The short answer
- Full service with a dining room: look at Lightspeed Restaurant, Toast, TouchBistro, Maitre'D, Veloce and Clover, which are built for tables and courses. In Quebec, check that Revenu Québec lists the system for table service. Toast is not listed for it.
- Quick service, cafés and counters: most systems handle this well. MYR, Cluster and Square are built around it, and Square publishes a $0 plan.
- Bars: check that the system handles bar tabs. In Quebec, also check that Revenu Québec lists it for bar service.
- Food trucks: you need a system that runs on a handheld and can bill offline. In Quebec, 31 certified systems list food trucks.
- Several locations: you want menus and reports you can run from one place for every site. Lightspeed, Toast, Squirrel, Oracle Simphony and NCR Aloha are built for groups and chains.
- In Quebec: start from the certified list. Square says it is not compatible with WEB-SRM, the Revenu Québec system that records each bill online. TouchBistro is not on the list.
How we compared them
- Published facts only. Prices, processing and terms come from each company's own Canadian pages or agreements, linked in the table. If a company does not publish it, the table says so.
- Quebec certification from Revenu Québec. The last column lists the service types Revenu Québec certifies for each system, from its list read on 1 October 2026.
- No ranking for pay. Nobody paid to be listed. Systems are grouped: the widely sold platforms first, then the Quebec-built systems, then systems for groups and chains.
The comparison table
Prices and processing as published on each company's Canadian page; Quebec certification from Revenu Québec's list. All checked 1 October 2026.
| Restaurant POS | Software from (per month) | Card processing | Kitchen display | Online ordering | Contract | Quebec WEB-SRM certified for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Toast | CA$120 (first hardware terminal subscription included) | Adyen only | Included on Essentials, add-on on Starter | Yes | 6-month auto-renewals; leaving early costs the remaining software fees | Counter, digital platform orders |
| Lightspeed Restaurant | CAD $89 | Lightspeed Payments 2.6% + 10¢, or a supported third-party processor | $40 per screen | Yes | Not published | Table, counter, bar, food truck, delivery, platforms |
| Clover | Quote | Fiserv only | Yes | Yes, no-fee online ordering on the table service plan | Varies by provider | Table, counter, bar, food truck, delivery, platforms (Clover MEV Web) |
| Square for Restaurants | $0 (Free); Plus $60 | Square only: 2.5% credit, 0.75% + 7¢ debit | $20 per device on Free; included on Plus | Yes, free tier | No long-term contract | Not listed; Square says it is not compatible and points to MYR, which is certified |
| TouchBistro | $89 (currency not stated) | Works with a wide range of processors | Add-on | Add-on, no commission | Not published | Not listed |
| Eats365 | CAD $29 (billed yearly) | Your choice of supported providers | Module | Module | Monthly or annual plans | Not listed |
| Maitre'D | $59.95 (Virtuo; currency not stated) | Keep your processor, or Maitre'D Payments | Yes | Yes | Annual service agreement, paid monthly | Table, counter, bar, food truck, delivery, platforms |
| Veloce | Quote (through dealers) | Through payment partners | Not stated | Through partners | Not published | Table, counter, bar, food truck, delivery, platforms |
| Cluster POS | CAD $65 (GO, billed yearly) | Cluster Payments on GO; Moneris and Global Payments listed | Not stated | Through UEAT, Deliverect, Stream | Monthly or yearly billing | Table, counter, bar, food truck, delivery, platforms |
| MYR | $80 (currency not stated) | Your choice | Yes (MYR Kitchen) | Yes | Cannot end before the initial term; renews yearly | Counter, bar, food truck, delivery, platforms |
| Yperon | CAD $50 counter, $75 table (billed yearly) | Not published | Not stated | Yes | Monthly or annual billing | Table, counter, bar, delivery, platforms |
| Foodteria | $69 (offer; currency not labelled) | Stripe Terminal, Clover or Global Payments readers | Yes | Yes, no extra cost | No long-term contract | Table, counter, platforms |
| Squirrel | Quote | Your choice of many partners, including Moneris, Global Payments, PayFacto, Paystone | Through partners | Add-on | Not published | Table, counter, bar, delivery, platforms |
| Oracle Simphony | Quote | Oracle Payments; Canadian availability not stated | Yes | Yes | Not published | Table, counter, bar, delivery, platforms |
| NCR Aloha | Quote | NCR Voyix payments | Yes | Yes | Not published | Counter, platforms |
"Platforms" means orders through a digital platform such as Uber Eats or DoorDash. Revenu Québec's list may not be exhaustive; it is the official reference.
What a restaurant POS costs in a year
Add these up before you compare monthly prices:
- Software: priced per location, and often more for each extra terminal. Toast's Starter plan includes the first hardware terminal subscription. Square's Plus plan adds $40 a month for each extra countertop device.
- Hardware: stations, handhelds, kitchen screens, printers and cash drawers. MYR, for example, says a POS station costs $1,500 to $2,000.
- Kitchen display: Lightspeed charges $40 a month per screen. Square charges $20 per device on its Free plan.
- Card processing: usually your biggest cost. Toast, Square and Clover process their own payments. The others let you choose.
- Online ordering and delivery: some include it. Others charge per order or per month.
- In Quebec: the certified version, and a printer that works with it.
The best way to compare is a full-year total on your own sales. Send us a statement and we will work it out with you.
Card processing: locked in or your choice
| Processes its own or one processor's payments | Lets you choose or keep yours |
|---|---|
| Toast (Adyen, named as the "sole provider of payment processing services"), Square, Clover (Fiserv) | Maitre'D, MYR, TouchBistro, Eats365, Squirrel, Lightspeed Restaurant (third-party processors supported), Foodteria (three readers) |
If you have a processing agreement with time left on it, choose from the right-hand column or plan the switch around your term. If you are open to switching, compare the POS and processing together.
Kitchen display, handhelds and online ordering
- Kitchen display. Replaces paper tickets with screens and timers. Check the price per screen and whether bump bars and printers still work together.
- Handhelds. Orders and payment at the table. Check battery life, Wi-Fi coverage across the room, and whether the handheld also prints.
- Online ordering. Your own ordering page avoids marketplace commissions on those orders. Check that online orders reach the kitchen screen without retyping.
- Delivery tablets. Uber Eats, DoorDash and SkipTheDishes can feed the POS through an integration, so staff stop typing orders twice.
Tips
Tip rules vary by province. In Quebec, suggested tip percentages must be calculated on the price before GST and QST, shown the same way, and the customer must always be able to enter their own amount. The restaurant is responsible even if someone else programs the terminal. On Revenu Québec's list, 62 of 83 certified systems list tip entry on the bill.
Quebec restaurants
Every bill from a Quebec restaurant establishment must come from a certified sales recording system (SRS) that works with WEB-SRM, certified for the service types you run. Revenu Québec's list held 83 systems on 1 October 2026. Square says its products "are not compatible with the online sales recording module (WEB-SRM)"; TouchBistro and Eats365 are not on Revenu Québec's list as of 1 October 2026. Toast is listed for counter service and platform orders, not table service.
Switching mid-season
- Pick a slow week. Avoid holidays and the patio season.
- Build the menu, modifiers and taxes again before go-live. Then test a full ticket, from the order to the kitchen to the bill.
- Train servers on the handhelds and the tip screen before the first service.
- If you can, run the old and new systems side by side for a day.
- In Quebec, print a test bill and check the QR code, tax codes and transaction number.
Where CleverPays fits, and where it does not
We fit when you want Clover set up for a restaurant by people you can reach: menus, modifiers, kitchen display, tips, online ordering and, in Quebec, a certified setup for the way you serve. Clover comes with Fiserv processing, and we say so up front.
We are not the best fit if you want to keep a processor Clover cannot use, or if you need table service from a system we do not sell. Pick from the "lets you choose" column, and ask the vendor for its Quebec certification if you are in Quebec.
Common questions
What is the best POS for a small restaurant in Canada?
The one that fits the way you serve. For a counter or café, a simple system with a published price and no long-term contract may be all you need. For a dining room, choose a system built for tables, courses and split bills. In Quebec, check the certified list first.
Toast or Clover?
Both process their own payments. Toast uses Adyen and Clover uses Fiserv. Toast publishes plans from CA$120 a month, while Clover's prices are quoted. In Quebec, Toast is certified for counter service and platform orders. Clover is certified through Clover MEV Web for table service, counter, bar, food truck, delivery and platforms.
TouchBistro or Clover?
TouchBistro is built for full-service restaurants and says it works with a wide range of processors. Clover processes only through Fiserv. In Quebec, TouchBistro is not on Revenu Québec's list as of 1 October 2026. Clover is on it, through two certified apps.
Lightspeed or Clover?
Lightspeed Restaurant publishes plans from CAD $89 a month. It offers its own payments at 2.6% + 10¢ on its first two plans, and it also supports third-party processors. Clover's prices are quoted, and its devices work only with Fiserv. Both are certified in Quebec for table service, counter, bar, food truck, delivery and platforms.
Does a restaurant POS work offline?
Most keep taking orders, and every system on Revenu Québec's list can produce bills offline. Card payments need a separate backup plan. Square says Interac debit, Canada's debit card network, does not work offline. Clover devices in Canada cannot take card payments offline at all. Plan a backup connection.
Sources
- Each company's prices, processing and terms: the linked page in the comparison table, read 1 October 2026.
- Toast Canada, merchant agreement; Square Canada, restaurant pricing and WEB-SRM statement; Clover Canada, pricing and FAQ; Lightspeed, payment types; MYR, terms of use and hardware.
- Revenu Québec, SRSs that work with the WEB-SRM, restaurant sector, read 1 October 2026.
- Office de la protection du consommateur, pourboires.
