Restaurant technology budget: a line-by-line worked example

Build a restaurant technology budget from its lines: POS software, card processing, online ordering, phones, reservations, scheduling, payroll, accounting and any AI tool. In our worked example, a made-up restaurant with $80,000 a month in sales pays $3,148.40 a month at vendors' printed prices, and card fees make up about three quarters of that.

The surveys below describe what operators plan to buy. They give no dollar figure or share of sales for technology, so a line-by-line build is the way to set your own number. For what each system does, see our guide to restaurant management software. For a three-year POS cost with hardware and exit fees, see what a restaurant POS costs.

What do surveys say about restaurant technology spending?

Toast, which sells a restaurant POS, publishes its own yearly survey. Its 2026 Voice of the Restaurant Industry survey was a blind survey of 676 decision-makers at US restaurants with 16 or fewer locations, run from April 3 to April 20, 2026, with a stated margin of error of plus or minus 4%. Among its findings:

• 20% ranked "start using new tech to run the business better" among their top three goals, down 3 points from 2025.
• 35% said they would "implement technology to reduce staff and guest touchpoints" if labor challenges increase.
• 87% said they feel comfortable using AI, and 42% were experimenting with AI only through their tech vendors.

The National Restaurant Association's 2026 State of the Restaurant Industry report asks operators how they plan to spend their tech budgets. Restaurant Business reported on February 12, 2026 that 60% planned to invest in technology that improves the customer experience (62% of limited-service and 57% of full-service restaurants), 54% in front-of-house technology, 48% in back-of-house technology and 44% in cybersecurity. The Association's report page says the report draws on surveys of operators and consumers run through the year. It gives no sample size.

Which lines belong in a restaurant technology budget?

Line	How it is usually billed	Ask before you sign
POS software	A monthly fee per location, station or device	What does the plan already include that you would otherwise buy separately?
Card processing	A percentage plus a fixed fee on every payment	What is the rate for tapped cards, online payments and typed-in cards?
Online ordering	A plan fee, a per-order fee or commission, plus card fees	Which fees apply to each order, and who holds the guest's details?
Phones	A monthly fee per user, plus taxes and fees	Does a shared handset at the host stand count as a user?
Reservations	A monthly plan, sometimes with cover or prepayment fees	What is charged per booking or per prepayment?
Scheduling and payroll	A fee per location, plus a fee per person paid	Does your POS plan already include staff tools?
Accounting	A monthly plan by number of users	Does it import daily sales from your POS?
AI tools	A monthly plan, a per-unit price or a quote	What does it write into your POS, and who takes over when it cannot finish?
Hardware and setup	One-time, financed or rented	Do you own it at the end, and what does setup cost?

What does a worked budget look like?

This example is made up. The restaurant has one location, 60 seats and $80,000 in monthly sales: $70,000 in card payments at the table or counter across 1,750 payments, $8,000 in online orders across 320 orders, and $2,000 in cash. It pays 20 people and has two phone users. Prices are the ones each vendor prints on its own page. They leave out taxes, carrier fees, hardware, setup and delivery app commissions.

Line	Plan and printed price	Example use	Per month
POS software	Square Plus: $49/mo. per location	One location	POS line: $49.00
Card processing in person	Square Plus tap, dip or swipe rate: 2.5% + 15¢	$70,000 across 1,750 payments	In-person card fees: $2,012.50
Online ordering	Square lists an online site in its plans; Square Plus online rate: 2.9% + 30¢	$8,000 across 320 orders	Online card fees: $328.00
Phones	Ooma Office Pro: $24.95 per user per month	Host stand and office	Phone line: $49.90
Reservations	Resy Platform: $289/month	One location	Reservation line: $289.00
Scheduling	Homebase Essentials: $30 per location per month, monthly view	One location	Scheduling line: $30.00
Payroll	Square Payroll: from $35 per month + $6 per person paid	20 people paid	Payroll line: $155.00
Accounting	QuickBooks Online Essentials: $85 a month, for 3 users	Owner, manager and bookkeeper	Accounting line: $85.00
AI phone answering	Maple Voice: $150/month billed monthly	Answering, FAQs and call transfer	AI answering line: $150.00
Total			Monthly total: $3,148.40

Over a year that is $37,780.80. The two card-fee lines come to $2,340.50, or 74% of the monthly total. The whole budget is 3.9% of the made-up $80,000 in sales, and 1.0% once card fees are taken out.

Sources for each price: Square's restaurant pricing page (plans, card rates and Square Payroll), Ooma's plans page, Resy's plans and pricing, Homebase's pricing page, QuickBooks' pricing page and Maple's pricing page.

Where can the budget shrink?

Start with card fees, since they are the largest line. Square's page says a business processing over $250,000 a year can ask whether it qualifies for custom pricing and processing fees. The example restaurant takes $936,000 a year in card payments, so that call is worth making.

A higher plan can cost more than it saves. Square Premium is $149/mo. with an in-person rate of 2.4% + 15¢. In the example, its plan fee plus in-person card fees come to $2,091.50 a month, $30 more than Square Plus. The 0.1-point rate cut pays for the $100 higher plan fee only at $100,000 a month in in-person card sales.

Look for two tools doing one job. Square Plus lists staff management among its features, so check whether it covers your scheduling before paying Homebase's $30 a month, or $360 a year. Online ordering paid for in both your POS and a separate site is another one to check.

Price each line on the billing term you will actually pick. Maple Voice drops to $85 a month billed annually, which cuts $780 a year from the example. QuickBooks shows 50% off Essentials for 3 months, which saves $127.50 in the first year only. Our reservation system guide compares printed reservation plans.

How do you build your own budget?

1. Pull the last three months of statements from every technology vendor and list each charge under one of the lines above.
2. From your processor statements, write down monthly card sales and the number of payments, split by in person, online and typed-in phone payments.
3. Mark any job two tools both do, and decide which one stays.
4. Price each line on the billing term you plan to use, with taxes and fees where the vendor lists them.
5. Keep one-time costs, such as hardware and setup, on a separate list. Our POS hardware guide covers the devices.
6. Divide the monthly total by monthly sales and track it each quarter, with card fees shown on their own line.
7. Before adding a tool, write down the job it does and the number it should move, such as missed calls or hours spent on the schedule.

Card fees rise with sales, so recheck your rates with our card processing fees guide when volume changes. If phone calls go unanswered during service, count the phone line and the answering line together. Maple Pro takes phone orders into supported POS systems for $350/month billed monthly or $220/month billed annually, and the integrations page lists the POS systems it works with.

Published by Maple, which sells AI phone answering to restaurants. This AI-assisted guide combines prices that Square, Ooma, Resy, Homebase, QuickBooks and Maple print on their own pages, Toast's own 2026 survey, and the National Restaurant Association's 2026 findings as reported by Restaurant Business, with an original worked budget. The restaurant in the example is made up. It does not include a quote from any vendor, report hands-on testing, or set a target for technology spending.