When it comes to the latest debate about restaurant costs and fees, I’m reminded of the old adage: Don’t step over a dollar to pick up a dime. Although in the case of point-of-sale systems, that dollar may be distracting the industry from a much more pressing challenge.

My social media feeds of late have been saturated by restaurant industry professionals discussing and debating the introduction (and later retraction) of a 99-cent fee passed to the consumer as recently announced by a well-known point-of-sale system provider. Not to be outdone, another POS platform introduced a $1.50 consumer fee on online orders over a certain dollar amount. Some argue these new additional fees are necessary given the ever-growing cost of maintaining and constantly up-leveling restaurant technology. Some say the act of adding the guest fees is the straw that will break the camel’s back amid a pushback against fees and surcharges. How many added costs can restaurants place on consumers before there’s some kind of upheaval? How important is it to a brand to be able to control the fees a guest pays?

Those are questions worth asking. But by obsessing over the latest surcharge, there’s a more important one that gets ignored in the process: How much does a point-of-sale system truly cost restaurant operators?

As an industry that runs on tight margins and faces constant cost and labor pressures, every brand should have visibility into the true cost of what is effectively the beating heart of every restaurant. Small add-on fees may be a pittance compared to other, potentially more substantial costs that can inhibit profitability if not properly accounted for.