Looking for an Alternative to Toast POS?
If you are considering Toast POS for your restaurant, and would like to have more features out of the box, less add-on charges, and better pricing and terms, take a look at the iPad point of sale system, Linga POS. Designed for all types of restaurants, from full service to pizzerias, Linga really shines as the premier tablet-based Point of Sale system for quick service restaurants (QSR). Linga POS is a global product with installations in over two dozen countries, and supports over 30 languages. This company provides a long list of features that come standard in even their most basic plan, and is scalable to fit enterprise and franchise brands with over 1,000 locations.
Find out what thousands of Linga customers know: it’s the most innovative restaurant POS available today. More than just another point of sale ordering system, Linga POS has a number of advantages over Toast, in any restaurant environment.
POS Pricing
Linga wins the POS pricing war, hands down. They’ll set up every restaurant with a free trial, just to make sure they’re exactly what the business owners are expecting. When the trial is over, Linga prices begin at an extremely reasonable $19.99 per month. Toast costs several times as much, with their least expensive plan running around $100 per month.
Contract Options
The last thing any restaurant needs is another non-negotiable item on their monthly budget. When an entrepreneur finds that a system no longer fits in with his business plan, it can be frustrating to have to wait until a contract expires before being able to improve his bottom line. While Toast requires an annual contract, Linga offers month to month payments, including a discount for customers who pay annually. Linga also offers a full-featured free trial for any potential customer, so they see exactly what they can buy, while Toast does not.
Company Experience
Linga POS is a product of Benseron Hospitality. After making POS systems for 14 years, Benseron has the experience to create a truly transforming product for every restaurant level. They’ve been in the business long enough to know what customers want, and how to give it to them at an attractive price. Toast, on the other hand, first arrived in 2013. When it comes to reliability, customers naturally want to go with the experienced veteran.
Payment Processing
The way they process payments is one of the major differences between Linga and Toast. Linga works with a variety of major credit card processors and is completely EMV compliant. Compliancy with EMV is a global standard for credit cards with security computer chips. Toast, on the other hand, insists on being the only payment processor for all customers, removing their ability to choose the most cost-effective alternative. All customers must switch from their current payment processors to Toast, even if they’re happy with their current provider.
Restaurant Inventory Management
Every restaurant owner knows that great inventory control can make or break a restaurant’s budget. Having an inventory setup inside the POS system is key to keeping costs down and pilferage in check. Linga offers an inventory management module standard with both the Linga PRO and Enterprise plans, adding even more value to these systems. The Toast POS plan charges an extra monthly fee for having an inventory management module, no matter what plan the restaurant is currently using.
POS Feature Comparison
While both systems offer basic restaurant POS software, Linga is filled with an abundance of riches when it comes to features. The free starter or basic plans include such a wide variety of features that either plan can support an entire restaurant, including front and back of house, KDS integration, and reporting. For the enterprise, Linga supports cloud kitchen and warehouse (Toast does not), online ordering, customer apps, reporting across all locations and regions, advanced analytics, and much more. The list of Toast features is less mature, while their list of paid add-ons is larger.
Operating System
Toast advertises themselves as a maverick company because they’ve build their system using an Android operating system. While that’s certainly unusual in this industry, the chief benefit to using Android seems to be that it’s cheaper for the developer. Linga is iOS based, which means that their system is more secure, less vulnerable to hacking and theft, and offers a better user experience. When it comes to the safety and security of a restaurant’s data, the smart money is on the system with the best security. Additionally, Toast configures hardware with their proprietary setup; if the new tablet breaks, you can only get a replacement from Toast. For Linga, you can purchase a new iPad anywhere, download the app from the app store, and be up and running again immediately.
