Harbortouch
About Harbortouch
Harbortouch is a premium point of sale system owned by Shift4 -- a large payment processing company. Harbortouch is famous for providing its users with free POS hardware in exchange for a multi-year contract. It's an excellent way to avoid the high initial costs of investing in equipment.
The company offers two different point-of-sale platforms. The Harbortouch Echo is a software and hardware combination best suited to small businesses and quick-service restaurants. The Harbortouch Elite POS is a much more powerful POS platform built for large restaurants and chains. You can choose between these two hardware solutions when signing up for the service. All hardware systems come with a lifetime warranty that helps you avoid expensive repairs.
In terms of software, Harbortouch's system is highly intuitive. Its straightforward design helps you cut training costs and avoid expensive ordering errors. It's incredibly customizable and makes it easy to build menus -- you can also offer promotions, happy hours, and other incentives to customers. It's easy to manage orders, tabs, and large parties using this platform's various features.
The system has a cloud-based component that helps you access reporting data remotely. You also won't have to worry about hardware failures putting your data at risk -- everything is stored in the cloud. Harbortouch has in-house credit card processing and accepts all major credit cards, including EMV payments.
Harbortouch prices start at only $29 per month. You can obtain free installation if you purchase the 'Elite' version of the system. Both systems include a 30-day trial period for all users!
Company Details
Tuesday: Open 24 hours
Wednesday: Open 24 hours
Thursday: Open 24 hours
Friday: Open 24 hours
Saturday: Open 24 hours
Sunday: Open 24 hours
Contact Information
Allentown, Pennsylvania, 18109
United States
Harbortouch Reviews
Submitted by Scott Lea on 09/14/2022
Scott Lea 1 stars rating.
Avoid at all costs. This company without a doubt has the worst possible system for customer service on the planet. I couldn’t think of a way to make it harder to accomplish something given the structure they have in place. At this point the have effectively stolen about $5000 and the only way I could get them to stop was to close my bank account.
Submitted by Kal Shethia on 08/08/2022
Kal Shethia 1 stars rating.
The MOST unethical merchant processing company that exists, hands down!!
They will sign you up for multiple year contract and screw you for years to come with their ridiculous high fees. And their support takes hrs to pick up the phone
Submitted by Robert Galbraith on 04/26/2022
Robert Galbraith 1 stars rating.
STAY AWAY. CROOKS, YOU WILL NEVER GET TO TALK TO A PERSON WHO CAN RESOLVE ANYTHING. THEY MESSED UP MY SALES TAXS, SWITCHED THE SYSTEM TO TAX INCLUDED DURING SOME MAINTANCE WORK. WE NEVER CAUGHT IT FOR 2 MONTHS. THEY OWE US 4700 DOLLARS AND REFUSE TO RESPOND TO OUR COMPLAINT STILL WAITING TO SPEAK TO A MANAGER FOR WEEKS NOW. STAY AWAY, STAY AWAY, STAY AWAY,
Submitted by Samuel Rivera on 04/12/2022
Samuel Rivera 1 stars rating.
Cancelled our service with them. They continue trying to charge us monthly service fees. After speaking with their manager to pay for all the fees they want to charge us, the manager said we technically don't owe them anything. So why are they still trying to hack our bank account and charge us. Had to place a stop payment at my back to keep Shift4 and Harbortouch from stealing our money.
Submitted by M.A.D. Entertainment on 04/05/2022
M.A.D. Entertainment 1 stars rating.
Worst company in the planet. They lock you in a contract after your told there is no contract. Their response is we don't have nothing to do with what you was told. So if you cancel they won't take the equipment back until one year and you get charge a penalty if you don't use the equipment to process. So technically I've been paying for a year for a machine to sit the closet. My year it up and now I can't get in touch with nobody. This company Need to be shut down asap
Submitted by Shirley Hargreaves on 03/03/2022
Shirley Hargreaves 1 stars rating.
I’d rather have gotten the Cheese Touch than Harbortouch!! If you value your mental health, your staff, and your customers—DO NOT. Do Not. Do not get this system. It’s all over the place, it looks like a website for kids rather than a system you’re supposed to be looking at for 7+ hours a day. I have never gotten so upset over a computer system before, I feel insane?? There are certain things in this world that make life easier, Harbortouch is not one of those things. I feel like the Cavemen had better equipment than what Harbortouch supplied us with. Figuring out how to build a time machine to go back in time and stop my boss from getting this system would actually be easier than trying to figure out how the system works in the first place. When the rest of the world moves forward, Harbortouch moves backwards. It’s actually quite revolutionary I think. It’s a bold move to be so… vintage. If easy and new technology scares you, then Harbortouch is the perfect brand for you. With their hard to use system that makes it unbearable to the eyes (unless those eyes are being used to cry because the system is so bad!), and their use of extra wires that just decorate your (usually uncluttered) host stand so beautifully, you’ll never want to switch back to any other POS System! If you undervalue your entire business and who you are as a person, this is the right system for you???????? Much love xx
Submitted by Raymond Hensley on 09/27/2021
Raymond Hensley 2 stars rating.
The online reporting system doesn't include the first day of the months sales, so you're constantly having to add that day to the Month To Date. You have to call the programmers to change the simplest things, which usually takes 30 minutes minimum. If you get a hell of a bargain from them it may be worth it but definitely don't pay full price.
Submitted by Patrick Martella on 09/08/2021
Patrick Martella 1 stars rating.
Worst company ever!!
Their customer service is even worse!!! Kept finding hidden charges. Called three months ago to cancel before term was up and customer service never responded.
Have emails regarding my conversations and the most recent calls to customer service end up with being placed on hold with no one getting back to me.
They dangle John Taffers name and I am surprised he would endorse this company. They Initially fool you with good prices but get you later with high prices. Their fees are enourmous!!!
When system was initially installed I should have known better. Sent some kid in who brought his girlfriend anr the two of them sat at ate yogurt together while system was being installed. Very unprofessional. Sitting in box waiting to be picked up.
BUYER BEWARE!!!!
Submitted by Mohammad Awwad on 07/24/2021
Mohammad Awwad 2 stars rating.
Customer service was alright and their actual processing service was pretty good with transactions being processed pretty quickly and rarely any issues processing a transaction, but the fees are ridiculous and they try to charge sneak fees all the time. Always pay attention to all the fees they charge you because they can easily charge you fees without you noticing because of the large amount of transactions they process for you every month.
Submitted by Jason Loftus on 07/09/2021
Jason Loftus 1 stars rating.
Customer service is the worst I have ever dealt with. I have to pay a full year of Processing fees and subscription fees for a product we don't even use costing our small business At the minimum $5800.00 for absolutely nothing. We returned all there equipment. Then they proceed to charge credit card fees on top of the rest of the fees and we returned credit card readers. Costing at least another additional $450.00 Biggest scam I have ever seen in my years of doing business.
Submitted by Richard Rai on 07/01/2021
Richard Rai 1 stars rating.
Worst company ever, charges after charges. My company has done 1 million dollars years after year. And they Keep on giving me a run around after 6 years of dealing with them im tired of there ways and decided this is all. They have always been a company full of trash ???? but I thought I could work with them. Initially fool you with good prices but get you later with high prices.
Submitted by David Crumbley on 06/11/2021
david crumbley 1 stars rating.
Dealing with this company was an absolute nightmare from day one. My sales person basically abandoned us once the "free trial" period started. When we decided the system wouldn't work for us and I needed to send the equipment back they tried to get us locked in a 1 year agreement saying I was past the trial period. Literally took me 2 months to get the equipment back. No one wanted to help me, hours on the phone, dozens of emails, etc. Then, they hit my bank account for $200 because I forgot to send back the firewall (probably $50 value) instead of a courtesy email or phone call. Horrible company from the top down.
Submitted by Chris Molinaro on 06/04/2021
Chris Molinaro 1 stars rating.
Do not buy! Do not try! Scam they deserve a -5! They have no obligation to give you an operating system and will take your money every month. What a headache! The sales rep, Mike pagan, told me I would get a free year and at anytime I could cancel just send back the equipment and we are done. Not true! First, I couldn't get an installer to show up without an attitude. Then when I get one he sets it up with all the wires hanging out the front of the counter. I say wow really, well show me how it works. His response I don't know I just set it up. Long story short, it never works. I tell Mike and he gives me a contact number which I then get Janet quick. I've never heard a person so coldly say "your under contact" as a response to me saying it's never worked. They don't care, they just want that contract to a point the rep lied about everything. There's no free year, I'm paying every month and I can't seem to get an answer to send back the equipment I've never gotten to work one time! Now I'm stuck getting hit every month and my small business is suffering and i have to pay my attorney to deal with this mess. Please save yourself the pain and don't risk dealing with these people. I have everything documented from the texts the salesman sent full of lies to the contract and I recorded word for word the disturbing " your on contract call". Even the texts show the salesman wondering why the system never worked, the first year free and the lovely you can return it at anytime BS. Contact me for a copy if you have any doubt to use these people.
I'm getting over 150 a month taken from my account for nothing and I can't stop it and Mike won't even respond to tell what the charges are for. Shift payment systems and harbortouch should be run out of business and ive never wished that on anyone...
Submitted by Eric Bennett on 06/03/2021
Eric Bennett 1 stars rating.
This should be a negative star review. Shady company, shady (and I would imagine illegal) practices. Poor customer service, told one thing on the phone/email and another happens. There are many other POS systems out there that are much better with great customer service etc. For example, this company illegally renewed a contract, which was not in the original contract then refused to let us out of it. We stuck with it since it was only 3 years and made it 500% clear we would not be renewing it. Upon termination they then charged us additional amounts after receiving their full product returned to them. VERY high credit card fees (our new system provides us a much better product for 1/2 the price we were paying). Extremely poor phone customer service. When a POS problem happened...would be on hold forever. Which we thought was an industry norm until switching to our new provider which answers with a live human (who speaks English) right away. Stay away as many other review state. Toast, hungerrush, and others are much better quality systems.
Submitted by Rebecca Rahn on 05/17/2021
Rebecca Rahn 1 stars rating.
The absolute worst customer service ever. Our company canceled their service in November, 2020. They continued to bill us on monthly basis. Then denied we ever canceled our service with them and refused to refund 100% of our money. This company is a scam. DO NOT USE THEIR SERVICES!
Submitted by Stephanie Ruggiero on 03/15/2021
stephanie ruggiero 1 stars rating.
I would leave negative stars if that was an option. The customer service is awful, and there are so many issues with their hardware and software on an ongoing basis. Worst part is, most of the time their response is "oh, we don't know what the problem is. Let me put you on a brief hold and try to figure it out." Then cue multiple cycles of "oh, that didn't work. Let me put you on another hold while I try to figure it out" and "hmm I'm still not sure what the problem is"
They like to make changes to things like gift card processing and software updates at times like weekends when it interrupts service at the most inopportune times. We went an entire weekend without being able to process credit car transactions because of them and lost revenue on more than one occasion because of things like this.
If you are a restaurant looking for a POS system, SAVE YOURSELF the aggravation and stress and look elsewhere. We are currently looking to switch and it will be the absolute best decision our business has ever made.
Submitted by Keegan Dunson on 03/13/2021
Keegan Dunson 1 stars rating.
I never liked them from day one. The rep who was supposed to help with server and manager training on opening day didn’t show up until the second day and then sat at the bar and ate and drank during our “training shift”. Since then the customer service and especially the tech support has been garbage. The system crashes regularly and when tech support is called they always say “it needs an update” which they are supposed to be doing automatically. Then when that doesn’t work I hear things like, “we don’t know what is wrong”. I could call my 90 year old mother and get that answer. Just a Garbage company all the way around.
Submitted by Yoga U on 12/15/2020
Yoga U 1 stars rating.
WARNING TO SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS - do NOT use this organization. I never write reviews but felt compelled to pass on the difficulty my company has had with this organization. As if dealing with closing my 18 year old business because of Covid has not been hard enough - attempting to cancel my account (for my now closed business) has been a complete nightmare. After many many phone calls and being on hold forever I have gotten nowhere (now in the 3rd month of attempting to resolve this so I can be rid of them) and even after finally getting them to forward paperwork and signing this paperwork to cancel my account they continue to take money out of my account. They refuse to treat very long time customers with care or compassion during this difficult time. For many years I knew I could get better rates elsewhere but my sheer busyness of attempting to make the change kept me from dealing with the issue. I greatly regret that I did NOT take all the necessary time to get rid of this company years ago. But I'm sure even then they would have held me hostage and made it even more difficult to get rid of them.
Submitted by Big Bank Couture on 12/14/2020
Big Bank Couture 1 stars rating.
Terrible customer service. I was charged inactivity fees in the middle of a pandemic and after opening back up they took $700 out of one of my batches with no type of logical explanation. I can’t get on the phone with anybody in the company that has a little power all email correspondence and no type of compassion or sympathy during these tough times. Luckily for myself and my business I can still stay open and buy my kids Christmas presents. I advise everybody stay FAR AWAY from shift4 and harbortouch.
Submitted by Omar Castillo on 11/22/2020
Omar Castillo 1 stars rating.
Great product, but a very sad situation with the customer service (support) I am in the need to provide my a customer with a clear and professional bill(check) but with the new skytap, it is just not possible. I did request a simple fix in the bill print out, and it's time I am still waiting. About the calling to seek out help. It is so frustrating to be just like a tennis ball, transfer from one department to another without a informing the customer or to be place on hold for long long long. Please BE PROFESSIONAL.
Submitted by Helen Rutter on 10/31/2020
Helen Rutter 5 stars rating.
I was sick of the credit processing delays. I took advantage of the performance a rate review from Harbortouch. They are very competitive. It has been two months without incident. We continued to use our equipment just in case. But now, we are all in.
Submitted by Frank Glover on 10/05/2020
Frank Glover 2 stars rating.
They do fine at first but when they started charging different processing fees above my contracted rate I tried to cancel their services. I have been trying to cancel their service since May and have not used them for any processing since April. I have talked to 4 reps and even have a signed cancellation form but since it is set up to deduct from my business checking they continue to charge fees. I even opened a BBB complaint which they ignored and now am having to try and dispute the charges with my bank. Shift4payments (Harbortouch) is even dragging that process out.
Submitted by Rufus Rutherford on 02/05/2020
Rufus Rutherford 1 stars rating.
This company bought my 10 year old account from another company. This gave them my bank account numbers, and this allowed "Harbortouch" (Harbor Thieves) to debit my business account a multitude of times over several years. The "fees" went unnoticed for several years as they appeared as small insignificant charges that appeared normal with the flow of other transactions. Each month it appeared as a charge in the $32-$40 dollar range. This over the course of several years added up to several hundred dollars. Also, the fees with this "company" are excessive. They charge the maximum possible to you. They are not on your side nor helping you in your business transactions. They are thieves who steal when your not looking. This what they did to my account adds up to several hundred dollars of theft in excess to the exacerbated fees they charge per transaction. If you have a business account please monitor it closely to know if these thieves have stolen from you. Upon contacting them to request them to stop stealing money from my account, I was responded to with complete apathy and unprofessionalism. I was told that I must request them to stop debiting my account only by a form that they must send to me on their own terms. Keep in mind that I never contracted with this "company." They bought my account numbers from a different company and gained access to my business account through this unscrupulous method inside a network of scam artists. Never use this company to process your credit card transactions. If you have a bank account, then your bank should welcome your business and assisting you in processing payments. Also, it costs far less to accept debit payments then credit. Take it from a long time business owner who has dealt with these thieves.
Submitted by Giancarlo Fusco on 06/27/2019
Giancarlo Fusco 1 stars rating.
I would give less than 1 star if there was an option. The company is awful through and through, their proprietary software for the POS systems are garbage and crashes constantly. we ultimately got a square system and kept paying HT through the end of the contract. However, they automatically renewed us after our 5 years and told us we needed to pay an additional $2700 to get out of the renewed contract, because we didn't provide a written letter at least a week before describing our intent to leave. This was after having stated to them over and over on the phone that we were through and were looking to terminate once the contract ended (they did not inform us that we had to do it in writing). we went months without using the system and paying monthly service fees. They ultimately let us out of the contract a year into the new contract (having paid between $150-300 a month FOR NOT EVEN USING IT OR RUNNING ANY TRANSACTIONS). They recognized their fault for not providing us service, fixing our machine which was useless and printed bogus receipts constantly, but then ultimately said we had to pay $600 ANYWAY to get out of the contract for the processing component. at that point we were so done with the monthly payments for a system we didn't use that we just paid it and are hopefully finally out unless there is another scheme planned to keep us trapped with them. the company is horrendous through and through from the management of customer care to the contracting schemes they play to keep you obligated to their monthly fees to the actual hardware and software which is barely functional and the least user friendly interface. Would never do business with them again and would HIGHLY recommend not going through Harbortouch.
Submitted by Jey on 02/07/2018
Jey 1 stars rating.
Customer service is okay.
Beware - Fees, Fees, and more Fees...Local Salesman changed contract locked us in for longer period. Their answer is to offer new contract with better fees...Actually new contract offered showed increase on fees for services and a zero % decrease on swipe fees, per transaction fees, etc. Additional fees taken out could be waivered if they did they did their job with yearly phone call verifications. Nope, why would they do that? this company is not worth the hassle. We were trying to cancel contract so they charge $500 (we understand early termination fee) then they add another $200 in fees for "breaches" of CC processing contract for services our business doesn't use.
