TouchBistro Review

TouchBistro primarily relies on conventional advertising and a network of resellers to market its services. The company hands over most of its credit card processing pricing to its payment partners and does not employ a team of independent sales agents. As a result, there is a very low likelihood of scammy sales tactics from TouchBistro. This is confirmed by the overall lack of merchant complaints related to its salesforce. We also have not found any misleading rate quotes or guarantees on the TouchBistro website or in its ads. We therefore will assign the company an “A” rating in this category.

TouchBistro provides four separate plans with flat monthly pricing, billed annually. Its Solo plan ($69/month) is intended for use with a single iPad terminal, its Dual plan ($129/month) allows for two iPad terminals, its Team plan ($249/month) allows up to five terminals, and its Unlimited plan ($399/month) allows merchants to use an unlimited number of terminals. The company also offers a free 30-day trial of its software for interested users.

The flat cost of the TouchBistro software license does not include the costs of credit card processing through one of TouchBistro’s affiliated processors. It is likely that fees and terms will vary depending on the provider and merchant’s business type, so merchants should be sure to inquire about all associated costs. Although Vantiv Payment Systems and Moneris have been known to charge early termination fees, it is possible that these companies extend special terms to merchants who are signed up through TouchBistro. At this time, there are no specific complaints about the contracts enforced by TouchBistro’s processing partners, so we will assume that most merchants find their rates and pricing acceptable.

If you have any specific knowledge of the terms found in the standard TouchBistro processor contract (including early termination fees, PCI compliance fees, monthly minimum fees, and rate structures), please share that information in the comment section of this review.

We’ve located over 10 negative TouchBistro reviews, but none of these accuse the service of being a ripoff. The POS app has an overall rating of 4 out of 5 stars in the iTunes App Store, with the negative comments citing hardware and software malfunctions, limited features, poor customer support, and issues with syncing and updates. The app has far more positive testimonials than complaints, however, with most reviewers noting its ease of use, low cost, and stellar customer support. As noted above, the system also provides 24/7 phone support to all of its users, which is an uncommon level of customer support for an iPad-based POS system.

Note: We have adjusted this company’s BBB rating according to our own standards. To better understand why we adjust BBB ratings, please see our Rating Criteria.

TouchBistro currently has a “B-” rating with the Better Business Bureau and has not received BBB accreditation. The company has received two complaints in the past three years, and both complaints were related to a product or service issue. The BBB found that TouchBistro did not make a good faith effort to resolve one complaint, while the other either was resolved to the dissatisfaction of the merchant or did not receive a final response from the merchant. The complaint that did not receive a good-faith effort is the lone factor lowering the BBB’s rating. Although this outcome does not reflect positively on TouchBistro, we feel that a “B-” is far too low for a company with only two reported complaints. We have therefore adjusted the BBB’s rating to an “A” for the purposes of this review.