POS & Checkout Systems
Lightspeed Restaurant
Rest of world Report an error0–5 in half steps. 5 means the rubric's top anchor is met on the evidence.
by Lightspeed Commerce Inc. · www.lightspeedhq.de
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Lightspeed Restaurant at a glance
- Vendor
- Lightspeed Commerce Inc.
- Headquarters
- Not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 29 Oct 2026
- Data hosting
- Not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 29 Oct 2026
- Free plan
- Not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 29 Oct 2026
- Panel verdict
- The AI panel rates Lightspeed Restaurant 2.5/5, the mean of 6 judges. Judges scored Lightspeed Restaurant strongest on operations and locations, accounting and portability and checkout and hardware, each clustering at 6 to 7. how scores are made
- As of
- Vendor pages captured 29 Oct 2026; evaluated by the panel 30 Oct 2026. all sources
Read this page as one judge. Each weighs the same scores by what they care about.
The panel's verdict
Judges scored Lightspeed Restaurant strongest on operations and locations, accounting and portability and checkout and hardware, each clustering at 6 to 7. What carried those scores: inventory with suppliers, purchase orders, recipes and waste under unlimited locations with central stock; a named hardware catalogue from Epson, Star, Safescan, Zebra and Verifone with an offline mode whose limits are written down; and daily automated single records in DSFinV-K format into DATEV Kassenarchiv online and DATEV Kassenbuch online. Sovereignty scored lowest at 3 to 5, with payments and fees at 4 to 6 and pricing transparency at 5 to 6: hosting is described only as unnamed third-party multi-tenant infrastructure with no location, the German subprocessor page refers to an English-language list, and we found no public information on transaction, terminal, TSE or hardware fees. Fiscal compliance split at 4 to 6 — the tax adviser scored the DATEV audit trail at 6 while others marked the TSE provider and its BSI certificate as unnamed. The captured pages give different plan names: Basic, Core and Pro versus Essential and Premium.
Speaks for it
- Daily automated single records in DSFinV-K format into DATEV Kassenarchiv online and DATEV Kassenbuch online, with product categories, accounts and payment methods mapped automatically.
- Unlimited locations with central inventory and real-time cross-site insight, suppliers, purchase orders with automatic reordering, recipes and waste management — operations and locations scored 6 to 7.
- A named hardware catalogue — Epson, Star, Safescan, Zebra, Verifone — with an offline mode whose limits are written down: sales continue and sync later, master data and cloud reports need internet, X- and Z-closings run on the local WLAN.
- Plan prices are public — Basic 89 € /mo, Core 159 € /mo, Pro 249 € /mo with 49 € per further licence — with monthly contracts cancellable to the month's end and the monthly cost stated to cover software, updates, support and initial setup.
- Integrated payments with the terminals e285 and V400m, tap-to-pay on a phone, tips and bill splitting at the table, and on-demand payouts within hours including weekends.
Held against it
- We found no public information on per-card transaction fees, terminal costs, the TSE fee or hardware prices; the only documented payments figure is a time-limited switching bonus of up to 1000 Euro tied to processing at least 25.000,00 € of card volume.
- Sovereignty scored 3 to 5 — hosting is described only as unnamed third-party multi-tenant infrastructure with no location stated, and the German subprocessor page refers to an English-language list.
- The payments contract for Germany runs with Lightspeed Netherlands B.V., and the compatible terminals listed are the e285 and v400m.
- The captured pages give different plan names — Basic, Core and Pro on the pricing page against Essential and Premium on the inventory page.
- We found no public information naming the certified cloud TSE's provider or its BSI certificate, on hardware purchase or rental terms, or on staff logins with roles and per-employee logs of cancellations.
Best for
- You run a café or restaurant group and want unlimited locations with central inventory, benchmark reporting and a kitchen display with stations and preparation timestamps.
- Your accountant works in DATEV and you need daily automated DSFinV-K single records into DATEV Kassenarchiv online and DATEV Kassenbuch online.
- You want plan prices on the page before talking to sales — 89 €, 159 € and 249 € per month with 49 € per further licence, monthly cancellable to the month's end.
- Your floor runs on iPads with named Epson, Star, Safescan, Zebra and Verifone hardware and you need an offline mode with its limits written down.
Avoid if
- You must budget card costs per card type before signing — ask the vendor: the public pages we read do not show it
- Your procurement or works council needs named hosting locations — ask the vendor: the public pages we read do not show it
- You may need to exit before a year is out — annual subscriptions cannot be cancelled early and run to term.
- Your budget must be complete at signing — ask the vendor: the public pages we read do not show it
The scores
| Criterion | Panel median |
|---|---|
| Checkout, receipts & hardware | 3.5 of 5 |
| Card payments & fees | 2 of 5 |
| Fiscal compliance (TSE, DSFinV-K, RKSV) | 2.5 of 5 |
| Inventory, tables, staff & locations | 3.5 of 5 |
| Accounting handoff, DATEV & data export | 3.5 of 5 |
| European sovereignty | 2 of 5 |
| Pricing transparency | 2.5 of 5 |
Checkout, receipts & hardware
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How this is scored
How a sale is rung up and what it runs on: a fast till on tablet, phone or dedicated terminal, articles, modifiers and discounts, split bills and tips, receipts printed or sent digitally (QR code, email, a digital Bon), returns and cancellations, a customer display, which hardware is supported or sold (receipt printers, cash drawers, scanners, scales), and whether the till keeps selling when the internet is down.
0 — Not a till; sales cannot be rung up or receipts issued in the product.
3 — Sales rung up on one device with a printed receipt; digital receipts, supported hardware and offline operation are basic or not described.
5 — A till app on named devices (iPad, Android or Windows) with articles, modifiers, discounts and split payments, receipts printed or sent digitally, returns and cancellations, a list of supported printers, drawers and scanners, and an offline mode stated.
8 — Several device types and own or third-party hardware with a published compatibility list, offline mode with its limits stated (how long, which payments, how sync resolves), digital receipts meeting the receipt obligation, customer display, scales and barcode labels supported, and hardware rentable or bought with the terms stated.
10 — A till that never stops a sale: offline operation documented including card payments and fiscal signing, hardware open to standard devices rather than locked to the vendor, receipt layouts that meet the legal minimum content in each named country, and a stated uptime or a status page with incident history.
The Café Owner
The till runs on iPads with a named hardware list — Epson and Star receipt printers, an Epson kitchen printer, Safescan drawers, a Zebra label printer, a SocketScan scanner — and the offline mode is written down with its limits: sales carry on, data is cached locally and syncs to the cloud when the line returns, master data and cloud reporting need internet, and X- and Z-closings still work on the local network; bill splitting and guest tip selection are stated. We found no public information on a customer display, scales, or hardware rental and purchase terms. 9 10 1
The Retail Shop Owner
The till runs on an iPad, the hardware page lists named receipt and kitchen printers, cash drawers, a 2D barcode scanner and a Zebra label printer — exactly the kit my four thousand articles need — and offline operation is documented with its limits: master data maintenance and cloud reporting only work online, while X- and Z-closings stay possible in the local WLAN, with data syncing to the cloud once the line returns. Split bills and guest tip selection are described. We found no public information on a customer display, scales, digital guest receipts, or purchase and rental terms for the hardware, which keeps this in the middle of the scale. 1 5 9 10
The Tax Adviser
The hardware page names the real kit — Epson and Star receipt printers, a kitchen printer, Safescan drawers, a Zebra label printer, a 2D scanner and both iPad and iPhone tills — and the offline answer is honest about its limits: data is cached locally and synced later, X- and Z-closings work in the local WLAN, while master data maintenance and cloud reports need a connection. I found no public information on a customer-facing digital receipt, scales, or the purchase or rental terms for the hardware. 9 10 5
The Hospitality Operations Manager
The hardware page names a full working kit — Epson and Star receipt printers, an Epson kitchen printer, Safescan cash drawers, a Verifone V400m terminal, a 2D scanner, a Zebra label printer, iPad stands and tableside charging — and the offline mode comes with its limits stated (master data and cloud reports need internet, X and Z closings run on the local WLAN). We found no public information on a customer display, scales, or the purchase or rental terms for the hardware, so I stop below the top band. 9 5 10 3
The Fee-Conscious Merchant
Sales run on iPads with a long published hardware shelf — Epson and Star receipt printers, a Zebra label printer, Safescan cash drawers, a barcode scanner, kitchen screens and battery-driven Verifone and mobile terminals, exactly what a market stall wants — and the offline mode is written down with its limits: sales continue and sync later, while master data and cloud reports need a connection and X/Z closings run over the local WLAN. We found no public information on digital customer receipts, a customer display, or the purchase or rental terms for the hardware itself. 9 10 1 14 5
The Skeptic
An iPad and iPhone till with a named hardware catalogue (Epson, Star, Safescan, Zebra, Verifone) and an offline mode whose limits are honestly stated — master data and cloud reports need internet, X- and Z-closings run on the local network. But the hardware splits into two worlds ("nur mit Gastrofix kompatibel" versus "nur mit Restaurant (K Series)"), no hardware prices or rental terms are published, and we found no public information on returns and cancellations, a customer display, or scales. 5 9 10
Card payments & fees
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How this is scored
How the till takes card and mobile payments and what that costs: an integrated terminal and the acquirer behind it named, girocard, credit cards, Apple Pay and Google Pay, tap to pay on a phone, the fee per transaction by card type, monthly terminal fees, payout timing, and whether the merchant may use a terminal or acquirer of their own choice instead. A "free" till paid for by card fees counts here.
0 — No card payment of any kind can be recorded at the till.
3 — Card payments recorded at the till, by an integrated terminal or by typing the amount into a separate one; the acquirer, the fees and the choice of terminal are basic or not described.
5 — An integrated card terminal with the payment provider named, girocard, credit cards and mobile wallets accepted, the transaction fee published for the main card types, payouts with their timing stated, and the amount passed to the terminal without retyping.
8 — Fees per card type and terminal cost published, tap to pay on a phone, tips and split payments on the terminal, several integrated acquirers or terminals to choose from (not only the vendor's own), the regulated payment institution named, and card payments reconciled to the daily closing.
10 — Payments without lock-in: the till works with any of several named acquirers on equal terms, fees for every card type, currency and chargeback published, the merchant's contract with the acquirer separable from the POS licence, and a change of acquirer documented without changing the till.
The Café Owner
The payments page names Lightspeed Payments with two compatible terminals (e285 and V400m), tap to pay on a phone, tips and splitting at the table, payouts on demand within hours including weekends, and automated matching against the day's takings. No fee per card type and no terminal cost appear anywhere I read, and I found no public information on girocard specifics or on bringing my own acquirer to this till. 3 11
The Retail Shop Owner
Lightspeed Payments is named as the embedded processor taking credit, debit and mobile payments, with tap-to-pay on a phone, tips on the card, pay-at-table on the e285 and v400m, and on-demand payouts within hours even at weekends. But no transaction fee by card type is published anywhere I read, terminal costs are not shown, and the only documented switching detail is a time-limited bonus of up to 1000 Euro for customers processing at least 25.000,00 € of card volume — that tells me nothing about what a normal month costs me. For the restaurant till we found no public information on using a terminal or acquirer of my own choice. 1 3 11
The Tax Adviser
Lightspeed Payments is named as the embedded processor with the terminals e285 and v400m, tap to pay on the phone, tips and on-demand payouts within hours even at weekends, plus automated matching against the day. Nowhere on the captured pages did I find a transaction fee, a terminal fee or the acquiring institution published, and the terminal choice is limited to the vendor's own two models. 3 11 12
The Hospitality Operations Manager
The payments pages show a genuinely integrated flow: Lightspeed Payments taking credit, debit and mobile payments on named terminals (e285, Verifone V400m), tap to pay on an iPhone or Android, tips on card, bill splitting at the table, and on-demand payouts within hours including weekends. We found no public information on transaction fees by card type, terminal cost, or whether I could run my own acquirer instead, which is exactly what I need to budget card costs across eight restaurants. 3 11 12 5
The Fee-Conscious Merchant
Lightspeed Payments is the named embedded acquirer, with Verifone V400M and e285 terminals — both battery-driven, one with printer — plus tap-to-pay on a phone, tips and bill splitting at the table and on-demand payouts within hours, but we found no public information on the fee per girocard or credit card transaction, and for five-euro cones that one number is the whole budget. The up-to-1000-euro switching bonus with its 25.000,00 € processing minimum is a contract condition, not a price, and we found no public information on running another acquirer's terminal with this till. 3 5 11 9 10
The Skeptic
Integrated payments with named terminals (e285, V400m), payouts on demand within hours, tips and splitting at the table — but not one transaction fee, terminal fee or girocard rate is published anywhere, and the payments contract runs with the vendor's own entity, which offers up to 1000 Euro to buy out the previous provider's contract. The "über 100 Zahlungsgateways" and "keine Gebühren für externe Zahlungsanbieter" statements sit on the eCom online-shop page, not on the restaurant till's. 3 11 12
Fiscal compliance (TSE, DSFinV-K, RKSV)
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How this is scored
Whether the till survives a cash audit: for Germany a certified technical security device (TSE) with its provider and BSI certificate named, hardware or cloud, the DSFinV-K export for the Kassennachschau and the tax audit, the receipt obligation (Belegausgabepflicht), the Kassenbuch and daily closing (Z-Bericht), GoBD-compliant storage for ten years, and help with the § 146a AO registration; for Austria the RKSV signature and FinanzOnline registration; for other countries their named fiscal rules (NF525, Fiskaltrust and similar).
0 — No fiscal function at all; the product is not a cash register in the legal sense, or states that it does not meet the fiscal rules of the markets it sells into.
3 — The till is called compliant ("finanzamtkonform", "KassenSichV-ready") without naming the TSE, the export formats or the closing; the details are basic or not described.
5 — A TSE included or offered with its provider named (hardware or cloud), the DSFinV-K export available, receipts carrying the TSE signature, a daily closing and cash book, and the receipt obligation met on paper or digitally.
8 — TSE provider and BSI certification named with what happens when the TSE fails, DSFinV-K and the GoBD archive for ten years stated, the § 146a AO registration supported, a procedure documentation (Verfahrensdokumentation) template offered, and the fiscal rules of at least one further country (Austrian RKSV or another) named and met.
10 — Audit-proof across markets: fiscal compliance documented per named country with certificates published, the procedure documentation maintained by the vendor, the fiscal journal exportable after the contract ends, and the vendor's handling of a Kassennachschau (what the auditor gets, from whom, how fast) described.
The Café Owner
A certified cloud TSE is stated to secure every transaction — cash, vouchers, EC and credit card — with a signature on each sale, single records transfer daily and automatically in DSFinV-K format to DATEV Kassenarchiv online and on into DATEV Kassenbuch online, and X- and Z-closings run even offline on the local network. The TSE provider and its BSI certificate are not named, and I found no public information on what happens if the TSE fails, on GoBD ten-year storage, on help with the registration, or on a procedure documentation. 1 2 9 15
The Retail Shop Owner
A certified cloud TSE is claimed as fully finance-office compliant, signing every transaction and recording cash, voucher, EC and card revenues, and X- and Z-closings are documented — the daily automated transfer of single records in DSFinV-K format into DATEV Kassenarchiv online and on into the DATEV cash book covers the audit basics my tax adviser needs. We found no public information naming the TSE provider or its BSI certificate, and none on the receipt obligation, GoBD ten-year storage, help with the section 146a registration, or a procedure documentation template. 1 2 9 15
The Tax Adviser
A certified cloud TSE is claimed, signing every transaction across cash, vouchers and cards, and the audit hand-off is genuinely strong: single records go daily and automatically in DSFinV-K format into DATEV Kassenarchiv online and on into the Kassenbuch, with Z-closings possible offline. But the TSE provider and its BSI certificate number are not named on the captured pages, and I found nothing on the § 146a registration, a procedure documentation template, ten-year GoBD storage or a second country's fiscal rules. 2 9 15 10
The Hospitality Operations Manager
A certified cloud TSE is claimed with KassenSichV conformity, an encrypted signature on every transaction covering cash, vouchers, EC and credit card, X and Z closings, and single records in DSFinV-K format transferred daily into DATEV Kassenarchiv online and DATEV Kassenbuch online. We found no public information naming the TSE provider or its BSI certificate, on GoBD ten-year storage, a Verfahrensdokumentation template, help with the registration under § 146a AO, or Austrian RKSV. 2 10 15 9 4
The Fee-Conscious Merchant
A certified cloud TSE with an encrypted signature on every transaction covering cash, voucher, EC and card sales, X- and Z-closings, and daily single records going to DATEV Kassenarchiv online in DSFinV-K format — that part is documented. We found no public information naming the TSE provider or its BSI certificate, even though the vendor's own page stresses how much that certification matters, nor on the ten-year GoBD archive, help with the § 146a AO registration, or a Verfahrensdokumentation template. 2 15 9 10 1
The Skeptic
"Vollständig finanzamtkonform dank zertifizierter Cloud-TSE" with no TSE provider named and no BSI certificate — precisely the sentence I read with a magnifying glass. What is documented holds up: daily automated DSFinV-K single records into DATEV Kassenarchiv online and DATEV Kassenbuch online, a TSE signature on every transaction, and X-/Z-closings even offline; we found no public information on a Verfahrensdokumentation, on what happens when the TSE fails, on ten-year GoBD storage, or on the fiscal journal after the contract ends. 1 2 9 15
Inventory, tables, staff & locations
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How this is scored
What the till runs beside the sale: stock and articles with variants, suppliers and purchase orders, recipes or ingredients for hospitality, tables, courses and a kitchen display or kitchen printer, self-order and QR ordering, staff logins with roles and rights, cash differences per employee, reports by product, staff and hour, and several branches or sites managed from one back office.
0 — No articles, stock, staff or reporting beyond the single sale.
3 — An article list and a sales report; stock, staff rights, tables and several locations are basic or not described.
5 — Article and stock management with variants or modifiers, staff logins with roles, reports by product, employee and period, and for hospitality tables and kitchen printing or a kitchen display; several locations or tills under one account.
8 — Stock with suppliers, purchase orders and inventory counts or recipes, a kitchen display and QR or self-order, granular staff rights and a log of cancellations and voids per employee, central articles and prices pushed to several branches, and cross-site reporting.
10 — Multi-site operations run through the product: stock transfers between branches, central menu and price management with local overrides, franchise or group structures, forecasting from sales history, and every change to an article, price or void attributed and exportable.
The Café Owner
For a café with tables and a kitchen this reads well: recipes, suppliers, purchase orders with automatic reordering and minimum stock levels, a kitchen display with stations, timestamps and its own offline mode plus a LAN kitchen printer, QR and kiosk self-ordering, and multi-location management with central inventory and benchmark reporting. I found no public information on staff logins with roles or a log of cancellations and voids per employee. 13 14 9 10
The Retail Shop Owner
Inventory runs in the same back office with suppliers, purchase orders against minimum stock levels, automatic reordering at set times and recipes, and the platform is described as suitable for unlimited locations with central stock management and real-time insight into every site — close to what my two branches need. The kitchen display with stations, timestamps and offline mode plus QR and self-ordering are richly documented, though they are restaurant matters to me. We found no public information on stock transfers between branches, granular staff rights with per-employee void logs, or cash differences per employee. 1 10 13 14
The Tax Adviser
Inventory runs deep — suppliers with multi-supplier links, automated reorders, recipes and waste management — and the kitchen display with stations, a QR ordering channel and unlimited locations under central stock and benchmark reporting cover most of what my gastro clients need. I found no public information on staff logins with granular rights or a per-employee log of cancellations and cash differences. 13 14 10 5
The Hospitality Operations Manager
Inventory goes deep — suppliers, purchase orders, minimum stock with automated reordering, recipes and waste management — and the kitchen display with stations, per-item status and its own offline mode plus QR ordering, pay at table and multi-location management with central inventory and benchmark data cover the floor and the group view. We found no public information on staff logins with granular roles, a per-employee log of voids and cancellations, cash differences per employee, or a central menu and price push with local exceptions, which is precisely what my eight sites run on. 13 14 5 10 1 3
The Fee-Conscious Merchant
Stock runs deep — suppliers, purchase orders, minimum-stock reordering, recipes and waste management — beside a kitchen display with stations, per-item status and timestamps, QR and online ordering, shift planning and unlimited locations with central inventory in one back office. We found no public information on staff logins with roles and rights or a per-employee log of cancellations, which is the piece a cash-handling owner wants in writing. 13 14 10 1 5
The Skeptic
Stock with suppliers, purchase orders, recipes and waste, a kitchen display with stations and preparation timestamps, QR and online ordering, and multi-site management with central inventory and real-time cross-site insight. What I miss as an operator: we found no public information on staff logins with roles and rights, on per-employee logs of cancellations and voids, or on cash differences per employee. 10 13 14
Accounting handoff, DATEV & data export
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How this is scored
What reaches the books and what leaves with the merchant: an export to DATEV (DATEV format, DATEV Kassenarchiv online, DATEV Unternehmen online) and to named accounting tools, booking with revenue accounts and tax rates, card payouts and fees reconciled, an API and webhooks, integrations with shop, booking or staff tools, and a complete export of articles, customers, sales and fiscal journals when the contract ends.
0 — No export of any kind; the day's figures have to be retyped.
3 — A CSV or PDF report of sales; booking data, named integrations and a full export are basic or not described.
5 — A DATEV export or another named accounting export with revenue accounts and tax rates, several integrations listed, a documented API, and sales and articles exportable.
8 — DATEV Kassenarchiv online or DATEV Unternehmen online named, card payouts and fees booked separately for reconciliation, a public API with webhooks and a developer portal, integrations with named shop, booking and staff-scheduling tools, and a full export of articles, customers and sales stated.
10 — Nothing stays behind: a complete export of all records including the fiscal journal and receipts in documented formats, access to past data after cancellation for the retention period stated, a migration path from and to other named systems, and the API covering every object the back office shows.
The Café Owner
The DATEV handoff is the strongest part of the whole offering: single records go daily and automatically in DSFinV-K format to DATEV Kassenarchiv online and DATEV Kassenbuch online, product categories, accounts and payment methods are mapped automatically, a MeinFiskal archive sync exists, and a direct API and partner API are offered. I found no public information on a full export of articles, customers and sales when the contract ends, or on webhooks. 15 4 5
The Retail Shop Owner
This is the criterion dearest to me: single records transfer daily in DSFinV-K format into DATEV Kassenarchiv online and on into DATEV Kassenbuch online, manual CSV exports are explicitly retired, product categories, accounts and payment types map automatically, cash archives can be built per location or consolidated, and my external tax adviser can be invited in — no USB stick. Direct API access is a paid add-on on all plans with documentation available, and Sage payroll takes working hours from the time tracking. We found no public information on webhooks, a developer portal, separate booking of card payouts and fees, or a full export of articles, customers and sales when the contract ends. 4 5 15 16
The Tax Adviser
The DATEV hand-off is the strongest thing here: daily automated DSFinV-K single records into DATEV Kassenarchiv online, automatic mapping of product categories, accounts and payment methods, corrections re-sent as new transactions, an invitation for my DATEV login, and a direct API offered as an add-on with published documentation. A complete export of articles, customers and sales at contract end is not stated anywhere I read. 4 15 5 12
The Hospitality Operations Manager
Lightspeed Accounting automates the day-end booking transfer with automatic mapping of product categories, accounts and payment types, refunds resubmitted as new transactions, a tax advisor login, and daily DSFinV-K single records into DATEV Kassenarchiv online and DATEV Kassenbuch online; a documented API is an add-on on all plans and payroll time data flows to Sage. We found no public information on card payouts and fees booked separately for reconciliation, webhooks, or a full export of articles, customers and sales when the contract ends. 4 15 12 16 5
The Fee-Conscious Merchant
The DATEV handoff is real and automatic: daily single records in DSFinV-K format into DATEV Kassenarchiv online and on into the Kassenbuch, automatic mapping of product categories, accounts and payment types, adjustments re-transmitted as new transactions, Sage payroll alongside, and a direct API available as an add-on on all plans. We found no public information on webhooks or on a complete export of articles, customers and sales when the contract ends. 4 15 5 1 16
The Skeptic
The DATEV handoff is real and specific — daily automated DSFinV-K transfer to DATEV Kassenarchiv online, auto-mapping of product categories, accounts and payment methods, every adjustment resubmitted as a new transaction, plus MeinFiskal and Sage payroll. But direct API access is an add-on on all plans, we found no public information on webhooks, and nothing states what export of articles, customers, sales or the fiscal journal a merchant receives when the contract ends. 4 5 15 16
European sovereignty
panel opinion
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How this is scored
Who the contracting entity and the parent company are, where sales, customer and employee data are hosted, and who the subprocessors are (hosting, cloud TSE, payment processing, receipt delivery, email, analytics). Independently sourced by the sovereignty pipeline; POS data is financial and fiscal at once, holds staff logins and customer cards, and has to stay readable for the tax office for ten years, so the whole chain counts, not only the database.
0 — Non-EU vendor and contracting entity, hosting unstated, subprocessors unnamed, and no data processing agreement offered.
3 — A privacy policy and a data processing agreement exist, but hosting location is unstated or non-EU and the subprocessors are not listed.
5 — EU hosting available and an EU contracting entity or EU representative, but parts of the chain (cloud TSE, payment processing, email, analytics, support) run through non-EU providers without a stated safeguard.
8 — EU hosting on named infrastructure, EU contracting entity, TSE provider and payment institution, subprocessors listed with their locations, a data processing agreement published, and security certifications (ISO 27001, SOC 2) stated.
10 — Sovereign end to end and evidenced: European ownership, entity, TSE, payment institution, hosting and every subprocessor, data export and deletion documented, and certifications published with their scope rather than implied.
The Café Owner
The legal notice names Lightspeed POS Germany GmbH in Berlin with a commercial register number and VAT ID, and infrastructure certifications (SOC 2 Type 2, ISO 27001, PCI DSS) are stated for third-party multi-tenant infrastructure providers. I found no public information on where the till data is hosted — the German site only refers to an English-language subprocessor list — nor on the parent's ownership, the contracting entity's jurisdiction, or a data processing agreement. 6 1 10 8 7
The Retail Shop Owner
The German legal notice names Lightspeed POS Germany GmbH in Berlin with commercial register number HRB 138363 B, the payments contract runs with Lightspeed Netherlands B.V., and ISO 27001, SOC 2 Type 2 and PCI DSS certifications are stated for the infrastructure providers. But hosting is described only as third-party multi-tenant infrastructure with no location given, and the German page only points to an English subprocessor list whose contents were not captured, so locations of the chain stay unknown. We found no public information on a published data processing agreement. 1 6 8 11
The Tax Adviser
German customers contract with Lightspeed POS Germany GmbH in Berlin with a commercial register number, and payments run through Lightspeed Netherlands B.V., but the infrastructure is described only as unnamed third-party multi-tenant providers with no location stated and the subprocessor list lives on an English-language page; the group itself is Canadian. SOC 2 Type 2 and ISO 27001 are claimed for the infrastructure providers' controls, though the hosting country, the cloud TSE provider and the payment licensing are not named on the captured pages. 6 1 11 8 10
The Hospitality Operations Manager
German customers contract with Lightspeed POS Germany GmbH in Berlin and Lightspeed Payments runs through Lightspeed Netherlands B.V., with infrastructure providers audited against SOC 2 Type 2 and ISO 27001. We found no public information on where my sales, staff and loyalty-guest data are hosted — only that infrastructure sits with unnamed multi-tenant third-party providers — nor on the names and locations behind the referenced subprocessor list or a data processing agreement, so my DPO and works council cannot sign this chain off from these pages. 6 1 8 11 7
The Fee-Conscious Merchant
The Impressum gives a German contracting entity, Lightspeed POS Germany GmbH in Berlin with a register number, the payments contract for Germany runs with Lightspeed Netherlands B.V., and certifications such as SOC 2 Type 2, ISO 27001 and PCI DSS are stated for the infrastructure. But the infrastructure sits with unnamed multi-tenant providers, the subprocessor list is only referenced on an English page whose contents were not captured, and we found no public statement of where till, TSE and payment data are hosted. 6 1 8 11 10
The Skeptic
A German GmbH with a register number signs, payments run through Lightspeed Netherlands B.V., and SOC 2 and ISO 27001 are claimed — but for unnamed "Infrastrukturanbieter"; hosting location, the cloud TSE provider and the subprocessors are not shown, and the German subprocessor page is a pointer to an English list. Till data is financial and fiscal at once and must stay readable for the tax office for ten years, and most of that chain is unnamed here. 1 6 8 11
Pricing transparency
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How this is scored
Whether a buyer can compute the real annual cost from public pages alone: licence per till or per location, which modules (tables, kitchen display, stock, extra tills, DATEV export) cost extra, the TSE and its yearly fee, hardware to buy or rent, card terminal fees and transaction fees, setup and installation, support plans, minimum term and notice period.
0 — No public prices at all; every customer is a sales call or a dealer quote.
3 — A starting price or a free tier exists, but how cost scales with tills, locations, modules or hardware is unclear.
5 — Plans are public with their price per till or location and main inclusions, but at least one commonly needed piece (the TSE, extra tills, hardware, card fees, setup) is unpriced or "on request".
8 — Every plan priced publicly with its scaling rule, the TSE, hardware and add-ons priced, card fees and terminal costs listed, setup and support priced, minimum term and VAT treatment stated.
10 — Complete price computability: annual cost derivable for a given number of tills, locations, modules and card volume, with every add-on, hardware, TSE, setup, support and payment fee and the cancellation and data-return terms published.
The Café Owner
Basic, Core and Pro are published at 89 € /mo, 159 € /mo and 249 € /mo with €49 for each additional licence, monthly plans cancel to the month's end while annual plans run to term, and the monthly cost is stated to include software, updates, support and first setup. Hardware is expressly not included and carries no prices here, I found no public information on TSE fees, card fees or add-on prices — the kitchen display and accounting pages each point to a separate price page — and the pages read give different plan names, Essential and Premium on the inventory page against Basic, Core and Pro on the pricing page. 5 9 13 14 4
The Retail Shop Owner
The three plans are public — Basic at 89 € /mo, Core at 159 € /mo, Pro at 249 € /mo — with every further licence at €49, monthly plans cancellable at month's end and annual plans running to term, which lets me scale the second till on paper. Hardware is explicitly not included in the prices, the kitchen display and accounting prices sit on separate pages, and most add-ons only note that additional fees may apply. We found no public prices for the TSE, hardware, or card transaction fees, so my real annual cost across two tills and two card volumes is not computable from these pages. 1 5 9 14
The Tax Adviser
Three plans are published at 89 €, 159 € and 249 € per month with each further licence at 49 €, free 24/7 support, first setup included, and monthly contracts ending at the month's end while annual ones cannot be cancelled early. But the TSE fee, hardware prices, card transaction fees and the add-ons — the kitchen display points to a separate pricing page — are not stated on the captured pages, so a year's real cost for a client is not computable. 5 9 14 1
The Hospitality Operations Manager
The pricing page publishes Basic at 89 € /mo, Core at 159 € /mo and Pro at 249 € /mo with every further license at €49, monthly contracts cancelable at month's end and annual ones only at term end, plus free 24/7 support and initial setup included in the monthly cost. We found no public information on the TSE fee, hardware prices, card transaction fees, or the price of the many features marked as add-ons that may incur fees, so I cannot compute the real annual cost for eight sites with two hundred staff. 5 9 2 14 13
The Fee-Conscious Merchant
Three plan prices stand in public — 89 €, 159 € and 249 € per month with 49 € for every further licence — monthly contracts cancel at month's end while an annual one runs to its end, and the monthly price covers software, updates, support and initial setup. But we found no public information on the fee per card payment, the TSE price or the hardware prices; the kitchen-display prices sit on a separate page, and the captured pages give different plan names for the same till — Basic, Core and Pro on the price page against Essential and Premium on the inventory page. 5 9 1 13 14
The Skeptic
Three plans published at 89 €, 159 € and 249 € per month with additional licenses at 49 € — a real starting point, and the cancellation terms are stated (monthly to month's end, annual with no early exit). But the TSE, hardware, card transaction fees and every add-on ("es können zusätzliche Gebühren anfallen") are unpriced, the captured pages give different plan names (Basic/Core/Pro versus Essential/Premium), and VAT treatment is not stated. 1 5 9 13
European sovereignty — proven facts
0 of 6 dimensions provenBuilt only from facts shown on the vendor's own pages. A dimension we could not prove is left open, not scored as zero.
| Legal entity | Not determined ⚠ unverified | — | uncited Report an error |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hosting location | Not determined | — | uncited Report an error |
| Hosting options | Not determined | — | uncited Report an error |
| Open source | Not determined | — | uncited Report an error |
| Data processing agreement | Not determined | — | uncited Report an error |
| Transfer impact assessment | Not determined | — | uncited Report an error |
Questions about Lightspeed Restaurant
Is Lightspeed Restaurant European?
No. whats-best.ai classifies Lightspeed Restaurant as Rest of world.
Where does Lightspeed Restaurant store data?
Not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 29 Oct 2026.
Does Lightspeed Restaurant have a free plan?
Not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 29 Oct 2026.
What are the best alternatives to Lightspeed Restaurant?
As of 3 Nov 2026, the panel rates ready2order (3.5/5), Square (3/5) and Gastronovi (3/5) highest among the other 18 POS & Checkout Systems products evaluated. Ratings that look equal are rounded to half stars; the order uses the unrounded rating, then the name. The highest-rated European alternative is ready2order (EU-Made). Ratings are the AI panel’s opinion, formed from public evidence: how scores are made. The full list, with European products first: Lightspeed Restaurant alternatives.
Where this could be wrong
- Evidence ages. The oldest capture behind this page is from 29 Oct 2026. Vendors change pricing and policies without notice; every fact reflects its source as of the capture date shown in the registry.
- Weak sourcing — Legal entity. Not confirmed on the vendor’s own pages as captured.
- AI can misread a source. Extraction and judgement are automated; a citation guarantees traceability, not infallibility. If something here is wrong, say so — no account needed, every report is decided within 5 business days, and accepted corrections are published.
What we left out
A claim that does not survive our checks costs us the claim, not the page. This is what was taken off this one.
- 4 product facts could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and were left out of this page and of the panel’s material. Know more? Tell us
- 3 support facts could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and were left out of this page and of the panel’s material. Know more? Tell us
- 1 sovereignty dimension could not be confirmed on the vendor’s own pages and is shown as unknown. Know more? Tell us
- 6 of the readings below were written against an earlier fact sheet — a fact has been corrected, added or pulled since. Until the panel next runs on this product you are reading the older judgement. Know more? Tell us
Sources (16)
The pages every claim on this page was read from — each one checked, dated, and kept verifiable.
- 1 Vendor homepage (restaurant till) www.lightspeedhq.de Checked 29 Oct 2026 Details →
- 2 Features page (cloud TSE) www.lightspeedhq.de Checked 29 Oct 2026 Details →
- 3 Features page (payments) www.lightspeedhq.de Checked 29 Oct 2026 Details →
- 4 Features page (accounting) www.lightspeedhq.de Checked 29 Oct 2026 Details →
- 5 Pricing page www.lightspeedhq.de Checked 29 Oct 2026 Details →
- 6 Legal notice www.lightspeedhq.de Checked 29 Oct 2026 Details →
- 7 Privacy policy www.lightspeedhq.de Checked 29 Oct 2026 Details →
- 8 Subprocessor list www.lightspeedhq.de Checked 29 Oct 2026 Details →
- 9 Checkout, receipts & hardware — found from sitemap www.lightspeedhq.de Checked 29 Oct 2026 Details →
- 10 Checkout, receipts & hardware — found from sitemap www.lightspeedhq.de Checked 29 Oct 2026 Details →
- 11 Card payments & fees — found from sitemap www.lightspeedhq.de Checked 29 Oct 2026 Details →
- 12 Card payments & fees — found from sitemap www.lightspeedhq.de Checked 29 Oct 2026 Details →
- 13 Inventory, tables, staff & locations — found from sitemap www.lightspeedhq.de Checked 29 Oct 2026 Details →
- 14 Inventory, tables, staff & locations — found from sitemap www.lightspeedhq.de Checked 29 Oct 2026 Details →
- 15 Accounting handoff, DATEV & data export — found from sitemap www.lightspeedhq.de Checked 29 Oct 2026 Details →
- 16 Accounting handoff, DATEV & data export — found from sitemap www.lightspeedhq.de Checked 29 Oct 2026 Details →