Capterra’s researchers use a mix of verified reviews, independent research and objective methodologies to bring you selection and ranking information you can trust. While we may earn a referral fee when you visit a provider through our links or speak to an advisor, this has no influence on our research or methodology.
Capterra carefully verified over 2 million reviews to bring you authentic software and services experiences from real users. Our human moderators verify that reviewers are real people and that reviews are authentic. They use leading tech to analyze text quality and to detect plagiarism and generative AI. Learn more.
Capterra lists all providers across its website—not just those that pay us—so that users can make informed purchase decisions. Capterra is free for users. Software and service providers pay us for sponsored profiles to receive web traffic and sales opportunities. Sponsored profiles include a link-out icon that takes users to the provider’s website. Learn more.
Pros
The price was EXCELLENT compared to the competitors. The ease of use was so simple.
It was easy to install and the customer service reps I dealt with over the years were mostly all helpful and friendly.
Equipment and setup was great. The ability to duplicate items saves a ton of steps.
It is easy to make adjustments to the POS through their website to multiple stores. Some reporting functions are useful.
Cons
They charged me excessive fees and when I called to discuss it they lied and told me they were overcharging me and would refund/credit me. They never called back which is THEIR MO.
My bank was instructed not to accept any charges from them because they are fraudulent. They still continue to try to attempt to charge my account for monthly fees after being cancelled.
Very difficult to reconcile with transactions when doing bookkeeping. Their customer service is the worst.
They are the worst I have ever seen/ once you sign up they will make it impossible to cancel.
Showing Most Helpful
Showing 25 of 101 reviews
"Better Servers"
Overall: Prior to inventory I know what was sold and have a clear idea of exactly what I should have. Expressing this in team meeting has slowly brought the matching closer and closer..meaning less alcohol theft by staff.
Pros: Ordering tableside is great, no more going back and forth bother guests because a server has a MOD question. No one looks incompetent and as a business we look on point and there is no concern from guests out food quality is also a question.
Cons: It made me as a manager look bad!! The staff I wondered about anf seemed to have the most problems with were great on paper. Following sales and percentages I saw that a server I thought was ditzy and annoying but needed...had consistently the highest alcohol and wine sales across the board. I could see who was selling what, when and how they affected bottom line. Then I could coach servers on selling points, it's also a way to teach more about our products. I guess that's the least thing.!!
"False Promises & Eggregious Functionality Issues"
Overall: You cannot imagine the sad experience we have had with Harbor Touch. When we had to reboot the POS multiple times, every day, for 2 months straight, during busniess hours, we obviously had some very upset customers who had to wait up 20 minutes while the system came back up and then, many times, STILL did not work. Some guests were able to pay with cash or agreed to leave their CC info with our promise that we would destroy the information later once the system was up an running again, but if you run a business with CC, you can imagine what a mess this was. HT was terrible in rectifying the issue for us and allowed us to struggle, literally DAILY!, for months before they finally sent out a new everything and fixed the issue. We COMPed so many checks due to guest frustration that could not be recified and lost innumerable customers (which will have a lasting impact on our business). For the financial burden that HT caused during this time, they appeased us with the promise of a $275 credit and another $100 credit which WE HAVE STILL NOT RECIEVED. It's very sad to say that they say whatever they need to keep you "quiet" and don't follow through with their promised. Simply put, Harbor Touch proves time and time again that they do not care about YOUR business. And of course, they continue to take their fees and CC processing charges out on regular schedule, all the while promising the world, and delivering on nothing. So, so sad. Stay FAR away.
Pros: User friendly POS face for employees to use during business hours is easy to read (large font) & simple to learn.
Cons: If you want to see accurate payroll daily, if you think you will use this system to keep accurate track of your employee's hours or have them clock-in using this system, if you want the credit card processing to work properly every time you run one, or if you want customer support that fultills it's promises, then sadly, Harbor Touch is not for you.
Vendor Response
"STAY AWAY "
Overall: I have made a few big mistakes in running my business over the years. Among the top 2 are getting involved with harbortouch. I was told by the salesman that there was a three year commitment. During that three years I experienced a multitude of issues, and paid over 5% total for my "free" system. the first red flag was that I went into it with some concerns, but was told there was a 30 day period that I could return the system. A couple weeks in, when I called with some concern over the operations, I was told that the 30 day period was up, because it started the day the order was placed, and NOT the day it arrived two weeks later. That was the first indication that they were operating in bad faith. for the next few months every time they did a system update, it took place at noon. that was a busy tie for me, and the system shut down completely for 30 minutes or longer. Customers who couldn't pay just left. I called every time this happened of course, and got zero response. No consideration for the fact that they were costing me revenues. There are many flaws in the system. The pool on employees contained all the staff that was ever employed, with no way to clear out all but the current employees, making it difficult or impossible to use. They could not calculate the hours for the staff. the daily reports had the credit line and the cash income line in random order day to day. Gift cards were treated as income when sold, and were treated as income when redeemed, so there w
Pros: Nothing. The screen has no ability to modify the placement or order of buttons. constant updates occurred during open hours, locking the system up for 30 minutes. the reports put different categories of revenue in a different order each day, randomly.
Cons: there was very little in the way of reports to track sales. couldn't track daily sales to compare from year to year, or track which hours had high or low sales. labor was the worst. once an employee was in the system, they were always in the way, with no way to change their status o inactive to get them off the screen. Sales of gift cards were considered revenue, redeeming gift cards were considered revenue, so you paid income tax on the same income twice. and the gift cards were expensive, of course.
"Liars & Thieves"
Overall: I’d rather step on legos barefooted for 10 miles than use this company again.
Pros: We’ve been with this company for 4 years. Only having signed a 3 year contract. Due to covid, we had to move our store and severely downsize to be able to keep our doors open. This meant getting rid of the 2 POS systems we had with Harbourtouch and going with something cheaper. When we called to let them know to cancel, we were told it’ll be taken care of. Well, wouldn’t you know it, the contract wasn’t canceled and they kept charging. They then tried to tell us, we automatically renew for a year if we don’t call at the 3 year mark. Which is a lie and shady business. That was 4 months ago. Three of which, we received some sort of charge. We have been told for well over a month that they’ll give us back the funds they stole. We’ve lawyered up and will see how it goes. DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH THEM! They’ll lie and steal from you.
Cons: It crashes. Constantly. Be prepared to deal with loss of sakes and upset customers.
Vendor Response
"DON'T DO IT!!! Terrible..."
Overall: I inherited this system when I bought the company. From the very beginning, it was bad...but I didn't want to mess with getting a new merchant account. But after spending a year with the system we just couldn't work with it anymore. So, after being completely dissatisfied...I called to cancel the agreement. They informed me that I'm in some contract and I have another year (it just renewed 3 days ago). Which is complete BS...I inherited this agreement. It costs them nothing to turn the system off...we didn't eve lease our equipment...it's ours. So, they are now forcing me to stay in some BS agreement? Ok...we'll see.
Pros: Nothing. We got the money that we processed through them...so, that's the only positive.
Cons: Their reporting is terrible. Very difficult to reconcile with transactions when doing bookkeeping. Their customer service is the worst. Long hold times. It's like they are stuck in the 1990s w/ their technology. It takes 2 business days for the funds to hit your account. My new merchant account deposits everything the next day.
Vendor Response
"Beware"
Overall: The first month we had the system, the company had an internal glitch and lost about 450 individual transactions worth about 16k. It took a while to figure out what was going on. After about three weeks they had to manually re-enter all of those transactions. Most people seeing the transactions on their account called wondering why they were being charged others just disputed the charges. Then they realized they hadn't entered the the hundreds of dollars in tips so added those separately. It was a nightmare and they took no responsibility. I needed to write a letter to a VP or someone and got a nominal compensation for the damage that was done to my brand. I recently changed to Toast and have had a hell of a time getting out of this company's clutches. They are incredibly difficult to deal with in the break up process. Just don't get involved with them to start with.
Pros: The software worked well. The people at tech support were wonderful.
Cons: The system itself was pretty easy to use.
Vendor Response
"Cancellation made hard"
Overall: Their system for cancelling is awful. Look at the other reviews about this.
Pros: The service was adequate for the last 9 years. The only rather strange thing I found was that the monthly statements they send have information, name and contact phone number, from a different service on it. I had to remember not to call the number on the statement if I had any questions.
Cons: Harbortouch refuses to allow their services to be cancelled other than on an annual basis. They claim that information is out there somewhere, but it is not evident at all. If the date is missed, then Harbortouch will charge you monthly service fees for the full year, even if you aren't using their services. Apparently even 9 years of usage doesn't get you a break. If my business ever needs to use credit cards again, it will not be through Harbortouch. It's a shame, as up until the cancellation attempts, I wouldn't have had any reason not to go back to them.
Vendor Response
"You lose more than you win "
Overall: Awful
Pros: It is cheap,
Cons: The layout, theme, support, any sort of extra integration you may need (Website, online ordering platforms) forget about it, slow running, wastes a tremendous amount of paper.
Vendor Response
"Going with Harbortouch was the absolute worst decision I made in opening my business."
Overall: The software is complete rubbish and continues to break down a couple times per week. It doesn't even have the basic functionality needed to run a restaurant. In theory its simple to use. But with the number of times it breaks down per week, and the limited functionality, you always need a manager around to come up with workarounds when the software doesn't work or doesn't do what you need it to do.
Cons: Let me start by explaining what initially attracted me to Harbortouch: 1) Low upfront costs, 2) Salesperson told me to expect my effective rate to be about 1.8%, 3) Equipment would be under full replacement warranty for three years, 4) Customer service would be on call 24/7, 5) Salesperson told me that they would be the first company to issue an EMV solution for restaurants, and 6) they told me that they had a reservation system built in to the system. My experience: 1) The low up-front costs turned out to be "not true". There were a lot of set-up fees, printer fees, etc that they never explained up front. 2) Four months in to operating my business, my effective rate is closer to 2.55% (not the 1.8% the Sales Rep quoted). 3) I've had two hard equipment breakdowns in the first four months. Yes, they did replace the equipment but transit and set-up time accounts to over a week. So that's two week's worth of down equipment so I've lost internal capacity and added wait times to my customers. 4) Yes, customer service is on-call 24/7. BUT, hold times to talk to someone often are over 30 minutes. I typically need their help a couple times a week because the software is complete rubbish as well. Then another 20-30 minutes or so to resolve the software problems. So I lose about 2 hours of my life per week dealing with rubbish software and their Customer Service. 5) The EMV system is no longer even on the horizon. 6) The reservation system is unusable.
"A Total Nightmare! Overcharges and Bogus Fees"
Overall: Our experience with Harbortouch has been horrible.They have charged us fees above what was agreed to, and charged bogus PCI fees, which no reputable bank charges. To get refunds from them is like pulling teeth. Our merchant ID is 18515325. Example: Looking at the December 2016 statement, I had total transactions in the amount of $802.34. Of this amount, $595.54 were debit transactions. Of the total of $802.34, I was charged 9% of my total. These alleged charges of "authorization" and "other" are included in the processing fees, not in addition to. Both their regional manager and their sales rep promised that any rates from other banks would be matched by Harbortouch. Complete BS! Also, their CEO basically told me I was stuck in a contract and no refunds for overcharges would be made. By the way, this so called "free" POS system costs us highly, in addition to their outrageous fees. Also, there contract protects them from filing suit in your local courts, and that you wave class action status.Would a reputable company need this?
Pros: Ease of use
Cons: The fees involved. Too expensive!
"Worst Experience EVER"
Pros: The equipment never left the box so I'm unable to answer this.
Cons: After we hit a few delays on opening our venue Shift 4 offered to give us a deferment the last 4 months, not only did we never received deferments, the customer service was absolutely unacceptable. I've be trying to cancel and send back the equipment (that's still in the box) for the last 2 months. They continue to charge me and will not send me the cancel forms required after several phone calls. Once they made the sale it's all down hill from there. You get nothing but the runaround and they will not allow you to speak to a manager/supervisor. Frustration is not a strong enough word for what I'm feeling right now.
Vendor Response
"Works okay as long as you're okay with workflows from 1995."
Overall: Point of sale operation and tracking.
Pros: Overall works okay and handles medium to high volume usage. Once employees are trained they're typically good to go. Allows us to have as many users as we need. Customer support is rather helpful within the rather restricted scope of what the software can accomplish.
Cons: Most things about it. Software assumes that employees don't make mistakes and always follow company policy. More often than not when we try to accomplish something with it we have to find a way to trick it into accomplishing something similar to what we want. For instance, company policy is that every entree must have a beverage. After calling support the only way to do this is to setup beverages as a forced choice on every item on the menu however that then means that those beverages are counted as food revenue at the end of the day. System is obtuse about how to setup items. Items cannot be deleted so when there's a misunderstanding and there's 3 different entries for the same item on the menu, or we decide to change the layout of the dining room we cannot delete excess items or tables leading to clutter in the interface.
"Worst POS contract on the market"
Overall: RUN away as fast as you can! So many good POS systems out there, this is NOT one of them.
Pros: We had it for 4 years, it was down more than it functioned.
Cons: They trick you with the contract, giving you a 3 year renewal for the processing fees (which you must use Harbortouch for) and a 4 year renewal on the POS operating system. If you do the math, you cannot ever get out of your contract.
Vendor Response
"Bad system, worse service "
Overall: Poor - DO NOT BUY
Pros: It was inexpensive initially, easy set up
Cons: Too many things to list- random outages, lost tickets, loooong support wait times, shady business practices, recurring nonsense fees
Vendor Response
"Beware!"
Overall: I’ve been using harbortouch since 2017, our business is closing due to Covid/economy. I’ve tried cancelling harbortouch for over a month. Finally got a response and they tell me because I didn’t call 30 days prior to renewal date they will continue charging fees until 2024. A whole year. I originally signed a 3 year contract and was told I could cancel at any time, with a 30 day notice.BUYER BEWARE!!
Pros: Not much, very slow, outdated. Terrible customer service
Cons: This system is very outdated. Freezes up constantly, customers are always waiting to pay and just walk out.
"Absolutely The Worst POS & "Customer Service" Avoid At All Costs"
Pros: If you are into S&M and like torture, this is the system for you otherwise run away.
Cons: The customer service is lie after lie run around after run around. The system constantly breaks, it doesn't have the most basic features that every POS company has been providing for nearly 2 decades. I own 7 restaurants and this by far was a huge mistake, it costs more money in time and labor then what its worth.
Vendor Response
"Terrible service "
Overall: Terrible service when trying to solve issues.
Pros: Nothing good for the money. I keep thinking about what My return on my investment and this company is a waste of time!
Cons: Expensive service and when you have a issue they make you wait for a long time on hold!
Vendor Response
"All Around Best POS System and Customer Service"
Overall: Every time I call the customer service line, they are always so helpful. The POS never fails us and always keeps up with our volume.
Pros: I love how easy and user friendly. Everything is self explanatory but if you have a question their customer service is always so helpful and knowledgeable.
Cons: I wish the receipt paper wasn't so long. going through double the amount with the new card/chip reader.
Vendor Response
"No access to your data and Customer service is beyond terrible"
Overall: After install it's been TERRIBLE. Although reliable
Pros: Equipment and setup was great! the ability to duplicate items saves a ton of steps
Cons: Forget reporting it isn't happening. All I wanted was a transaction detail report for a previous month that included items. NOT happening. Call customer service and all they are doing is reading the KB articles. Ordering is not super intuitive
Vendor Response
"Con Artist "
Overall: HORRIBLE!
Pros: NOTHING!!!!! This company is a joke, they are thieves
Cons: This company is a joke. once they get you signed up you can't leave without spending thousands of dollars. Even when it comes time when you should be able to write a simple letter to get out of the agreement they come up with some crazy reason why your letter wasn't excepted and how your contract started over. DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY!!!!!!!!!
"Over charged"
Overall: No
Pros: Nothing ... Horrible customer service Over charged
Cons: Over charged for 2.5 years and will not refund. Have to get an attorney
Vendor Response
"Beware of Harbortouch"
Overall: The first month was great and everything happened just as the salesperson said it would. The second month was hell. They arbitrarily changed my billing from monthly to daily without telling me, deducting various amounts from our checking account without invoicing. This caused more than $600 in overdraft fees. Even after I fixed all this with the bank and stipulated to Harbourtouch what I would accept and not accept in writing, they did it again! This time it caused $210 in overdraft fees. Finally, their retention department changed my account to monthly and I have one more shot at fixing this to get more than $200 in money being held in limbo. I can't settle my register until I have money in the bank and know they aren't deducting until everything is through.
Pros: The fact that they provided a cash register too and all of it was already programmed.
Cons: They hold my money from deposits without notification. They put a 48 hour hold on my deposits, but take out their pay on that money within 24 hours. This caused significant overdrafts, which Harbortouch wouldn't help with or accept responsibility for.
"Great service "
Overall: We can track our inventory much better now, save money on processing and 24/7 support when we need it.
Pros: Easy to use, efficient and great customer service
Cons: Machine could look a little better.its not a sleek as see others look.
Vendor Response
"I have install on my 3 restaurant 2014 and they have cost me alot in totall loss maybe more."
Overall: learn to not trust any pos system sales man.
Pros: maybe customer service, system is not very complicated
Cons: not easy on inventory tracking, unprofessional, hard to get out, they come back and pull money out of your bank account with different names.
" Worst Customer Service "
Pros: We struggled to make contact with anyone at this business for years and finally threw in the towel and is still causing a headache.
Cons: This is the worst customer service ever experienced. If you're able to get someone to answer you get transferred around. We have been trying to cancel this service for over 6 months now and NO ONE will answer or return emails but they sure don't have a problem getting a bill out which is dated 2 weeks back. Very unprofessional and ridiculous business. Wouldn't recommend to anyone