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(866) 626-8045
TabbedOut Payment Processing
TabbedOut is an SaaS (Software as a Service) company that enables a business’s customers to pay their tabs via a mobile phone app. Designed for businesses in the bar and restaurant sectors, TabbedOut also provides merchants with the ability to offer loyalty programs and discounts to customers who pay with TabbedOut. TabbedOut was launched in 2010 and has since secured partnerships with Harbortouch and Cayan to increase its use within restaurants and bars. The development group behind Tabbed Out, ATX Innovations, also offers UNION POS as a restaurant-focused POS solution. As of 2022, TabbedOut is advertising as “TabbedOut by UNION” and TabbedOut is now available through the UNION app, which may mean the company is transitioning in some form.
TabbedOut Location and Ownership
TabbedOut is neither a merchant account provider nor a POS system, but it does integrate seamlessly with both of these services. Merchants are free to use TabbedOut with their existing POS systems and credit card processors. TabbedOut is developed by ATX Innovations, an Austin, Texas-based company with headquarters at 804 Congress Avenue 5th Floor Austin, TX 78701. Google also lists 1214 W 6th St #220, Austin, TX 78703 as an address for TabbedOut. Alex Broeker is listed as the CEO of TabbedOut. Jeffrey Kalikstein is listed as a founder.
TabbedOut Review Table of Contents
- Costs & Contract: TabbedOut appears to charge a flat monthly licensing fee in order to integrate its software with existing POS systems.
- Complaints & Service: TabbedOut complaints number more than 100 on public complaints forums from app users.
- BBB Rating: TabbedOut (as ATX Innovations) has a no rating with the Better Business Bureau and has received 0 complaints in the past 3 years.
- Sales & Marketing: TabbedOut does not appear to hire independent sales representatives and has not received any complaints about its sales practices.
TabbedOut Reviews and Complaints
Here's What Their Clients Say
Complaint Summary
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Total Online Complaints
100+
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Live Customer Support
Yes
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Most Common Complaint
Buggy Performance
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Consumer-Driven Complaints
There are no negative TabbedOut complaints to be found on the usual merchant complaint forums, indicating that the service is not a scam or a ripoff. The current version of Union (where you can access TabbedOut) has an overall rating of 4.7 out of 5 stars from 9,800 reviews on the iTunes App Store, The app has a rating of 4.5 out of 5 stars in the Google Play Store based on 3,723 reviews. One consistent TabbedOut complaint is the lack of available service in a user’s area, resulting in the app defaulting to businesses in Austin, Texas, where the company’s headquarters are located.
TabbedOut Lawsuits and Fines
We have not found any outstanding class-action lawsuits or FTC complaints filed against TabbedOut. Dissatisfied merchants who wish to pursue a non-litigious course of action against the company should consider reporting it to the relevant supervisory organizations.
TabbedOut Customer Service Options
Issues cited by consumers include software bugs, invasive permissions, and a low number of participating merchants. However, the complaints posted in these forums are almost entirely posted by users rather than business owners, so they will not heavily impact the company’s grade in this category. TabbedOut provides a phone number and a contact form on its website for its users, which is close to what we expect of support options offered by top-rated companies in the merchant services industry.
We have located a single TabbedOut customer service phone number:
(866) 626-8045 – Toll-Free Customer Support
TabbedOut BBB Rating and Report
Our Better Business Bureau Profile Assessment
BBB Summary
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Product & Service Complaints
0
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Billing & Collection Complaints
0
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Advertising & Sales Complaints
0
|
|
Guarantee & Warranty Complaints
0
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Delivery Complaints
0
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No BBB Complaints
ATX Innovations, Inc., the developer of TabbedOut, currently maintains no rating with the Better Business Bureau based on 0 complaints filed in the past 36 months. This clean complaint record may be due to the fact that complainants are unlikely to seek out the developer of an app to complain about the app, but it nevertheless indicates that the company itself does not attract complaints.
An “A” Rating
Given the total absence of complaints about the company, we agree with the BBB‘s rating in this case, but merchants should be aware that there is reason to be skeptical of the BBB’s rating system.
TabbedOut Fees and Rates
A Closer Look at the Contract
Cost Summary
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Swiped Rate
0%
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Keyed-in Rate
0%
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Early Termination Fee
Undisclosed
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PCI Compliance Fee
Undisclosed
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Equipment Lease Terms
Undisclosed
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Undisclosed Monthly Fee
The only potential merchant cost addressed in TabbedOut’s official materials is the fact that the service does not charge a per-transaction fee of any kind. According to the FAQs section of its website:
TabbedOut is free for consumers. We have no service charges or incremental fees associated with our service. You can use the app to pay bar and restaurant tabs and get rewarded with offers at no additional charge.
Other standard contract details are hard to determine, although a company blog post mentions that adding TabbedOut to a Harbortouch POS system will cost a small monthly fee. In general, it appears that the most common cost of adding TabbedOut to an existing POS system is a flat monthly licensing fee that varies depending on a merchant’s payment processor, POS system, and business profile. For this reason, we recommend pairing TabbedOut with a budget-friendly payment processor to keep overall costs low.
No Negative Reports
We are currently unable to locate any TabbedOut complaints that mention early termination fees or that describe this monthly fee as excessive or unfair, so we will award TabbedOut an “A” for now. If you have any specific knowledge of other standard TabbedOut fees, please share that information in the comment section below this review.
TabbedOut Jobs and Employment
Hiring Standards and Ethical Marketing Assessment
Key Points
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Employs Independent Resellers
No
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Advertises Deceptive Rates
No
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Discloses All Important Terms
No
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Partnership-Focused Marketing Strategy
TabbedOut appears to market itself primarily through strategic partnerships with POS providers and credit card processors. Many POS systems now arrive with the option to add TabbedOut for an additional monthly fee, and processors like Cayan are beginning to promote TabbedOut to their merchants in the restaurant industry. The company’s consumer app is also being marketed through more traditional channels, including the TabbedOut website and physical signs at merchant locations.
No Deceptive Tactics
There is no indication at this time that TabbedOut employs independent sales agents or telemarketing in an effort to advertise its services. There are also no TabbedOut complaints that mention deceptive sales tactics by the company, and TabbedOut’s website does not list any misleading rate quotes. We are therefore awarding the company an “A” rating at this time.
This compares favorably to our list of best credit card processors.
TabbedOut Review Summary
Our Final Thoughts and Opinions
A Capable, Unique POS Option
TabbedOut rates as a useful POS solution according to reviewer feedback. The app streamlines the checkout experience and enables merchants to better engage customers, and it does not appear to cost more than a flat monthly fee. Although the cost of the service appears to vary for merchants, it is not receiving any complaints of overpricing or predatory terms. Merchants in restaurant businesses should be sure to understand all potential costs of using TabbedOut before signing up and should consider pairing the service with a highly-rated restaurant merchant account provider.
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Steve Schuler
Have you read anything about cyber security recently? Like maybe how scammers overlay QR codes with fakes that take you to an app install? And how you should NEVER say yes to an install that is triggered by a QR code?
Well, that’s what restaurant QR codes that are set up on this app do, if the app is not already installed. I spent a lot of time at a restaurant tonight because I couldn’t believe this was happening. A friend who had apparently previously already installed it ordered for me. Later on, I Googled to figure out what was going on.
The whole concept here is wrong from a consumer’s standpoint, and possibly from a restauranteur’s as well. TabbedOut is seeking to become a payment middleman. Don’t we already have Google Pay, CC companies, ad nauseum?
If the label next to the QR code had explained that it REQUIRED the TabbedOut app, I might not have been so frustrated, but I have to say the chutzpah of the blatent middleman grab for private data would still have left me appalled.