Toast

Toast is a restaurant technology company that sells point-of-sale systems and management software to restaurants and other food and retail businesses. Its platform combines payments, menu management, inventory syncing, online ordering, payroll and tip distribution, and marketing tools such as loyalty programs, gift cards, SMS and email campaigns. The pitch is a single platform with more than 1,000 features, built around the details that matter during a busy shift.

Headquartered in Boston, Toast was founded in 2011 and has traded publicly on the New York Stock Exchange since 2021. Its online ordering product lets restaurants take pickup, delivery, curbside and drive-thru orders from their own websites without third-party commissions, using flat delivery fees. An AI layer called Toast IQ analyzes sales and operations data, answers questions and suggests actions that can be taken in one click.

What to Know

• Toast IQ is included with the platform at no additional cost.
• The system keeps taking orders even when a restaurant loses its internet connection.
• More than 300 partner integrations extend what the platform can do.
• Payments are PCI-compliant, and tools help block suspicious online transactions.
• Restaurants can show up and take orders directly through Google Search and Maps.