SpenVest

SpenVest connects eligible restaurant sales to digital loyalty rewards while allowing restaurants to keep their existing POS. Its Rewards Engine supports points, stamps, store value credit, cashback, reward thresholds, campaigns, bonus rules, redemption authorisations and refund reversals. A merchant dashboard shows reward members, recent activity and redemption history. Square supports sales, refunds and product catalogue data; Shopify POS and Clover support sales and refunds. Merchants can also send authenticated sale and refund events through the API, with signed webhooks for connected workflows. For eligible products, an online catalogue and checkout can support click and collect or local delivery. Customer payments are processed by the merchant’s connected provider and sent to a configured merchant-owned account; SpenVest says it does not hold sales revenue. The free Connect plan supports one location but leaves reward calculations to the existing rewards provider. Rewards Engine costs $39 a month per location, excluding GST. It includes points, stamps, store value credit and cashback, with up to 100 active storefront products. SpenVest describes the platform as built for Australian independent businesses and says participating merchant coverage is expanding across Australia.

SpenVest combines loyalty features with integrations that leave the restaurant’s existing POS in place. Review the one-location free plan’s reward limits and the per-location fee excluding GST before deciding whether it fits.

SpenVest suits Australian independent restaurants seeking loyalty features while retaining an existing POS. Its API and webhook paths may also suit merchants connecting sale and refund events to other workflows.

SpenVest links eligible restaurant sales to digital loyalty rewards while leaving the restaurant’s existing POS in place. It is best suited to independent Australian restaurants that want loyalty and redemption tracking alongside their current setup. Its strongest case is connecting rewards to sales and refunds; businesses needing live inventory sync or POS order write-back should look elsewhere.

Overview

SpenVest combines loyalty tools with optional online ordering for eligible products. Payments go through the restaurant’s connected payment provider and settle to its configured merchant-owned account; SpenVest says it does not hold sales revenue. That arrangement keeps payment processing with the merchant’s provider, while the restaurant remains responsible for that connected account.

The platform is built for Australian independent businesses, and is available to businesses across Australia as participating merchant coverage expands. Its privacy policy describes safeguards that may include access controls, encryption or secure transport, authentication and credential controls, logging, monitoring and need-to-know access limits. It aims to handle personal information consistently with Australian privacy requirements, including the Privacy Act 1988 and Australian Privacy Principles where they apply.

Key features

The Rewards Engine supports points, stamps, store value credit (SVC), cashback, reward thresholds, campaigns, bonus rules, redemption authorisations and refund reversals. The breadth suits restaurants that want several ways to reward customers and control redemptions. A dashboard showing members, recent activity and redemption history gives merchants a view of loyalty activity without replacing their POS.

Square connects sales, refunds and product catalogue data; Shopify POS and Clover connect sales and refunds. Merchants can also send authenticated sale and refund events through the API, while signed webhooks deliver events to connected workflows. These integrations support loyalty workflows, but SpenVest does not claim live stock sync or writing commerce orders back into connected POS providers. Restaurants that need those capabilities as part of a two-way POS connection should choose another system.

Eligible products can be sold through an online catalogue and checkout, with click and collect and local delivery. This adds a customer ordering path, but it is limited to eligible products and does not make SpenVest a full inventory or restaurant operations platform.

Pricing

The free Connect plan costs nothing and covers 1 location. It leaves the existing rewards provider authoritative and includes no SpenVest reward calculation, cashback or campaigns, native checkout, orders, inventory or POS. It is a narrow starting point for connecting a location, not a free version of the Rewards Engine.

Ecommerce & Shipping costs $19 a month as an optional add-on on eligible products. It adds product variants, hosted checkout, Australia Post and tracking. Restaurants focused on rewards will need a different plan for SpenVest reward calculations; this add-on is for product sales and shipping features.

Rewards Engine costs $39 a month, billed monthly per location, excluding GST. It includes Connect, points, stamps, SVC and cashback, plus up to 100 active storefront products. SMS is usage-based. This is the clearest fit for a restaurant adding loyalty while keeping its POS, but the storefront cap and separate SMS charges matter as activity grows. It does not include full inventory, suppliers, purchase orders or Cloud POS.

Lite Cloud POS costs $59 a month, billed monthly per location, excluding GST. One browser/PWA register supports simple products, services, menus, QR self-ordering and appointments. It may suit a small operation wanting a basic register, but it lacks full inventory accounting, stock transfers, and table, waiter or kitchen operations.

Cloud POS costs $89 a month, billed monthly per location, excluding GST, and is coming soon. It includes two registers, inventory, suppliers, purchase orders and barcode scanning, but no table, waiter or kitchen operations. Cloud POS Hospitality costs $119 a month, billed monthly per location, excluding GST, and is also coming soon. Its three waiter devices and two kitchen-display devices support tables, open bills, split payments, courses, dine-in and table QR ordering. These planned options target increasingly involved operations, but neither is currently presented as available.

Enterprise has custom pricing under negotiated terms and is coming soon. It is intended for custom integrations, reporting, security, onboarding and an SLA. The per-location fees and GST exclusion on the priced POS and Rewards Engine plans should be included when comparing costs across multiple sites.

Platforms

SpenVest supports Android, iOS, web and API access. The API and webhook paths are useful for merchants connecting transaction events and workflows; the POS integrations still have the stated limits around inventory and order write-back.

Who it's for

SpenVest is a good fit for an Australian independent restaurant that wants points, stamps or cashback linked to eligible sales and refunds, and plans to keep its current POS. The Rewards Engine is the relevant starting plan for those features. It is a weaker fit for operators who need synchronized stock, commerce orders written into their POS, or complete table-service and kitchen workflows today.

Pros and cons

• Pros: Multiple reward types, campaign rules and refund reversals give restaurants flexibility to shape loyalty while accounting for returns.
• Pros: Square, Shopify POS, Clover, API events and signed webhooks provide several routes for linking transaction activity to rewards.
• Pros: Online checkout can support click and collect and local delivery, with payments settled to a merchant-owned account through its connected provider.
• Cons: The free plan has no SpenVest reward calculation, cashback or campaigns, so restaurants wanting active loyalty need a paid plan.
• Cons: Rewards Engine caps active storefront products at 100 and charges for SMS by usage; it also excludes full inventory and Cloud POS.
• Cons: POS integrations do not claim live inventory synchronization or commerce order write-back, limiting their value for businesses seeking a two-way operational connection.

Alternatives

Compare restaurant loyalty software if you want to weigh SpenVest against other options in the category. Choose Loga if its free plan’s 100 members and one admin, or its Starter plan’s 1,000 members, five admins, one reward and three coupons, better match your membership and team needs. Slant Loyalty is another freemium option with a free trial; its Free Forever plan allows 100 orders per month with limited invoices and email support.

Como Sense is a paid alternative for readers comparing another loyalty product. Hang and PAR Engagement are also paid options. Consider The Stampit if a single-location plan with unlimited users and multiple stamp cards is a better fit; its Basic plan costs £24.99 a month and includes limited support. CardFree Loyalty offers a paid model where customers pay for the functionality they need and contact CardFree for a demo. Spoonity is a paid option with a personalized quote and a-la-carte features.

Verdict

Choose SpenVest if you run an independent Australian restaurant, want sales-linked rewards and refund-aware redemption, and intend to keep your existing POS. The Rewards Engine provides the most direct route to those capabilities at $39 a month per location, excluding GST. Look elsewhere if live inventory sync, POS order write-back or complete hospitality operations are essential to your workflow.