The short version
What the contract says
- Initial term is the one on your order, commonly 24 or 36 months
- It then renews for one-year periods
- Non-renewal needs 30 days' written notice before the term ends
- Early exit fee: remaining software fees, or $150 a month on pay-as-you-go plans
What to do
- Find your end date on your order today
- Send notice by registered mail, early
- Export menu, sales and guest data first
- Line up a new POS before you cancel
You cannot cancel the whole account in the Toast dashboard. Only add-ons and device subscriptions can be removed there.
Contract length and auto-renewal
The Merchant Agreement is the contract, together with your order. The order sets the initial term. Reviewers report 24 or 36 months, and NerdWallet describes Toast as a contract of "two to three years." Our Toast pricing guide shows the plans these terms attach to.
Section 8.1 of the agreement says the order "shall automatically renew for successive one (1) year periods." Toast's own renewal FAQ says the same. So if you miss the notice date, you are in for another full year.
The notice window and how to send it
- How much notice: at least 30 days' written notice of your intent not to renew, before the current term ends (section 8.1).
- How to send it: Section 14.2 says notices to Toast must go by registered mail, postage prepaid, return receipt requested, to Toast's General Counsel at the Boston address printed in the agreement. Copy the address from the current agreement, not from this page.
- Not self-service: Toast's support center says cancelling the whole account is not self-service because the agreement "requires written notice."
Send it well before the 30-day mark. Mail takes time, and a late notice means another year. Keep the return receipt.
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About a minute. No cost, no obligation.The early termination fee
If you end the contract before the term is up, section 8.4 sets the fee. Toast's agreement is the source for every line below.
| Your plan | Fee |
|---|---|
| Standard software subscription | The remaining software subscription fees for the rest of the term |
| Pay-as-you-go subscription | $150 times the months left in the term |
| Software financed by Toast | Plus any processing fee tied to that financing |
Worked example: a $69 plan with 14 months left costs about $966 in remaining software fees, before add-ons. Add-on and device subscriptions on the order add to that total. A pay-as-you-go plan with 14 months left is $2,100. Merchant Insiders says the total "can be thousands of dollars." Ask Toast for the exact figure in writing before you act.
One exception. Toast can change card processing rates and other non-software fees with 30 days' notice (section 6.2). If it raises your card rates or your monthly core tablet fee, you can reject the change by written notice before it takes effect, and end the agreement without the early termination fee. The financing processing fee still applies. If you do nothing and keep using Toast, you are treated as having accepted the change. Our Toast fees guide lists past rate increases.
What happens to your hardware
Short answer: you keep it, and it is of little use. Section 2.2 says title and risk of loss pass to you when the hardware ships. The terminals run Toast software and Toast Payments, so they do not work with another POS. See Toast hardware cost for resale values and what each device costs.
| How you paid | If you leave |
|---|---|
| Paid up front | You own the gear. Nothing more is due on it. |
| $0 Starter Kit | The cost was in your card rate. The early termination fee is still based on your software fees. Ask Toast whether anything else is owed. |
| Easy Pay | A 180-day lease. Any unpaid balance is pulled by ACH at the end of the term. You can buy the hardware then. |
| Third-party lender | Section 6.6 covers hardware financed through a third-party lender. Your loan is separate, so pay it off or keep paying it. If the financing fails, payments revert to monthly billing from Toast. |
The Merchant Agreement does not set a hardware buyout price, and Toast's support articles on removing products do not describe a return process for cancelled accounts. Unused hardware can be returned within 90 days of shipment, in original condition. Ask Toast to put your hardware balance in writing.
Card processing: what to expect on exit
Toast processing is part of the Toast system, so ending the agreement ends your Toast Payments account. Your new POS sets up its own processing, and its rep can help you time the cutover so there is no gap on a busy weekend. Toast's help pages do not give a separate processing cancellation fee beyond the financing processing fee in section 8.4. Ask in writing whether any other processing charge applies, and download your final statements. Our processing fee calculator shows what your next rate would cost on your volume.
Export your data before you leave
Do this before you send notice, in case access changes. Toast Web gives you these exports.
| Data | How |
|---|---|
| Menu items and modifiers | Menus > Menu management > Menu manager, pick Items or Modifiers, then Export data. A CSV comes by email with base and location prices. |
| Sales, payments, labor and accounting | Reports in Toast Web. Toast also offers a nightly export of order, payment, item, modifier, cash, time entry, accounting and menu data. It is not self-service: contact Toast Customer Care to turn it on. Each file holds one day, and Toast keeps files for seven days. |
| Loyalty members | Reports > Marketing > Rewards Accounts, select all fields, then download. Toast Loyalty must be on. |
Toast's pages do not describe a one-click export of guest emails and phone numbers outside loyalty. Ask Customer Care what they can send. Also pull gift card balances and 12 months of sales and labor reports for your accountant. The POS migration checklist has the full list.
Step-by-step cancellation checklist
- Find your order and Merchant Agreement. Note the term end date and the plan.
- Count back at least 30 days from the end date, then add a few weeks for mail. That is your deadline.
- Get your numbers. Ask Toast for the early termination fee, any hardware or Easy Pay balance and any financing payoff, in writing.
- Choose and price your next POS. Get quotes, check the contract and book install. See Toast vs SpotOn.
- Export your data from the table above.
- Cancel add-ons you can remove yourself under My products > Subscriptions > Request cancellation. Billing stops at the end of the cycle and it can take one to two cycles to process. Toast does not credit unused time.
- Send the non-renewal notice by registered mail, return receipt requested. Say which restaurant, which order and the date the term ends.
- Confirm in writing with Customer Care that they received it and the account closes on that date.
- Run both systems for a short overlap, then switch. Do not close Toast until the new POS has taken real orders.
- Watch your bank account for ACH debits after the end date. Dispute any charge past the term.
Before you sign: what to negotiate
If you are still choosing Toast, the cheapest exit is the one you plan before you sign. Terms in the order can be negotiated. The standard merchant terms are harder to change. Ask for these, and get each one on the order.
- Shorter initial term. 24 months instead of 36, or a clause that lets you leave if you close or sell the restaurant.
- The fee as a dollar figure. Have the rep write out what leaving would cost at month 12 and month 24.
- Renewal price and a reminder. Ask for the renewal price in writing and a notice before the deadline. Calendar it yourself too.
- Rate-increase exit. Section 6.2 already lets you reject a rate change without the fee. Ask for a longer notice period.
- Hardware terms. Buy or finance, who owns it at the end, and what the Starter Kit's higher rate costs over the term.
- Data export help. Ask for a written promise to run the nightly export on request.
A quote that names these terms gives you something to compare. If you want to price Toast with these asks in hand, request a quote and send the list to the rep.
Common questions
How long is a Toast contract?
The initial term is whatever your order says. Reviewers report 24 or 36 months. It then renews automatically for successive one-year periods under section 8.1 of the Merchant Agreement.
How do I cancel my Toast contract?
Send at least 30 days' written notice of non-renewal before the term ends. Toast requires registered mail, return receipt requested, to its General Counsel (section 14.2). The dashboard only cancels add-ons and device subscriptions.
What is the Toast early termination fee?
For standard plans, the remaining software subscription fees for the rest of the term. For pay-as-you-go plans, $150 times the months left. Any processing fee tied to software financing is added (section 8.4).
Can I get out of Toast without a fee?
Only by letting the term end with proper notice, or by rejecting a card rate or core tablet fee increase in writing before it takes effect (section 6.2). The financing processing fee can still apply.
Can I use Toast hardware with another POS?
Reviews say no. The terminals run Toast software and Toast Payments. You own the hardware after it ships, but resale value is low.
Sources
- Toast: Merchant Agreement (sections 2.2, 6.2, 6.6, 8.1, 8.4, 14.2)
- Toast support: POS renewal FAQ
- Toast support: Remove a product from your Toast account
- Toast support: Data exports overview
- Toast: Export menu data
- Toast support: Export loyalty data
- Toast: Payment options and Easy Pay
- NerdWallet: Toast POS review
- Merchant Insiders: Toast fees
- POS USA: How to cancel Toast
- SpotOn: Restaurant pricing
Sources: Toast Merchant Agreement, Toast support center, NerdWallet, Merchant Insiders, POS USA and SpotOn, checked October 2026. This is general information, not legal advice. Read your own order and agreement.
Disclosure: we are referral partners for Toast and SpotOn. If you request a quote through a link on this page and become a customer, we may receive a fee at no cost to you. Partner fees do not change what we recommend. How we make money.
