addition to the main office, the company has branches in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Canada.
The company sells customisable POS software and hardware for businesses in the hospitality industry, such as restaurants, bars, bakeries, and more. So far, Toast has sold its POS solutions to more than 93,000 businesses.
Toast has won multiple awards, such as the “Best Places to Work” award by Glassdoor and the “LGBTQIA+ Advocacy Award” by BuiltIn. Right now, Chris Comparato is the CEO and director of the company.
Reviews
Toast has 474 reviews on SoftwareAdvice and an overall score of 4.2 out of 5.0 stars. Most reviewers commented positively on Toast, mentioning that the software is reliable and affordable.
Toast also has 474 votes on GetApp and an average score of 4.2 out of 5.0 stars.
The company has 271 reviews on G2 and has the same average score as on GetApp and SoftwareAdvice.
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