Industries
Table service changes the question. The rate still matters, but how the terminal behaves with your point of sale decides whether a busy Friday runs or does not.
Payments taken away from the counter mean the total has to travel to the device. Keyed by hand that is a transcription error waiting to happen, at the worst possible moment of the week.
Which acquirers your point of sale supports is usually a shorter list than the brochure suggests, and it constrains your options more than price does. Settle it before you negotiate.
Tipping on the terminal, splitting a bill across cards, and pre-authorising a tab are three separate capabilities and no two integrations treat them identically.
If any of them is part of your service, test it specifically rather than assuming it is covered. This is the single most common source of "the new system does not do what the old one did".
A portable device that lasts a lunch sitting but not a full trading day needs a second battery or a base, and that cost is rarely quoted. Beer gardens and upstairs functions are where venue Wi-Fi drops out.
Tell us what you trade as and roughly what you turn over on cards. We quote it across the panel and are straight with you about whether it is worth moving.