This is version 1.0 of the accounting software model, and it's published: these weights are final. The table below is generated from the model itself, so its weights are always the ones we use.
We score what a restaurant feels in its books every month:
- Cost. What a restaurant with one location and two people in the books (the owner and one office person) pays for the software over a year: the cheapest plan that gives both of them a login, bank feeds with reconciliation and supplier bills, plus any monthly or one-time fees. Optional add-ons, like payroll or a bookkeeping service, are shown, not added. Promotions are never subtracted, and a price that isn't published counts as missing, never as zero.
- Books and reconciliation. Whether bank and card transactions arrive on their own, whether you can reconcile each statement, whether it handles supplier bills and customer invoices, whether you can see results by location or class, and whether your accountant gets a login without taking one of your seats.
- POS and payroll connections. Which POS systems connect, and above all what data the connection brings in: a daily sales entry split by category, sales tax, tips and payment type counts more than a deposit that arrives through the bank feed. We use each vendor's own description and didn't test any connection. We also look at how payroll reaches the books.
- Support and contract. The live support channels and hours, the initial term, the early termination fee and the notice to avoid a renewal. Every vendor gets the same contract template.
In the Spanish edition of this site, the Spanish-language criteria count too: the software, support, invoices and website in Spanish, for the vendor's US product. In this English edition they aren't part of the score.
This is a comparison of software, not tax or accounting advice. Third-party ratings, promotions and anything commercial never count toward the score. A vendor needs enough verified data before it enters any ranking.
Criteria and weights
Spanish-language criteria count only in the Spanish edition
These criteria count only in the Spanish edition of this site: software in Spanish, support in Spanish, invoices in Spanish, and website in Spanish for the US. In this English edition they aren't part of the score, and the weights in the table add up to 100% without them. So an accounting software option can have a different RTC Score in each edition.
| Criterion | Pillar | Weight | What we measure | How it's scored |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12-month cost (reference restaurant) | Cost | 20% | 12-month software cost | 12-month cost of the reference restaurant: full score at $300, zero at $2,400 |
| POS data that reaches the books | POS and payroll connections | 8% | POS data that reaches the books | By option: Daily sales split by category, tax, tips and payment → 10/10; Only through a connector from another company → 4/10; Only the deposits, through the bank feed → 2.5/10; No POS connection documented → 0/10 |
| Bank feeds | Books and reconciliation | 7% | Bank feeds | By option: Automatic feeds from your bank → 10/10; Automatic only on a pricier plan → 2.5/10; You upload statements yourself → 2.5/10; Not offered → 0/10 |
| POS systems that connect | POS and payroll connections | 7% | Connects with these POS systems | By option: Toast → 1.4/10; Square → 1.4/10; Clover → 1.4/10; Shift4 POS → 1.4/10; Lightspeed → 1.4/10; SpotOn → 1.4/10; Heartland (Genius) → 1.4/10; TouchBistro → 0/10; PAR → 0/10; Others → 0/10 |
| Initial term | Contract and exit | 7% | Initial term | By steps: Up to 11 months → 10/10; 12–23 months → 7.5/10; 24–35 months → 5/10; 36–47 months → 2.5/10; 48 months or more → 0/10 |
| Bank reconciliation | Books and reconciliation | 6% | Bank reconciliation | Yes = 10/10, No = 0/10 |
| Supplier bills | Books and reconciliation | 6% | Supplier bills (accounts payable) | By option: Included → 10/10; Included with a monthly cap → 5/10; Only on a pricier plan → 2.5/10; Not offered → 0/10 |
| Live support channels | Support | 6% | Live support | By option: Phone and chat → 10/10; Phone → 7.5/10; Chat or messaging only → 6/10; Email or tickets only → 2.5/10; No live support on this plan → 0/10 |
| Published pricing | Cost | 5% | Published pricing | By option: Published → 10/10; Partly published → 5/10; Quote only → 0/10 |
| Access for your accountant | Books and reconciliation | 5% | Access for your accountant | By option: Own login at no extra cost → 10/10; Uses one of your users → 5/10; No accountant access documented → 0/10 |
| Payroll into the books | POS and payroll connections | 5% | How payroll reaches the books | By option: Its own payroll and outside providers → 10/10; Only outside payroll providers → 7.5/10; Only its own payroll → 5/10; You enter it by hand → 0/10 |
| Early termination fee | Contract and exit | 5% | Early termination fee | By option: None → 10/10; A fixed amount → 5/10; Fees left in the term → 2.5/10; Another formula → 2.5/10 |
| Results by location or class | Books and reconciliation | 4% | Results by location or class | By option: Included → 10/10; Only on a pricier plan → 2.5/10; Not offered → 0/10 |
| Live support hours a week | Support | 4% | Live support hours a week | Linear: full score at 168, zero at 0 |
| Notice to avoid renewal | Contract and exit | 3% | Notice to avoid renewal | Linear: full score at 30 days, zero at 90 days |
| Customer invoices | Books and reconciliation | 2% | Customer invoices (accounts receivable) | By option: Included → 10/10; Included with a monthly cap → 5/10; Not offered → 0/10 |
The formula
Each criterion gives a partial score from 0 to 1. The RTC Score is 10 × the weighted average of the criteria we could verify, reduced when data is missing: × (1 − 0.5 × (1 − completeness)). Completeness is the share of the total weight we could verify.
Below 60% completeness, an accounting software option is marked as not having enough data and isn't ranked. That check always uses the base weights, so a ranking by type of business never includes an option the overall ranking leaves out. A price the vendor doesn't publish counts as missing: it lowers completeness, and with too little data the option isn't ranked.
Reference profile for cost
Reference: 1 location, 2 people in the books, 12 months: 1 location(s), 2 people with an account and 0 screen(s) per location, over 12 months.
Assumptions behind the cost criteria
- The cost adds the cheapest plan that covers the reference restaurant (priced per account, location, user or screen), the monthly and yearly fees, usage fees (per guest, text message or invoice) and one-time setup and hardware.
- Optional add-ons are shown on each pricing page but not added. A module the reference restaurant always needs is added.
- A price the provider doesn't publish never counts as $0: the estimate stays incomplete and the cost criterion counts as missing.
- Promotions, like free months, are never taken off the cost and never count in the score.
Weights by type of business
Rankings by type of business multiply some weights. The overall ranking always uses the base weights.
| Type of business | Adjustments |
|---|---|
| Food trucks and small teams | 12-month cost (reference restaurant) ×1.5 · Results by location or class ×0.5 · Access for your accountant ×0.75 · Initial term ×1.25 · Early termination fee ×1.25 |
| Multi-location | 12-month cost (reference restaurant) ×0.8 · Results by location or class ×2 · POS data that reaches the books ×1.25 · Access for your accountant ×1.25 |
What never affects a score
Commissions, affiliate deals, sponsorships and price requests. The scoring engine has no access to them, and every vendor gets the same rubric.
Changelog
v1.0.0 ·
Published version. The weights of the 0.1.0 draft are now final, so no score changes with this version. This section is no longer a draft.
v0.1.0 ·
First draft for accounting software. The score covers 12-month cost for a restaurant with two people in the books (25%), the books themselves: bank feeds, reconciliation, supplier bills, results by location and access for your accountant (30%), POS and payroll connections (20%), live support (10%) and contract terms (15%). In the Spanish edition, Spanish-language criteria (software, support, invoices and website in Spanish) count for 10% and every other weight is scaled by 0.9. Third-party ratings and promotions don't count toward the score. Weights are pending external validation.