Homebase vs. Toast Point of Sale

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Homebase
Score 8.1 out of 10
N/A
Homebase in San Francisco offers restaurants, hotels, hospitals, and retailers their employee scheduling and time tracking tools with scheduling optimization and team messaging for coordinating shifts; service includes a free time tracking app.
$14
per month
Toast Point of Sale
Score 7.1 out of 10
N/A
Toast Point of Sale is a cloud-based restaurant point of sale solution provided as the foundation for Toast's all in one restaurant management solution which supports payment processing, as well as customer care, gift cards and loyalty, as well as back of house and back office (HR, payroll, schedule and shift management, etc.).
$69
per month
Pricing
HomebaseToast Point of Sale
Editions & Modules
Essentials
$14
per month
Plus
$35
per month
All-in-one
$70
per month
Basic
Free
Starter
$69
per month
Essentials
$99
per month
Growth
$199
per month
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
HomebaseToast Point of Sale
Free Trial
YesNo
Free/Freemium Version
YesNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details——
More Pricing Information
Best Alternatives
HomebaseToast Point of Sale
Small Businesses
7shifts
7shifts
Score 9.0 out of 10
Square POS
Square POS
Score 9.1 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
PowerDMS by NEOGOV
PowerDMS by NEOGOV
Score 9.6 out of 10
Shopify
Shopify
Score 8.8 out of 10
Enterprises
UKG Pro
UKG Pro
Score 8.0 out of 10

No answers on this topic

All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
HomebaseToast Point of Sale
Likelihood to Recommend
10.0
(2 ratings)
5.1
(14 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
-
(0 ratings)
8.0
(1 ratings)
Usability
-
(0 ratings)
6.0
(1 ratings)
User Testimonials
HomebaseToast Point of Sale
Likelihood to Recommend
Homebase
I loved using Homebase! The best feature, by far, is scheduling in shifts! It really could not be easier! For restaurants and bars it is the easiest and best software! Using the payroll feature can be very easy! The only downfall is trying to separate scheduled worked hours and overtime. The layout is simple and easy to navigate. The only real con I can think of is that lag.
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Toast
For restaurants it's great, and that's the only scenario I'm really use to seeing it. However I do have to say that during Christmas time, our city has a craft bizarre where local artists are featured and sell their wares, and this Bizarre was using Toast POS. Therefore, I think it can really span across all avenues. It's great because of how it categorizes menus, and how you can run reports like a p-mix to see your top sellers, and bottom sellers, etc. The more I think of it, now, really any business that sells something and needs to track those sales, could use this POS. A tire store? Sure. A hat shop? Absolutely. The great thing about Toast is that it is just SO customizable! You can even make the buttons different colors, that's how customizable it is. Lastly, the ability to sell online has been a game-changer. I wish there was a little bit better formatting for online ordering, but really, you can add pictures, descriptions, modifiers, use discount codes, and accept gift cards all online. We didn't have to build out an online store, we just had to build out our menu buttons and we were all set.
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Pros
Homebase
  • Homebase provides an easy way to schedule employees. Their scheduling platform is extremely user-friendly and easy to edit once the schedule is made.
  • Homebase makes it easy for employees to switch schedules on their own, a manager just simply has to approve rather than physically rescheduling both employees, this is great for any small retail business or restaurant with many hourly employees.
  • Homebase makes it easy to adjust hours that have been incorrectly clocked or clockouts that have been missed.
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Toast
  • The ability for guest to select a receipt type.
  • Allowing to enter in different types of orders (current in-store orders, future orders, house account orders, and more).
  • The convenience of touch screen use and strong calibration.
  • Ability to swivel tablet from employee to guest.
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Cons
Homebase
  • Notifications could be more punctual
  • Employees should be able to pick up shifts outside of their scheduled times! Right now managers need to do it.
  • Importing hours on QBO payroll could use attention. Doesn't separate normal hours from overtime.
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Toast
  • Though sales details are available in real time, the analytics take 2-3 days to post. So if you are looking for specific modifications you'll have to wait.
  • Though you can edit the menus directly from the devices and move them around like you do on a smartphone, it doesn't give you a sorting option. If you're OCD like me, you have to alphabetize my hand.
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Likelihood to Renew
Homebase
No answers on this topic
Toast
There are many features I wish Toast had that it currently does not, but we are likely to renew this year because given Toast's recent increase in funding and expanding of their staff, we are hopeful some of these issues will finally be resolved in 2019. Plus, though I've never done it, I'd imagine that switching to another POS system would take a ton of time, money, and resources---things most businesses don't have a lot of. So we'll sit tight with Toast for now and see what they come up with this year in terms of fixing our biggest pain-points.
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Usability
Homebase
No answers on this topic
Toast
Toast POS is a great basic POS tool, having some features I didn't think would be possible at this price point, such as:
  • processing CC payments in "offline mode" in case there is an internet outage
  • kitchen display screens
  • collecting payment from customers using a handheld right at their table
  • pre-approving card payments to assure the customer has enough money to pay for their order, etc
That being said, I still feel that Toast misses the mark on some things that I truly would consider 'common-sense' features, such as:
  • providing hardware that connects the Register Screen (Elo) to the Cash drawer so it doesn't fall off the table when flipped over for customer signature
  • accepting physical and e-gift cards as payment on their own online ordering platform (ToastOO)
  • a Rewards Program that allows for online enrollment, rather than holding up quick-serve lines to sign up
  • a Promo code feature that allows you to add basic restrictions such as Limit 1 per customer, or date/time limitations
  • increasing in-store operations efficiency by creating more straight-forward ways to manage restaurant/ToastOO hours, and Delivery/Takeout quote estimates
Facing these issues after 3+ years has been a frustration. We hope Toast has some solutions in mind that they will be implementing in 2019.
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Alternatives Considered
Homebase
Homebase is simpler to use. Easier to navigate and is much cheaper than other alternatives! We had trouble when I worked as they were harder to reach our ROI. Deputy was too expensive and it was the reason we decided on Homebase! Employees also find it easy to use on their end!
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Toast
Toast is so much easier to use than Breadcrumb. The display is so much easier to navigate. The card readers are more quality with Toast. Chownow was hard because it had its own printer, different than our kitchen printer, for to go orders, but now with Toast's all in one ordering we get the to go orders sent to the kitchen with the same ease as if they were getting fired from the main floor.
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Return on Investment
Homebase
  • Homebase has made the day to day management of employees easier, freeing up time for management to work on other things that help secure customer satisfaction.
  • It has also made payroll easier since it's implementation and allowed for fewer mistakes than the previous manual method, leading to less monetary mistakes and happier employees.
  • Homebase has made monitoring hours and overtime, as well as completion of internship and volunteer hours, much easier to monitor, leading to less confusion and more satisfied volunteers, interns, and payroll managers
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Toast
  • Offline mode has helped with ROI, as we are still able to process credit cards, whereas before we could not and would have to accept cash only.
  • A streamlined and integrated online ordering platform has cut down on the need of a third-party platform.
  • Customer loyalty program has really motivated customers to order more often with higher ticket averages.
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