If you’re currently trying to compare EPOS systems available to find which offers the right solution for your business, we appreciate that it’s a complicated market meaning that it’s actually quite difficult to come to a decision.
By visiting our site, we think you’ve come to the right place.
Welcome to BusinessCostSaver – we’re a team whose mission is to minimise our readers’ costs and maximise their levels of profitability.
We do two things to make that happen:
- we post in-depth, researched, accurate articles in plain English and
- our team of advisors is available at no charge to you to help steer you in the right direction on major purchasing decisions for your company.
If you’d like our help to find the right EPOS system for your business, please leave your details with us by completing the form at the top of the page.
We’ll ask you a handful of questions about your business as it is today and where you see it being in the future.
With that information, we’ll compare EPOS systems on your behalf and then come back to you with our recommendations on the best fit for your business.
Our service is free, we’re completely impartial, and there’s no obligation on you to follow through on the systems we recommend.
If you’re still doing your research into the various EPOS systems available on the market, please continue reading as, in this article, we cover:
- what an EPOS system actually is,
- the advantages and disadvantages of investing in an EPOS system for your business,
- seven current offers from UK EPOS providers, and
- what you should take into account when choosing an EPOS system.
What is an EPOS system?
EPOS stands for “electronic point of sale”.
Modern EPOS systems do far more however than just process customer payments.
The types of retail premises you might visit which don’t have an EPOS system generally have just one or two tills at which customers can pay for their goods and services.
Payment tills are, however, just one part of an EPOS system.
EPOS systems not only record all of the transaction data generated by the use of the payment tills – they record and analyse data across the entire business providing their owners with additional and real time insights into their sales and operational performance.
This extra functionality provided by an EPOS (“electronic point of sale”) system creates opportunities for businesses to become both more efficient and more profitable through live data analysis.
There are two parts to any EPOS system – the software and the hardware.
EPOS hardware
The five most visible hardware elements of a modern EPOS system are:
- Till or tablet – where customers’ order details are entered
- Barcode scanner – which scan the tags on your product for quick identification
- PDQ machine – for processing customer credit and debit cards
- Receipt printer – for printing off customised receipts once payment has been processed
- Cash drawer – in which the money used by customers to pay for products is stored
Some EPOS systems hardwire some or all of the constituent hardware elements to each other while others rely on a shared connection to a WiFi hub.
The data generated by the sales tills or tablets is either held on a physical server within your premises or, as is becoming increasingly common, on cloud-based platforms.
EPOS software
Your EPOS provider also provides you with the software required to record the data generated by your tills/tablets and to produce reports from that data.
Please be aware that the quality of the software varies greatly between different providers.
In order to help you choose the best system, it’s best to first get a wide overview of the range of software offered by different providers by doing your own research.
From what you discover, note down which features you believe would be most helpful in providing the insights need to assist you in future decision making for your business.
Make a list of “essential” and “desirable” features and assess each option you consider based on how many boxes they tick.
EPOS providers offer two types of software:
- server-based software – this is software held on your own server
- SaaS software – this is software held and operated on the cloud
Server-based software solutions tend to be more expensive, they cost a lot to update, and there is often a substantial one-off charge to start using them.
SaaS software is updated much more frequently and you pay a monthly subscription for them.
SaaS software tends to offer much greater functionality because the software companies behind them open their platforms to developers.
Many SaaS EPOS software providers have “app stores” and you can add the apps listed on the store to your existing subscription package (sometimes free of charge, sometimes with a separate monthly subscription).
BusinessCostSaver note – apps are sometimes referred to as “integrations” by EPOS providers.
Apps allow you to connect your EPOS system to your accounting package, your merchant service provider, and even manage stock levels across both retail and online platforms.
Advantages and disadvantages of an EPOS system
The right EPOS system can be transformative for a company’s growth prospects because it provides the decision makers within a business with up-to-date and accurate information on its performance.
Running a business is difficult enough and doing so without the latest data and a way to analyse that data makes it even harder.
But can the presence of an EPOS system blunt decision makers’ natural problem-solving abilities through the provision of easy answers created by automatically generated reports?
As you do with every purchase you’re considering for your business, try to evaluate the benefits and the costs prior to proceeding because you might end up installing an expensive system that provides little or no added value to you.
5 major EPOS system advantages
1. Increased employee information
Which of your floor staff generate the most sales overall?
Which of your waiting staff generate the highest spending per head of your restaurant clients?
Is a member of your staff particularly talented at selling one type of product but do they struggle with the others?
With a typical key-in system available for many EPOS systems, you’ll be able to monitor the ongoing performance of your staff to determine which ones:
- generate the most revenue and
- should be given special responsibility for selling specific products and services.
You can stimulate increased overall productivity to running monthly or weekly competitions for individuals and for teams based on their performance and the revenues they generate.
2. Better customer experience
The COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 meant that a lot of the sales which would have occurred within retail premises migrated online instead.
Over 1 million Business Bounce Back loans were taken out with nearly three in ten business owners spending the majority of the cash they’d received on improving their website and adding an e-commerce option enabling their customers to shop online.
In truth, the pandemic merely accelerated an already firmly established trend but this still continuing trend highlights the importance of marrying up both your online and offline sales and marketing efforts.
With a suitably-enabled EPOS system, you can track the stock you have for sale both in your retail premises and online. By doing that, you save your customers from the frustration of ordering an out-of-stock or defunct product.
For hospitality businesses, tablet-based tills allow the faster taking of orders direct from tables with immediate transmission of that order to the kitchen as well as the ability to pay at the table, to split bills, to accept gift vouchers, and more.
2. Trend spotting and resource allocation
The less of your company’s cash tied up in stock the better. Companies live and die by their ability to manage the cash that they have.
An EPOS system notifies you when certain lines are running low prompting you to reorder together with a recommendation on how much of that line you should order.
You can track the volume of your sales by date and time meaning that you can reduce the chance of too many staff being present when business is quiet and too few staff when there’s high demand.
For hairdressers and personal services business, many EPOS systems have apps available for download which allow clients to book appointments directly online via a website meaning that you’re better able to predict how many staff are needed on given days.
3. Better communication with customers
Modern EPOS systems allow your staff to take customers’ email addresses and telephone numbers whether they’re in your store, on your website, or using your app.
Many businesses use this data successfully on direct marketing campaigns to:
- encourage extra sales by making special client only offers,
- reward customers who interact with your company the most, and
- invite clients to special events you hold in-store.
4. Higher customer throughput
The use of barcode scanners and contactless payment in your premises means that:
- your staff can process a greater number of payments per hour in busier times and
- your customers don’t have to wait for excessive lengths of time in a queue to pay you.
For food and drink businesses, the use of a number of portable terminals which various staff can take to customers’ tables at the same time allows you to turn tables a lot faster.
3 EPOS system disadvantages
1. Upfront cost
Complete EPOS systems including both hardware and software can run into hundreds or thousands of pounds.
Upfront costs for the most sophisticated can be £3,000 or more with significant monthly costs thereafter.
You can mitigate many of these potential upfront costs by choosing to rent an EPOS system instead from around £25 a month. Some companies may offer equipment as part of a rental deal but expect to pay higher subscriptions fees in these circumstances.
2. Staff training
You will have to train your staff on how to use your new EPOS software so, when selecting a package, it may be worth asking a rep for a test drive to check how user-friendly their platform is.
Spend ten minutes learning your way around the system – if you find it intuitive and easy to pick up, the likelihood is that most of your staff will too.
While many EPOS suppliers provide training materials with their systems, you have to deliver this training to your current staff and your future staff taking away valuable managerial and administrative time from you.
If certain EPOS systems are dominant in your particular sector, there may be a strong argument to select one of these packages because it will reduce necessary training time now and in the future.
3. Do you really need it?
If you have a salon with two or three seats that you rent out to others, you probably don’t need an EPOS system.
Instead, you could simply invest in a standard till, enter your incomings and outgoings at the end of the day into your accounting package, and allow clients to book appointments with an app on your website.
It’s important to be absolutely sure of the value an EPOS adds to your business before you make the decision to invest in one.
Otherwise, you’ll have a lot less cash than you would have had by not investing in it and all your new EPOS system will do is sit in the corner gathering dust.
EPOS systems from Vend
| Company Name | Vend |
| Free trial? | 14 days |
| Initial costs | Variable |
| Lowest monthly fee | £49 |
| Highest monthly fee | £69 |
| Credit card fees | Depends on merchant account |
| Debit card fees | Depends on merchant account |
| Tied to a payment processor? | No |
| PDQ integrations | Paymentsense, Square, iZettle, Klarna |
| PC compatible? | Yes |
| Android compatible? | No |
| iPhone compatible? | No |
| iPad compatible? | Yes |
| Mac compatible? | Yes |
| Customer support | 24/7 email, chatbot, social media, and phone support |
| Account package integration | Xero, Quickbooks, MYOB, and Accounts Portal |
| Trustpilot rating | 3.4 |
| Number of Trustpilot reviews | 342 |
Launched in 2010 and still concentrating solely on providing EPOS solutions exclusively to retailers, Vend is competitively priced, easy to use, easy to scale up when required, and features many important integrations for added functionality.
Customers’ reactions to it however are lukewarm as it scores an average of just 3.4 out of 5 from over three hundred reviews on Trustpilot. That’s despite the fact that the platform enjoys the endorsement of the British Independent Retailers Association (BIRA).
Users benefit from a plethora of features including the ability to customise receipts, manage returns and refunds, cash management, and the ability to connect to WooCommerce and Shopify e-commerce platforms (on their Pro Plan tariff).
Shopify EPOS systems for small business
| Company Name | Shopify |
| Free trial? | 90 days |
| Initial costs | £379 |
| Lowest monthly fee | $29 |
| Highest monthly fee | $299 |
| Credit card fees | From 1.6% + 20p |
| Debit card fees | From 1.6% + 20p |
| Tied to a payment processor? | No |
| PDQ integrations | Multiple but additional fees if other gateway used |
| PC compatible? | No |
| Android compatible? | No |
| iPhone compatible? | Yes |
| iPad compatible? | Yes |
| Mac compatible? | No |
| Customer support | 24/7 email, chatbot, and phone support |
| Account package integration | Multiple including major brands |
| Trustpilot rating | 1.5 |
| Number of Trustpilot reviews | 294 |
Best known for helping over one million small businesses around the world launch their own e-commerce platforms (including assisting users in finding product suppliers), Shopify has made a concerted effort in the last two to three years to establish a significant market share in the offline world.
In terms of the number of subscribers they have signed up for offline retail, this venture has undoubtably been a success. However, across 300 reviews on Trustpilot, they achieve a poor 1.5 out of 5 for customer satisfaction.
Shopify’s is one of the most expensive options on the market because of its high monthly fees and its punitive credit card transaction rates if you don’t use their gateway.
To benefit from the ability for more staff to have their own log-ins and from the information and insights you gain for access to customisable reports and customer analytics, you have to pay £237 a month.
Other tariffs range from £7 to £63 a month but all have fewer features and allow far fewer numbers of users.
If you do pay £237 a month, the features offered compare well against competitors as long as the software continues to work – this is a major and ongoing frustration for many of their customers.
NoblyPOS
| Company Name | NoblyPOS |
| Free trial? | 15 days |
| Initial costs | No upfront costs on some plans |
| Lowest monthly fee | £39 per month per till |
| Highest monthly fee | £25 per month per additional till |
| Credit card fees | Depends on merchant account |
| Debit card fees | Depends on merchant account |
| Tied to a payment processor? | No |
| PDQ integrations | iZettle, SumUp, Barclaycard, Paymentsense |
| PC compatible? | No |
| Android compatible? | Yes |
| iPhone compatible? | Yes |
| iPad compatible? | Yes |
| Mac compatible? | No |
| Customer support | Email and phone during working hours |
| Account package integration | Xero |
| Trustpilot rating | 4.6 |
| Number of Trustpilot reviews | 500 |
NoblyPOS has set its sights on the food and drink sector putting it into direct competition with what many people believe are the more advanced alternatives offered by TouchBistro and Lightspeed Restaurant.
Across over 500 reviews on Trustpilot, NoblyPOS scores a very impressive 4.6 out of 5 despite reports of issues with unresolved tickets, occasional system crashes, and a complex back end.
Users express satisfaction with the efficiency of the company’s customer service support team, the ability to work offline, its intuitive interface, and its very competitive price.
Nobly offers six integrations at the time of writing:
- iZettle and Worldpay for credit and debit card processing,
- Velocity for insurance management,
- Mailchimp for marketing to clients, and
- Quickbooks and Xero accounting packages.
iZettle EPOS system UK
| Company Name | iZettle |
| Free trial? | 7 days |
| Initial costs | £189 for the Mini Kit up to £599 for the Retail Kit |
| Lowest monthly fee | £29 |
| Highest monthly fee | £29 |
| Credit card fees | 1.75% |
| Debit card fees | 1.75% |
| Tied to a payment processor? | Yes |
| PDQ integrations | iZettle only |
| PC compatible? | No |
| Android compatible? | Yes |
| iPhone compatible? | Yes |
| iPad compatible? | Yes |
| Mac compatible? | No |
| Customer support | Email, chatbot, or phone during working hours |
| Account package integration | Xero |
| Trustpilot rating | 4 |
| Number of Trustpilot reviews | 2,632 |
iZettle is very well liked by users scoring 4 out of 5 from over two-and-a-half thousand reviews.
The cost of its kit is very competitive as are its transaction fees and its lack of set up fees and application fees.
It offers one of the widest range of app integrations too allowing clients to make the most out of online and offline selling.
It allows users to create a wider range of sales and staff performance charts.
Customers love this product even though, to many, parts of it still feel like a work in progress.
Square POS systems UK
| Company Name | Square |
| Free trial? | 30 days |
| Initial costs | From £199 |
| Lowest monthly fee | Free |
| Highest monthly fee | £49 per month per location |
| Credit card fees | 1.6% for Chip & PIN or contactless, 2.5% for cardholder not present |
| Debit card fees | 1.6% for Chip & PIN or contactless, 2.5% for cardholder not present |
| Tied to a payment processor? | Yes |
| PDQ integrations | Square only |
| PC compatible? | No |
| Android compatible? | Yes |
| iPhone compatible? | Yes |
| iPad compatible? | Yes |
| Mac compatible? | No |
| Customer support | Email and phone during working hours |
| Account package integration | Enterpryze, Exact, Kashoo, KashFlow, QuickBooks, Sage One, Xero, Zoho Books |
| Trustpilot rating | 4.4 |
| Number of Trustpilot reviews | 1,491 |
Another one of the newer entrants into the market, Square’s POS offering scores 4.4 out of 5 across nearly one-and-a-half-thousand review.
You can pay £49 a month if you want for cheaper rates and advanced reporting tools or you can pay nothing each month (other than processing fees) for the basic package.
A premium option is available for businesses whose card turnover is likely to be in excess of £250,000 a year although quotes are provided on a case by case basis.
Users report that Square’s POS system can be set up quickly and that it is particularly easy to use.
In-built functionality includes stock management, invoicing (together with a link for your customers to pay you online), tipping and open orders for restaurants, gift cards, multi-location management, refund issuance, and the set-up of customer loyalty programmes.
Lightspeed
| Company Name | Lightspeed |
| Free trial? | 14 days |
| Initial costs | POA |
| Lowest monthly fee | $12 per month plus chargeable add-ons |
| Highest monthly fee | $39 per month plus chargeable premium add-ons |
| Credit card fees | Depends on merchant account |
| Debit card fees | Depends on merchant account |
| Tied to a payment processor? | No |
| PDQ integrations | Barclaycard, Verifone, iZettle |
| PC compatible? | No |
| Android compatible? | No |
| iPhone compatible? | No |
| iPad compatible? | Yes |
| Mac compatible? | Yes |
| Customer support | 24/7 by email and phone |
| Account package integration | Quickbooks, Xero |
| Trustpilot rating | 4.3 |
| Number of Trustpilot reviews | 524 |
Specifically developed for the hospitality sector, Lightspeed’s claim to be one of the most advanced and easy-to-use EPOS systems for restaurants, pubs, and hotels seems well founded when you review industry and client feedback.
It’s Apple only though and its exposure to a much wider market has been severely constrained by its lack of compatibility with PC and Android platforms.
The company’s technical team install Lightspeed’s EPOS platform at your premises training you and your staff on how to use it if you like – this may be worth investigating because, for some of your staff, it may not be as immediately intuitive as its Windows and Android competitors.
Built-in functionality includes accounting software integration, payment processing, cash drawer control, purchase order management, and stock management as well as some of the most in-depth and customisable reporting options we’ve ever seen on an EPOS system.
The EPOSNow system
| Company Name | EPOSNow |
| Free trial? | 30 days |
| Initial costs | £799 |
| Lowest monthly fee | £25 per till per month + £15 per additional till per month |
| Highest monthly fee | £50 per till per month + £30 per additional till per month |
| Credit card fees | Depends on merchant account |
| Debit card fees | Depends on merchant account |
| Tied to a payment processor? | No |
| PDQ integrations | Worldway, Verifone, PayPal Here, Paymentsense, Global Payments, Barclaycard |
| PC compatible? | Yes (touchscreens) |
| Android compatible? | Yes (tablets) |
| iPhone compatible? | No |
| iPad compatible? | Yes |
| Mac compatible? | Yes |
| Customer support | Standard plan offers limited support, premium plan 24/7 email and phone |
| Account package integration | Sage, Quickbooks, Xero |
| Trustpilot rating | 4.4 |
| Number of Trustpilot reviews | 6,721 |
One of the Sunday Times’ fastest growing top 100 tech companies, EPOSNow’s equipment now powers over 30,000 businesses spanning multiple sectors across the UK and beyond.
Their hardware is notably good and their software is particularly robust and easy to use – there are specialist options for both hospitality and retail businesses too
How to compare EPOS systems
When you compare EPOS systems, price is always going to be a major factor to take into consideration although, as we’ve seen in this article, there really isn’t much actual significant difference in cost between each provider.
With the exception of Shopify whose Trustpilot rating is poor in comparison to the other companies we’ve listed, it’s also clear that the customers of each EPOS provider we posted a short review on generally appreciate the value these systems bring to their businesses.
The best EPOS provider for your business will be the one whose service features are genuinely useful to your company now and whose add-on extras will be of most benefit to your firm in the future.
For helping in choosing an EPOS system provider, please complete the form at the top of our page.
When you do, one of our advisors will get in touch with you to ask a few questions about your business and where you see it being in a year or two’s time.
They’ll then come back to you with one or more recommendations. There is no cost to this service and you don’t have to accept any of the recommendations we supply you with.
Better still, we’re not tied to any supplier so you can be fully assured that our recommendations are impartial and free from commercial bias.