Why Your Restaurant Needs Online Ordering — And Why Toast Beats Square in Texas
Most Texas restaurant owners pick a POS system the same way they pick a lawyer — whoever the previous owner used, or whoever showed up first. Then they spend years fighting the wrong system, paying fees they don't need to pay, and missing capabilities that would actually grow revenue. This is the practical comparison we walk clients through when they're choosing between Toast and Square. We've deployed both across Texas restaurants — full service to QSR — so this isn't a pitch for either platform. It's the honest math. Key takeaways Toast is built for full service restaurants. Square is built for QSR/coffee/fast casual. Toast's processing fees are higher than Square's, but the operational savings make up for it at scale. Square wins on simplicity and upfront cost. Toast wins on depth and integrations. Texas tax handling is similar on both, but reporting differences matter for multi location operators. The single biggest mistake picking based on hardware aesthetics instead of operational fit. Why online ordering isn't optional anymore Before the Toast vs Square question, the bigger question do you actually need online ordering? Yes. Here's why. Texas restaurant data we've pulled from clients shows that online orders make up 25 45% of revenue for most full service restaurants and 35 60% for fast casual. These aren't margins of revenue. These are the difference between profitable and not. If you're not capturing online orders, you're either losing those orders to competitors who do, or you're processing them through third party apps DoorDash, Uber Eats that charge 25 30% commission. Either way, you're leaving money on the table. Online ordering through your own POS system bypasses third party commissions, captures customer data you can market to, and integrates with the re
Service areas include Austin, Round Rock, Georgetown, Cedar Park, Leander, Liberty Hill, Hutto, Taylor, Westlake, Buda, Kyle, Waco, San Antonio, Dallas, Houston, and nearby Texas markets.