Upserve POS

Upserve POS Review

Updated as of November, 2023

If you’re opening a new restaurant or thinking of upgrading your current POS platform, my Upserve POS review takes a more in-depth look at one of the largest tablet-based competitors in the industry. If you want a full-service restaurant management system, this is undoubtedly an effective option. Let’s examine everything on offer at Upserve POS!

Overview of Upserve POS

Upserve POS originally went by the name of Breadcrumb. In 2016, the company was purchased by Swipely, and the name was changed to Upserve POS — this was following Swipely’s attempt to make Upserve a full-service restaurant management platform rather than a simple POS system.

Upserve POS certainly offers a comprehensive service — there’s much more than payment processing available in this powerful platform. If you’re looking for a system that helps you transform how you manage your restaurant, you’ll find plenty of useful tools at Upserve POS.

You can use the Upserve app on iOS and Android devices, so it’s an excellent option if you want a touch screen POS system. Upserve POS consulted designers from a broad range of hospitality niches. The platform has been built using the input of hardworking restaurant and café professionals.

This approach to the design process doesn’t just make things easier for your staff members; it also makes things easier for you. As a business owner or manager, it’s critical to use a type of POS that is easy to learn and operate for your business environment. It helps prevent mistakes in the workplace and means you won’t waste too much time training your employees.

Upserve POS provides you with easy menu building, a full list of integrations, tons of seamless features, restaurant management tools, excellent hardware options, and more. It’s time to take a more in-depth look at the critical components of this major platform.

Pros vs Cons

Pricing

Upserve POS pricing starts at $119 per month. If you use a point of sale platform outside of your business’s budget, it can seriously eat into your profits. Fortunately, Upserve has very transparent pricing policies — you don’t have to hunt for a quote to determine if this is an affordable service for your business. Upserve POS offers its services in three distinct packages — they cover a broad range of price points.

Upserve POS Cost

• Core Monthly – $119 (Additional terminal $60)
• Pro Monthly – $249 (Additional terminal $50)
• Pro Plus Monthly – $399 (Additional terminal $40)

Core Includes: Upserve POS, Payment Processing, EMV, Sale Reporting, Labor Reporting Marketing Insights, Mobile App, Workforce

Pro Includes: Upserve POS, Payment Processing, EMV, Sale Reporting, Labor Reporting Marketing Insights, Mobile App, Workforce, Menu Optimization, Server Performance, Loyalty, Inventory, Online Ordering

Pro Plus Includes: Upserve POS, Payment Processing, EMV, Sale Reporting, Labor Reporting Marketing Insights, Mobile App, Workforce, Menu Optimization, Server Performance, Loyalty, Inventory, Online Ordering, Dedicated Success Manager, Custom Reporting, Data API Access

As you can see, the prices are quite high compared to many other large competitors in the market. You’ll need to have a decent budget to afford the premium Upserve POS options. But you can also add features to the ‘Core’ package individually if you want to upgrade partially.

There is a flat fee of 2.49% + $.15 per transaction in terms of payment processing. They also offer 0% financing on hardware, software, and implementation for qualified buyers.

Demo Video

Key Features

A POS’s features are the most critical component to consider when you’re deciding on a new platform — let’s take a look at what Upserve has to offer:

Data Reporting

The back-office features on offer from Upserve POS are great. You can access them from any device connected to the internet — you can get a full view of your business’s performance when you’re on-the-go.

You can look at detailed sales analytics, labor reporting, campaigns, employee management, and more. You can see detailed, individualized reporting figures from individual staff members, locations, and the business as a whole.

You can view all your restaurant’s data from the Upserve HQ — a central location that retains all the information you need. You can also set up a ‘Daily Digest Email’ to send you a daily summary of your restaurant or business’s performance.

Deployment Type

It’s hard to find a point of sale system that doesn’t have a cloud computing component. You’ll find a hybrid form of point of sale if you decide to work with Upserve. While you can store and access all reporting data and information from a cloud, the offline mode means that the software will store valuable information on your hardware if the internet cuts out.

There are some limitations to Upserve’s Offline Mode; for instance, you can’t work a check on multiple iPads. If a check is changed from different iPads, it will throw off reports and payments. EMV readers will not work if you lose the internet or if your network goes down.

If you are operating in Offline Mode, you can swipe any chip card through the Upserve POS swiper. Upserve POS will encrypt the swipe and hold it securely until connectivity is restored. Once you’re connected again, Upserve sends the encrypted data to the card processor for authorization. This is a great feature most cloud-based systems don’t offer.

If you want to avoid costly data losses and you enjoy accessing reporting data from back-office locations, this form of POS system is just what you’re looking for. I’m a big fan of hybrid systems — they provide you with the best of both worlds, but it’s best to verify you have a fast and stable internet connection to eliminate as much downtime as possible.

Industries Served

You’ll be pleased to know that Upserve POS is built explicitly for the hospitality industry – this means all the tools in the platform are geared towards helps cafés, restaurants, quick-service restaurants, food trucks, bars, and a range of other hospitality-based industries.

While this platform is excellent for businesses of any size, its cost may be impractical for small venues. In many ways, I suggest that you use this platform for mid-sized to more substantial businesses — especially if you’re investing in the more premium packages.

Ease of Use

It’s hard to find a platform that prioritizes ease of use more than Upserve. As discussed previously, this platform was designed by hospitality professionals to make things much easier for business owners and staff.

You’ll find that the user interface is straightforward, making it easy to navigate and see what you’re looking for. This is great for busy periods in your restaurant — your staff members will be able to process transactions quickly and build orders without wasting time.

In terms of the backend, it’s straightforward to build menus, change items, develop categories, and customize your entire POS platform to your particular needs and wants. It’s a great POS platform for those who want to avoid complications.

Hardware

Fortunately, you can use Upserve POS on both iOS and Android devices – this gives you a much higher degree of flexibility than you’ll find with some of the other leading POS platforms. Also, it means you won’t have to purchase your hardware devices from your point of sale provider — you can source the accessories on your own! That being said, we generally recommend you get all your hardware from the POS company or provider to make sure your equipment is compatible with the software.

If you want additional hardware, such as kiosks or printers, you can purchase them from Upserve POS. These other hardware products can help you bring your system to the next level.

You’ll find that most people use iPads and Android tablets for Upserve POS. And don’t worry — you can access your reporting information from any form of device that connects to the internet – this is a feature I look for in any top POS platform.

Integrations

As you can probably tell, there are plenty of add-ons available at Upserve. Integrations and add-ons are undoubtedly one of the key benefits associated with this software. Outside of the upgrade, you can get from purchasing the premium packages mentioned in the ‘Pricing’ section of this Upserve POS review; you can also head to the Upserve Marketplace to gain access to a broad range of add-ons.

The available Upserve POS integrations and add-ons can help you manage online orders, integrate accounting, give you a more in-depth look at your analytics, help you improve scheduling, manage reservations, issue gift cards, and a range of other benefits.

Some of the additional add-ons and integrations include GrubHub, Tock, Resy, Better Chains, Homebase, 7shifts, Orca, Shogo, KitchenSync, and more. Keep in mind that many of these add-ons will cost you extra money, so you need to factor these costs into your budget.

Still, I like the number of add-ons available through Upserve POS.

Payment Processing

Upserve credit card processing costs a flat fee of 2.49% + $.15 per transaction and is EMV ready.

Unfortunately, for seamless integration, there’s no credit card processing flexibility at Upserve POS — you’ll have to use their processing platform if you want to use Upserve. This isn’t my preferred form of credit card processing, as I think it’s a good idea to have flexibility. It’s also helpful to have the option to bring your current credit card processor with you if you’re transferring systems.

Still, this does mean that you won’t have to worry about shopping around. In some ways, it’s convenient to have your credit card processing and POS under one roof. Upserve POS also claims to price match with other credit card processors if you find a better rate.

I do like that they have a handheld POS option for tableside ordering with EMV payments. This is a great feature that very few companies seem to get right. I don’t have any feedback on how well it works yet, but I will update the review when we get more details. But here is what the Upserve Tableside device looks like:

Customer Service

Upserve POS has an excellent customer support platform that allows you to research a variety of technical topics. If you still need to speak to a support team member, you can live chat with their customer care department 24/7. This is a great feature — I love POS providers that invest in around-the-clock customer support and live chat platforms. You can also call their hotline if you need to speak to a staff member quickly.

But it’s not just about Upserve’s customer service team; you should also consider customer feedback when you’re trying to decide on a new POS company to work with. Checking various consumer watchdog sites can help you determine if Upserve POS is the right system for you. If a company has consistent complaints about a particular aspect of its business, there’s probably a reason for it.

The primary complaint we see with Upserve POS has to do with lagging and server downtime. Additional feedback we’ve found is that the platform crashes sometimes – this is a considerable concern, given that you need your POS system to operate if you want to conduct business effectively. Some customers also complain about the price. As mentioned previously, make sure you can afford this service before you make any commitments.

Our Verdict

So, is Upserve point of sale the right platform for your business? If you’re using an outdated POS system at the moment, there are certainly some vast advantages associated with Upserve POS. This system provides you with a full restaurant management platform that allows you to improve your business’s capabilities, but the price is on the higher side of the tablet POS market.

If you’re looking for a comprehensive system that is easy to scale, Upserve POS gives you many features and options to choose from. It also allows you to use iOS and Android devices and a range of other hardware add-ons.

It’s hard to find too much wrong with Upserve POS, but the price is steep. You’ll also need to overcome customer complaints about downtime and lagging. Still, it’s hard to find a modern tablet-based POS company with a more robust feature list. If you think Upserve POS is right for you, get in touch with their team for a free demo or visit here to see more POS reviews.

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