SpotOn Review: What Your Business Needs to Know

SpotOn is a versatile POS system with a monthly setup that’s bound to fit seasonal businesses like a glove – especially retailers.

With over 10 years of experience, and first-had usage, we researched SpotOn to give you the pros and cons and ensure you are equipped to know if it is the perfect match for your business. We looked into its usability, price and support in our research, where SpotOn scores 3.8/5.

When browsing for the best retail POS system, you should be looking for till setup, scalability and usability – all of which we cover in this SpotOn review.

If you’re looking for a POS system, the best way to make a well-informed decision is by comparing quotes. Here’s some help: just fill in our free comparison tool and we can get trusted providers to send you custom, obligation-free quotes.

How Much Does SpotOn Cost?

SpotOn pricing is customised, so you’ll have to contact its sales team for a precise quote of its overall POS cost. Its starting point will be your base plan, which you can choose between one that includes a software plus payment processor bundle (SpotOn with Payments), or one that only includes the software. The former costs $25 per month, while the latter costs $195 per month.

Poynt is SpotOn’ cheapest hardware and provides a good value for money because it only costs $15 per month.

SpotOn’s more complete pieces of kit, Register and Register Lite, come at $65 per month and $45 per month, respectively. They run the same software, but Register Lite is sleeker and doesn’t come with a cash drawer, though you can add one to it.

Also, the SpotOn Restaurants add-on comes with its own hardware and costs $65 per month.

SpotOn’s software is pricier than Square’s or Zettle’s (which offer theirs for free), but cheaper than Shopify’s, which charges $29/month and $299/month on its Basic and Advanced plans, respectively.

That said, SpotOn has its share of non-advertised costs, like one-off setup fees (which it charges for in all of its plans), and some add-ons. Another hardware option, Mobile (a very basic reader), also doesn’t have its price advertised.

Considering all that, a quote is the best way for you to gauge costs and, since you’ll be looking for quotes, why stop at SpotOn? Fill in our free quote tool and you’ll be comparing several providers in no time!

SpotOn’s Pros and Cons

Pro: High Customization

SpotOn avoids the one-size-fits-all approach of tier-based providers, like Lightspeed, by offering a customizable POS system. This means that, like TouchBistro, it can be tailored to serve your business, allowing you to select the features that are useful to you. That way, you don’t end up paying for features you don’t use – something that helped it rank among the best POS systems we researched.

These features include marketing tools and review management and can suit both retailers and restaurateurs. On its website, SpotOn offers preset options that cater to anything from fine dining eateries and food trucks to apparel and home decor vendors. However, it also advertises bespoke options, which highlights the provider’s versatility.

Pro: No Contract Commitment

SpotOn doesn’t push for yearly plans – it doesn’t even offer them. The only way to subscribe to the platform is to pay monthly, which is in contrast to the business models of competitors like Shopify or TouchBistro.

Entrepreneurs who run seasonal businesses are primed to benefit from this. Once you pay the one-off setup fees, you can pay the subscription only during the month(s) you’re open. This offers a convenient way to keep a POS system at the ready without settling in for a long contract.

Con: Pricey Third-Party Payment Integration

With its origins firmly rooted in payment processing, it should come as no surprise that SpotOn’s very keen to have you use its native processor.

If you’ve already hired a processor, SpotOn will charge you a large amount to integrate it to its POS system. This integration makes the software price jump from $25 per month to $195 per month – and you’d still have to shell out more for the hardware.

Con: Support Tools Could Be Better

SpotOn’s help and support, in some areas, could be improved. It lacks the live chat feature that competitors, like Square and Lightspeed, offer. This limits the contact options to phone and email.

While general support and feedback is offered 24/7, specific departments (like account activations and customer engagement) only respond to queries and tickets at certain times. If your query is linked to any of those departments, your issue may not be resolved straight away.

Also, SpotOn doesn’t feature a backup option – a useful feature for you to retrieve data or previous settings. In contrast, some providers, like Shopify, even offer automatic daily backups.

SpotOn’s Key Features Explained

Till

SpotOn’s till is one of the best among the POS systems we surveyed. The provider scores 4.5/5 in this category in our research.

This is due to SpotOn’s functional and versatile hardware. Poynt, for instance, can be used both as a full on POS system or as a mobile terminal for transactions.

In Register Lite, SpotOn has a compact solution that includes all the main features of its software, like custom receipts as well as sales and inventory management.

Beyond that, the fact that the software can be highly customized allows for the till to be fine-tuned to your need as a customer.

Scalability

SpotOn’s subscription-based model easily allows for scalability because the software can be used in more than one location – without extra charges.

In addition to this, the provider’s advanced POS hardware options – Register, Register Lite, and the hospitality-focused Restaurants – all work in sync with multiple locations. As you grow your business, you can simply sync the new locations to the POS system.

That said, each additional piece of hardware you require will incur another subscription and a one-off setup fee, so things can get pricey in the long run. To avoid this, we recommend negotiating a reduced rate with SpotOn’s sales team.

Usability

SpotOn’s simple interface renders the POS system very easy to use – unsurprisingly, it scores a perfect 5/5 in usability in our research.

Its software’s clean layout and its hardware’s touchscreen are key when it comes to ensuring newcomers hit the ground running  – even if you’re not tech-savvy.

Even if a new operation, such as overhauling an inventory, or setting up guests on a loyalty programme, doesn’t seem straightforward at first, users can refer to SpotOn’s knowledge center to learn about it. There you will find an abundance of instructional material, including audiovisual guides and step-by-step breakdowns, which are available to iron out any thorny details.

What Kind Of Business Is SpotOn Best for?

SpotOn is best suited for retailers because its tools are meant to fasten sales and build strong relationships with the clientele. In fact, it ranks among the best POS system for those businesses.

It scores 4.2/5 in our research for best POS systems for retail, beating the likes of Lightspeed and Shopify. These providers score 4.1 and 4, respectively, in this analysis.

SpotOn’s excellent result was largely a product of its ecommerce and local delivery integrations. The former allows for the creation of a website and the ability  to sync your online and physical catalogues. The latter, via an integration with third-party platform, DoorDash, promotes your brand in your local area by way of same-day (and two-day) delivery.

How Does SpotOn Compare to Its Competitors?

Price

SpotOn’s price is hard to compare to competitors because of its highly customizable nature. That said, we can compare its base plan prices: $25 per month for SpotOn with Payments, and $195 per month for SpotOn only.

These figures are a far cry from what Square and Zettle offer, which provide free software. However, they hold their own against others, like Shopify, which charges $29 per month and $299 per month for its Basic and Advanced plans, respectively. This was reflected in SpotOn’s 3.4/5 score in price in our research into the best POS systems.

Features

Regarding features, SpotOn’s strongest suits, when compared with its competitors, are till setup and usability.

Till, in particular, is a category where SpotOn shines bright and in which it scored a solid 4.5/5. By offering five standard POS pieces of kit, it beats providers such as Square and Zettle, which offer four and three, respectively.

SpotOn also scores a perfect 5/5 for usability in our research – although, a POS system that is easy to use is an industry standard at this point. In this regard, it’s equal to most of its competitors, like Shopify and TouchBistro, which also score 5/5.

Does SpotOn Have Good Customer Reviews?

SpotOn has glowing reviews on major aggregators, such as Trustpilot, where it scores 4/5, and Capterra, where it scores 4.6/5. In them, the highest praises are directed towards the provider’s ease of use.

How We Reviewed SpotOn POS