If 2024 and 2025 taught restaurant owners anything, it’s that the margin for error is shrinking.
Food costs are up. Labor costs are up. Payment processing fees keep climbing. And even small software subscriptions are quietly eating into profits.
So what happens in 2026, when inflation stays sticky and operating costs don’t come back down?
Owners who cut unnecessary tech expenses now will be the ones who make it through.
According to the National Restaurant Association 2025 State of the Restaurant Industry Report, average profit margins for independent restaurants have tightened to 4–6%, compared to roughly 10% just a few years ago.
Meanwhile, restaurant operating costs — including labor, rent, and utilities — have climbed nearly 20% since 2020 (Restaurant Business Online, 2025).
Most owners are also paying hundreds per month just for their POS software:
Toast: $110–$165/month, plus setup and contract fees (Toast Pricing)
Clover: $60–$135/month, plus hardware (Clover Pricing)
Cake: $80–$120/month, often bundled with long-term contracts (MadMobile Cake POS Pricing)
Those “small” monthly costs quickly become $1,500–$3,000 a year just to run transactions.
TABL was built differently. From day one, we decided that restaurants shouldn’t have to pay to take payments.
No monthly fees
No contracts
No forced hardware
No hidden add-ons
You can run TABL on your existing tablet, phone, or desktop.
You only pay standard card processing — the same as everyone else — We inlude a per-order convenience fee that’s passed to your customers, not your bottom line.
That means your restaurant keeps more of what it earns, every single day.
Here’s what’s ahead:
Rising processing rates: Visa and Mastercard both announced new interchange fee increases rolling into early 2026 (Reuters, 2025).
Tech vendor consolidation: The POS market is shrinking as large companies acquire smaller ones, reducing competition and flexibility (Hospitality Tech, 2025).
More “service” charges: Expect new fees labeled as “support,” “compliance,” or “update maintenance,” even from long-time vendors (Restaurant Dive, 2025).
When everyone else is paying more to stay online, TABL users won’t be.
We stay free because your success — not your subscription — is our model.
Audit your POS costs. Add up every recurring charge and service fee you’re paying.
Calculate your break-even point. A $200/month POS means you need ~$2,000 in extra sales just to cover software.
Switch before Q1. Moving before 2026 locks in lower processing rates and stronger margins before another round of industry hikes.
TABL is ready for that future — zero-cost software, instant setup, and real support from people who know restaurants. You keep your margins. We keep it simple.