7shifts Integrated Payment Processing: POS Comparison & Fees

7shifts is a popular labor management platform that restaurants rely on for employee scheduling, team communication, and hiring. 

It can be used without ever connecting to a point-of-sale system, but you’ll miss out on key features that require your POS data. Things like sales forecasting, automated tip pooling, and other perks rely on a direct connection to your point of sale.

So most restaurant operators eventually end up on the integrations page looking for their system on the list. But that’s when your labor management quietly becomes a payment processing decision. 

7shifts doesn’t process payments or provide POS in-house. No money moves through 7shifts at all (they retired Tip Payouts on June 30, 2026, which was the one feature that ever did).

Despite having tons of POS systems to choose from, the decision isn’t as straightforward as it might seem. And the wrong choice can be an expensive mistake in terms of excessive merchant fees that you’ll pay on every transaction.

Start With the Processor You Already Have

Most of you reading this are in one of three positions:

Already using 7shifts and want to connect payments: In this scenario, your POS and merchant account already exist, and since 7shifts has such an extensive integration list, you just need to figure out which connection path is available for your provider. Rather than shopping for a new processor or POS, you should be hyper-focused on keeping your rates low once the integration is set up.

Evaluating 7shifts and looking at what it works with: Don’t let the integration drive your POS decision. The processing agreement you sign will outlast whatever feature you were chasing, and 7shifts connects with nearly everything. Though you should be aware that some of the details on the 7shifts site are dated (old/legacy names being used, and not every new integration option is listed). 

You’ve already integrated and wondering why you’re paying so much: This is one of the most common situations we see, and it’s also the easiest to fix. You almost certainly don’t need to change anything to lower your credit card processing rates. 

Regardless of where you stand above, the same core factors apply:

• You don’t need a new payment processor
• Integrating with 7shifts isn’t an excuse for your provider to charge you more
• You can always negotiate a better rate before, during, or after the integration

Depending on your processor, you may need a middleware or gateway for this work. But I’ll cover all of the potential setups below and the cost implications of each. 

PayFacs That Integrate With 7shifts

Payment facilitators aggregate thousands of businesses under a master merchant ID. With this setup, you become a sub-merchant instead of an account holder, which is why onboarding is so fast and easy.

The trade-off is cost. These providers try to push you on flat-rate plans and often have stricter funding terms (reserves, holds, etc.). 

But even if you’re already on a flat-rate plan with one of these processors, you can still request interchange-plus pricing if you have a decent volume. And the integration with 7shifts is a good excuse to start that conversation. 

Lightspeed

Lightspeed is a “staff pick” on the 7shifts integration page, which tells me that 7shifts is likely getting some type of commission. So if a 7shifts rep is trying to push you toward Lightspeed and away from your current provider, it’s probably because they’re being compensated.

That said, if you’re already using Lightspeed, the Lightspeed Payments integration should be relatively straightforward. 

Technically you can use your own processor with Lightspeed POS instead of using the in-house Lightspeed Payments (PayFac) model. But Lightspeed charges a monthly fee for this that’s tiered based on volume.

I have a more detailed cost comparison of this in my Lightspeed Payments review. It’s worth considering if you can get this rate customized, and it ends up being a backdoor into using any processor with 7shifts, even if that processor isn’t on the advertised integration list. 

Toast

This is among the most restrictive processing options here because Toast is a closed system. Payment processing is mandatory at any volume, and there’s no way to connect a third-party option. 

It’s an ideal integration for restaurants already set up with Toast POS and processing. 

If you do fall into this category, I can practically guarantee that you’re overpaying. This doesn’t mean you should switch providers but it does mean you should take a closer look at your costs and see if you can find room for Toast to make some concessions. 

Volume is definitely on your side when you’re heading to the negotiation table with Toast. 

Square

Square is structurally the same as Toast: flat-rate pricing, sub-merchant account as a PayFac, and no interchange-plus advertised at low volume.

One thing worth mentioning is that Square already includes scheduling and staff management features through Square Team. So if you’re currently using Square and considering 7shifts, there’s a scenario where you may need 7shifts at all and can potentially get everything you need under one roof.

For really small operators processing under $10k per month, Square’s flat-rate pricing is usually competitive with a negotiated account anyway. But for larger or multi-location businesses, you shouldn’t be just paying the published rates that Square advertises. 

Direct Processors That Sell Their Own POS

Working with these processors means you’ll have a merchant account directly with the acquirer. It’s a good spot to be in because there’s more room to negotiate without a third party sitting in the middle.

Interchange-plus pricing is available, and rates can definitely be competitive if you stay on top of your statements and can identify bogus fees that increase your effective rate.

The biggest thing to understand here is that fair pricing isn’t guaranteed. You need to actively work to get it. 

Shift4

Lots of the POS systems that integrate with 7shifts run through Shift4 on the backend for payment processing:

• SkyTab
• POSitouch
• Future POS
• Restaurant Manager
• Revel

While these are the names used on the 7shifts integration page, there are some nuances to understand here that you may or may not know if you’ve been using one of these.

First, SkyTab has been rebranded to Shift4 Dine.

If you’ve been using Revel for years, you’ve likely already been converted to SkyTab (and now you’re going through the second migration to Shift4 Dine). The other options listed above are also legacy systems that are being folded into SkyTab/Shift4 Dine, too. 

Shift4 can be a solid processor overall. But you need to make sure you’re actually on IC+ pricing. They often push something called simple change pricing, which ends up being more expensive than merchants realize.

But if you’re on interchange-plus and get eliminate other Shift4 fees, you can definitely get a good deal. 

Heartland

Heartland is similar to Shift4 in the sense that 7shifts hasn’t accurately updated its integration page to reflect where it stands today. 

While Heartland was acquired by Global Payments years ago, the Heartland branding is officially being phased out. 

So the integration paths:

• Heartland Restaurant POS
• Heartland Dinerware (via Omnivore API)

These are in the process of being rebranded, and for some of you, that may have already gone into effect.

If you’re using one of these, Global is migrating you to Genius for Restaurants.

You need to be careful here because some of the most aggressive pricing tactics in the industry come from Heartland/Global. From frequent rate increases to padded assessments and bogus fees, this stuff can quickly double or triple your effective rate before you realize what’s happening.

I strongly suggest you get a second set of eyes on your statement if you’re using this setup. You can still keep everything the same, but there’s likely plenty of room for negotiation. 

SpotOn

SpotOn is slightly unique compared to the other processors in this category.

While you still get your own merchant ID underwritten by an acquiring bank, SpotOn operates as an ISO, meaning they sit between you and the acquirer. 

You don’t have control over who they use to route your transactions on the backend. But theoretically, this means you could get more competitive pricing because they have multiple options and can definitely optimize things. 

But they need to mark up your rates more to ensure they have enough margin to pay themselves after the acquiring bank takes a cut. 

SpotOn likes to push flat-rate pricing but interchange-plus is available if you ask. 

It’s also worth understanding that SpotOn’s POS software fees are often billed as a percentage of your monthly payments volume, which is their way of increasing your effective rate while making the headline rate look more competitive. 

This is another scenario where it’s worth having a payments expert review your statement for savings opportunities. 

POS Systems That Let You Keep Your Processor

All of the options in this category treat payments as a separate decision from the software itself. 

• POS systems
• Payment processing
• 7shifts

These all end up being independent of each other.

If you want to keep your own processor but they’re not listed anywhere else, you can simply change your POS system to an option that supports that provider. 

It’s also worth noting that Lightspeed technically could be listed here, too (I covered this earlier in the PayFac section). Because you can bring your own processor, but for an added fee. None of the options below charge for that in the way that Lightspeed does. 

Micros

Micros gives you the widest processor choice of anything connected to 7shifts. Payments run through the Oracle Payment Interface, which supports over 45 payment partners. 

You can use the Omnivore middleware to connect with:

• Micros 3700
• Oracle Micros Symphony

While Oracle does sell its own payment processing service, you’re not obligated to use it. So if a rep tells you that the 7shifts integration requires a processor change, they aren’t telling you the truth. 

TouchBistro

TouchBistro also supports outside processors, which is rare for cloud restaurant POS systems. Though the supported list is shorter than their marketing suggests. 

• Chase Payments
• TSYS
• TD Merchant Solutions
• Moneris
• Worldpay

TouchBistro also has its own in-house processing option, called TouchBistro Payments. But that’s going to be a flat-rate PayFac model, which you’ll want to avoid. 

Aloha

You can connect Aloha POS to 7shifts through the Omnivore API, and your processing relationship stays exactly the same. Adding 7shifts doesn’t touch your merchant agreement, and the POS has no say in what you pay per transaction.

Where this gets confusing is if you start digging into Omnivore. This middleware is owned by Olo, and Olo sells a separate payments product called Olo Pay. But Olo Pay is completely independent of Omnivore when it comes to integrating with 7shifts and it has nothing to do with Aloha. 

Other Options to Integrate Payments With 7shifts

The rest of the POS systems that integrate with 7shifts are all similar:

• Chowbus POS
• Peppr POS
• Revi
• Rezku
• Quantic
• Selflane
• Silverware
• Squirrel Systems
• Tonic POS
• Upserve
• Union

Most of these either bundle their own processing or route to a single payments partner. Nothing about them is unique and worth evaluating in greater detail from the outside.

If you’re already using one, great. Go ahead and set up the connection. But if you’re not, you can ignore it unless you’ve struck out everywhere else on the list for bringing your own processor, and one of these happens to support it. I don’t think that’s going to be the case for most of you.

Worth noting that Silverware is a sales-only integration. So it syncs sales data but not labor or punch info. Which changes what you get out of 7shifts regardless of the payments question. 

Final Thoughts

Integrating payment processing with 7shifts shouldn’t require you to change payment processors. And if anyone is telling you otherwise, you should question their motives.

That said, whether you can keep your current processor and whether you can get a good rate are two totally different questions.

The latter isn’t guaranteed unless you do some work on your end. 

But regardless of the setup: PayFacs, direct processors, ISOs, and processors connected through your third-party POS all negotiate rates.

You just need to understand the differences in how your account is set up so you know which points to go after when negotiating. And that’s when it helps to have an experienced merchant consultant in your corner.

If you need help ensuring a 7shifts payments integration isn’t causing your rates to spike unfairly, then contact our team here at MCC for a free consultation. We’ll audit your statements for free and negotiate directly with your processor to ensure you’re getting a fair price.