Restaurant POS from Heartland, a Global Payments company, with Essentials and Complete plans from $89 a month per station; its in-person card rate is quoted (it advertises a starting rate). Its posted processing terms set a 36-month term, a $295 early termination fee per location and a personal guarantee.
By Heartland (Global Payments)Parent company: Global Payments Inc.
Longest equipment warranty (tied). Among 17 POS systems with a published warranty on the main terminal.
Not enough data to score
Get a quote for your restaurant
Leave your phone number and a person will call you with a quote.
A published starting price and posted processing terms, though those terms date from 2016. Ask Heartland for your agreement, card rates and early termination terms in writing before signing.
What we like
Plans start at a published $89 a month, with online ordering among the listed features.
24/7 support, per Heartland.
Rented hardware that fails through no fault of yours is replaced at no charge for as long as you rent it; the rent, set on your order form, is not published, and lost or destroyed rented equipment is billed at full cost. Hardware you buy has one year.
What to watch
36-month term that renews for a year at a time unless you give 60 days' notice, exclusive processing with Heartland and a personal guarantee, per its posted processing terms.
Only the in-person starting rate is published; online and keyed rates are quoted.
How the score breaks down
RTC ScoreNot enough data
Methodology v0.5.0
We could verify less than 60% of what we score, so we don't rank it.
Data completeness55%
We could verify 55% of the scoring data
Strongest points
Own online ordering, Hardware warranty included, Support 24/7 (as the vendor publishes it)
Weakest point
Switching or signing bonus you qualify for (reference restaurant)
Score by criterion
Cost to get started (reference restaurant)Weight 25%No data
Switching or signing bonus you qualify for (reference restaurant)Weight 25%Weakest0.0/100.0 out of 10
$0 in promotions our reference restaurant qualifies for
36-month total cost (reference restaurant)Weight 20%No data
Own online orderingWeight 11%Strongest10.0/1010.0 out of 10
Hardware warranty includedWeight 8%Strongest10.0/1010.0 out of 10
Support 24/7 (as the vendor publishes it)Weight 5%Strongest10.0/1010.0 out of 10
Initial termWeight 2%3.0/103.0 out of 10
Early termination feeWeight 2%5.0/105.0 out of 10
Exclusive processing commitmentWeight 1%0.0/100.0 out of 10
Trial or money-back periodWeight 1%0.0/100.0 out of 10
Length of automatic renewalsWeight 1%7.0/107.0 out of 10
Notice to avoid renewalWeight 0%7.0/107.0 out of 10
Cost to get started
The cash your restaurant puts in before it opens on the new POS, in our reference scenario ($30k/month in card sales, $35 average ticket, 2 terminals, 1 location, 36 months): equipment you buy up front plus one-time setup or installation fees. Same rows for every POS.
25% of the RTC Score
Total to get started
Can't be calculated with published data
What's missing
Terminals: quote only.
Left out and why
Monthly and yearly charges (rent, software, yearly fees per device) are part of the 36-month cost, not of the entry cost.
Switching or signing bonus
What the vendor's current promotions are worth to our reference restaurant ($30k/month in card sales, $35 average ticket, 2 terminals, 1 location, 36 months), an established restaurant switching from another company's POS.
25% of the RTC Score
Counted in the RTC Score
$0
Signing bonus · $1,560
Doesn't count: it's a maximum, and the actual amount depends on your case.
Promotions end and change, so we re-check them: one with no end date comes down if we can't re-check it within 30 days, and an expired one stops counting the day after it ends.
Verified Oct 1, 2026 · The conditions and the source of each promotion are in the block right below.
Counted in the RTC Score: $0
Signing bonus: Up to $26,000. Doesn't count: it's a maximum, and the actual amount depends on your case.
With $30,000 a month in card sales (our reference scenario): up to $1,560.
Conditions
Global Payments' offer for Genius, the brand under which it now sells Heartland's restaurant POS. New merchants that buy Genius and qualify get a statement credit equal to their discount rate (at most 2.6%) times their qualifying card volume (at most $1 million) in the first two months after activation, up to $26,000. The credit only offsets Global Payments processing fees, not hardware, software or third-party fees, and it is posted within 90 days after the promotional period. Limited to the first 50 eligible merchants, through December 18, 2026, and Global Payments decides what volume qualifies. If you end the agreement during the first year, an early termination fee equal to the credit applies. A new merchant is one that has not processed a transaction with Global Payments or its affiliates in the 90 days before opening the account and has no active processing agreement with them. It is a credit for new merchants, not a payment of your current provider's early termination fee.
What you need to qualify
You lose it or pay it back if you leave before month 12
Valid until
Counts in the RTC Score only if our reference restaurant qualifies.
The switching or signing incentive is one of the criteria with the most weight in the RTC Score. We count a promotion only while it's current, with a fixed published amount and conditions our reference restaurant meets. "Up to" amounts, buyouts of your current contract and unpublished amounts don't count. The cost calculator subtracts one only when your numbers qualify.
The same rows for every POS: how long the main terminal is covered against defects when you get it a standard way (buying, leasing, renting, a subscription or a loan), the conditions, including what it leaves out and what keeping it costs, and the price to replace that terminal outside the coverage.
Hardware warranty included
Lifetime, while your agreement is activeSource: Heartland Payment Systems (opens in a new tab)Only for hardware rented from Heartland, for as long as you rent it and pay the rent, with no end date in the terms. That is the same rule we apply to every vendor whose coverage lasts while you keep the agreement that carries it. Hardware bought from Heartland has a one-year warranty from shipment. The rental price is set on your order form and is not published. The same clauses appear in Heartland's ancillary terms on heartland.us.
Warranty conditions
Bought from Heartland: one year from shipment against defects in workmanship and materials, with free replacement during that year; after it, Heartland repairs or replaces at your cost. Damage from fire, lightning or water is billed as a new purchase at current rates, and damage from your negligence is charged. Unused hardware can be returned within 60 days, less a $30 restocking fee. Rented from Heartland: a unit that stops working through no fault of yours is replaced at no charge for as long as you pay the rent on time; repairs caused by negligence are charged, and you owe the full cost of rented equipment that is lost or destroyed. You ship the faulty unit back within 10 days at your cost, and the rent continues until Heartland receives it. If you stop processing with Heartland before the end of the term, a $100 equipment agreement cancellation fee applies. The rental price and deposit are set on your order form. No paid protection plan is published.Source: Heartland Payment Systems (opens in a new tab)
The RTC Score only counts how long defects are covered. What the coverage leaves out (accidents, theft, loss) and what it costs to keep are in the conditions. A protection plan sold separately doesn't count; if the vendor offers one, it's in the conditions. The replacement price isn't added to the 36-month cost, because there's no public data on how often equipment fails.
Trial or money-back period
Whether you can try the POS and leave, and what it costs you if you do. Same rows for every POS.
In the RTC Score the trial is part of the contract block, the lowest weight in the model: full points when you can try it with no software charges or get your money back, half when you can cancel without the early termination fee but the charges during the trial are yours.
All the data, with sources
Each value links to its source. "Not published" means the vendor doesn't disclose it; "Unconfirmed" means we looked and couldn't confirm it. Data points we have for fewer than four vendors are left out until we can compare them.
Software
Data point
Value
Software from
$89/moSource: Heartland (opens in a new tab)Essentials plan, for single-location restaurants. Complete, for two or more locations, is priced by location count and hardware.
Software billed per
Terminal or deviceSource: Heartland (opens in a new tab)The starting price is for one POS station; Heartland asks restaurants with 3 or more stations to request a quote.
Must use the vendor's processingSource: Heartland (opens in a new tab)On Essentials, the reference plan, the plan table lists only Heartland Payments+. Complete also lists third-party payments.
Pricing model for card fees
Flat rateSource: Heartland (opens in a new tab)Payments+ is sold at a flat rate starting at 2.6% + 10¢ in person; Heartland also offers interchange plus pricing.
YesSource: Heartland (Global Payments) (opens in a new tab)The Heartland surcharge payments program (credit cards only; debit, gift and prepaid cards are excluded) charges your customers a 3% program fee, and Heartland's restaurant POS page also offers a cash discount program. With it, card processing costs your restaurant $0 in our estimate and your customers pay the difference. Heartland lists Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts and Oklahoma among the states that prohibit surcharging. Card network rules and state laws apply, and some states limit or ban surcharges.
Cards the program covers
Every card, debit and credit (dual pricing or cash discount)Source: Heartland (opens in a new tab)Heartland offers a surcharge, which only covers credit cards, and a cash discount, where card payments pay the regular price. When a vendor publishes both, we use the program that covers every card, the same for every vendor. The 3% your customers pay in our estimate is the surcharge's; Heartland doesn't publish the cash discount percentage.
Other fees in the contract
Per Heartland's posted processing terms: $25 to change your bank account details and $25 for each returned ACH item, voice authorizations at $0.65 each, a debit fee, a debit network set-up fee and a Service & Regulatory Mandate Fee (amounts in your fee schedule), sales tax, and third-party telecom and gateway costs. Unused equipment returned within 60 days carries a $30 restocking fee, and ending the equipment agreement early costs $100.Source: Heartland Payment Systems (opens in a new tab)Heartland's publicly posted processing terms are the March 2016 revision; your agreement may differ. The same 36-month term and $295 fee appear in Heartland's own reply quoted in a 2024 court filing (33 Taps v. Heartland).
Hardware
Data point
Value
Hardware
Buy or lease()Source: Heartland Payment Systems (opens in a new tab)Heartland's equipment terms cover buying, renting and using equipment you already own. The rent and the purchase price are set on your order form; Heartland says most existing hardware, including iPads, is compatible.
36 monthsSource: Heartland Payment Systems (opens in a new tab)Heartland's publicly posted processing terms are the March 2016 revision; your agreement may differ. In a documented 2021 case, Heartland's own reply also mentions a 36-month agreement; other merchants in the same lawsuit mention 24 months.
Fixed amount set in your applicationSource: Heartland Payment Systems (opens in a new tab)Heartland's publicly posted processing terms are the March 2016 revision; your agreement may differ. The same 36-month term and $295 fee appear in Heartland's own reply quoted in a 2024 court filing (33 Taps v. Heartland).
Early termination fee
$295 per location if you end the agreement before the term is over, charged at Heartland's discretion in one ACH debit (§11.4). A separate $100 fee applies if you end the equipment agreement early.Source: Heartland Payment Systems (opens in a new tab)Heartland's publicly posted processing terms are the March 2016 revision; your agreement may differ. Heartland's own reply in a 2024 court filing put the fee at $295; another complaint mentions $300.
Heartland may amend its fee schedule with at least 15 days' written notice, pass on card network and third-party cost increases with 15 days' notice, and change your discount and transaction fees without notice if your volume or average ticket differs from your application (§6.2, §6.3).Source: Heartland Payment Systems (opens in a new tab)
Personal guarantee by the signer
YesSource: Heartland Payment Systems (opens in a new tab)Whoever signs the application as guarantor answers personally for everything the business owes Heartland, and the guarantee survives a sale of the business (§15.2).
UnconfirmedSource: Heartland (opens in a new tab)Heartland says online ordering is built into the POS, but its own pages don't say whether orders carry a commission. Only resellers' pages claim it is commission-free, and we don't use resellers.
Delivery app integrations
DoorDash, GrubhubSource: Global Payments (opens in a new tab)Genius is the name Global Payments now uses for Heartland's restaurant POS. Heartland's integrations page also lists Checkmate for third-party marketplaces; Uber Eats is not named.
Features
Data point
Value
Kitchen display system (KDS)
IncludedSource: Heartland (opens in a new tab)Listed among the features of the restaurant POS plans; the kitchen screens themselves are hardware add-ons that are quoted.
Yes, set per employeeSource: Heartland Restaurant Help Center (Genius) (opens in a new tab)English, Spanish or Canadian French, set per account, per location or per staff member (Genius 6.30 or later). Heartland's plan table on contact.heartland.us lists multi-language support only on the Complete plan.
UnconfirmedSource: Heartland (opens in a new tab)Heartland offers 24/7 support by phone, chat and email but doesn't say whether it is available in Spanish.
