Switching systems
Switching POS systems without starting over
Changing POS or payments is a project, not a box drop. We help you check what you have, plan the cutover and keep your team supported after go-live.
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The short answer
Switching POS systems means reviewing your current contract and equipment, choosing the new platform, rebuilding or importing your menu or item file, installing and testing on site, training staff and going live at a quiet time. Most of the risk is in data and timing, so a written cutover plan helps you stay open throughout.
Before you sign anything new
Check your current setup
- When does your current agreement end, and is there an early-termination fee?
- Is your hardware owned, leased or tied to a processing agreement?
- Can you export your menu or product list, customers and sales history — and in what format?
- Do gift cards, loyalty balances or online ordering depend on the current system?
- Which integrations (payroll, accounting, delivery, reservations) need to keep working?
Not ready to switch yet?
We can help you review the current agreement, identify important terms or potential exit costs, and understand what to verify before changing systems.
Check My Contract Before I SwitchThis is a practical review, not legal advice. We don’t decide whether a term is enforceable or promise savings — for that, ask your attorney.
About two minutes
Build your switching plan
A few taps give you a plan sorted into what can often be migrated, what may need rebuilding and what has to be verified. Your answers carry into the next step.
Tap what applies. We never ask for account numbers, logins or passwords.
General practice
What carries over, what gets rebuilt, what to verify
This is how switches usually go. What your new platform can import is confirmed from its own documentation; see the platform notes below.
Can often migrate
3 items
- Menu or product listNames, prices and taxes usually export and import. Modifiers, combos and kitchen routing often need rework.
- Customer listUsually exports. Marketing opt-in status has to come with it.
- Sales history and reportsExport a year or two and keep access to the old system for taxes; history rarely imports as live data.
May require rebuild
3 items
- Loyalty pointsBalances and rules rarely map one-to-one between systems.
- Staff, roles and tip rulesUsually set up again in the new system and checked with managers.
- Online orderingUsually rebuilt on the new platform; your ordering link and menu sync change.
Verify first
7 items
- Your current agreementTerm, auto-renewal, notice window and any early-termination fee — read the agreement and the terms it refers to.
- Your hardwareOwned, leased or tied to processing. Leases are often separate contracts that continue after you switch.
- Gift card balancesExport card numbers and balances; confirm the new system can import balances or plan a run-off period.
- Accounting, payroll and other appsConfirm each integration exists on the new platform before you choose it.
- ReservationsConfirm your reservation tool connects, and plan how bookings carry across go-live.
- Cards on file and house accountsStored cards belong to your processor; moving them needs a processor-to-processor transfer.
- Final deposits and statementsConfirm last deposits, any reserve and the chargeback window on the old account before closing it.
Every switch, whatever the platform
- Train managers first, then staff, on your own menu or products before go-live.
- Pick a go-live day away from peak season, holidays, inventory counts and month-end.
- Keep the old system and its processing running until the new one has settled. Don’t cancel early.
From each platform’s own help pages
Moving data onto the platforms we compare
“Documented” means the vendor’s own documentation describes it. “Not found yet” means we haven’t found it in official sources — not that it can’t be done.
Moving onto SpotOn
- Menu or product import
- A specialist verifies. Restaurant BOH Menu Items Bulk Editor exports/edits menu data as CSV; no official from-another-POS import guide found; onboarding specialist programs menus. SpotOn source (opens in a new tab)
- Customer import
- Documented. Simple customer imports (name, phone, email) are self-service in SpotOn Dashboard; other loyalty-program imports via SpotOn engagement team. SpotOn source (opens in a new tab)
- Gift card balances
- A specialist verifies. KB lists supported third-party gift card vendors and covers liability-report export/import; process is vendor-dependent. SpotOn source (opens in a new tab)
- Loyalty
- A specialist verifies. Legacy loyalty imports carry current balance and customer info but clear history; handled by SpotOn team. SpotOn source (opens in a new tab)
- Data export
- Documented. Retail Dashboard exports Sales Trends, Summary, Items, Staff and Orders reports to CSV; loyalty data export via support. SpotOn source (opens in a new tab)
Moving onto Exatouch Point of Sale
- Menu or product import
- Documented. Retail Inventory Import spreadsheet (XML Spreadsheet 2003) for items, customers, staff, vendors and services. Electronic Payments source (opens in a new tab)
- Customer import
- Documented. Same import template has a Customers tab (name, phone, address, birth date, loyalty, tax-exempt, notes). Electronic Payments source (opens in a new tab)
- Gift card balances
- A specialist verifies. Existing gift card programs transition to eGiftSolutions by contacting eGift Solutions sales; card-to-card balance transfer documented. Electronic Payments source (opens in a new tab)
- Loyalty
- A specialist verifies. Customer import template includes a Loyalty field; no dedicated loyalty-migration guide found. Electronic Payments source (opens in a new tab)
- Data export
- Documented. Release notes describe an expanded inventory export incl. vendor fields; report summaries available. Electronic Payments source (opens in a new tab)
Moving onto Clover POS
- Menu or product import
- Documented. Bulk inventory import from .xls/.xlsx template (max 5 MB) in the merchant dashboard. Clover source (opens in a new tab)
- Customer import
- A specialist verifies. No native self-serve import found; Clover App Market 'Customer Upload' app (third-party) imports CSV. Clover source (opens in a new tab)
- Gift card balances
- A specialist verifies. Clover Gift Cards page says converting an existing program is 'effortless'; mechanics not documented. Clover source (opens in a new tab)
- Loyalty
- A specialist verifies. Clover blog says its team can help import existing loyalty program members and customers. Clover source (opens in a new tab)
- Data export
- Documented. Export API for PAYMENTS/ORDERS; report CSV exports; customer list CSV. Clover source (opens in a new tab)
Moving onto Square Point of Sale
- Menu or product import
- Documented. Bulk import via Excel/CSV template in Item library > Actions > Import library; required columns listed. Square source (opens in a new tab)
- Customer import
- Documented. CSV import in Customer directory > Import/Export; rows imported, matched or failed; CSV only. Square source (opens in a new tab)
- Gift card balances
- A specialist verifies. Square Support uploads a CSV of third-party card numbers and balances; manual-entry redemption; no reload. Square source (opens in a new tab)
- Loyalty
- A specialist verifies. No self-serve import found in official help; points can be adjusted per customer manually. Square source (opens in a new tab)
- Data export
- Documented. Square documents exporting card-on-file data to third-party payment processors (relevant when leaving Square). Square source (opens in a new tab)
Moving onto Dejavoo
- Menu or product import
- Documented. DejaPayPro retail manual: Items > 'Import From File' with column file-mapping. Dejavoo source (opens in a new tab)
- Customer import
- Not found in official docs yet
- Gift card balances
- Not found in official docs yet
- Loyalty
- Not found in official docs yet
- Data export
- Not found in official docs yet
Moving onto NRS POS
- Menu or product import
- Documented. Pricebook import from Excel/CSV via merchant-portal template; preloaded database of 100,000+ products. NRS source (opens in a new tab)
- Customer import
- Not found in official docs yet
- Gift card balances
- Not found in official docs yet
- Loyalty
- Not found in official docs yet
- Data export
- Documented. Merchant portal exports reports in Excel or CSV. NRS source (opens in a new tab)
Moving onto Figure POS
- Menu or product import
- Documented. Figure Manage > Items & Categories > Import .csv using downloadable template. Figure source (opens in a new tab)
- Customer import
- A specialist verifies. FAQ: Figure will help switchers transition and migrate data (contact sales); no self-serve customer import found. Figure source (opens in a new tab)
- Gift card balances
- A specialist verifies. Covered only by the general FAQ migration-assistance statement; no gift-card import guide found. Figure source (opens in a new tab)
- Loyalty
- A specialist verifies. Covered only by the general FAQ migration-assistance statement; no loyalty import guide found. Figure source (opens in a new tab)
- Data export
- Documented. Summary Report exports CSV/XLS; gift card Liability Report exports CSV/XLSX. Figure source (opens in a new tab)
Ask anyone selling you a new system
Questions to ask before you sign
- Who is the processor, and is this person from your current company or a different one?
- Is this an application or a binding agreement? What is the term and how do I cancel?
- Is the equipment owned, leased or rented — and is the lease a separate contract?
- What is every fee — per-transaction, monthly, annual, PCI, equipment and early termination — per location, and can any of them change during the term?
- Can I keep my current processor, or does this system require its own — and what would leaving cost?
- What moves over from my current system (items, modifiers, customers, gift cards), and who rebuilds the rest?
Including us. You should get clear answers in writing before anything is signed.
How a switch works
A planned cutover, step by step
Nothing is ordered or installed until you have signed and the processor has approved the account. Exact timing depends on approval, hardware and how much needs rebuilding.
Now
Step 1: Gather what you have
- Find your current agreement and any equipment lease.
- Export your menu or product list, customer list and the last year or two of sales reports.
- List every app that has to keep working: accounting, payroll, delivery, reservations, online ordering.
After you choose
Step 2: Agreement and approval
- Review every fee, the term and the cancellation terms in writing before signing.
- The processor reviews and approves the new account; hardware is arranged after that.
Build
Step 3: Set up the new system
- Import or rebuild menu items, modifiers, taxes and staff roles.
- Reconnect integrations one at a time and test each.
- Plan gift card and loyalty balances before go-live.
Install and train
Step 4: Before the first real order
- Install and test hardware, printers, kitchen screens and the network.
- Train managers first, then staff, on your own menu or products.
- Pick a go-live day away from your busiest days and from peak storm season.
Overlap
Step 5: Keep the old system running
- Keep the old system and its processing active until the new one has settled.
- Confirm final deposits and the chargeback window before closing the old account.
The first week after go-live
- Check each day’s deposits against the sales report.
- Confirm tips, taxes and discounts are calculating the way you expect.
- Watch kitchen or order routing during the first busy shift.
- Check that integrations (accounting, delivery, payroll) received the first days’ data.
- Write down staff questions and fix settings while they are fresh.
Who does the work
The same local team before and after go-live
The specialists who plan your switch install it, train your team and stay in touch afterwards — with a clear support path for the platform you choose.
Switching questions
- Do I have to switch systems to work with GCMS?
- Not always. If you already use a platform GCMS sells, we may be able to help with what you have — how much depends on the platform. We start by reviewing your current setup.
- Will I lose my menu or product data?
- That depends on what your current system can export. We check exports early so nothing is a surprise on go-live day.
- How long does a switch take?
- It depends on menu or catalog size, hardware and contract timing. We set the go-live date together once we know those.
- Can we keep any of our hardware?
- Sometimes. Compatibility depends on the new platform and how the current hardware is owned or financed.
Related guides
Keep planning
- What a POS Really CostsEvery cost line, and how to compare quotes.
- Cash Discount, Dual Pricing & SurchargeWhat each program means for your customers and your costs.
- Full-Service RestaurantsHandhelds, coursing and table management.
- Hurricane Season ReadinessOffline limits, backup power and a safe restart.
Ready to plan your switch?
Tell us what you run today. We will map what carries over, what moves and when to go live.