Switching POS systems

Switching POS systems is mostly a data and timing problem. The new system's setup is predictable; what goes wrong is the data you forgot to export before your old account closed, or a contract that renewed itself the month before you left. This guide is the order of operations, with what each vendor documents about exporting your data.

1. Read your current contract

• When does the term end, and how much notice is needed to avoid automatic renewal?
• How is the early-termination fee calculated if you leave sooner?
• Is any hardware financed, with a balance due if you cancel?
• How long can you still log in and export data after cancelling?

The contract guide explains these clauses.

2. Export everything before you cancel

What vendors document about exporting

From each vendor's help center, checked October 1, 2026:

• Toast: its data exports include an items file and order details as CSV files; guest data comes as a CSV download link that "expires after 72 hours"; and a gift-card report lists every active card with its number and current balance.
• Square: you can export the item library and export reports as CSV, though Square notes "you cannot print or export cash drawer reports at this time."
• Lightspeed Restaurant: documents exporting customers, items and transactions as CSV, and gift-card statistics as CSV or Excel.
• SpotOn: documents downloading menu items as a CSV from its bulk editor and exporting reports to Excel.
• Clover: documents exporting its gift card report.
• TouchBistro: reports can be emailed as CSV from the iPad.
• Shift4 Dine: documents exporting customers and gift-card balance reports as CSV, Excel or PDF.
• KwickPOS: doesn't publish export documentation on its website; ask for it in writing.

Where a vendor doesn't document an export, ask support before you cancel, and keep screenshots or printed reports as a fallback.

3. Gift cards and stored cards

Gift-card balances are the data you can least afford to lose. Federal rules generally require that gift cards not expire for at least five years, and some states are stricter, so guests may bring old cards in long after you switch. Options:

• Move balances to the new system's gift-card program, card by card or by import.
• Keep the old gift-card program running for a time, if the vendor allows it.
• Keep a printed list of every card number and balance as a backup.

Customers' stored payment cards usually can't be exported directly; ask both processors whether a secure transfer is possible, or plan for guests to re-enter cards.

4. Build and test the new system while the old one runs

1. Import or rebuild the menu, then check every modifier and price.
2. Set kitchen routing and test every printer or screen.
3. Test every payment type, refunds and the end-of-day close.
4. Set up online ordering and delivery connections.

The rollout checklist has the full sequence.

5. Train, then run both

Train staff by role on the new system, then run it for a shift or two with the old one still available. Switch fully in a slow week, with the vendor's support on call for the first weekend.

6. Close the old account last

• Download a final export after your last day on the old system.
• Return or keep hardware as your contract says.
• Confirm the final processing deposit has arrived and no further fees will be charged.
• Update your Google Business Profile, website and delivery apps with your new ordering links.

Timeline at a glance

1. Eight weeks before the contract ends: read the contract and give notice if required.
2. Six weeks: choose the new system; see how to choose.
3. Four weeks: export data and order hardware.
4. Two weeks: build, test and train.
5. Switch week: run both, then switch.
6. After: final export, close the old account.