POS sales reps are very good at demos and very quiet about contracts. Before you sign anything, here are the questions that separate a good deal from an expensive lesson.
First: what's the actual processing rate, and how is it structured? A low advertised rate often applies only to certain cards. Ask for the effective rate — total fees divided by total volume — from a real merchant statement, not a brochure.
Second: what's the contract term and the exit cost? Multi-year agreements with early termination fees and leased hardware you don't own are the classic traps. Prefer month-to-month or short terms, and own your equipment.
Where to start
Third: does it fit how you actually work? A retail POS forced into a restaurant (or vice versa) creates daily friction. Make the vendor demo your exact workflow, not their highlight reel.
Fourth: what does it connect to? Your POS should integrate with your website, online ordering, accounting, and email tools. A system that won't share data is a dead end.
Fifth: who supports you when it breaks on a Friday night? A local partner who answers the phone beats a call center queue every time.
We help Wisconsin businesses sort through exactly these questions — and we stick around after the install, because setup and training are where POS projects actually succeed or fail.