When I was promoted to Chief Growth Officer at GoTab in March, I spent a lot of time thinking about what sustainable growth should look like, not only for GoTab, but for the operators we serve.
Before GoTab, I spent a decade in operations at Jupiter, Drake’s Brewing and Triple Rock Brewing, in addition to consulting for and opening a few other venues. In those roles, I sat on the other side of the table. I evaluated systems, worked through pricing negotiations and tried to determine which providers would actually deliver what they promised.
I know what it feels like to compare proposals that seem similar on the surface but are built on very different assumptions. I know the pressure to secure the best possible terms and preserve cash for everything else the business needs. I also know that the decision affects the guest experience, the team and the economics of the operation long after the contract is signed.
That experience still shapes how I think about growth. Locations added, transactions processed or market share gained matters. But that doesn’t tell the whole story.
Sustainable growth happens when the economics work for both sides of the relationship. A technology provider should grow because its customers are succeeding, expanding and choosing to do more with the platform. That belief has shaped our approach at GoTab. We have held our core software pricing steady since 2023, even as we have continued investing in our platform, support and partner ecosystem.
The platform our customers use today is substantially more capable than it was in 2023. We introduced our OpServer offline capabilities so orders, shared tabs, payments, printers and kitchen display systems can continue working together when connectivity is disrupted. We have also introduced a steady stream of integrations across reservations, property management, self-pour, entertainment, accounting, inventory and other specialized parts of the hospitality technology stack.
And last week, we introduced Lovey by GoTab, our new AI assistant launching in beta. Lovey by GoTab gives operators another way to get support and ask questions about their actual business data using everyday language. They can view the resulting visualizations, download the supporting data and share reports with colleagues.
Holding our core software pricing steady does not mean holding the product steady. It means we have continued creating more value within a commercial model customers can plan around.
In an industry already defined by fluctuating food costs, rising labor expenses and unpredictable demand, technology should not create another unnecessary source of uncertainty.
How Market Power Can Benefit Operators and Limit Their Choices
GoTab competes in a dynamic technology ecosystem. Some of the providers across the table are much larger, publicly traded companies with considerable capital, scale and market power. That scale can benefit an operator. A large provider may be able to subsidize hardware, bundle products or offer aggressive commercial terms that a smaller company cannot—or should not—try to match in exactly the same way.
Operators should take advantage of genuine value wherever they find it. But market power can work in both directions.
The same scale that makes an aggressive introductory offer possible can also give a provider more control over the long-term relationship. Once payments, hardware, software, loyalty, online ordering and other essential functions are tied to one ecosystem, changing providers can become operationally difficult and financially disruptive. A decision that creates leverage for the operator on day one may create leverage for the provider later.
That is the part of the equation prospects cannot always see in a proposal.
What “Free” POS Hardware Really Costs
Hardware has become one of the most visible competitive battlegrounds. An offer of free or heavily discounted terminals can make one proposal appear significantly less expensive than another.
There are legitimate reasons for providers to subsidize hardware, and there are legitimate reasons for operators to accept those offers. But hardware is never the entire economic relationship. Its cost may be recovered through processing, software commitments, contract terms or limitations on future choices.
That does not automatically make the offer unfavorable. It does mean the operator should understand the tradeoff.
At GoTab, we want customers to have options. Our Hardware Flex Leasing Program allows you to replace a large upfront purchase with a more predictable monthly investment while providing access to hardware replacements or upgrades. The goal is to reduce the financial burden of getting started without pretending the equipment has no value or cost.
Whether equipment is purchased, leased or included, the right comparison is the total cost and operational value of the technology—not one line in the initial proposal.
All-in-One vs. Best-of-Breed Hospitality Technology
Every operator eventually faces a choice: rely on one provider for nearly everything or build a technology stack from specialized systems.
An all-in-one platform can simplify contracts, support and integrations, making it a good fit for straightforward operations. But it may also require accepting weaker tools and becoming dependent on one provider’s roadmap, pricing and priorities.
A best-of-breed approach offers greater flexibility, especially for more complex or nontraditional workflows that exist in food halls, dine-in cinemas, hotels, family entertainment centers, and breweries. Its success, however, depends on strong integrations that prevent fragmented workflows and disconnected data.
The right choice depends on where simplicity matters, which capabilities differentiate the guest experience and how much flexibility the operation wants to preserve.
How GoTab’s Open Platform Creates a Practical Middle Ground
GoTab’s open platform, public APIs and broad partner ecosystem give operators a unified core platform without limiting their freedom to choose specialized technology.
GoTab can serve as the central commerce platform across ordering, point of sale, payments, kitchen operations and guest tabs while connecting with specialized systems that fit the concept. Ease of integration is therefore more than a technical benefit. It can reduce implementation effort, preserve investments in systems that already work and make it easier to add new capabilities as your business evolves.
Integration requirements and costs will vary by provider and project. The important principle is that those requirements should be identified early, explained clearly and evaluated as part of the complete investment.
When comparing platforms, ask:
- Are the integrations we need already supported?
- What work is required to activate them?
- Who charges for each connection, and is the fee one-time or recurring?
- Will information move between systems automatically?
- Will our staff still need to reconcile or re-enter data?
- Can we change an integrated provider without replacing the POS?
These questions can reveal more about the long-term cost of a platform than the price of a terminal.
How AI Will Change Software Costs and Operator Choice
The all-in-one versus best-of-breed decision is becoming more consequential as AI changes the economics of software.
AI is making specialized tools faster and less expensive to build, while natural-language interfaces, low-code platforms and accessible APIs are making them easier to adopt. Hospitality operators will have more opportunities to solve specific problems without deep technical expertise.
But taking advantage of those opportunities requires an open foundation. Restrictive contracts, limited data access and closed platforms could prevent operators from adopting future innovations.
No one knows which tools will matter most in three or five years. That is why operators should preserve flexibility today.
Pricing Stability and GoTab’s Indefinite Lock-In Rate
As I’ve already mentioned here, GoTab has held our core software pricing steady since 2023, even as the platform has expanded. That stability helps our operators build reliable budgets, evaluate growth opportunities and invest with confidence.
We have also begun offering many operators an indefinite rate-lock option. We believe in pricing sustainably, and are happy to put our money where our mouth is by locking in the processing margin it adds above underlying interchange, card-network and processing costs for as long as the operator continues to use the platform.
The distinction matters: GoTab cannot freeze costs set by outside parties, but we can commit not to increase the margin we control. Cost-plus pricing also keeps external changes visible instead of combining them with a discretionary increase.
The POS market is crowded, and to the casual observer, many products look interchangeable. The largest players use their access to capital to compete aggressively on price and accelerate growth. We don’t fault that strategy, but those economics often leave them unwilling, or unable to guarantee pricing stability.
We believe a truly differentiated platform and transparent, sustainable pricing allow us to compete on a different playing field. Price matters, but not at the expense of product value or lasting customer relationships. That commitment includes indefinite price locks for eligible operators.
Operators evaluating any rate lock should ask what is locked, which costs may still change and what conditions apply. For charges that are not contractually locked, providers should communicate changes clearly and give customers time to plan.
Questions to Ask Before Choosing a Hospitality Platform
Before signing an agreement, you should ask every provider—including GoTab—the following questions:
- What will the platform cost over the next three to five years?
- Which introductory rates or discounts expire, and when?
- If a processing rate is described as locked, exactly which components are fixed and which costs remain variable?
- What commitments are attached to discounted or included hardware?
- Which capabilities require additional subscriptions?
- What will it cost to add locations, devices or ordering channels?
- Are the integrations we need supported today?
- What implementation, partner or recurring fees apply to those integrations?
- Can we change individual technology providers without replacing the entire platform?
- Does the platform require us to choose between an integrated experience and best-of-breed tools?
- Can we securely access and use our own operational and guest data?
- Will we be able to connect AI tools and other capabilities that emerge after we sign?
- Which other fees or processing rates can change during the agreement?
- How will pricing changes be communicated?
No provider can eliminate every variable. But a reliable technology partner should be willing to help an operator see the complete picture.
Predictable Pricing Is Part of a Long-Term Partnership
Hospitality will always involve uncertainty. Demand changes. Costs fluctuate. Concepts evolve. Operators adapt because that is what this industry requires of them.
Their technology partners should not add to that uncertainty unnecessarily.
At GoTab, we believe growth should be built on shared success. That means providing technology that can evolve with an operation, integrations that support operator choice and pricing that can be understood beyond the initial proposal.
Predictability may not be the flashiest line in a technology proposal. In an unpredictable industry, however, it can be one of the most valuable.
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