Comparison

Tonic POS vs Empower Dash

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Tonic POS

Features
Read full description

Tonic For Restaurants & Bars (www.tonicpos.com) Tonic POS is the latest point of sale for bars, restaurants, nightclubs, fine dining, and more. We offer stationary terminals as well as order and pay at the table solutions including kitchen printing, kitchen displays and online ordering. ​Using only the most advanced technology, Tonic provides you with the ongoing, reliable service needed for your business to flourish. Our easy to use and simple to learn system uses a remote back of house, and a cloud-based front of house so that you never need to worry in the event of your store going offline. As a restaurant owner or a manager, do you find yourself needing a better way to manage your operation? Tonic has you covered. We offer a large list of benefits, including free 24/7, 365 support, extensive reporting, remote access, offline processing, and flexible pricing. We work with you as a partner by listening to your needs, studying the latest market trends, and providing you with constantly expanding, customizable features and integrations. Start out with a single station and add more as you need, or start with more than 30 terminals at once. As your restaurant grows, Tonic grows with you. With no contracts or cancellation fees, flexibility is our priority and the customer comes first. We also provide free updates to our software every 2 months, alongside unlimited training. Tonic POS allows you to manage your establishment from anywhere, anytime. Features of the system include: + EMV Integration + Pay at the table + Email receipts + SMS alerts for Voids/high comps + Remote authorizations for manager functionality (comp an item from anywhere in the world) + Full reporting + Time & Attendance + Detailed Inventory Tracking + Loyalty Program + Delivery Functionality with Google Maps + Enterprise Ready + Customizable dashboard + Over 50 integrations with companies like QB, Ctuit, Restaurant365, and many more + PMS (Property Management System) integrations + Automatic upgrades

About

Empower Dash

Monitor your restaurant's daily sales, labor, and operations in real-time. This app provides at-a-glance KPIs and financial visibility, helping you spot issues and make informed decisions. It's designed for quick checks between tasks.

Highlights
  • Real-time sales and labor data
  • At-a-glance KPIs
  • Financial visibility
  • Operations and loss prevention tracking
  • Multi-location support
  • Drill-down detail views
  • Demo mode available
Features
Read full description

Empower Dashboard puts your restaurant's day-of-trade numbers on your phone. Built for owners and managers running Genius POS by Global Payments, it pulls your live sales, labor, and operations data into a single, dark-mode-first dashboard designed to be glanced at between covers. AT-A-GLANCE KPIs • Net Sales with week-over-week comparison • Guest Count, Average Ticket, Average Turn Time, Labor Percentage • Hourly Sales chart comparing today to the same day last week • Quick today/yesterday/custom-date switcher FINANCIAL VISIBILITY Track Gross Sales, Taxes, Tips, and Gross Receipts in one row — with percent-change indicators so you know instantly whether you're up or down against your baseline. OPERATIONS + LOSS PREVENTION Keep an eye on open vs closed tickets and active time punches in real time. Spot problems before they grow with dedicated cards for Voids, Discounts, Service Charges, and Gross Items — each with trend arrows and exact values. MULTI-LOCATION READY Switch between your restaurant locations from the top bar. Time zones are handled automatically per location. DRILL DOWN WHEN YOU NEED TO Tap any KPI card to open a detail view: hourly breakdowns, product mix, labor by role, discount and void line items, and individual ticket audits. TRY IT WITHOUT SIGNING UP Tap "Try Demo" on the login screen to explore the full app with sample restaurant data. No account required — just open and go. BUILT FOR GENIUS POS Empower Dashboard is the companion app for restaurants on Genius POS (Genius for Restaurants by Global Payments, formerly Heartland Restaurant). Signing up for Empower Dashboard requires an active Genius POS account — your live data flows straight from your POS, no extra setup, no data duplication. REQUIRES: • Genius POS account (for live data) • iPhone with iOS 15 or later Questions or support: contact your Empower dealer or email support@empowerpos.com.

Screenshots

Tonic POS4 screens
Empower Dash3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Empower Dash at every 3 days against Tonic POS's every 3 months. Tonic POS's advantage is device support (4 vs 2) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 14.0). On price, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Tonic POS ships an update every 3 months, Empower Dash every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on September 10, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 6 level
Tonic POS versus Empower Dash: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTonic POSEmpower Dash
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (3 ratings) — better
Number of ratings—3 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 3 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
Monetization—Free
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS12.0 — better14.0
Further details — not scored
Size43 MB21 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperVersiTech Limited Liability CompanyCutting Edge Systems Inc.

In-app purchases

None

Tonic POS

No in-app purchases

None

Empower Dash

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Tonic POS free?
Tonic POS is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Empower Dash free?
Empower Dash is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Tonic POS or Empower Dash have ads?
Neither Tonic POS nor Empower Dash shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Tonic POS or Empower Dash?
Tonic POS ships an update every 3 months, and Empower Dash every 3 days. Most recently, Tonic POS was updated on September 10, 2026 and Empower Dash on October 25, 2026.

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